Thursday, May 19, 2016

Another plane crash?

An Egyptian flight has disappeared.


  1. EGYPTAIR has hosted the passengers' families near to Cairo Airport and has provided doctors, translators and all the necessary services.
  • EGYPTAIR crisis center is following up with the concerned authorities and EGYPTAIR will issue any additional information once available.
  • - 1 Sudanese - 1 Chadian - 1 Portuguese - 1 Algerian - 1 Canadian
  • the passengers' nationalities are as follows: - 15 French - 30 Egyptian - 1 British - 1 Belgium - 2 Iraqis - 1 Kuwaiti - 1 Saudi
  • EGYPTAIR confirms that there are 56 passengers in addition to 10 cabin crew members onboard the aircraft.
  • about 280 KM from the Egyptian seacoast at 02:30 am CLT as the flight was expected to arrive Cairo Airport at 03:15 am CLT.


  • An EGYPTAIR official declared that EGYPTAIR A320 aircraft in its flight number MS804 lost contact with radar above the Mediterranean Sea.


  • That's a developing story.


    Thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of anyone on the plane.


    Okay, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Original Loose Cannon" went up Sunday.



    original loose cannon





    And Dallas and the following wrote the content:



    Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


    Wednesday, May 18, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, White House denies any knowledge of War Crimes, Hillary Clinton's in another mess of her own making and much more.


    Staring with the NSA.  Their actions against democracy are in the news  as their efforts to sell the Iraq War become public.  RUSSIA TODAY reports:


              
    NSA intelligence played a key role in preparing the UN for the US invasion of Iraq and aiding the subsequent occupation, while senior agency officials even met with interrogators at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, internal documents show.
    The agency’s activities in Iraq were chronicled in the Signals Intelligence Directorate (SID) newsletter, SIDtoday. Issues of the newsletter dating from March 2003 to 2012 were contained in the trove of information collected by former NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden. The first batch of 166 documents was published by The Intercept on Monday.
    “SIGINT support to the US Mission to the United Nations has enabled and continues to enable the diplomatic campaign against Iraq,” Chris Inglis, deputy director for analysis & production, wrote in SIDtoday. “Your efforts have been essential to the plans of the US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador John D. Negroponte, as well as to the United Kingdom's Permanent Representative, HMA Sir Jeremy Greenstock.”
    Greenstock thanked the NSA for offering “insights into the nuances of internal divisions” among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, calling it “highly useful,” Inglis noted. (Support to UN Diplomatic Efforts on Iraq, April 7, 2003)
    “Timely SIGINT played a critical role” in the unanimous adoption of two UN Security Council Resolutions, another article said. Resolution 1441, adopted in November 2002, said Iraq was in breach of the 1991 ceasefire, demanding the return of weapons inspectors expelled after the 1998 US bombing. Resolution 1472, adopted in March 2003, re-started the oil-for-food program under UN management that had been suspended on the eve of the invasion.



    THE INTERCEPT has released the latest documents from whistle blower Ed Snowden.  Glenn Greenwald explains:



    From the time we began reporting on the archive provided to us in Hong Kong by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, we sought to fulfill his two principal requests for how the materials should be handled: that they be released in conjunction with careful reporting that puts the documents in context and makes them digestible to the public, and that the welfare and reputations of innocent people be safeguarded. As time has gone on, The Intercept has sought out new ways to get documents from the archive into the hands of the public, consistent with the public interest as originally conceived.
    Today, The Intercept is announcing two innovations in how we report on and publish these materials. Both measures are designed to ensure that reporting on the archive continues in as expeditious and informative a manner as possible, in accordance with the agreements we entered into with our source about how these materials would be disclosed, a framework that he, and we, have publicly described on numerous occasions.
    The first measure involves the publication of large batches of documents. We are, beginning today, publishing in installments the NSA’s internal SIDtoday newsletters, which span more than a decade beginning after 9/11. We are starting with the oldest SIDtoday articles, from 2003, and working our way through the most recent in our archive, from 2012. Our first release today contains 166 documents, all from 2003, and we will periodically release batches until we have made public the entire set. The documents are available on a special section of The Intercept.
    The SIDtoday documents run a wide gamut: from serious, detailed reports on top secret NSA surveillance programs to breezy, trivial meanderings of analysts’ trips and vacations, with much in between. Many are self-serving and boastful, designed to justify budgets or impress supervisors. Others contain obvious errors or mindless parroting of public source material. But some SIDtoday articles have been the basis of significant revelations from the archive.

