Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Do read the multi-part series in the NY Times on how Secretary of State Clinton screwed up Libya. That may be a simplistic way of looking at it, and the Times tries to soften it a bit, but it’s not exactly a puff piece, either.

Her conviction would be critical in persuading Mr. Obama to join allies in bombing Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. In fact, Mr. Obama’s defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, would later say that in a “51-49” decision, it was Mrs. Clinton’s support that put the ambivalent president over the line.

The consequences would be more far-reaching than anyone imagined, leaving Libya a failed state and a terrorist haven, a place where the direst answers to Mrs. Clinton’s questions have come to pass.

This is the story of how a woman whose Senate vote for the Iraq war may have doomed her first presidential campaign nonetheless doubled down and pushed for military action in another Muslim country. As she once again seeks the White House, campaigning in part on her experience as the nation’s chief diplomat, an examination of the intervention she championed shows her at what was arguably her moment of greatest influence as secretary of state.

While Darrell Issa endlessly obsessed over Benghazi!!!, there were all manner of real issues he could have grilled the former Secretary of State about. But of course real issues may go over Issa’s head.

See also Jeffrey Sachs, Hillary Is the Candidate of the War Machine. Lee Fang writes that “as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton made weapons transfer to the Saudi government a ‘top priority,’ according to her closest military aide.”

Mark Weisbrot writes in Hard choices: Hillary Clinton admits role in Honduran coup aftermath that Clinton greenlighted the 2009 military coup that ousted the democratically elected president of Honduras.

The homicide rate in Honduras, already the highest in the world, increased by 50 percent from 2008 to 2011; political repression, the murder of opposition political candidates, peasant organizers and LGBT activists increased and continue to this day. Femicides skyrocketed. The violence and insecurity were exacerbated by a generalized institutional collapse. Drug-related violence has worsened amid allegations of rampant corruption in Honduras’ police and government. While the gangs are responsible for much of the violence, Honduran security forces have engaged in a wave of killings and other human rights crimes with impunity.

Despite this, however, both under Clinton and Kerry, the State Department’s response to the violence and military and police impunity has largely been silence, along with continued U.S. aid to Honduran security forces. In “Hard Choices,” Clinton describes her role in the aftermath of the coup that brought about this dire situation. Her firsthand account is significant both for the confession of an important truth and for a crucial false testimony.

For more details about this and other foreign misadventures, see The case against Hillary Clinton by P.J. Podesta and Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy is pure fantasy by Marcy Wheeler.

A Hillary Clinton administration wouldn’t be anything like Bush/Cheney, though. More like Nixon/Kissinger. Be afraid.

I’m packing to move out of the temple — it’s been a year! Also bummed about the results of the South Carolina primary. Clinton probably will snag the nomination by the end of March, if not sooner. And I do not want that woman to be President.

22 thoughts on “Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

  1. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is of Hawaii was on the tube this morning with her resignation from the DNC to throw her support behind Bernie. She could be a constructive influence for 2016 insofar as she is a veteran of the Iraq war and vouches for Sanders as being the only candidate in the field with a “military mindset.” By this she means having someone who know when not to use military force, and also who is willing to ask what happens “The Day After” some short-term tactical goal is achieved, and also to consider what else will happen in the neighboring countries when a major alteration in the geopolitical landscape occurs courtesy of our interventions. She is not to be trifled with and whoever tries will look very foolish.

  2. . And I do not want that woman to be President.
    I don’t either. The more I learn about her the more distasteful she becomes. I’ve already mailed in my Florida ballot for Sanders.

    But…I might be echoing a similar sentiment like that of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce when it comes down to November… ” I make peace with the white man like the wounded buffalo makes with the hunter.”

  3. We’re a household of two in Virginia who will be casting our ballots tomorrow (Super Tues) for Bernie.

    But come the general election in November, if it’s a choice between Ms. Clinton & Mr. Trump, it’s hold-your-nose-and-vote time.

  4. Sadly, I can’t really defend Hillary.

    Oh sure, could leave a long pile of word-turds, but it would be rationalizing and cover for basically saying “I can’t defend her, and willl vote for Bernie in NY’s primary – even if the party primary is basically over. But before the general election, if she’s our candidate, I’ll work hard to GOTV for her, and vote for her myself.”
    The alternative is horrific.

  5. Hillary was riding shotgun on the stage that delivered the greatest incarceration rate of blacks in American history… “bring ’em to heel”

  6. “I do not want that woman to be President”

    I can live with it, she is certainly a ten-thousand percent improvement of any of the clowns left in the Republicant field. Hillary has a real problem with arrogance, maybe not her personally but her husband and her campaign really make me uncomfortable, they come across as GOP light. We’ll see what happens but I don’t Bernie has a path toward victory.

  7. OT, seems odd that in his first appearance on the SOTUS bench since the death of his mentor Scalia, Clarence opened his trap and asked a question, the first in over a decade! maybe it was Antonin what kept Clarence silent, brought to heel?

