No truth allowed in this White House

The Problem Isn’t McChrystal’s Bite

But That McChrystal

(On Administration, not Afghanistan)

IS Right!

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By Barry Rubin

There are two ways of looking at General Stanley McChrystal’s interviews with Rolling Stone magazine: one is to focus on whether he should have said such things, the other is to analyze the important truths he unveiled. Here, I’m going to look at the latter and, following my usual practice, I’ve actually read the article and will base myself on the text.

But first, think about it: the general pointed out the near-disastrous situation with American leadership today. An increasing number of people know that he’s correct in his assessment. Isn’t that what’s really important?

Incidentally, the Obama Administration has been pretty tight about leaks, so there has been less news about infighting and incompetence than usual, not to mention that much of the media has protected it from exposures and criticisms. So McChrystal hasn’t just given us some blunt-worded reactions but a peek into what’s really happening. Click here to read the entire article…

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The Middle East = The Obama Change

Middle East:

Much Worse Off Than a Year Ago

By Barry Rubin
The Rubin Reports

Let’s take a deep breath, clear our heads of any ideological or partisan preconceptions, and then ask a simple question: How has the Middle East changed in the last year?

If one approaches this in a fair-minded, calm, and honest manner, the answers are quite shocking.

Let’s start with Iran. While some companies and banks have been discouraged from doing business with Iran, the sanctions or barriers to Tehran are almost the same as they were a year ago. That means that Iran has moved one year closer to obtaining nuclear weapons without serious hindrance. This is not good. No blather about conferences, plans, meetings, speeches, and efforts should conceal this fact.

The Obama Administration’s effort to engage Iran failed. Then it missed repeated self-set deadlines for imposing sanctions. The engagement strategy was supposed to produce strong international support for sanctions–including from Russia and China–but that plan also failed. Now, at best, some kind of sanctions cannot be expected until the second half of the year.

What about the keystone of Iranian strategy, its alliance with Syria? Despite much Western talk about pulling Syria away from Iran—which isn’t going to happen—the relationship is closer than ever. This is not good. No blather about conferences, plans, meetings, speeches, and efforts should conceal this fact. Click here to read the entire article…

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Muslim Militias in America against America is a-OK!

Exclusive: Obama Administration

turns Blind Eye

to Muslim Foreign Militia in Pennsylvania

by Paul Williams, PhD

familysecuritymatters.org

Christian militias have been raided in Michigan and Ohio, their members rounded up and tossed in prison and their caches of weapons confiscated.

But a well-armed Muslim militia – comprised not of American citizens but foreign militants –  operates under the noses of federal and state law enforcement officials.

If you don’t it, pay a visit to Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, in the heart of the Pocono Mountains.

“These guys use fully automatic weapons – AK-47s – for target practice,” one local businessman says. “We called the FBI but nothing has been done to stop them.”

The Muslims have been here for years,” another resident says. “They’ve been engaged in training for guerilla warfare.”

The Muslims in question are Turks who occupy a 45-acre compound that is owned and operated by Fethullah Gulen.

Entrance to the compound is forbidden to outsiders. Click here to read the entire article…

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Kill Americans; Get Rewarded? Say what!

U.S. Government Rewards Syria;

Syria’s Client Threatens to Kill Americans

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By Barry Rubin of the Rubin Reports

Forgive me for writing so much about U.S.-Syria events but it is such a remarkable story that it deserves a lot of attention and it really does reveal a great deal about the problems of current U.S. foreign policy. And read on to the end because there’s been a shocking new development.

Imagine: the United States gives concessions to Syria, most recently the announced return of its ambassador to Damascus. The ambassador was removed after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri. Syria has not cooperated fully in the investigation; it is suspect number one in the murder. Meanwhile, Syria continues to finance, train, arm, and transport terrorists going into Iraq to kill Americans (as well as Iraqis, of course). So nothing has changed but the United States is acting as if the matter has been resolved. Click here to read the entire article…

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Arab News by Someone Who Gets It

The Real Arab Stuff:

Hussain Abdul Hussain

Explains It All To You

By Barry Rubin of the Rubin Reports

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Hussain Abdul Hussain gets it. He’s one of the most interesting Arab journalists and he also writes in English. His latest article—published in the “Huffington Post”—entitled “Lonely Obama vs. Popular Iran” [but you don't have to use the link as I quoted practically all of it] he points out what the most realistic people and more moderate rulers in the Arabic-speaking world are thinking.

He explains what I’ve been telling you and makes thee points with exceptional clarity.

Theme one: Popularity isn’t so important in the Middle East: Click here to read the entire article…

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When is it the time to put terrorists down?