    Accompanying the release of these documents are summaries of the content of each, along with a story about NSA’s role in Guantánamo interrogations, a lengthy roundup of other intriguing information gleaned from these files, and a profile of SIDtoday. We encourage other journalists, researchers, and interested parties to comb through these documents, along with future published batches, to find additional material of interest. Others may well find stories, or clues that lead to stories, that we did not. (To contact us about such finds, see the instructions here.) A primary objective of these batch releases is to make that kind of exploration possible.


    Ed Snowden has exposed not just a secretive government but a corrupt one.  It's worth noting that the only person attempting to become president in the US in 2016 that has hailed Ed as the hero he is would be Jill Stein.  Jill is seeking the Green Party's presidential nomination.


    On the subject of the US presidential race, the only candidate who voted for the Iraq War and lied about it year after year forever would be Hillary Clinton.

    The War Hawk was dealt yet another defeat yesterday.




    Link to headline article



    If she's the shoe-in, why does she keep losing Democratic Party primaries to Senator Bernie Sanders?

    Bernie's not even a Democrat.

    You may remember that I lodged an objection to that.

    I don't feel non-Democrats should run in Democratic Party primaries.

    And I lodged that objection here and with friends on Hillary's campaign.

    I am overdue for a $5,000 bet (donated to the charity of my choice -- St. Jude's) from one of Team Hillary because they knew -- they includes Hillary herself -- that she'd "march right over Sanders."

    Uh, no, she didn't.

    Possibly, she can still goose step over him?

    But yesterday, _______ on her campaign called to ask why I'm not objecting to Bernie still trying for the nomination?

    Because the race isn't over.

    Because a contested nomination at the convention makes for actual news.

    Because everybody loves a fighter.

    Okay, then, will I at least repeat my objection that he shouldn't be in the primary because he's not a Democrat?

    No.

    I made that objection.  Ed Rendell was the only one who agreed with me at that time.

    I could list all the people who disagreed.

    But Hillary approved it.

    She thought it would give her a minor opponent.

    She thought she'd vanquish him quickly and be on her way.

    She's the one who okayed it.

    She's the one who could have stopped it.

    Now it's too late.

    He's been running.

    Of all her advisors and handlers, only Ed had the wisdom to realize that Bernie would be a formidable foe.

    War Hawk down, Hillary's still spiraling.

    And Bernie was let int he race by Hillary so it's on her.

    As for his dropping out, Shaun King (NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) points out:


      
    Either the Democratic Party has a terrible case of selective amnesia or they are just really gifted at revisionist history. For the life of me, I can't figure out which of those two best describes what I'm seeing right now.
    As more and more calls come for Bernie Sanders to drop out of the race against Hillary Clinton, he keeps on winning state after state and poll after poll. In fact, Bernie, as of this writing, has won primaries and caucuses in 19 different states and appears to be very competitive in both Kentucky and Oregon, which have their say Tuesday.
    Hillary Clinton did not drop out against Barack Obama until every single state voted. In fact, the final two states voted on June 3, 2008. She won South Dakota and Obama won Montana. She dropped out later that day, right?

    Nah. The next day? Nope. She waited several days until June 7 to finally announce that she was suspending her campaign. Every vote had been counted, but she held on until a mix of public pressure and inevitability forced her hand.


    Yet again, Hillary's current mess is one that she created herself.


    Iraq is in the news  and not just for the past but the present.

    How bad was Baghdad slammed with violence yesterday?

    So bad that the State Dept spokesperson had to start today's press conference on Iraq.

