American-Led Strike in Syria Risks Return to Reckless Cowboy Era

American-Led Strike in Syria Risks Return to Reckless Cowboy Era

But what is being prepared -- by most accounts a two-day bombardment of Syrian installations with cruise missiles fired from American destroyers -- is an act of war. It may well prove to be a justified act of war, provided it is supported by a community of nations and based on credible intelligence. But war is what this is.
War, it ought to go without saying, is a risky, unpredictable pursuit. You fire missiles at another country and people will die. If we have learned anything from the past decade, it's that military campaigns have unintended consequences. We could miss the intended targets or learn that the things we were aiming at had other uses than those we understood. We could provoke a strike on Israel from Iran. We could incite unforeseen violence from the Assad regime. And when one of those things happens and some fresh hell breaks loose, genuine moral leadership capable of speaking for international norms had best be supported by more than a couple of far-flung allies going along on a ride that has not been adequately mapped out.
For Obama, this poorly sold, as-yet ill-defined intervention into another seething conflict in the Middle East presents grave risks: He could wind up representing the sort of American power defined by his predecessor, the shoot first-contemplate later mode of operation that has served no interests beyond the Islamist militants for whom such violence functions as a valuable recruiting aid.

The Saudis should bomb Syria. The USA should stay away from this fight!

The Ghost of Iraq haunts Obama on Syria as British Parliament Defects

In 2002-2003, then PM Tony Blair alleged that Iraq had weapons that could menace Europe and could be deployed in 45 minutes. To this day, I have no idea what he was talking about. The head of MI6 came back from a meeting in Washington and alleged that the intelligence was being fixed around the policy (of seeking a war). There were allegations of a “dodgy dossier,” a government file of bad intel presented to parliament. Bush’s chief of staff Andy Card said of the deceptively quiet August of 2002 that you don’t launch a major new product in August. In September, the Bush administration tried to scare the world into thinking that Saddam Hussein was on the brink of having a nuclear bomb. Breathless allegations were made. Iraq was training al-Qaeda in use of chemical weapons. Iraq had VX poison gas. All lies. It came out that Blair and Bush discussed the possibility of trying to get Saddam to shoot down a UN-flagged aircraft as a provocation justifying military action.

Kerry Forgot US Helped Iraq Use Chemical Weapons, Makes Other Odd Statements On Syria

I can see for miles and miles and ......

As the song goes, "I can see for miles and miles and ......"  Sometimes I think that I can predict with pretty fair accuracy what events will unfold in our cultural stream.  Often in fact I am astounded at how accurate our predictions can be if we focus.  Here are the top 5 of my predictions 07/14/13:

1.)  Jesse Jackson Jr. will come out of prison with a book and movie deal that will wipe out his debt to his campaign fund and he will be once again farting through silk.  Jesse Jackson Jr. Sentenced For Defrauding Campaign

2.) After the month long crackdown in Egypt, things will not have settled down, but in fact will be worse.  This Egyptian conflict will stretch out at least into the spring of 2014.  Egyptian Security Forces Clear Pro-Morsi Sit-Ins, Dozens Dead (UPDATED) Egyptian Police Clear Brotherhood Sit-Ins, at cost of Scores of deaths, injuries

3.)  With all the uproar about privacy and security and balance, the scale will tip toward security in the near and distant future.  Other security considerations, such as "food security," "internet security," and "financial security" will override any privacy concerns and the American public will bend over as NSA and others bend the rules. 
Google Sends Clear Message: There’s No Privacy on Gmail ,and   Restore Honor and Pardon Edward Snowden  and Email service used by Snowden shuts itself down, warns against using US-based companies

4.) As an ex-prison worker I might suggest that the new series on Netflix will be recognized for the silly lightweight bullshit piece of crap it really is.  It is full of low hanging fruit replete with crudely presented stereotypes and hackneyed writing.  Silly, stupid and just write for the audience it might reach, this series, Orange is the New Black, will be rewarded for being a piece of doo doo by accolades from a public starved for anything just a little different than the vanillla poo served up by the networks and cable.  The Real Story Behind ‘Orange is the New Black’

5.)  Drones will become an increasing part of our culture for the near and distant future.  Drones are here to stay.  From pollinating flowers to spying on our industrial competitors the technology of drone surveillance and actions will continue to grow and is "here to stay."  Better get used to it.  Air Force's New Idea for Spying on China: Swarms of Tiny Bug Drones