Syria – ISIS Is Defeated – The U.S. Is Next In Line

HELP ENLIGHTEN YOUR FELLOWS. BE SURE TO PASS THIS ON. SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON IT.

Dateline: December 09, 2017

The Islamic State in Syrian and Iraq is officially defeated. The UN resolution which allowed other countries to fight ISIS within Syria and Iraq no longer applies. But the U.S. military, despite the lack of any legal basis, wants to continue its occupation of Syria's north-east. The attempt to do so will fail. Its Kurdish allies in the area are already moving away from it and now prefer Russian protection. Guerrilla forces to fight the U.S. "presence" are being formed. The U.S. plan is shortsighted and stupid. If the U.S. insists on staying there many of its soldiers will die.

Two days ago the Syrian Arab Army closed the last gaps on the west bank of the Euphrates. Having fought all the way from Aleppo along the river towards the east the Tiger Force reached the liberated Deir Ezzor from the west. All settlements on the way are now controlled by the Syrian government. The remaining Islamic State fighters were pushed into the desert where they will be hunted down and killed.

Map via Southfront - bigger

Two days ago the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, declared a "complete victory" in Syria:

“Two hours ago, the (Russian) defense minister reported to me that the operations on the eastern and western banks of the Euphrates have been completed with the total rout of the terrorists,” Putin said.

“Naturally, there could still be some pockets of resistance, but overall the military work at this stage and on this territory is completed with, I repeat, the total rout of the terrorists,” he said.

Today the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi declared victory and the 'end of the war' against ISIS on the Iraqi side:

"Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh (IS)," Abadi told a conference in Baghdad.

North of the Euphrates the U.S. proxy force SDF had recently negotiated another agreement (42) with the remaining Islamic State fighters there. ISIS allegedly handed over a border crossing with Iraq to the SDF and in exchange was guaranteed free passage through SDF controlled areas. This agreement came after an earlier one in which the U.S. and SDF let 3,500 ISIS fighters flee from Raqqa to fight the Syrian Army in Deir Ezzor. That was a U.S. attempt to delay or prevent the victory of Syria and its allies. It failed.

Shortly after the claimed new ceasefire between the U.S. SDF proxies and ISIS, Russian officers met with officials of the Kurdish YPG, the central force of the SDF. The talks completely changed the situation. In a joint press conference the Kurds and the Russians committed to work together to fight ISIS east of the Euphrates. It seems that the YPG is no longer convinced that the U.S. is willing to do so. The Russians took command and the Russian air forces has since supported the YPG in its fight against ISIS in Deir Ezzor governate on the eastern bank of the river:

“A joint operative staff has been created in the town of Es-Salhiya to provide direct control and organize the cooperation with the popular militia units. Apart from Russian advisors, representatives of the eastern Euphrates tribes are taken part in it,” Poplavskiy said, noting that in the “coming days” the entire territory east of Euphrates River will be free from terrorists.

Mahmoud Nuri, a representative of the Kurdish YPG, stated that the militia “battled ISIS under Russian command very effectively.” Kurdish forces have also expressed readiness to ensure the safety of the Russian military specialists operating on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The U.S. is seriously miffed that the Russians are suddenly supporting the U.S. proxy in Syria's north-east. The U.S. wants to claim the area for itself. (It probably also wants to protect the rest of ISIS there to reuse it when convenient.) The U.S. claims that the Russian air support for the Kurds is violating "coalition airspace".

The U.S. is not invited to Syria but now claims airspace above the country? The Russians, allied with the Syrian government, are invited to fly there. It is obvious who has a sound legal justification to be in the area and who has not. But the U.S. military hates to confront its own malice, and a competent adversary who knows how to play chicken:

Three A-10C Thunderbolt II Aircraft fly in formation during a training session in Georgia in March 16. (U.S. Air Force photo)

In one instance, two Air Force A-10 attack planes flying east of the Euphrates River nearly collided head-on with a Russian Su-24 Fencer just 300 feet away — a knife’s edge when all the planes were streaking at more than 350 miles per hour. The A-10s swerved to avoid the Russian aircraft, which was supposed to fly only west of the Euphrates.
...
Since American and Russian commanders agreed last month to fly on opposite sides of a 45-mile stretch of the Euphrates to prevent accidents in eastern Syria’s increasingly congested skies, Russian warplanes have violated that deal half a dozen times a day, according to American commanders. They say it is an effort by Moscow to test American resolve, bait Air Force pilots into reacting rashly, and help the Syrian Army solidify territorial gains ahead of diplomatic talks aimed at resolving the country’s nearly seven-year-old war.

ISIS is gone. There is no justification for any "coalition airspace". Where please is the "deal" that allows the U.S. to indefinitely occupy north-east Syria as it now officially demands?

The Pentagon plans to keep some U.S. forces in Syria indefinitely, even after a war against the Islamic State extremist group formally ends, to take part in what it describes as ongoing counterterrorism operations, officials said.

There are approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, along with an unspecified number of contractors supporting them. Last month, the U.S. military withdrew 400 Marines from Syria, which U.S. forces first entered in the fall of 2016.

Officials earlier this week disclosed the plans for an open-ended commitment, known as a “conditions-based” presence.
...
The Pentagon has said the forces will target parts of Syria that aren’t fully governed by either regime or rebel forces. The military says it has the legal authority to remain there.

The U.S. military has lots of fantasies about "legal authority" and "deals". We had already noted that such a "presence" in Syria is obviously illegal. The fig leaf of a UN resolution 2249 to fight ISIS no longer applies. Putin intentionally emphasized the "total rout of the terrorists" and the "complete" victory to point that out. There is absolutely no justification for the U.S. to stay. Moreover - the presence there is unsustainable.

The commander of the paramilitary forces which support the Syrian and Iraqi government sent a note to the U.S. to let it know that any remaining U.S. forces in Syria will be fought down:

[T]he commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp Brigadier General Haj Qassem Soleimani sent a verbal letter, via Russia, to the head of the US forces commander in Syria, advising him to pull out all US forces to the last soldier “or the doors of hell will open up”.

“My message to the US military command: when the battle against ISIS (the Islamic State group) will end, no American soldier will be tolerated in Syria. I advise you to leave by your own will or you will be forced to it”, said Soleimani to a Russian officer. Soleimani asked the Russian responsible to expose the Iranian intentions towards the US: that they will be considered as forces of occupation if these decide to stay in north-east Syria where Kurds and Arab tribes cohabit together.

In 1983 U.S. and French military barracks in Beirut were blown up after their forces had intervened on one side of the Lebanese civil war. Several hundred soldiers died. After the attack the U.S. pulled out of Lebanon. U.S. soldiers staying in north-east Syria can now expect a similar fate.

The U.S. claims that it has 2,000 soldiers in north-east Syria. This after it had claimed that the number was 500. This new number was announced after it had already pulled out 400 marines and it is still way too low:

The updated figure does not reflect troops assigned to classified missions and some Special Operations personnel, Mr. Pahon said.

The U.S. had for months claimed that it only had 500 soldiers in the area. It did not even mention the contractors that follow its troops everywhere. The real number of U.S. personnal must have been ten times as high as the official one. The new official number is "2,000 and some". The real new number is likely still above 3,500 plus several thousand contractors. This revelation confirms again that the U.S. military lies whenever and wherever it can.

The now remaining "more than 2,000" will need tens of tons of supplies each day and the U.S. has no secured supply line into north-east Syria. It is arrogant idiocy to keep the troops there in place. A few roving guerillas can easily choke those supplies. Each of the camps those troops occupy will be a target of external and inside attacks.

The YPG Kurds are already skipping out of their coalition with the U.S.. They are now making friends with the Russians who provide them with air-support where the U.S. wants to keep ISIS alive. How much longer will the U.S. soldiers in the YPG controlled areas be able to trust their "allies"?

The Pentagon says that the presence in Syria is “conditions-based” but it does not name any condition that would have to be fulfilled for ending it. General Soleimani seems to believe that a few hundred body bags arriving at Andrews airbase near Washington, DC might be enough condition fulfillment to do the trick.

The situation in other parts of Syria is largely unchanged. The various Takifiri groups in Idelb governate continue to slaughter each other. The Syrian forces will likely hold back their planned attacks into the area as long as their enemies there are devouring each other. But a year from now Idelb, and north-east Syria, will likely be back in the Syrian government's hand.