When It’s Necessary and

Desirable To Assassinate Terrorists

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By Barry Rubin

originally printed on Thursday, February 25, 2010

There has been a huge international controversy about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a leading Hamas terrorist, in Dubai on January 19. I have no idea who did it but have some points to make on the subject.

1. Generally speaking, media coverage almost never (in Europe) or only minimally (in the United States) talks about what Mabhouh actually did to merit his end. The New York Times had the following paragraph at the very end of its story:

“Mr. Mabhouh had a role in the 1989 abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers, and was also involved in smuggling weapons into Gaza, Israel and Hamas have said. Israel officials say the weapons came from Iran.” Click here to read the entire article…

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Appease Islam and Die…

Why Naïve Westerners Constantly

Exaggerate Middle Eastern Moderation

by Barry Rubin of The Rubin Reports

There are three basic reasons why many Westerners are so gullible that they often overstate the moderation—or inaccurately claim that a major step toward moderation has taken place—on the part of radical states or groups.  Among the beneficiaries of these errors are: Fatah, Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, Libya, Muslim Brotherhood groups, the PLO, Sudan, Syria, the Taliban, and others, including many individuals.

Such errors are dangerous for a variety of reasons. Advocating engagement with extremists strengthens them; reducing sanctions or not instituting them has the same effect. Those who oppose such groups are stigmatized and don’t receive the support they need and deserve. Acts of terrorism and advocacy of genocide are ignored. People do die as a result of these errors, though rarely are they those who made the mistakes. Click here to read the entire article…

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The Age of Idiocy

When It Comes to Analyzing the Middle East,

We Live in the Age of Idiocy

by Barry Rubin of The Rubin Reports

After more than 30 years of watching people write dumb things about the Middle East, I believe that in the last month I’ve seen more nonsense than at any previous time. The problem arises from ignorance, lack of understanding of the region by those presented as experts; plus arrogance, treating the region and the lives of people as a game (Hey, let’s try this and see what happens!), fostered by the failure of such control mechanisms as a balanced debate and editing that rejects simplistic bias or stupidity; as well as a simple lack of logic.

To put it another way, I am reading material that simultaneously has no connection with the real world, is full of internal contradictions, and often seems deliberately tailored to misrepresent events in order to prove a false thesis. Fortunately, this stuff has not done actual damage in the real world–much of it has not been implemented in policy–yet but may in future.

Click here to read the entire article…

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Boring Press Conference?

Boring Press Conference?

No, Gold Mine for Understanding

U.S. Middle East Policy

by Barry Rubin of the Rubin Reports

What could be more boring, you might ask, then a press conference following the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr al-Thani? Well, a little document like this is a gold mine of interesting stuff that either won’t be covered or won’t be understood in the mass media.

Qatar, though tiny, is a very interesting country. On one hand, it hosts al-Udayd air base which is vital for the U.S. presence in the Gulf. On the other hand, it hosts and owns al-Jazira television which incites anti-Americanism. To make matters worse, Qatar has been the Gulf Arab state closest to Iran, which hosted the anti-American and radical summit led by the Iran-Syria bloc.

So Qatar is hedging its bets rather well. In public, Hillary isn’t going to complain about this stuff. Did she do so in the private meeting? Perhaps, though the jollity of al-Thani, a member of the ruling family, seems to belie any tough words from the secretary of state. But this is going too far:

“Qatar is a friend and an ally of the United States, and the partnership between our two countries is a model of the new beginning based on mutual respect and mutual interest that President Obama called for in Cairo.” Click here to read the entire article…

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Syria Allied with Al-Qaida; White House Says: Is that a Problem?

Obama’s General Says:

Syria Allied with Al-Qaida, Attacking U.S.;

White House Says: Is that a Problem?

By Barry Rubin of The Rubin Reports

Does anyone read the newspapers in the U.S. government? How about checking out the dispatches coming from its generals in the field? Here’s a news story which tells all.

A Reuters’ dispatch from Iraq interviews the commander of U.S. forces there. What’s he say?

Al-Qaida is joining forces with Saddam Hussein’s supporters.

And where are both al-Qaida’s forces fighting in Iraq and Saddam’s backers headquartered with lots of money stolen from Iraq? Syria.

Syria? So Damascus is now allied with al-Qaida, the perpetrators of the September 11 attack to kill Americans and defeat the United States in Iraq? Is that right, general?:

“Investigations into massive suicide bombings in Baghdad on Oct. 25, in which more than 150 people died, indicated that explosives or fighters were coming across from Syria, U.S. General Ray Odierno also said.” Click here to read the entire article…

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