    Spokesperson John Kirby: "First, on the attacks in Baghdad, I think it can go without saying that the United States strongly condemns the barbaric terrorist attacks in Iraq today that deliberately and specifically targeted civilians. Initial estimates right now project something over 70 people have been killed, many more injured, in what we now know are three separate attacks. Of course, we extend our deepest condolences, our thoughts, and sympathies to all those affected by this terrible violence."




    NBC NEWS noted, "A car bomb targeting an outdoor market in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Baghdad killed at least 28 people on Tuesday."  The car bombing was one attack, a female suicide bomber was another and then the Sadr City section of Baghdad was also targeted with a car bombing.  Of the first two bombings, XINHUA observed, "The attackers apparently followed the old tactic of first creating an initial explosion to attract security forces and people, and then setting off another blast to inflict heavier casualties."  Lizzie Dearden (INDEPENDENT) updated with 58 dead and at least 91 injured.

    In the last seven days, over 200 people have died from bombings in Iraq.


    Sunday, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS filed "White House says ISIS 'shrinking' as group launches new attacks in Iraq."  This followed many boasts from the White House about the Islamic State being on the run, blah, blah, blah.

    Clearly, they are not.

    And John Kirby was asked about this.


    QUESTION: In the wake of another bloody day of carnage in Baghdad, is the attack by ISIS a sign that the terror group is not as close to being wiped out, despite claims by members of the Administration saying that ISIS is shrinking?

    MR KIRBY: I think it’s – I’m not sure what you mean by shrinking, but – so let me just --

    QUESTION: Or making --


    MR KIRBY: Let me try to dissect this because it’s a great question. There’s no question, no doubt at all, by almost any measure, that this group is under increasing pressure and has been forced increasingly on the defensive. They haven’t – they haven’t grabbed any new ground or acquired new territory of any significance since May, since almost a – well, yeah, a year ago, May of last year. They are having trouble recruiting. They’re having trouble retaining. And we’re learning more and more from defectors about their dissatisfaction in the ranks. And it’s becoming – they are resulting to more extortion, for instance, in order not just to try to make up the revenues they’re losing, but to exert the influence over local populations that they are now starting to lose. They have definitely lost, by some accounts, a third, if not more, of their revenues from – simply from things like oil. So this is a group that’s very much under pressure. And we are – as we look at them, we’re not – you’re not seeing them operate, communicate, resource themselves at all like they were even six, eight months ago. So there’s no question that this group is under more pressure.
    One thing we have seen – and again, this isn’t about – this isn’t a subject of analysis; it’s true – one thing we’ve seen, as they have continued to come under more and more pressure, they continue to resort to tactics like we’re seeing in Baghdad and elsewhere, even in places in Europe – more targeted, more individualistic terrorist violence, whether it’s vehicle-borne explosive devices or suicide bombings. And so we are seeing them resort more and more on those kinds of tactics where they can, in their view, achieve some matter of success and particularly get attention for their efforts through these very dramatic, very violent acts.
    That said – and I really want to underscore this, because I said this at the outset – they still remain a dangerous group. Nobody’s turning a blind eye to their capabilities. Nobody’s walking away from the fact that the pressure has to continue to be applied. There has been success by the coalition, but that is not – it’s not to be taken lightly and it’s certainly not to be considered foregone if we don’t keep it up. We have now 66 nations in the coalition, now that Afghanistan has joined, and the work against this group exists on many lines of effort, not just military. And I can assure you that, for our part, the United States is going to continue to keep the pressure up on them, because they have proven resilience in the past.

    So we are seeing them weaker. We are seeing them use more traditional terror tactics to strike out, in part because they’re weaker. They can’t operate the same way. They don’t have the same quasi-military capabilities that they once had. But it doesn’t mean that they aren’t still dangerous.



    He can spin.  He can lie.

    He can put on more mascara.

    He can do whatever he wants.

    But the one thing that is clear is that he does not want to tell the truth -- it's not in his job description.

    Doubt it?

    Let's note this section.


    QUESTION: John, I just wonder if you could --

    MR KIRBY: I’m going to a former Pentagon colleague.