Posted by b on December 9, 2017 at 11:37 AM | Permalink

Below we reproduce original thread comments. Read at your discretion. Click on button.

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middle of your paper, you forgot the *no* i guess.

There is justification for any "coalition airspace" - > there is NO justification for any yankee bastard. about that, the usa could wait for an attack by Syrians to invade more.. their hubris knows no limit!

Posted by: Bertrand | Dec 9, 2017 12:03:46 PM | 1

thanks b for your thorough coverage here.. the only rationale for the usa being in syria is for all the wrong reasons... they can say whatever they want thru the nyt, wsj and etc, but it doesn't change the fact usa has never been invited into syria.. but then, this is typical usa behaviour too - set up shop in prep for a permanent base in a country that you haven't been invited into and you are not welcome..

Posted by: james | Dec 9, 2017 12:06:26 PM | 2

Soleimani's warning will get turned into "Iran Threatens US!!"

Posted by: dh | Dec 9, 2017 12:30:58 PM | 4

@4 There's no date given for Soleimani's note to US via Russia. It's not clear if Pompeo was reacting to it on Dec 2nd.....or if this is a new warning.

Posted by: dh | Dec 9, 2017 12:40:42 PM | 5

@5 The Arabic (Farsi?) version is dated...... 09 ديسمبر 2017 12:00 ص

Posted by: dh | Dec 9, 2017 12:44:33 PM | 6

@Bertrand @1 - thank you, I corrected my mistake.
@DH - the Magnier piece describing the Soleimani message was written on Dec 9. We don't know when the message was transmitted.

Posted by: b | Dec 9, 2017 12:53:42 PM | 7

The Russian MOD have just issued a statement that, on November 23, a USAF F-22 fighter actively tried to prevent two Russian Su-25s proceeding to attack ISIS positions near al Mayadin. The F-22 rapidly retreated into Iraqi airspace when a Russian Su-35 went along to protect the Su-25s. The Russian MOD stated that the two sides almost came into conflict.

It was around this time that the US was allowing ISIS members to retreat into US-held territory on the eastern side of the Euphrates.

http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/12/official-us-and-russian-air-forces.html

Posted by: Anonymous | Dec 9, 2017 12:59:35 PM | 8

nhs @3

A cable from 2006

https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06AMMAN1261_a.html

Classified By: AMB DAVID HALE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B AND D) THIS MESSAGE IS SECRET NOFORN

- (S) JORDAN SHARES OUR CONCERNS ABOUT SYRIA, AND SUPPORTS OUR POLICY AND INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO FOCUS PRESSURE ON SYRIA TO CHANGE ITS BEHAVIOR. AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS GOJ CONCERN ABOUT STABILITY IN SYRIA, AND ABOUT THE SYRIAN REGIME'S REPEATED MIS-STEPS IN REACTION TO EVENTS. JORDANIAN OFFICIALS MAY SEEK YOUR ASSESSMENT OF SYRIA'S LIKELY REACTION TO RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.

5. (SBU) THE VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S. AND JORDANIAN GOVERNMENTS IS NOT REFLECTED IN JORDANIAN POPULAR OPINION. AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, ESPECIALLY ON THE PALESTINIAN ISSUE AND ON IRAQ, IS PERCEIVED NEGATIVELY AMONG ORDINARY JORDANIANS AS IT IS IN THE REST OF THE REGION. AFTER ISRAEL'S DISENGAGEMENT FROM GAZA, PUBLIC OPINION TOWARD U.S. POLICY IMPROVED, BUT THE MAJORITY STILL DISAPPROVE HERE.

This cable also covers the origins of that KASOTC which was/is used to train 'carfeully vetted moderate rebels' in activities such as urban combat, building wall breaching, sniping, and other useful skills.

Posted by: Anonymous | Dec 9, 2017 1:10:41 PM | 9

Saw a report about a F-22 trying to stop two Russian/Syrian planes SU 25's from attacking a Daesh strongpoint on the WESTERN side of the Euphrates. It dropped flares and simulated an attack (or attacks). It rapidly left at the approach of a Russian Su-35S.
Al-Masdar news It appears that the Russians will have to stay longer if the US tries to make a "Coalition only" airspace over Syria.

Posted by: stonebird | Dec 9, 2017 1:11:30 PM | 10

It would have been good watching the SU-35 play chicken with the F-22. The Russian report added 'super maneuverable' to SU-35S, so I guess it was doing some of that.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Dec 9, 2017 2:01:35 PM | 11

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Parting shot—a word from the editors
The Best Definition of Donald Trump We Have Found

In his zeal to prove to his antagonists in the War Party that he is as bloodthirsty as their champion, Hillary Clinton, and more manly than Barack Obama, Trump seems to have gone “play-crazy” -- acting like an unpredictable maniac in order to terrorize the Russians into forcing some kind of dramatic concessions from their Syrian allies, or risk Armageddon.However, the “play-crazy” gambit can only work when the leader is, in real life, a disciplined and intelligent actor, who knows precisely what actual boundaries must not be crossed. That ain’t Donald Trump -- a pitifully shallow and ill-disciplined man, emotionally handicapped by obscene privilege and cognitively crippled by white American chauvinism. By pushing Trump into a corner and demanding that he display his most bellicose self, or be ceaselessly mocked as a “puppet” and minion of Russia, a lesser power, the War Party and its media and clandestine services have created a perfect storm of mayhem that may consume us all.— Glen Ford, Editor in Chief, Black Agenda Report

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We the Sheeple: the Blind Reading the Blind

Eloquent poster by Communist Party of India

SHORTLY after the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, made a candid confession to the Army Times, “I’m running out of demons, I’m running out of villains. I’m down to Castro and Kim Il Sung.” Amid the general bonhomie of the military interview, Powell nicely encapsulated a central truth of empire: it doesn’t want peace. Never did. Imperialism, the monopoly stage of capitalism, is based on conquest. Peace is little more than an aftermath in the imperialist vision. It is the dusty rubble-strewn silence that descends on Aleppo when the jihadists have been bussed out. It is the silent pollution of the Danube when the NATO jets have flown. It is the quiet that settles on the Libyan square once the slave auction has concluded. Peace is an interlude between the birth of avarice and the advent of aggression. Little else.

If Powell confessed empire’s disinterest in peace, he also expressed the need of the imperials state for a steady supply of new enemies. Conflict is the lifeblood of imperial capitalism. It is how the ruling class further enriches itself. It is how the global elite expand their dominion over the planet. Those who will not pay tribute under threat of menace, must ultimately face the menace. But this truth, that the imperial state is the carmine tip of elite expropriation, must not be aired among the hoi polloi. It is the unseemly underbelly of power and if it were widely understood it would hack away the legitimacy of the state, which is only justified by its nominal commitment to the welfare of the nation. That claim only appears legitimate in the face of some grim and ghastly threat. Powell understood that with the nasty specter of the evil empire crumbling to ash on an Asian plain, a spine-chilling new antagonist would have to be invented to replace it.

Enter the specter of Islamic terror. Islamic terrorism is largely the product of American terror. It is wittingly conjured into being through our wanton destruction of Muslim societies. We did not attack Muslim nations in order to produce a new enemy. We attacked them to extend our control of natural resources, shape the trade routes of the future, and expand the reach of global capital. But the epiphenomenon of terrorism was both predictable and embraced as a casus belli. It is the hobgoblin used by ruling class media to frighten western populations into acquiescence with the west’s warlike vision for global hegemony.

“Conflict is the lifeblood of imperial capitalism. It is how the ruling class further enriches itself. It is how the global elite expand their dominion over the planet. Those who will not pay tribute under threat of menace, must ultimately face the menace. But this truth, that the imperial state is the carmine tip of elite expropriation, must not be aired among the hoi polloi. It is the unseemly underbelly of power and if it were widely understood it would hack away the legitimacy of the state, which is only justified by its nominal commitment to the welfare of the nation…”

But western populations have of late grown weary of the terrorist scourge and the endless storylines of restive migrants doing the dirty work of mysterious jihadists on the Disneyfied streets of western capitals. Jets into skyscrapers. Cars into crowds. Backpacks in corners of concert halls. High-rise shotgunners spraying bullets into public squares. Terror fatigue is spreading across a western world that could only sustain permanent stress levels for so long. Thankfully, for the managers of empire and its media flacks, a reborn Russian state, rising from the ashes of a capitalist looting spree, has provided a second narrative front in the war for the mind of the west. A different visage emerges. Not the bearded votary narrating a death wish to a shaky cam. But a Muscovite in a bespoke suit with a supercilious grin on his sly poker face. The optics are different, but in a media environment of constant overexposure, that is a good thing.

