Tag Archives: foreign policy

March 4, 2015 · 12:33

“They Won’t Get in Our Way…” to Armageddon

US-ISRAEL-CONGRESS-NETANYAHU

“I know what America is. , move it in the right direction. They won’t get in our way…” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 2001

Yesterday I watched the address of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it occurred live. I watched as the majority of our elected Senators and Congressmen, seem to hang on every word and rise to give thunderous applause to Netanyahu’s blatant attempt to not just hijack but to commandeer U.S. foreign policy to serve Israel. If any other foreign leader had been invited by any other party to do the same at any point in our history there would be an outcry.

 Now please do not get me wrong. Iran is an enemy, they continually work against us in attempting to destabilize the Middle East and advance their Shia’ Moslem version of the Apocalypse. However, they are very pragmatic and with the major demographic shifts there could easily come a point when the young people of Iran, tired of the repression of the Mullah’s overthrow them. Likewise I do believe that the Iranian nuclear program must be monitored and if it looks as if they are about to produce a bomb that can be delivered by air or missile that could harm us or any ally that they will have to be stopped. I have written about this before so I will not go into that here. Likewise, before calling me anti-Semetic please look at the body of my writings which not only are supportive of Israel but those of a realist who understands that anything which involves the United States in yet another pre-emptive war is not in the interest of the United States or Israel. 

 At the same time the speech was insulting because the United States has given Israel everything that it ever has needed since its founding in 1948. American Presidents from Truman to Obama have bent over backwards to support Israel. In 1967 the Israeli Navy and Air Force launched a sustained coordinated attack on the USS Liberty during the Six Day War which killed 34 and wounded 171 United States Navy Sailors. The Israelis, despite evidence to the contrary, including the testimony of the crew of the Liberty claimed that they had mistaken the ship for an Egyptian destroyer. The Johnson administration accepted the Israeli version and quickly buried the incident.

In October 1973, if it had not been for the actions of Richard Nixon Israel very likely would have ceased to exist, Nixon rushed emergency supplies of tanks, aircraft and weapons aboard U.S. ships and cargo aircraft, and confronted the Soviets who were threatening to intervene. 

Since then we have provide Israel advanced weapons and weapons technology in abundance, we share intelligence with Israel that we share with no-one else, and we have always supported Israel in the United States every time there is an attempt to rebuke, condemn or sanction Israel. Even President Obama and his administration has done this with abandon. 

 And what credit do we get? We get a few meaningless platitudes from Netanyahu before he attempts to commandeer U.S. foreign policy with the active aid and support of John Speaker of the House Boehner, support that is in clear violation of one of the oldest laws dealing with foreign policy enacted by this country’s founders in 1799. 

 The speech and the reception of the Representatives and Senators who invited Netanyahu to give it and their wild adulation was not only insulting but flies in the face of what our every one founders believed reference foreign policy and relations and actually a clear violation of the Logan Act of 1799 that prohibits unauthorized citizens from negotiating with a foreign government.

The Logan Act reads:

“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.” 

 And this my friends was exactly what happened here. While negotiating with members of the Israeli government as Speaker of the House, Boehner kept his efforts secret for over three weeks. Boehner only told the White House when he had secured a deal for the Israeli Prime Minister to address a Joint Session of Congress, which is in itself a highly unusual event. If fact Winston Churchill was the only foreign leader to receive such an invitation. I do not want to be cheeky, but Netanyahu is not a reincarnated Winston Churchill. Unlike Britain in late 1940 Israel has the capability of destroying every one of its enemies with its large stock of fully operational and deplorable nuclear weapons and delivery systems, most of the latter supplied by the United States and other Western Allies. 

Not only this, but the invitation coincided with the closing weeks of Mr. Netanyahu’s reelection campaign, and is a blatant attempt to sway Israel voters to vote for him.

What the Speaker did was unethical, illegal and against every founding principle of American foreign policy dating back to George Washington and John Adams.