    QUESTION: -- put your answer about Iraq in the context of the Abadi government and talk for a minute about the – your current assessment of the government and how – if these sustained casualties the ISF are taking undermine its popular support and undermine its ability to kind of manage this – what seems like maybe a new phase by ISIS in Iraq.

    MR KIRBY: I don’t think we’ve seen any indication thus far that casualties incurred by Iraqi Security Forces are undermining popular support for the effort against [the Islamic State]. This is a very real, substantial threat to the Iraqi people that the Abadi government is taking seriously, and frankly, the Iraqi people are taking seriously. And that’s why our advise and assist mission is so important there. So I’ve seen no indications that there is an erosion necessarily of public support for the mission in light of the casualties taken by Iraqi Security Forces. I think the Iraqis know all too well and too sadly that the fight against [ is a dangerous, lethal fight, and that their forces are going to come under fire and face – and be put in harm’s way.
    I would tell you that we continue to see Iraqi Security Forces fight bravely. We are going to continue to stay committed to making sure that they have the competence and the capabilities they need to continue to do so. They have had recent successes – you’ve covered this well yourself – recent successes, particularly out in Anbar. And it’s our expectations that those successes will continue – with coalition support, no question about it.

    But the last thing I’ll say is that we continue to support Prime Minister Abadi in his reform efforts, in his efforts to form a unity government to move the country forward, and to continue – and he has stayed committed to this – to continue to properly resource, to properly lead, and to properly man and staff Iraqi Security Forces that can remain competent and capable to the threat.



    The Shi'ite militias are now part of the Iraqi Security Forces -- Haider al-Abadi did that.

    His predecessor, thug Nouri al-Maliki, was a thug and a crook but didn't bring the militias into the national security forces.

    And John Kirby has never, ever heard a word about Shi'ite War Crimes in Iraq.

    Never.


    Ever.







  • DTN Iraq: Iraq militia attacks may constitute war crimes: HRW: Baghdad (AFP) Jan 31, 2016 - Iraqi Shiite mi...




  • Iraqi Shiite militiamen abducted and killed civilians following bombings earlier this month, actions that may constitute war crimes, Human




  • HRW: Shiite militias committed ‘possible war crimes’ against Ira via




  • Human Rights Watch reports Shiite militias committed possible war crimes against Iraqis.




  • Iraqi Shiite militiamen abducted and killed civilians following bombings earlier this month, actions that may constitute war crimes, Human




  • : Possible War Crimes by Shiite Militias.








  • Shiite militias supported by the Iraqi government have committed "possible war crimes" in Diyala province




  • : Possible War Crimes by Shiite Militias.







    John Kirby is paid to lie.



    Icon & star of western media sectarian |i Shiite criminal Abu Azrael is now on a war crimes mission in








    Let's close with this announcement from the US Defense Dept yesterday:


    Strikes in Iraq
    Attack, fighter ground attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 10 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

    -- Near Baghdadi, two strikes destroyed an ISIL bunker and two ISIL rocket rails.

    -- Near Albu Hayat, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

    -- Near Rutbah, a strike destroyed two ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL fuel tanker, an ISIL vehicle bomb and an ISIL front-end loader.

    -- Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and two ISIL heavy machine guns.

    -- Near Qayyarah, five strikes struck three separate ISIL headquarters; destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL assembly area and two ISIL rocket rails; and suppressed two ISIL mortar positions.

    Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.






    Sunday, May 15, 2016

    More scandals from Bill and

    I hope you read Kat's latest review "Kat: No one hates Drake more than Drake" already.  Here's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Carly Stays On The Ticket"


    carlyquestions


    The 2016 election is nothing but a joke.


    A dirty joke, at that.

    For example, THE NEW YORK POST reports:


    News that the Clinton Global Initiative aided a company part-owned by a close female friend of Bill Clinton highlights two issues that the Democratic front-runner wants to put behind her as she prepares for the general election — her husband’s infidelity and the charity’s shady ethics.
    The Clinton nonprofit helped secure a pledge in 2010 for a $2 million investment in Energy Pioneer Solutions. The for-profit green-energy company is co-owned by several well-connected Democrats, as well as wealthy divorcée Julie Tauber McMahon, a neighbor of the Clintons’ in Chappaqua.