Both terrorism and a revanchist Russia represent figments of horror in the minds of western citizens. They are the bête noire with which we can shape our worldview and pepper our cocktail conversations. We do not realize that Islamic terror is largely a product of American terror. We do not see that American aggression provokes Russian self-defense. As such, these orientalist caricatures represent the hypocrisy of imperial neoliberalism, which is forever flying the false flag of economic justice and democratic freedom over its just-conquered capitals. Inhabitants of those broken cities know better, as their standard of living plummets and their dictators are replaced by juntas. They know the west is like Joseph Conrad’s sepulchral city, where an alabaster exterior hides a crypt of rotting flesh. That is the real vision that western media works so feverishly to disguise, one no sane person could stomach. That’s why the media must craft fresh Frankensteins at such a feverish pace. Fairy tales of secular missionaries bringing the gift of free-market democracy to the benighted tribes of the east.

Globalization and Its Discontents

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he terminology of that fairy tale is telling. The term ‘globalization’ has been used as a portmanteau containing all of the sly nuance of neoliberalism. Globalization is the rush of capital into every conceivable crevice of the planet in search of profitable new ventures. Unfortunately, markets must be pried open with war when rhetorical picklocks don’t suffice. The term ‘humanitarian’ is the masque we now affix to the gruesome face of war whenever we must attack some recalcitrant socialist backwater. What we used to call a ‘civilising mission’ in Africa, we now call a ‘humanitarian intervention’ in the Middle East. Historians call that ‘progress.’

Colin Powell, former U.S. secretary of state, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, May 24, 2013. Powell served in three Republican administrations, but was regarded by some hardcore Neocons as an “unreliable” member of the team.

The effect of this noble-minded fustian is to pacify a population and to marginalize anyone who attempts to reveal the true character of imperial action. Who would oppose a globalizing force of open markets that promise to bring ‘developing’ and ‘emerging’ nations online and on par with our post-industrial west? Those who do can hardly explain the extractive nature of neoliberal globalization or its deindustrializing effect on developing economies before they are skewered by the flagbearers of humanitarianism. Who would deny the righteous cause of intervening to halt imminent genocide? One has barely called into question whether genocide is actually imminent before being fleeced by the rhetorical guardians of the west’s civilizing mission. The righteous R2P. One has hardly breathed a word of how the ‘war on terror’ is largely generated by the state terror we inflict on other nations before being rubber-stamped a traitor and told to leave the country (if you don’t like it).

The fable must be accepted. We are spreading freedom and equality. Simple as that. End of story. Say that the United States is the greatest counter-revolutionary force in the world, and be branded a traitor–by the counter-revolutionaries. Wherever democratic freedom rears its ugly head, you can be sure that U.S. media flacks, as well as special forces, drones, proxy terrorists, and battalions are on hand to crush what they claim to defend.

Softening the Blow

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he fairy tales are told by the mainstream media, shamelessly so. The Wolf Blitzers of the world devote themselves to the slavish production of fresh threats. The liberal MSM is represented today by outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. These ciphers take the crude evasions of the White House, State Department, Pentagon, and intelligence agencies, and camouflage them. They dress them in muted tones that dampen the drama of blast craters. They massage the story to elide the facts that might produce introspection or taint the purity of our self-image. Self-criticism is inappropriate, but the righteous condemnation of other nations is a moral mandate. Print everything in classic fonts, with well-designed column widths, and add in world-class photography that turns ruination into artistic representation. This is the manna consumed by the acolytes of exceptionalism.

Nothing better embodies the empty ruse of liberalism than the bulky deadwood of the Times. There is of course the elitist coverage of mini-breaks in distant villas, where war-torn peasant societies repair their communities round a communal table. There are the heady profiles of the latest restaurant trends, where the bearded Brooklyn chef with neck tats touts his vegan currywurst to the gentrified hood. There is the fastidious theater review and the effusive real estate forecast. Filler aside, readers will be reminded that war is necessary when America wages it; globalization is inevitable when it means free markets, and free markets mean individual freedom; multiculturalism and mass immigration are desirable to all, irreversible, and a moral imperative; and inscrutable new alien threats are profiled with an Orientalist’s hopeful but ultimately worrisome and mystified gaze. Little mention is made of the fact that our conflicts are provably imperial resource wars; that in nearly every port of call our country wages counter-revolutionary battles that stifle liberation and independence; that globalization has wrecked the American standard of living through labor arbitrage and offshoring; that immigration ought not to be coupled with austerity unless the objective is race wars; that the lives of women, LGBTQ, and people of color are collateral damage in the crosshairs of empire; or that American capitalism has no interest in delivering jobs, living wages, or upward mobility to its extant population, let alone its newest members.

When these mostly taboo subjects are noted, they are presented as a perplexing side effects of a noble project of laissez faire globalization. They are unfortunate but must not be rashly addressed. Better to endlessly maintain the status quo as one wrestles with the philosophic implications of global capitalism. This was Obama’s favorite tactic. Open a dialogue, but don’t change anything important. This dissembling attitude was beautifully expressed in a recent Twitter thread which detailed seventy years of Times articles proclaiming a dizzying succession of reform-minded princes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the patriarchy’s misogynist grip on power is as firm as ever, as is Washington’s backing. The last post in that thread noted Thomas Friedman’s sycophantic paean to the new idol of Saudi imperialism, Mohammed Bin Salman, or ‘MBS’ to his fawning admirers. Friedman’s article was printed last week.

When not absorbing the high culture of the Times literary supplement, one finds the corporate liberal Democrat happily digesting bite-sized reports from the National Public Radio (NPR). Here the adherence to the state view is no less vigilant than in print. Thus when NPR interviews a CIA psychologist who tells us that whistleblowers are either psychopaths, narcissists, or lingering in some irresponsible adolescence, the “national security correspondent” fails to challenge these claims. And when Australian broadcasting interviews Hillary Clinton, it allows the venal egotist to smear WikiLeaks as a Kremlin tool and call Julian Assange a narcissistic opportunist without the slightest resistance. Questions about the shady dealings of the Clinton Foundation are feebly set aside at the merest sign of discomfort by Madame Secretary. And Times op-ed writers like Friedman can happily call for support of al Qaeda, destroying target societies, and cheerlead more global wage leveling by chastising workers for not falling in lockstep with the elitist program.

These are the signs of a dead discipline. The mainstream media is no longer adversarial. It takes the official story at face value. It has abdicated its proper role in a democratic society, which is partly why we are no longer a democratic society. As Princeton University has explained, we are effectively a plutocracy. Thanks to the MSM, though, most of us continue to believe the rhetorical platitudes of our corrupt leaders. Media is one of our numberless emasculated institutions, which are now authoritarian and warlike. (See liberal faith in the Mueller investigation, led by a neoliberal imperialist who fought to crush Vietnamese socialism and led the FBI, one of the most regressive and criminal organizations in the world.) Like readers who still place a naive faith in the government, MSM writers continue to believe they are doing independent journalism in the service of truth (“Democracy dies in darkness,” the Post implores us). But real journalism accepts nothing at face value. It is the Socratic voice that unsettles the consensus.

Bot Bylines

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nstead of incisive journalism that digs, defies, and holds power to account, we get self-censoring media automatons pampering oligarchs and pretending that all good-thinking people care deeply about the state of the state. Listen to the soothing language of the New York Times on the supposedly earth-shaking Russian influence campaign on social media. It hits all the right notes without seriously challenging the narrative. Note how it bleeds concern. This kind of journalism is a palliative for the conscience of a liberal. Ah, the “thorny debates” inside Facebook, no doubt had “in good faith,” and subject to “fateful misunderstandings,” if Ken Burns were documenting it. “Executives worry” and there is considerable “hand-wringing” afoot in good faith efforts to wipe out “fake news.”