The nearly orgasmic applause of the Republicans to every thing that Netanyahu said was sickening. Especially when Netanyahu demanded that  the United States walk away from the negotiation table, and especially when Netanyahu threatened to attack alone if necessary. Of course, knowing his audience, he said, he knows that would not happen. It was like watching them cheer on Armageddon. 

 Mr. Netanyahu knows that he can use fear to get Americans to do his bidding, as well as the beliefs of the militant Conservative Christians who pray for such a war in order for Jesus to return.

Netanyahu presented a very black and white image of the Middle East. It was as insulting as it was fear based, conflating Iran and the Islamic State competing “for the crown of militant Islam.” He said, “In this deadly game of thrones, there is no place for America or Israel…” and urged no middle ground short of destroying Iran. Netanyahu’s option was to walk away and offer Iran a deal that no nation with any self-respect would agree to, in fact walking away will usher in the war that Netanyahu says that the tactic will avoid. 

 The speech was eerily reminiscent of Netanyahu’s words to a Congressional committee in 2002 in the lead up to the Iraq War, which of course was such a success. Netanyahu has been using the same tactics to get the United States to do Israel’s bidding for two decades, capitalizing on America fears, and the underlying apocalyptic strain of American Evangelical Christianity which has found its way into the political mainstream. Back in 2002 Mr. Netanyahu said:

“There’s no question that [Saddam] has not given upon on his nuclear program, not [sic] whatsoever. There is also no question that he was not satisfied with the arsenal of chemical and biological weapons that he had and was trying to perfect them constantly…So I think, frankly, it is not serious to assume that this man, who 20 years ago was very close to producing an atomic bomb, spent the last 20 years sitting on his hands. He has not. And every indication we have is that he is pursuing, pursuing with abandon, pursuing with every ounce of effort, the establishment of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. If anyone makes an opposite assumption or cannot draw the lines connecting the dots, that is simply not an objective assessment of what has happened. Saddam is hell-bent on achieving atomic bombs, atomic capabilities, as soon as he can.”

“Today the United States must destroy the same regime because a nuclear-armed Saddam will place the security of our entire world at risk. And make no mistake about it — if and once Saddam has nuclear weapons, the terror networks will have nuclear weapons.” 

 
“If you take out Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region… The task and the great opportunity and challenge is not merely to effect the ouster of the regime, but also to transform the region.” 

 The scary thing is that when you look at the Americans who most strongly “support” Israel, they are men like fundamentalist Christian zealots like John Hagee, and Tim LaHaye, who have spent the better part of fifty years preaching a version of Bible prophecy which for Jesus to return and institute his “millennial kingdom” Israel must be devastated by a war that claims two-thirds of Israelis before the “remnant” accept Jesus as their Messiah. By the way this point of view is also held by top contenders for the GOP nomination in 2016 for the GOP nomination in 2016 and many House and Senate GOP leaders. But, my friends, if you disagree with them, some of their “Christian” pundits will call you a traitor who should “be hanged” in from of the Capital Building. 

 Now, be assured, Netanyahu doesn’t believe that for a second, he is a cunning politician, and he has no problem using the political power of the people who believe this to get his way with America. I believe that this will in the long run be bad thing both for the United States and Israel. I think that it is unbelievably unwise and may create an actual rift between our countries and fracture what has been throughout our history a bi-partisan support for Israel, and for what reason, short term political gain, both in Israel and the United States by those that brought it on. 

 My objection to what happened yesterday was not that Iran should not be opposed, nor the security of Israel be compromised. My objection is that what happened yesterday was against everything that our founders believed in and violated the law. Of our land. 

As an American my loyalty is to this country and our Constitution, not to an errant and heretic view of scripture that surrenders American rights to the whim of a particular warmongering Israeli politician. Netanyahu is a politician who has more than once stated his disdain for this country and sees us as a means to achieve his end, even if that means committing the United States to a war from which no good can come.

 Mr. Netanyahu and his American allies pushed us into a war in Iraq which was disastrous, not only for the human lives lost and devastated, the reputation and image of this country, and the economic burdens incurred, but also because it has unleashed turmoil in the region far greater than anyone imagined.