    Bill Clinton reportedly made a call to then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu to endorse the company, which helps people insulate their houses. It later got an $812,000 Energy Department grant.


    They are just so tawdry and criminal.

    Why aren't they in jail already?

    It's just disgusting.

    And if that didn't turn your stomach, how about this from THE OBSERVER:


    During a campaign stop in Kentucky on May 2, Hillary Clinton told a group of supporters she plans to pull Bill Clinton out of retirement to help bring jobs back. “I’ve told my husband he’s got to come out of retirement and be in charge of this, because he’s got more ideas a minute than anybody I know,” she announced to the small crowd.
    America can’t afford more of Mr. Clinton’s terrible ideas on job creation or trade policy. His administration’s push for NAFTA was a disaster, sending an estimated 700,000 jobs overseas and allowing large corporations to force workers to accept lower wages or have their jobs outsourced. The trade agreement is still held in disdain by many national labor unions, who have also been some of the most vocal opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would further scale back workers’ rights in the United States. Ms. Clinton flip-flopped on the TPP, initially helping negotiations progress while serving as Secretary of State only to vocally oppose it during her presidential campaign with vital labor union endorsements on the line.


    Haven't we all suffered enough under the Clintons?

    Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"



    Saturday, May 14, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, one of the fallen is laid to rest, Haider al-Abadi blames his failures on other politicians, and much more.



    May 3rd, it was announced that Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV had died in Iraq -- in combat.  This week, he was laid to rest.


    Navy photo from the memorial service held for Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Charles Keating IV in San Diego







  • Hannah Mullins (10NEWS.COM, CITY NEWS SERVICE -- link is text and video) reports:


    A San Diego-based Navy SEAL killed in action in Iraq last week was laid to rest at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Friday following an enormous display of support from grateful members of the public.
    Petty Officer First Class Charles H. Keating IV, 31, was fatally shot in a May 3 battle with Islamic State forces in Tall Usquf, Iraq. According to the Navy, ISIS broke through the front lines north of the city of Mosul, and Keating's SEAL team and air support were called in to repel the attack.
    A funeral service was held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Coronado, after which a hearse carrying his body and a long procession of vehicles wound their way through the city and across the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge.



    WATCH: 1000s line streets of Coronado, Calif., to honor US Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV, who was killed last week.
    WATCH: 1000s lined the streets of Coronado, Calif., to honor US Navy...
    Powered by SnappyTV





    Julie Watson (AP) adds:

    At a memorial ceremony attended by more than a thousand people in Coronado on Thursday, Keating was posthumously awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest combat medal, for his heroic actions during a battle against Islamic State fighters in Iraq, said Lt. Beth Teach, a spokeswoman for the SEALs.
    He also received a Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon for what he did the day he was killed. He was part of a quick reaction force that moved in May 3 to rescue U.S. military advisers caught in a gunbattle with more than 100 Islamic State militants.



    Memorial mass held today at for SEAL Chief Charles Keating IV killed in action in Iraq May 3.






    Keating died in combat.  US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the death on May 3rd (later in the day, Keating's name would be released) and he noted it was a combat death.



    SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER: Okay.  Once again, good morning.  Everybody hear me? Well, we had a very meaningful, and important and wonderful ceremony this morning.  I won't repeat the main themes of what we all said there, but as to remind you, as we stood -- or to tell you that as we stood there in from of those magnificent service members, I'm getting some reports now that an American service member has been killed in Iraq, in the neighborhood of Erbil.
    And I -- again, these are preliminary reports.  I don't know much more than that, but I believe that much is true.  And so our thoughts and prayers are with that service member's family.
    As we're here in Stuttgart today and as we learn more, we'll give you more information about that.  But it shows you, it's a serious fight that we have to wage in Iraq.  There are American service members involved and that's all I know at this time.  But I wanted you to know as soon as we begin getting those reports. And with that, let me turn things over to Peter, and we'll answer your questions.
    [. . .]
    STAFF:  (inaudible) -- of The Wall Street Journal.
    Q:  (inaudible) -- from The Wall Street Journal.  I was just wondering -- two questions.  One is on the death in Iraq -- (inaudible).
    SEC. CARTER:  I can't at this time.  It does -- it is a combat death, of course.  And very sad loss.  I don't know all the circumstances of it and as -- we'll give you more as we learn more.  I wanted to give you everything I knew.  I really just can't go any further than that.