Even the protagonists of the story are usefully quoted. Facebook lawyers, commenting on the miniscule purchase of ads over a two-year period from accounts with even the most tenuous Russian connection, much of it after the election, much of it not even mentioning presidential candidates, and the creation of bots to grow click farms, recoiled in horror and called the knowledge “deeply disturbing” and “an insidious attempt to drive people apart.” This is theater for the masses. Cue the organ grinder.

The goal of this domestic conditioning is to remove the democracy from democracy. The objective is to create a hollow shell of a democratic society, representative on the outside, plutocratic on the inside. The marble tomb inhabited by necrosis. This is deliberate. Read Alex Carey’s Taking the Risk Out of Democracy for a nice overview of how America’s collective conscience has been shaped by corporate forces. Why? Because we are the enemy. The enemy is our freedom of thought and speech, because that is what inevitably leads to democratic, socialist, or communist change that benefit the people as a whole, not just the vanishingly small margin of corporate elites who promote and profit from war, conquest, and rule. The problem with democracy is that it isn’t very profitable for capital. Socialist countries tend to emphasize social services. It is extremely hard to make money delivering quality social services to the poor. Really, the only way to make money off of social services is to deliver inadequate social services to the middle class for extravagant fees. See Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act for a master class in this technique. Monopoly capitalism is incompatible with actual democracy. To the degree that a truly democratic society can have free markets, they must be strictly regulated, prevented from reaching monopoly status, and completely walled off from public institutions. Otherwise, they will cannibalize those institutions, reshaping them as rubberstamp organs of elite profit.

As it is, democracy is merely the mask that disguises the engines of imperialism. It is useful in this regard because, unlike socialism, democracy makes no serious claims on the means of production. It depoliticizes the most political issue of all: economics. Thus the manufacture of enemies, job one for the ruling class media, always targets socialist-leaning nations that sense the need for economic justice alongside social justice. Even if they are mixed economies that provide space for open markets, like Venezuela. It makes no difference. We mustn’t tolerate the slightest majoritarian impulse in the economic arena. All such beliefs must be terminated. We must be refashioned as foot soldiers of exploitation. To this end, western propaganda outlets have made psychologist Erich Fromm’s warning sound less like prophecy than predestination, “The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become robots.”

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Author: Jason Hirthler

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Hirthler is a veteran of the communications industry and author of The Sins of Empire: Unmasking American Imperialism. He lives in New York City and can be reached at jasonhirthler@gmail.com.

JASON HIRTHLER—Democracy is merely the mask that disguises the engines of imperialism. It is useful in this regard because, unlike socialism, democracy makes no serious claims on the means of production. It depoliticizes the most political issue of all: economics. Thus the manufacture of enemies, job one for the ruling class media, always targets socialist-leaning nations that sense the need for economic justice alongside social justice. Even if they are mixed economies that provide space for open markets, like Venezuela. It makes no difference. We mustn’t tolerate the slightest majoritarian impulse in the economic arena.

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Trump Is Bashing The ‘Salvator Saudi’ – Why?

DISPATCH FROM MOON OF ALABAMA

DATELINE: December 08, 2017

The Trump administration seemed to get along very well with the Saudi tyrant and his son Mohammed bin Salman. They together admired the orb and joined up to bash Iran. But now the Trump administration scolded and embarrassed MbS three times in as many days. One wonders what is going on behind that scene.

In mid November a mysterious buyer bought a probably fake Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus Christ for a cool $450 million. On December 6 the New York Times reported that some Saudi prince was the front-man for the purchase:

He is a little-known Saudi prince from a remote branch of the royal family, with no history as a major art collector, and no publicly known source of great wealth. But the prince, Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, is the mystery buyer of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Salvator Mundi,” which fetched a record $450.3 million at auction last month, documents show.

The revelation that Prince Bader is the purchaser, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times, links one of the most captivating mysteries of the art world with palace intrigues in Saudi Arabia that are shaking the region. Prince Bader splurged on this controversial and decidedly un-Islamic portrait of Christ at a time when most members of the Saudi elite, including some in the royal family, are cowering under a sweeping crackdown against corruption and self-enrichment.

As it happens, Prince Bader is a friend and associate of the leader of the purge: the country’s 32-year-old crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

<img src=”http://www.moonofalabama.org/images5/salvatorsaudi-s.jpg” />The NYT did not explain how it had gained access to the documents it reviewed. Later that day Bloomberg reported that the painting would be shown in Abu Dhabi. This somewhat diverted from the trail to MbS:

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is getting Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold last month at a Christie’s auction for $450 million, the most ever paid for a work of art.

Christie’s said the artwork will be going to the museum, but declined to say whether the Louvre Abu Dhabi bought the painting. The Louvre Abu Dhabi said in a tweet Wednesday: “Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is coming to #LouvreAbuDhabi.

A day later, on December 7 the Trump administration gave a tip to the Wall Street Journal‘s Shane Harris. The real buyer, it confirmed, was the Saudi clown prince:

Prince Mohammed, known by his initials MBS, was identified as the buyer of the 500-year-old painting, “Salvator Mundi,” in U.S. intelligence reports, according to people with direct knowledge of the information. American officials have closely watched the activities of the 32-year-old, who is trying to portray himself as a reformer determined to root out corruption in the oil-rich kingdom.

The NYT had already hinted at MbS as the real buyer. But it did not say from where it had that information. The WSJ confirmed the buyer and made explicit that the Trump administration was behind the embarrassing leak.

A few weeks ago MbS arrested 200 of the richest and most powerful people in his country. He locked them in a hotel and is fleecing them for their money which, he says, was gained though corruption. That claim is nonsense. He simply wants to steal that money and let them know who the boss is.

The Saudis have a budget problem and are cutting on social spending in the country they rule. It does not look good to cut money from the poor, fleece other members of the wider family and to then waste a large fortune on a picture that might even be fake. On top of that owning that picture is religiously problematic for MbS. Under Wahhabi doctrine no visual portrayals of prophets like Jesus Christ are allowed.

The UAE again came to the rescue. Today the museum tweeted:

Louvre Abu Dhabi @LouvreAbuDhabi – 1:57 PM – 8 Dec 2017
Louvre Abu Dhabi is looking forward to displaying the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci. The work was acquired by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi for the museum.

The Department of Culture and Tourism seemed to confirm (ar) that, but when the museum was directly asked by the AP it went mum:

Jon Gambrell جون @jongambrellAP – 8:07 AM – 8 Dec 2017
The Louvre Abu Dhabi refused to say whether they made the $450 million bid or if someone gave the Department of Culture and Tourism the painting when asked by the @AP.

Hmmm … this is a cover up. Why is the UAE doing this?

The de-facto ruler of the UAE is the 56-year-old crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed. He is the mentor of (and brain behind) the 32-year-old crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. Did MbS buy a little Christmas gift for MbZ, but was embarrassed when the Trump administration let the world know about it? Or is MbZ running covering for an outrageous buy MbS made for himself?

The buying of the picture is not the only issue at hand. Just the day before the administration leaked to the WSJ about the art deal, President Trump had publicly scolded MbS about the situation in Yemen:

President Trump called on Saudi Arabia to lift its crushing blockade against its war-torn neighbor Yemen on Wednesday, hours after defying the kingdom and saying the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump said he had directed members of his administration to reach out to the Saudi leadership “to request that they completely allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people who desperately need it.”

Today Secretary of State Tillerson again pushed that line:

Speaking in Paris on Friday, Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state, called on Saudi Arabia to be “measured” in its military operations in Yemen.
…
Tillerson urged Saudi restraint.

“With respect to Saudi Arabia’s engagement with Qatar, how they’re handling the Yemen war that they’re engaged in, the Lebanon situation, we would encourage them to be a bit more measured and a bit more thoughtful in those actions to, I think, fully consider the consequences,” he said.

He once again demanded a “complete end” to the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen so that humanitarian aid and commercial supplies could be delivered.

Embarrassing MbS about the art buy and publicly(!) scolding hm for the situation in Yemen, for which the U.S. is just as much responsible as the Saudis, is quite an assault. What has MbS done – or not done – to deserve such a punishment?

Trump has just declared that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Did the administration expect the applause of the Saudis for its breaking of international law with regards to Jerusalem? Does it lash out to the Saudis to get their agreement?