I am an American and my allegiance is not to Israel, it is to this country and our Constitution. I will be damned if allow myself to be silent while religious zealots, be they American, Iranian, the Islamic State, or Jewish try to bring about their version of Armageddon.

 Peace

Padre Steve+

5 Comments

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, laws and legislation, national security, Political Commentary

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 11, 2013 · 00:31

The Real Conflict: Ethics and American Values Versus Realpolitik

Syria03_GQ_07Dec12_getty_b_642x390

“A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security” Henry Kissinger

There are a times in a nation’s life that its leaders are confronted with situations that present conflicts between a nation’s values and realpolitik.

The fact is that there are “tribes” in foreign policy and national security debates. Some are the idealists, others pragmatists and some realists. There are gradients between the levels and sometimes depending on the situation an idealist might gravitate toward pragmatism or even realpolitik and visa versa. Sometimes it is a matter of politics, sometimes ideology and sometimes even  and no leader of no political is immune from these tensions.

The situation in Syria is one of those times where the conflicting agendas of the different foreign policy tribes conflict and where no matter what happens in Syria the conflicts between the tribes will remain and perhaps even grow more pronounced. The fact is that I often can find myself on several sides of the same argument. It might be the PTSD “Mad Cow” is causing these conflicts but it could also be that there are good arguments to be made on all sides of the argument. What is ultimately the right course or the wrong course is actually hard to say.

If we argue for the idealist position, which would argue that American values of stopping human rights violations and the use of chemical weapons, something prohibited under the Hague convention and the more recent Chemical Weapons Convention of 1992 against the realpolitik of what are the actual National Security interests of the United States, the vital interests which involve the survival of the nation itself, major interests which could impact national security or tertiary interests which might have some importance but do not threaten the survival of the nation, even of they are terrible crimes against humanity.

Whether one likes it or not these are legitimate ethical and policy conflicts. On one hand there is the position that the United States has taken following World War Two and the Nuremberg trials as well as its participation in the International Criminal Courts has a moral obligation to confront the use of chemical weapons even if other nations or international bodies stand aside. On the other hand the argument that what happens in Syria is not in the vital interests of the United States and that the United States should not take military action to stop the use of those weapons. The fact is that those that advocate military action in Syria be they politicians, pundits, preachers or profiteers need to remember the words of Carl Von Clausewitz that “No one starts a war – or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so – without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.” I really don’t think that we have thought this through as a nation.

Of course these two positions are not exclusive. There are also ranges of action which span the full spectrum of action between the either or situation that most Americans seem to find themselves caught between. The fact is that the National Security Strategy of the United States is not based on military might alone, no matter how much it has been used as the first choice by American leaders. The reality is that military force is only one element, and perhaps the weakest element of the elements of national security police known as the “DIME.” That is the Diplomatic, the Informational, the Military and the Economic power of the nation. What we seem to have forgotten is that the other elements of the DIME other than the gut level military response have value and are perhaps even more important.

I think that a large part of this conundrum is found in the reflexive use of military force as the preferred means of action since the attacks of September 11th 2001. On that day the United States was attacked by the terrorist attacks of Al Qaeda militants and while the victims of those attacks were overwhelmingly American the citizens of over 60 other nations we killed in the attacks.

Those attacks demonstrated the vulnerabilities of this nation. When one looks at our actual national security policy it is clear that those vulnerabilities are not always fixed by military action in other countries. In fact they sometimes can become even more glaring as resources required for Homeland Defense and economic recovery are spent on military operations of dubious strategic value and which at times undermine efforts to build trust with other nations, build coalitions based on shared values and to undercut the efforts of extremists using diplomacy, information and economic power.

What we have to answer now is how we address a situation in Syria that is both a violation of international law but which military force alone cannot solve. Of course there is a conflict between our ideals and what are vital national security concerns. I would suggest that the real threat of military action can be a part of the answer if it helps the United States and the world make the case through diplomacy, information and economic pressure not only to stop the slaughter but to hold those responsible for it accountable in International Criminal Courts for the commission of war crimes. At the same time the reality is that the United States and the world cannot allow an Al Qaeda dominated organization such as the Al Nursa Front gain control of Syria.