    The White House thinks they can lie and spin and pretend like it's not combat.

    They think as long as they don't admit it was combat, they can get away with Barack Obama continuing the Iraq War.


    In Friday's snapshot, we noted US House Rep Seth Moulton appeared on CNN's THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER.  CNN doesn't have a transcript for it -- though they've posted transcripts -- and doesn't provide a link for the video.





  • Democratic Congressman blasts Obama's ISIS strategy after death of friend







    Jake Tapper's link takes you to the CNN clip posted at SNAPPY TV.  It's an important interview.  I have no idea why CNN wants to bury it.



    Jake Tapper:  Now there are more than 4,000 US personnel, US military personnel, in Iraq right now but the White House argues this is not a combat mission.  Do you think that the Obama administration is misleading the American public.

    US House Rep Seth Moulton:  That's just simply not true, this absolutely is a combat mission.  In 2004, I had an advisory mission as a Marine with my platoon in Iraq.  We were advisors to an Iraqi unit and when that unit started to get overrun, we went to their assistance and started the battle of Najaf which was some of the fiercest fighting of the war until that time.  So there's a very fine line between an advisory mission and full fledged combat. It's very clear from the death of the Navy Seal just last week that this is absolutely a combat mission.


    It is a combat mission.

    And if Americans are being asked to still risk their lives in Iraq because the White House continues to send them into Iraq, it is past time to ask what 'success' is and when Iraq's leader is going to stand up and do his damn job.


    In Iraq today, Haider al-Abadi, US-installed prime minister, gave a speech broadcast on state television.  ALSUMARIA reports he expressed dismay over the ongoing political crisis and spoke of the plan (hope?) to liberate Mosul.

    For those who have forgotten the Sunni terrorist group the Islamic State seized control of Mosul in June of 2014.  The two year anniversary approaches.

    Where's that liberation effort?

    It starts.

    It stops.

    Two years that Mosul's been held and controlled by the Islamic State.

    This as Corey Dickstein (STARS AND STRIPES) reports:

    Roughly half of Iraq’s American-trained security forces are stationed in and around Baghdad to protect the country’s capital, where recent political turmoil was followed this week by a wave of terrorist attacks, a U.S. military spokesman said Friday.


    Half the forces are protecting Baghdad?

    There's your clue that Haider's government is not working.


    Not to mention the fact that last month, with all that Baghdad protection, Moqtada al-Sadr's zombies still managed to storm the Green Zone and storm Parliament.

    Haider al-Abadi is a failure.

    Nouri al-Maliki, former prime minister and forever thug, used his second term as prime minister (2010 through 2014) to harden divisions along sectarian lines.  The Shi'ite politician went after Sunnis.  He persecuted them.

    They protested and did so for over a year and never got a fraction of the world press' attention that Moqtada al-Sadr's zombies got for one Saturday faux-test.

    The world has turned its eye away from Iraq, yes.  But worse was it turned its back on the Sunni suffering.

    The Sunni people were persecuted. they were disappeared, they were taken away from crimes that others were alleged to have committed (Shi'ite forces show up to arrest a man and he's not there, they take a parent, a wife, a child instead), the Sunni politicians had their homes circled by tanks, at what point does the world pay attention?



    In March of 2013, activists in Samarra put their message on display.

    From Samarra من سامراء


    "Obama, If you Cannot Hear Us Can you Not See Us?"


    They even made it real simple, they put in English in the hopes that the west would notice and carry the message.