If so the miscalculation is clearly on the U.S. side. It is impossible for the Saudis to concede the Haram al-Sharif, the mosque on the so called temple mount, to the Zionists. The Saudi King would no longer be the “custodian of the two holy mosques” in Mecca and Medina but the “seller of the third holy mosque” of Islam in Jerusalem. The people would kill him and his whole family.

If the issue of this public hustle it is not Jerusalem, what else might it be that the Trump administration wants and the Saudis can not, or are not willing to concede?

A few hours ago the Saudi King fired his ankle biting Foreign Minster Adel al-Jubair. A relative of the king, Khaled bin Salman, will take the job. Is this related to the spat with Trump?

Posted by b on December 8, 2017 at 02:52 PM | Permalink

Select Comments from the original thread

This came up:

Breaking: Saudi FM allegedly sacked by regime

The Saudi Foreign Minister, ‘Adel Al-Jubeir, has been allegedly sacked by the Kingdom’s regime, several prominent political activists reported this evening.

According to the claims, Jubeir was fired and replaced by a close confidant of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

The confidant that is allegedly replacing Jubeir is none other than Prince Khaled bin Salman, the Crown Prince’s brother.

The Saudi regime has yet to confirm or deny these rumors.

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-saudi-fm-allegedly-sacked-regime/

Posted by: arbetet | Dec 8, 2017 3:02:14 PM | 1

It was Jerusalem. They were not willing to sacrifice Jerusalem.

Posted by: Madderhatter67 | Dec 8, 2017 3:14:21 PM | 2

Where does MbS’s interpretation of Salvator Mundi come from. The Saudi’s have something with crystal orbs, like the one Trump so fondly stroked in Riyadh after giving a masterful interpretation of the sword dance.

Posted by: Quentin | Dec 8, 2017 3:20:29 PM | 3

Yes. It is puzzling what is going on between MbS and the Trump administration. I was sure MbS, the reformer, secretly okayed the Jerusalem move. His negative statement might be just theater, I figured. But I am not so sure anymore. Yes, MbS wants a peace deal (any deal with “peace” written on it) between Palestinians and Israelis. But both he and Trump/Kushner are novices in politics and diplomacy (and that ain’t the same as getting a deal for a new tower) and absolutely underestimated the effort. Totally. Word is that Kushner made Trump delay delivering his campaign promise because he needed more time for his peace plan (and that would be 6 months???). This is the level they are at. And now, they placed an obvious obstacle in the path go their peace plan – out of folly. Complete folly. Because Trump wanted to deliver. I believe they are already backtracking as good as they can. But the damage is done. I think Palestinians were just waiting for a good opportunity/reason to get rid of the US in the process and found it now. Also, the single state solution is being talked about.

The source for the WSJ need not be the Trump administration in the narrow sense but some stray intelligence official (“U.S. intelligence reports”) wanting to throw a wrench because that story is absolutely damaging. Absolutely, because it is embarrassing and I don’t think MbS enjoys that. Note, the story began to become known around the time it became obvious Trump would not sign the waiver and reached its epitome (WSJ) just after that. Trump set himself up for this.

Posted by: BX | Dec 8, 2017 3:20:30 PM | 4

My pet hypothesis is Trump’s recognizing Jerusalem was the bone he was willing to throw the Israelis after his generals told him attacking Iran would be catastrophic for the US military and world economy. The Saudis, who are as rabid about bombing Iran as the Zionists, were pissed as they probably had been led to believe the attack was a matter of time. In order to remind them of their position and get them on board with the “peace” deal Tillerson has been hinting about, they’ve been turning the screws on MBS as a taste of what’s to come if he puts up stink about the wonderful Kushner- concocted “plan”.

Posted by: Don Wiscacho | Dec 8, 2017 3:38:33 PM | 5

$450 mil… MbS’s Egyptian torturer-in-chief must have just torn a few princely nails and whip a few feet for that, just a few days’ worth of “anti-corruption” “campaigning”.

Wait, wasn’t the Saudi populace all behind MbS because he was going to spend the money on them? If there is no bread, let them non-royals eat paint.

Posted by: fx | Dec 8, 2017 3:42:39 PM | 6

The Saudis could always stuff the Masterpiece into a Patriot launching tube and fire it at the next Houthi missile. It’s costs and effectiveness is comparable to a Patriot PAC-3 round.

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Dec 8, 2017 3:42:47 PM | 7

About the picture – after the shake down of Saudi Arabia’s rich princes MBS must have a lot of ennemies. Some of these princes might have been close to the Trump administration.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 8, 2017 3:56:36 PM | 8

That sacked FM – Is that the little fellow that Col Lang calls “The Chihuahua”?

Posted by: Bart Hansen | Dec 8, 2017 4:01:43 PM | 9

Good Patrick Cockburn article on the mess.

Gazan military groups are warming up to a rocket competition. I am sure the real stuff is not involved yet.

What were they thinking? That people did not take the chance to unite on the only issue they all agree on?

4
I agree, Saudi in all likelihood were not part of the Jerusalem declaration. Israeli sources spread a plan they said was agreed to by Saudi, trying to embarrass them.

Posted by: somebody | Dec 8, 2017 4:09:19 PM | 10

MbS is in it for himself, no one else. Leave him aside for the moment.

However, Trump probably thought he had a marvelous peace plan for Palestine which he would show the world…. errr… tomorrow. This was supposed to have the backing of the Saudis and the Israelis and all the other ME “actors” would be lined up behind MbS. ie. Saudis would provide the backing, which included the “Arab” states as per the recent gathering of them all (excluding Iran and Iraq). Abbas would be blackmailed to go along in order to keep his position (Moneywise), and the Palestinians as well – but by the withholding of funds. (New vote in Congress).

Leaks of the plan (unverified) suggest that the PA’s would be held in walled-in isolated camps, with all contact subject to the harassement and nightly raids of the IDF, the land still open to theft by settlers (this has been “legalised” in Israel !) and so on. ie they get nothing except a tissue-paper “treaty” . They seem not to have even been consulted by Kushner and the Israelis. ie who possibly expected to be able to impose whatever Netanyahu and the Israeli Generals might allow.

BUT, when have either the US or Israel kept to an agreement – never. and the PA’s and the rest of the ME know it.

Jerusalem
The reaction is deeper than expected. Not in the way of street, easily contained, violence, but by a gut reaction of the whole ME..The religious aspect seems to have been totally ignored by the US. Removing one of the major symbols of about 1.2 billion people – is not going to go down well.

Those countries with a large Palestinian refugee population, either fear them, or may be outnumbered if there are more arriving (Jordan), or will find that they now have a potential source of militants at their disposal.. (Syria?, Lebanon?). The Syrians and Lebanese have not let the Palestinians get more arms – yet, as they might have become targets themselves. But, there have been PA’s in the Syrian counter-terrorist forces, even when Yarmouk camp was held by Daesh (or one of the others).

So I think that the “bit” players have got cold feet. They cannot go along with the eradication of the Palestinians or their confinement to concentrated internement camps such as Gaza, whose conditions are WORSE that prisons. Otherwise the whole “Rulers-People and the power-structures that keep them in place” would be in jeopardy.
……
The Leonardo ? …. acquiring “class” by buying expensive “cultural” artifacts. You can buy a lot of “class” with $450.3 million.

Posted by: stonebird | Dec 8, 2017 4:54:47 PM | 11

I think that answer to b’s question has a lot to do with trying to incite war in the ME

I think that SA does not want to be the global elite’s proxy in a war with Iran….especially to start/incite the war.

It really is becoming a public spectacle and that plays into the desire of the masses to see such incompetence writ large.

I entreat everyone’s spirits to keep these kooks away from the nukes.

Posted by: Jef | Dec 8, 2017 5:17:11 PM | 13

Maybe that canvas Jesus is meant to be a hostage one day, potentially.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Dec 8, 2017 5:18:55 PM | 14

As to how the Jerusalem actions play out, the posting here (MOA) a couple of days ago was informative as to reasons and timing (including info about Sheldon Adelson’s hundred million to Trump campaign).
I do wonder…knowing that real or false-flag violence could ensue against Israeli or US targets, it could be a useful pretext for the US waging war in the ME against Hezbullah or anyone else we accuse. With our intelligence agencies providing the “evidence” and a compliant media to sell it, as usual a majority of Americans would support it.