The fact is that despite how clear cut we want things to be as Americans that much of what happens in the world takes place in a world of more than 50 shades of gray. Unfortunately American conservatives and liberals alike prefer to see foreign policy in the “either or” world of using pure military force or doing nothing, neither of which of themselves are the answer. The full continuum of national and international power must be brought to bear in these kind of situations, recognizing that not everyone shares our values or has the same strategic interests.

It may not be comfortable for anyone but it is reality. How we navigate it is key, maintaining our values while ensuring that our nation survives. If military action is decided on one has to remember what Clausewitz said: “The political object is the goal, war is the means of reaching it, and the means can never be considered in isolation from their purposes.”

To make a decision without understanding this or as we did in Iraq ignoring it is to risk disaster. Such are the stakes. I personally would rather see more negotiation in the hopes that the Syrian chemical and biological weapons are secured and those responsible for using them, be they Assad, his government or even the rebels attempting to frame the Syrians and deceive the United States against the Syrian people are brought to justice.

This is a messy business and not for the faint of heart. Lives of thousands of people in Syria, the region and potentially around the world are at stake and a military strike that fails to accomplish the political object would be worse than none at all.

Peace

Padre Steve+

4 Comments

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, middle east, Military, national security, News and current events

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 28, 2010 · 22:09

Whack them Now: Padre Steve takes Aim at Wiki Leaks

The Enemy: Julian Assange of Wiki Leaks

Disclaimer added December 4th: Reader beware. Due to comments from people that are too dense to figure out that some parts of this essay are over the top hyperbole in the style of Denny Crane I have to ask readers to look beyond the “whacking” and not take all of this seriously. Despite the “whacking” comments I don’t want this accused rapist and scumbag killed, I want him to have to suffer the ignominy of our court system instead, get sent to prison and try to run Wiki Leaks off a prison library desktop that he has to share with a convicted rapist named Bruno. So don’t take all of this seriously and if this is your first visit to this sight take a look around I’m actually quite the civil libertarian and many consider me a pinko commie liberal and even worse because of some of those views.  Just remember 4 words: Denny Crane, Padre Steve

Note on Comments: Due to the increasingly abusive invective by Mr. Assange’s supporters in their comments on the comments page I have turned off comments for this article. This is the first time in the nearly 2 years in the history of Padre Steve’s World that I have had to do this. Over the weekend I received a number of comments that I chose not to print due to their shrill and hateful tone as well as lack of any clarity of thought.  I have wearied of Mr. Assange’s and his cyber-criminal thugs.  I have not had to deal with such abuse since being threatened with bodily harm by Appalachian Neo-Nazis.

If ever there was a time that my civil libertarian self duels with my Machiavellian self on days like today. Today I have to believe that my Machiavellian side is winning.  I am fed up with these Wiki Leaks people and dare I say the traitors who along with them that have leaked sensitive documents and posted them on the internet for all to see.  In fact I’ll say exactly what I think of this bunch.  They are evil and malignant.  There is nothing good that can come of what they are doing except to make the world an even more dangerous place and endanger American lives and those of our Allies and friends.

I was reading some the excerpts in the New York Times this afternoon and I was thinking what the hell? There hasn’t been a nation in history that hasn’t practiced what we are being treated as criminals for doing including those that will cry foul and shed crocodile tears about what has been published or will be in the coming days.

I know that some will disagree with me on this and even accuse me of hypocrisy after all of my recent posts about the threats that I see to liberty and freedom due to the Patriot Act and actions of certain government agencies in the wake of 9-11 and they can go right ahead because I don’t care because I’m not one of those Reverend Lovejoy namby pamby jackwagon preachers that recoil in horror when dealing with the real world.