    That didn't happen.

    What did happen?


    For one thing, the following month, Sunnis would be slaughtered at a protest elsewhere.

    April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead.   UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).


    And the west yawned, if they bothered to acknowledge the massacre at all.

    How did a Sunni terrorist group like the Islamic State flow into Iraq and set up roots there?

    Because you had a government that was persecuting and killing the Sunnis.

    Sympathy was created.


    They were able to present themselves as "defenders."

    And they were able to seize that role because the world didn't care.

    The White House didn't give a damn.

    They installed Nouri for a second term (after he lost the 2010 election) and they looked the other way.

    They never condemned anything.

    They didn't even condemn the massacre in Hawija -- which was only a larger scale version of events that repeatedly took place.


    That's why the Islamic State was able to take root in Iraq.


    And until this is dealt with, there is no solution or moving forward in Iraq.

    I guess the Iraqi government could kill off every Sunni in Iraq and maybe then they could 'resolve' the issue.


    And possibly that's the 'plan'?

    But the only way to have a peaceful solution in Iraq is to end the persecution of the Sunnis and allow for a true partnership to take place.

    Does Haider al-Abadi grasp that?


    There's no indication that he does.

    Of today's speech, PRESS TV reports he declared, "The political conflict among politicians and their impact on the brave security forces permits acts of terrorism to occur."

    His "political conflict" is that he's not being allowed to tear apart his existing Cabinet -- one he had to present to Parliament and get their okay to become prime minister in the second half of 2014 -- and replaced them with people he wants.

    His April list was shot down.

    He's now attempting to push through a new list.

    He paints them as "technocrats" but it's about ending the established quota system that guarantees representation of all Iraqis.

    That's what he's at war with, that's what he's trying to dismantle and destroy.


    Martha Raddatz will be reporting from Iraq Sunday on ABC's THIS WEEK.

    Today, the US Defense Dept announced:


    Strikes in Iraq
    Rocket artillery and fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 17 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government:


    -- Near Baghdadi, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL command-and-control node.
    -- Near Albu Hayat, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position and an ISIL weapons cache.
    -- Near Rutbah, four strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit, an ISIL headquarters, an ISIL vehicle-borne bomb facility and an ISIL staging facility.
    -- Near Beiji, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL bunker.
    -- Near Fallujah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL fighting position.
    -- Near Habbaniyah, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL fighting position, an ISIL vehicle and an ISIL anti-air artillery piece.
    -- Near Haditha, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.
    -- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck an ISIL headquarters and destroyed an ISIL tactical vehicle and an ISIL mortar system.
    -- Near Tal Afar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL tunnel system and an ISIL road-roller.


    Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.



    The Iraq War continues.  And one of the people who helped start it (and kept it going) is running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.  Philip Weiss (MONDOWEISS) notes War Hawk Hillary Clinton was discussed on MSNBC's HARDBALL when host Chris Matthews spoke with NEW YORK TIMES journalist Mark Landler:


    Matthews: Her key decision politically which hurt her in the 2008 race was supporting the authorization for going to war in Iraq. How did she turn on that… How did she get to that decision. How has she reviewed it since?



    Landler: First of all, She’s acknowledged that was a mistake

    Matthews: What’s that mean, though, what’s mistake mean?

    Landler: OK, she’s acknoweldged that was a mistake because she said she wasn’t given access to the full intelligence dossier, right?

    Matthews: That’s not a mistake.

    Landler: And the point is she didn’t read the full NIE that actually talked about whether Saddam had weapons of mass destruction or not.

    Matthews: Well did he have nuclear weapons? I’ve got no evidence that ever have suggested we knew or thought he did. But they sold it.

    Landler: That’s right. She sort of hung it on her being deceived by the administration when the argument is she probably didn’t do adequate due diligence to figure out the truth.

    Matthews: Why did she want to vote yes?

    Landler: I think it was a combination of what I said earlier, which is her own instincts, plus you have to also acknowledge, New York senator, post-9/11, worried about her own–

    Matthews: Concerned about Israel, too.