Posted by: Kabobyak | Dec 8, 2017 5:27:13 PM | 15

Great stuff, b et al. This Jerusalem declaration has me genuinely scared. Violence (real or false flag) could be the expected Reaction to this Problem, resulting in the long-plannd Solution of finishing off MENA.

If Russia is sincere in its alliance with Syria and Iran, and interest in a multi-polar world with self-determination for sovereign nations, this war could easily escalate to the End Timer’s dreamt of Final Battle of Armageddon.

Most of the MSM coverage of Reactions I’ve seen name Muslim/Arab countries as opposing, and others as “concerned,” even though almost all official state responses have denounced President Trump’s® declaration. This “Clash of Civilizations” type narrative is not encouraging.

Posted by: Daniel | Dec 8, 2017 5:37:14 PM | 16

Terry Tibbs 14 – The family trust of Rybolovlev is the seller of the painting.
Rybolovlev was also a buyer of Trump estate in Florida previously.

Posted by: Flatulus | Dec 8, 2017 6:09:23 PM | 17

@ Daniel ending with “This “Clash of Civilizations” type narrative is not encouraging.”

That is exactly what they want you to focus on as a narrative rather than the simple truth about the demise of private banking.

On the previous thread about the Republican: Ryan deficit BS there was a commenter ex-SA with a John H. Hotson link that I want to see go viral because it simply explains the history of the Gordian Knot we face as a species

The link to a 1996 article: Understanding Money by John H. Hotson

The take away quote
”
Banking came into existence as a fraud. The fraud was legalized and we’ve
been living with the consequences, both good and bad, ever since. Even so it is
also a great invention-right up there with fire, the wheel, and the steam
engine.
”

Clash of Civilizations is as vapid a meme as the common understanding of the Capitalism myth as that article so clearly states.

Spread his word far and wide to wake up the zombies. It is time!

Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 8, 2017 6:22:05 PM | 18

thanks b.. fascinating.. i wait for the next shoe to drop.. it’s coming… hopefully we get the back story on this sooner then later..

i would think the timing of Foreign Minster Adel al-Jubair being fired has something to do with all this.. he revealed something that he wasn’t supposed to? i would also imagine those heavies still hanging at the saudi ritz carlton might be pulling some strings from behind the scenes? meanwhile mbz is doing a hell of a fine apprentice with mbs, lol..

nice pic in the post btw!! clown prince as savior of ksa, lol…

Posted by: james | Dec 8, 2017 6:56:26 PM | 19

Belief in Jerusalem as the Jew capital is the same as belief in the intrinsic value of fiat currency, or the exceptionalism of the US. It’s just mental illness. The Kingdom of God is within you, not in temples of stone and wood. We’d be better just cultivating our own personal relationship with our higher selves and leave the deluded to scrap it out over ash and sand. That said, if someone with a big nose came to my door and said my house was going to get knocked down because Shalom etc, that would be the day I would have to really figure out how to proceed without becoming the necessary victim in another’s persecutor drama complex. I guess that’s what Palestinians have to deal with every day. Horrible situation.

I heard a story once that when the British were throwing the Aborigines of Australia off cliffs en masse in their Australian version of the Middle East story of dispossession and demonization, the Aborigines would look up calmly at the officers as they fell and in their own language say: “You have a problem, bro”. Sometimes death is better than becoming a victim. And as a worshiper of Lord Shiva the Destroyer, I wish you all completely liberating and renewing deaths from yourselves.

Posted by: jezabeel | Dec 8, 2017 7:02:46 PM | 20

But, has not The Donald declared that this media NYT, Bloomberg, etc…were all “fake news”?
Then why is anybody going to trust them when publishing whatever? Sounds quite clumsy, or simply, demential ( as every move of this administration ) to try to leak something through those media you have widely discredited during all your election campaign and beyond….I, by a norm, do not trust any move coming from Trump could be for any good. This is, simply, “smoke and mirrors” and an intent of whitewashing a bit the already deplorable image of this admnistration in front of the world wide reaction in rejection of his bold and clumsy declaration of Jerusalem as capital of the Zionist regime.The same for the clearly hypocritical call for to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people, just another intent of whitewashing when they are main puppet-masters in that war torn country, as it happens with every conflict in the world.

What it is beyond me is that the Russians, are always amongst those who swallow these theater plays….I wonder why….In front of the demential way this administration makes fun of every event, people, country… in the world, in spite of the suffering they could inflict on them, I concur with Terry in that this just could be some esoteric issue more proper of unoccupied people with too much money to waste. Most probably something involving “Damian” Kushner, his 666 Madison Avenue penthouse and an occult message from The Messiah in the reverse of the canvas of that Jesus paint with a codified message on the results of the coming final battle of Armageddon amongst the forces of evil and those of good, when Russia will be sanctified as the real Promised Land and The Saker will be ( finally! ) crowned as the saint he always claimed to be along with Saint Nicolas Romanov, and they will all eat sardinas together with the Trumps, the Kushners and the Netanyahus in Mar a Lago or in the super-yatch of Abramovich during the summer, but in winter they will go together to Sochi´s Putin dacha, since they love to meet super-intelligent, well educated, cool people….well, the elite of everything…The surviving Arabs and the rest of us, plebeian ignorant clumsy sinners not so white as them, ( what they call “the sheeple”, vaya )we will continue working from sunrise to sunset for crumbs, but, who cares? We will continue having good times with our peers and loved ones and laughing as usual with the little things of real life…Do not despair….

Posted by: elsi | Dec 8, 2017 7:20:02 PM | 21

The poster above was drawn by Basque artist Josetxo Ezcurra

Posted by: elsi | Dec 8, 2017 7:44:26 PM | 22

Western media called Putin unpredictable, but that was because he could see moves that others didn’t see. Erdogan looked unpredictable and irrational while moving from the hedgemon to the multi-polar world. Trump? Like Erdogan, trying to move US to the multi polar world? Too many moves he makes puts sand in the hegemon’s gears.

Posted by: Peter AU 1 | Dec 8, 2017 7:46:42 PM | 23

Change just one letter and you have “waRabbi”. The one state solution. There, fixed it for ya!

Posted by: mireille | Dec 8, 2017 8:29:57 PM | 25

It’s an awful fucking painting anyhow. Even if it’s not a fake it has been overpainted (sorry ‘restored’) so many times the original dauber’s intent is long lost. As to who the buyers are; was it was pretty bloody obvious to anyone who watched the auction, that this was a laundry scheme. As the price went up, instead of becoming at least a little faint of heart at the thought of raising the bid by another ten lamborghinis or whatever, the bidder accelerated – obviously emboldened by being able to rinse another coupla hundred mill. Since any self respecting coke dealer would be wanting to stay out of the limelight of this purchase, that left Asian manufacturing magnates (who haven’t been having a great year) or oil princes flushed with the continued rise of a barrel of brent crude.

So the junior creep has managed to flush nearly half a billion of his ill-gotten gains down the toilet, an act that would make him with the huge front and tiny back, agent orange, ropeable with jealousy.

Where others see conspiracies I see a twerp who reacts rather than plans, who is already pissed at being upstaged in ‘his year’. Remember that Time mob went and gave the cover to a gang of women how dare they. trump has lashed out in his usual weak arsed passive aggressive way by leaking intelligence about the picture, what a sad little derp he is.

Nothing good for amerika can come from the crazy Jerusalem stunt and I point out again that the Palestinian issue is one of a very few on which all of Islam (not just Arabs, also Kurds, Persians, South Asians and South East Asians) have always united. I was in Indonesia for a good part of 1990 and it wasn’t just the Indonesian Arabs who saw Saddam Hussein as their potential world leader, it was the entire Islamic population because he had been outspoken on Palestine.

Yes, the Palestinians will have their 3 days of rage, something the zionists planned for and maybe even organised, but underneath that something much bigger and covert will be happening, as every Islamic leader on this old rock develops a strategy to unite everyone behind himself. The obvious ones such as erdogan will fall by the wayside, but out there somewhere is a young smart & nimble Islamic leader who will achieve a unification, if only because muslims have come to realise the current mess of division and discord is an exercise in self-mutilation whose only beneficiaries are amerikans & jews.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Dec 8, 2017 8:46:00 PM | 27

But…the real nitty-gritty is not in this strange purchasing of a Jesus paint amongst a Saudi crown prince and a Russian oligarch close to Putin, but in the babbling by Trump during his speech on Al Quds, when he failed to pronounce some letters…..