  8. uncledad,
    It’s hard ask a question when the vantriloquist has his hand up your ass doing his routine.

  9. If we assume that the pundits are right, it’s a Clinton Trump (comedy or tragedy, take your pick) – so is there an option? I hope for Cruz to run as a third-party candidate as a spoiler. He’s mean enough and he’s not going to try to curry favor with the establishment.

    Bernie could run as a third-party candidate – and get Trump elected. He won’t do that to the country. But I’m back to the question. Is there a third-party candidate who could pick up the voters who wanted Bernie AND the Independent voters who find Trump revolting?

    I don’t think Bloomberg fits the bill, but I don’t know who could. Gawd, I’d like a third option.

  10. “For instance, originalism”

    Maybe but the tea-tards only play the originalism card when it suits them, they are after all republicants, the hypocrisy is baked into the cake!

  11. O/T – I’m 6 weeks out from sentencing. At the suggestion of my attorneys, I have invited family and some activist friends to write to the judge on my behalf. Oddly. I feel like I know some of you in terms of how you think, politically and ethically pretty well – and probably the reverse. So I’m not asking, but I am inviting any of you so inclined to handle paper and snail-mail to write the judge about an online friendship, particularly those who have observed my posts over the years. Mail the letter to the SECOND address.

    The Honorable Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
    William B. Bryant United States Courthouse Annex
    333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room 6939
    Washington, DC 20001

    But mail it to my public defender, per the court’s request

    Tony Miles
    625 Indiana Ave NW Suite 550
    Washington DC 20004

  12. Thank you for the invite, Doug. I’d be honored to attest to your devotion to our country, your efforts to preserve our democracy, and the honorable character you display in that service.

  13. Ditto!

    But I can’t send the letter until late next week, when I can finally drive – and get some stamps.
    If my sister comes earlier than that, I’ll ask her to bring a few.

  14. I’ll do my best Doug, I think your strongest point is that you have always been level headed and even handed to the extent that is possible in this day and age. We all wish you the best.

    “Maybe but the tea-tards only play the originalism card when it suits them, they are after all republicants, the hypocrisy is baked into the cake!”

    A lot of interesting things are “baked into the cake.” Sometimes there is a broadly held belief that seems rooted in lunacy, and it is. Some people maintain a belief in “originalism” while simultaneously believing that the Constitution is a divinely inspired work. The juxtaposition allows the kind of flexibility that doddering patriarchal figures need to circumvent the intent of the constitution in favor of their interpretation of Biblical law, whenever it suits them. It allows candidates to declare that “God, told them to run for president,” when that clearly means that they will trample on the rights of the godless opposition at will, because “God, told them to do it.” It seems crazy, but it all fits together. The crazy part is the thing that makes it work. We are capable of believing anything if it helps us avoid rethinking.

    Rubio voiced the common belief that “there are answers in the Bible.” I agree with him. I just think that a lot of them are wrong answers. For example, the Old Testament says that a child who “dishonors” his parents should be put to death. If you add up all those unsavory bronze age legal pronouncements, pretty soon, you have something that might be confused with Sharia law. I guess you could make a distinction by determining whether the people stoning you to death were Christians or Muslims. Some would find consolation in that.

  15. Doug, I wrote a first draft. As you know, I can get a little bit, florid and schmaltzy, I’ll edit before I send it.

    Also, I still have contact with a very old friend who works at NPR. In his early days, he was a very good reporter. It’s hard to say whether he might be interested in doing a story on this. But, I could drop him a line if it’s okay with you.

  16. It’s VERY OK. The letters become public record, and just from the ones I know about, there’s an interesting theme emerging. It aint about me. It’s about the tradition of civil disobedience, the role it has ALWAYS played in peaceful social change, and the voices and viewpoints of a variety of activists for a variety of issues ALL of whom see corruption at the heart of the failure of government. Behind the luminaries who have written, there is the backbeat of letters from regular folks who were thrilled that a regular ‘everyman’ stood up in defiance of the powers who are in it up to their necks.

  17. Previous comment was to Goatherd re his friend with NPR. As always, I think about the comment after I push ‘submit’. The letters (some or all) will be submitted on or after Friday. SO there’s nothing yet.

  18. Doug,

    The tradition of civil disobedience suggests itself strongly. But, in our day and age that is tainted by people carrying guns at town hall meetings and bird sanctuaries. One of the things that stands out about your action is that there was no attempt whatsoever to intimidate people or put them at risk in anyway. You had the forethought and regard for others to announce your intentions. You clearly only wanted to draw attention to a corrupting influence in our system, not to silence people who disagree with you. This sets your action apart from the background noise of the internet.

    That’s the general theme of my letter.

    I’ll see if I can come up with a “hook” that might interest my friend.

    Looking back over my comment, another sad phenomenon of our times comes forward. We’ve become habituated to “data glare,” but there is a related issue. We have so many voices with imaginary, divisive grievances, that the real ones are lost or discounted.

    Well, the animals need feeding.

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