You might ask why I say this, because I have a brain in my head and while I am a passionate moderate I am passionately in love with this country and threats to it from without and within. However there is a qualitative diplomatic and ethical difference between the threats that we face at home to civil liberties and free speech as opposed to an extra-governmental rogue organization such as Wiki leaks which publishes and uses illegally obtained documents to undermine the United States while we are at war.

Part of the problem especially in regard to the diplomatic cables is that Wiki Leaks is using them against the United States without any regard to consequences.  You see every nation that engages in “diplomacy” is engaged in the same behaviors as have been revealed by Wiki leaks but since the Wiki Leaks bunch has repeatedly singled out the United States as opposed to other nations it can only be surmised that they are a non-governmental and non nation state enemy much like Al Qaeda.  In fact Wiki Leaks founder Julian Assange is no better than Osama Bin Laden and though he doesn’t brandish an AK-47 and orchestrate physical terrorist attacks is more dangerous to peace and stability than any turban topped terrorist operating out of a cave in Waziristan.

It is my opinion that they and their employees should be considered enemy combatants and subjected to not only prosecution but good old fashioned CIA, MI-6, STASI or KBG style elimination.  After all name just one other country that Wiki Leaks founder Julian Assange has taken the trouble to go after…I’m waiting…but why wait because there aren’t any, Assange loathes the United States and has been tirelessly working to take us down for years.

Assange and his minions hide in the shadows of cyberspace assisted by willing dupes and traitors…yes that is what they are including the Army Specialist that is the source of many of these documents.  Be assured that there is a reason that they don’t mess with the Russians, very simply Putin would have them hunted don and killed one by one.  This may sound un-Christian, un-Democratic or even un-American but if a few Wiki leaks staff were to get whacked their operation would cease because they are cowards, in fact I’d start at the top with Assange because if we whacked his minions he would just find others to die for his cause.  In fact if the U.S. and its Allies don’t arrest and prosecute or failing that whack Assange we will continue to see him and others do this to us and reap terrible consequences of their actions.

I’m sorry but in spite of our flaws, mistakes and sometimes imperialist overreach the United States is the Good Guys.  When people need help who do they call? The Chicoms? Russia? The EU? Give me a break, when people need help they call for Uncle Sam. Despite all that the United States stands accused of by those that loath us, we still willingly put our blood and treasure on the line for others that often spit in our face while taking our money and accepting our servicemen’s blood as an offering to keep them safe.  Sorry anti-American haters, we are still the good guys and slimy people like Julian Assange make me sick, I mean the Swedes have a warrant out for his arrest, I think the charge is rape. What an arrogant low life he even ripped off the “Wiki” label and has nothing to do with Wikipedia or sites associated with it.  This may seem out of character for little old peace loving I want to get along with everything me full of forgiveness and grace, but this guy is evil and ugly to boot, he probably couldn’t get a date with a good looking American girl and is still pissed at us.

As far is hypocrisy goes there isn’t a single nation including the Vatican State whose diplomats do not make the same assessments of their friends and foes leaders and policies that have been revealed in the Wiki leaks documents.  I’m sorry but the Machiavellian world of diplomacy and intelligence is not a Christian and it is not a Sunday school class or Rotary Club meeting. No it is nations working with and against each other based on what they believe to be in their nations’ best interest even if at times it is distasteful. That is the real world and Julian Assange and his organization is an active combatant against U.S. national interests and security and should be treated as such.

The actions of Assange and his minions will damage U.S. diplomacy and our national interests for years. Allies and friends that might have helped us before because they felt secure in doing so will not because they will not feel safe in doing so. This will give terrorists and others free reign to attack because our allies will be hesitant to share what they know for fear that their security and interests will be compromised when what they share in confidence is revealed to their enemies.

Wow that was a mouthful.  While I pray that the diplomatic and human damage from this will be minimized I also hope that someone starts playing hardball with these enemies.  We are at war and Julian Assange and Wiki Leaks is now a declared enemy.  It is time to treat him and his team as the enemy and whack them wherever they are.

Peace or whatever,

Padre Steve+

25 Comments

Filed under Foreign Policy, national security, Political Commentary

Tagged as , , , , , , ,