Mental crisis! Trump crawls during his Al-Quds speech

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday experienced uneasy moments when faced with a question about the abnormalities in Wednesday’s speech by US President Donald Trump, in which he recognizes Al-Quds ( Jerusalem) as the capital of the Israeli regime.

The oral cadence of the president became irregular during his speech, in which he failed to pronounce well some letters, particularly that at the end of “United States”. “God bless the United Shhtates” he said.

Saying that “the president had a dry mouth. There is nothing more than that”, Sanders tried to justify the fact, in addition to considering the journalists’ questions about the president’s pronunciation of “quite ridiculous”.

In this regard, the spokeswoman pledged to reporters that Trump will undergo a complete medical examination during “the first part of next year” and said he will release his results to demonstrate that the head of state enjoys good health.

The former Republican member of the US Congress Joe Scarborough said on Thursday on his MSNBC show that dementia was the most likely explanation for the rarity in Trump’s oratory, a sign that does not occur for the first time.

The presidency of Donald Trump is unique, but to criticism, fears have been added that the US president is out of his mind, and there are even suspicions that he suffers from a delusional paranoid disorder, which would make him unfit to direct USA.

Posted by: elsi | Dec 8, 2017 8:46:18 PM | 28

U-turn: Tillerson is in, Adel el Jubair is out

I think that Tillerson is on the rebound and Jared Khusner pushed aside. It is quite possible that Jared Kushner and Adel Al Jubair have been plotting in the back of MBS about Lebanon, Iran and Israel.
They were probably the ones who pushed MBS to bully Hariri , the Lebanese PM, they are the ones who convinced Trump to make the announcement on Jerusalem that got total rebuff from the Arab world and the Western allies.

Tillerson, now rehabilitated after rumors of his imminent dismissal, is trying to minimize that blunder and limit the damages.
MBS has fired his FM, a close friend to the Jewish lobby and probably a close friend to Jared Kushner
What will happen to Jared Kushner?

Posted by: Virgile | Dec 8, 2017 8:53:33 PM | 29

re Trump’s Jerusalem announcement:
151 UN states vote to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem
http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/UN-disavows-Israeli-ties-to-Jerusalem-515730
To me it sounds like Jared called in a favor (to help Israel save face) with his father-in-law to balance off the UN vote. Last Thursday the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to disavow Israeli ties to Jerusalem as part of six anti-Israel resolutions it approved on Thursday in New York. The vote was 151 in favor and six against, with nine abstentions. Only six countries out of 193 UN member states fully supported Israel’s ties Jerusalem: Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, the United States and Israel itself.
As for a Trump peace plan:
I don’t think there is or will be any “plan” other than the one in Jared and Nuti’s dreams. For by saying what he did Trump managed to sideline the US from any peace plan negotiations. IMO the ball is Putin’s now, Trump has bigger fish to fry.
re: the painting
Yep, it is a dud and to think that the sale was to pay off some debt is not much of a stretch.
re: the Prince
About a week ago one of the lead Wahhabi leadership presumably at the Prince’s order called for Israel’s statehood to be recognized and further that to speak ill of them was against god’s law. My guess is both SA and Israel want the US to attack Iran for them so they are now the best of friends.
Will the US attack Iran, no but the call for SA to play nice in Yemen is probably an excuse for the US to go into Yemen to show them how it is done.
Remember Russia is bringing a pipeline into the area, my guess is the US wants to put in a US base on Yemen’s island of Socotra to play head games with Russia.
With Trump it will always be about the money and/or the oil/gas.

Posted by: frances | Dec 9, 2017 12:19:23 AM | 30

Some people say that these ridiculously large art payments are hoaxes to hide money laundering, dope payments, etc. http://mileswmathis.com/davinci.pdf

Posted by: Penelope | Dec 9, 2017 12:57:18 AM | 31

The Saudi’s are going to sell oil to China in Yuan rather than american dollars. Methinks that is why trump is trying to pressure MBS

Posted by: Ike | Dec 9, 2017 1:19:02 AM | 32

The Saudis are going to sell oil to China in Yuan rather than american dollars. Methinks that is why trump is trying to pressure MBS

Posted by: Ike | Dec 9, 2017 1:19:02 AM | 38

While I’ve seen some discussion of this, I wonder how serious it actually is. Perhaps on a small, small scale (which would still make the USA mad I’m sure, signifying changing global economy), I can’t see that MbS just up and start trading in the yuan one day. SA is a client state. Period full stop. There’s not way it would just happen so suddenly with the current state of affairs. It’d be way too big a deal to the US to stand idly by. US weapon sales there and the consistent Saudi’s use in regard to proxy troops/whabbi missionary work/financing of proxy wars/etc are not comparable (to trading oil in dollars). That’s one big reason why Iran is so hated after all. SA and USA seem on the same page on that for sure.

I do wonder what will happen if the Chinese get that sale of (part of) Aramco however. Don’t see it happening but would introduce interesting dynamics into the situation. MbS seems really unbalanced and impulsive anyways so who knows.

Posted by: George Smiley | Dec 9, 2017 1:51:19 AM | 33

psychohistorian, yep, the private banking system is a house of cards. More often than not, I’m surprised it hasn’t collapsed in on itself already (or collapsed more completely is probably a better phrasing). And JSIL (Jewish State of Israel in the Levant, (and thanks to Max Blumenthal for that acronym) is a creation of the supra-national private banking cabal.

And those blood-suckers encourage and profit off of both sides of every war. And war is precisely what I fear is the “Solution” that’s behind this. And the MSM’s “Clash of Civilizations” narrative is the excuse that’s already in use to excuse our Global War OF Terror, which is why I noted it being suggested as regards reaction to Trump’s Jerusalem declaration.

As has been mentioned here before, some of us are not so sure that Russia really is an independent actor, but if they are then this next war could escalate quickly to near-extinction event levels.

Posted by: Daniel | Dec 9, 2017 2:37:01 AM | 35

@ Penelope | Dec 9, 2017 12:57:18 AM | 37
But some people say this „Miles Mathis“(anybody here to have met him in person?) is an established psy-op, a conspiracy concoctor.

Posted by: Hausmeister | Dec 9, 2017 4:49:43 AM | 37

Anyway, there is a strange communication going on where Israeli media claim that Saudis are on board with Trump’s announcement and Saudi say they are not.

Wishful thinking?

Posted by: somebody | Dec 9, 2017 6:36:11 AM | 38

@Penelope 37

“Hoaxes” is probably not the word to use. The Art market (upper end) has long been a means of transferring large sums of money, without Government oversight or taxes. No need to think drugs.

An example from several years ago; Basle Art Fair, Swedish Gallery, five translators on call, and at first the principle exhibition was one of Yves Klein Paintings, sponges and other smaller works. (The Prospective buyer, a Lady, only drank white wine – which we had – so the Gallery asked for some for their client, which is how I know about this). The biggest painting, large, blue, was at that time very expensive, and had been brought up from Italy. Recently “dipped” Klein sponges were about $25’000 apiece. Good money at the time. (Call them “renovated” if you want – Klein had been dead for several years). The whole collection was sold to a buyer from the US. BUT, at the end of the exposition an exactly same sized “blue” painting of a guy sitting on a ladder, was sent to Italy and the Kleins went to the US. No visible “sale” had happened – but several millions $ changed countries.
You can no longer do this as they have tightened the rules, but you get the idea.

Note that the “sponges” tastefully mounted on stands – would also have been categorised, catalogued, probably photographed and otherwise identified as genuine productions by Klein. – even if they had been redipped in “Klein blue” paint. This is important as it is the “visibility” and track of expensive works that upholds their “value”, on the market.

Oh, and the Klein exhibition disappeared and was replaced on each of the other days (5 in all) by a new exhibition).

Posted by: stonebird | Dec 9, 2017 7:19:23 AM | 39

The “acquisition for” the Louvre is actually standard practise at a certain level of smart-alex.

The Leonardo, and I take as an assumption that it is one, has possibly been “touched up, renovated” or whatever. BUT, Leonardo usually used sfumato, ie with a series of fine transparent glazes and a bit of finger painting to get the final result. Result being that the “final touches” by the master’s hand may have been screwed up. So by lending or some other arrangement to the Louvre – it can then be accepted as genuine, catalogued, tomes written about it etc. ie. Its’ “value” as an original becomes reinforced, by the Louvre.

There could also be a part of the contract giving the owner a large percentage of the revenue from any “special exhibition”. Can be big money – as the quantity of “exposable” artists with drawing power for the masses, is limited. Leonardo would be top.

Posted by: stonebird | Dec 9, 2017 7:33:13 AM | 40

@ terry tibbs | Dec 9, 2017 9:39:05 AM | 47

“he does give lots of truth you just have to remove the dung”
Thanks, fine. How do you recognize “the dung”?

Posted by: Hausmeister | Dec 9, 2017 9:58:08 AM | 41

I prefer money-laundering as an explanation for the $450M Leonardo. I presume that ‘fake’ means a fake Leonardo because Jesus is a figment of someone’s imagination so ANY likeness is as real or fake as any other. Since the Presidential campaign got into full swing, it’s been obvious, to me, that Trump is a very clever individual; among the top 1% of everyone on the planet, imo.

If he’s hammering the Saudis then it’ll be because they’ve breached a ‘private’ understanding with him, and he’s reminding them that POTUS is the most powerful person on Earth and they’d better not forget…
Trump obviously sees his anti-SWAMP role as chucking all the stale old hypocrisies up in the air and letting them fall into disarray to be scrutinised and then PUBLICLY, and sanely, revamped.
And he’s making headway, imo.

And, not completely irrelevant, Pat Lang thinks POTUS Trump has a lot of constitutional power/authority which hasn’t been wielded – yet.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 9, 2017 10:16:53 AM | 42

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 9, 2017 10:16:53 AM | 49

He is up for reelection in two years time. Good Luck! (not)

Posted by: somebody | Dec 9, 2017 10:49:33 AM | 43

He is up for reelection in two years time. Good Luck! (not)
Posted by: somebody | Dec 9, 2017 10:49:33 AM | 50?

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 9, 2017 11:14:50 AM | 44

@ Daniel, karlof1 and others with a question

What is the early history of the seemingly structural mutual support pact of the ME religious myth folks and the “thou shall not be named” cabal of global elite that control our lifeblood/money and maintain/extent the private property/inheritance/usury meme that the West lives and has since……feudal era?

I see it as some sort of Devil’s Pact between the two social organization tenets that evolved out of the never quite finished Enlightenment period.

I posit all this as some context for the drama play that we are watching before us…..like this posting from b

Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 9, 2017 11:15:40 AM | 45

@49 Hoarsewhisperer

Good points.

He is quite different from the Clinton/McCain/Obama/Bush old guard.

I agree with the headway. He stated originally that he wanted to work with Russia against actual terrorism and that seems to be what is going on.

He is approaching climate change in somewhat the same way rather than the Clinton/Obama deceptive lip service.

I think the Clinton Foundation crime syndicate is in the crosshairs. Then he can move on to universal health care and improved social security. 🙂 (First things first. I supported Bernie but it seems we need the swamp drained first.)

Posted by: financial matters | Dec 9, 2017 11:40:20 AM | 47

Author: b

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Parting shot—a word from the editors
The Best Definition of Donald Trump We Have Found

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Amazon’s Jeff Bezos: The Hundred Billion Dollar Man

BE SURE TO PASS OUR ARTICLES ON TO KIN, FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

It’s an obscenity, not a mark of distinction or impressive achievement – symbolic of unprecedented wealth inequality in a nation obsessed with super-wealth and profit-making for its privileged class. It comes at the expense of a growing underclass, tens of millions impoverished Americans, disadvantaged ones, their numbers increasing, not diminishing, greater numbers coming if the GOP tax cut scam becomes the law of the land.

Bezos: Master of Amazon and new boss of The Washington Post. What are his flacks doing at the paper? Bezos is the richest of America’s corporate predators, aiming to become more super-rich than already.

It’ll enrich Bezos and other super-rich Americans more than already, gaining more wealth from the pockets of the nation’s low and middle income households – a diabolical scheme supported by Republicans, maybe enough to make it the law of the land, no matter the harm it causes.

Politics in America is money controlled, a system unlike in any other country, amounting to organized bribery [parading as democracy]. In return for large campaign contributions (bribes by any standard), congressional members pass laws benefitting their benefactors, most often at the expense of the general welfare – the defining feature of dirty politics.

Earlier US robber barons were small-time compared to today’s mega-ones – lionized by media scoundrels as heroic figures, profiting at the expense of exploiting workers, paying them poverty wages – or gaining riches by using money to make more of it, contributing nothing to society. Money power in private hands and democracy can’t co-exist. Wall Street crooks transformed America into an unprecedented money-making racket – making it the old-fashioned way by stealing it.

Other corporate predators operate the same way, functioning as legalized crime families, oligopolies and monopolies, eliminating competition, not fostering it. Complicit with corrupt politicians, socialism for the rich, free market capitalism law of the jungle for ordinary people reflects the American way – rewarding predation, punishing the poor and disadvantaged, plutocracy, not democracy.

The Constitution’s general welfare clause (Article I, section 8) applies to the nation’s privileged class alone, no one else.

Bezos and other multi-billionaires earn more in a day than their workers in a year. Last April, as Amazon shares rose sharply, his net worth increased by $6 billion in 20 minutes. A few weeks ago, his wealth increased by $1.5 billion in one day. Last year, he made $19.3 billion – on average around $52 million daily, over $2 million per hour, $36,000 a minute, $600 a second. He has over fourfold the wealth of his alma mater, Princeton University. According to the Land Report, he’s the 25th largest US landowner.

Will he become the world’s first trillionaire in years to come? At age-53, he likely has many years ahead for greater wealth accumulation than already.

In contrast, most Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, one missed one away from hunger, homelessness and despair. Tens of millions of people are food insecure, dependent on food stamps and food pantries to feed themselves and their families. Hunger in America is a national disgrace. So is obscene wealth concentrated in few hands. The nation’s three richest billionaires are wealthier than the bottom half of the population. Bezos tops the list – the richest of America’s corporate predators, aiming to become more super-rich than already.

Former Supreme Court Justice Louis B. Brandeis once said:

“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

A Final Comment

Bezos is well-connected. He has CIA ties, recipient of a $600 million agency contract for much more than Amazon Web Services (AWS). As owner of the Washington Post, he serves as its mouthpiece.

He has a disturbing history currying favor with national security officials. WaPo is a virtual CIA house organ, a major conflict of interest destroying its credibility.

AWS’ Secret Region cloud technology lets the CIA and other US intelligence agencies host, analyze and secure their data across all classification levels – from unclassified to top secret.

Bezos is the US intelligence community’s man at Amazon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

STEPHEN LENDMAN was born in 1934 in Boston, MA. In 1956, he received a BA from Harvard University. Two years of US Army service followed, then an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. After working seven years as a marketing research analyst, he joined the Lendman Group family business in 1967. He remained there until retiring at year end 1999. Writing on major world and national issues began in summer 2005. In early 2007, radio hosting followed. Lendman now hosts the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network three times weekly. Distinguished guests are featured. Listen live or archived. Major world and national issues are discussed. Lendman is a 2008 Project Censored winner and 2011 Mexican Journalists Club international journalism award recipient. His new site is at http://stephenlendman.org

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True History: Michael Parenti – The Assassination of Julius Caesar

REDISCOVERING THE HISTORY OF ROME —ulius Caesar has been described by mostly conservative historians (and playwrights, like Shakespeare)—as an unscrupulous tyrant, a self-made dictator who, driven by ambition, callously destroyed Rome’s budding republic (an aristocratic republic, by the way, not a democracy). Accordingly his assassination has been regarded as a tragic but necessary act of remedial justice. The truth is alarmingly different, and the smear carried down the ages has a class origin: Caesar, like the Gracchi before him, was hated and eventually murdered by Rome’s aristocratic faction. His crime was to have been a genuine tribune of the people. Listen to Michael Parenti explain it all in this fascinating talk. —P. Greanville

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Michael Parenti: a lifetime devoted to debunking the myths that support a global structure of exploitation.

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