GWOT: The More Things Change . . .

[skankhunt42]

gritty voice: "Police actions.... police actions never change.... "

What is your plan exactly? To completely change the monetary system? Have a complete global revolution as to how the world works? The game is what it is. It has its rules. There are winners, and there are losers. We are a clandestine empire, everyone not just Islamic neophytes are trying to knock us down to our knees. The solution is to absolutely kill them. The problem was really caused when we took down Iraq. We need the Ottoman empire to come back. Something to stabilize that region. Until that happens, fuck em. Sometimes its time to start killing mother fuckers.

"Everyone is out to get us". "It's time to start killing them". Who exactly? Everyone? That should work.

And what do you suppose happens 10 minutes after an Ottoman Empire is born? They become Enemy #1.

Yea, you're right. If history has taught us anything, the appropriate thing to do is to sit back, be nice to everyone, and hope for the best. Part of the deal that comes with having an empire is expanding and defending it. People are going to die. There is no way around it. At least we get to choose who. I'd rather be sitting here in America then anywhere else in the world. We hit the fucking lottery. This peaceful world you have planned out, this idealism, it doesn't exist, and it never has. Hopefully one day it will, but right now, we aren't close. Enjoy the decadence bitch.

[Smitty-48]

Decadence indeed, but bear in mind, it wasn't a lottery, it was a bankruptcy buyout at pennies on the dollar, the problem with splendid isolation is, where do you think the twenty trillion dollar economy comes from?

If you think you get a twenty trillion dollar economy in splendid isolation, you are fooling yourselves, the British Empire; the British don't have it anymore, look at them now. America owns the British Empire; cha-ching on a global scale don't kid yourselves.

There is a motherlode of wealth and power in play, and last time I checked; wealth and power; America love you long time, America beaucoup, America beaucoup love wealth and power.

Americans are not imperialists? I mean, ca'mon, don't try to shine us on, Americans are beaucoup imperialists, and it ain't just in Washington, that's just a scapegoat, imperial hubris, the force is strong in this one, Americans literally worship themselves as if they were Demi-Gods.

[adwinistrator]

Reuters - U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid (2/2/17)

U.S. Central Command said in a statement that an investigating team had "concluded regrettably that civilian non-combatants were likely killed" during Sunday's raid. It said children may have been among the casualties.

Central Command said its assessment "seeks to determine if there were any still-undetected civilian casualties in the ferocious firefight."

U.S. military officials told Reuters that Trump approved his first covert counterterrorism operation without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.

As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists.

The Pentagon directed queries about the officials' characterization of the raid to U.S. Central Command, which pointed only to its statement on Wednesday.

"CENTCOM asks for operations we believe have a good chance for success and when we ask for authorization we certainly believe there is a chance of successful operations based on our planning," CENTCOM spokesman Colonel John Thomas said.

"Any operation where you are going to put operators on the ground has inherent risks," he said.

The U.S. officials said the extremists’ base had been identified as a target before the Obama administration left office on Jan. 20, but then-President Barack Obama held off approving a raid ahead of his departure.

A White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and that the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January. The raid was delayed for operational reasons, the White House official said.

The military officials who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said "a brutal firefight" killed Owens and at least 15 Yemeni women and children. One of the dead was the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a militant killed by a 2011 U.S. drone strike.

Some of the women were firing at the U.S. force, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.

Pushback from Obama administration's national security team on "White House official said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and that the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January"

Eric Pelofsky, former Special Assistant to the President & Sr. Director for North Africa and Yemen, National Security Council, said via twitter:

This is most important point by .@ColinKahl - detailed analysis (weighing concerns) prepared for incoming team, but no decisions by #Obama

Colin H. Kahl is the former deputy assistant to President Barack Obama and national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden (2014 to 2017). From 2009 to 2011, he served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. In 2011, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service by Secretary Robert Gates.
Colin Kahl explains Obama admin's process in this.

Some Yemen facts:

1. DoD worked up GENERAL proposal for OVERALL set of expanded authorities for these types of raids at end of Obama admin.
2. The broad package was discussed in the interagency in the closing weeks of the Obama term. This particular raid was NOT discussed.
3. Moreover no recommendation was made other than a recommendation to provide the next Administration with the necessary information.
4. Idea was for next team to run a deliberative process to assess risks.
5. And, critically, Obama made no decisions on this before leaving office, believing it represented escalation of U.S. involvement in Yemen
6. And therefore should not be something he decided a few days before leaving office. Obama thought the next team should take a careful look.
7. And run a careful process. From what I've read and heard, however, team Trump didn't do a careful vetting of the overall proposal or raid
8. Instead, Trump apparently had dinner with Mattis/Dunford and greenlit the op. I've heard there was a Deputies meeting the next day, but...
9. DC was brief and basically irrelevant since the decision had been made the night before.
10. So, in a nutshell, Trump and his team owns the process and the ultimate decision--and the consequences.

Eric Pelofsky's remarks on Spicer's statement:

not what happened... Careful analysis prepared for the incoming team.

[TheReal_ND]

K... keep me posted.

[Smitty-48]

Definitely sounds about right, although, this is not something that is unique to Trump, there has been an overuse of special operations forces as an all purpose lever, and an under use of everything else, for years now, because SOF is Black, and has an inherently small footprint, and for political reasons, nobody wants to do anything White anymore, and nobody wants to put any significant boots on the ground neither, problem being, that everything then becomes high risk, with no room for error.

[SuburbanFarmer]

Decadence indeed, but bear in mind, it wasn't a lottery, it was a bankruptcy buyout at pennies on the dollar, the problem with splendid isolation is, where do you think the twenty trillion dollar economy comes from?

If you think you get a twenty trillion dollar economy in splendid isolation, you are fooling yourselves, the British Empire; the British don't have it anymore, look at them now. America owns the British Empire; cha-ching on a global scale don't kid yourselves.

There is a motherlode of wealth and power in play, and last time I checked; wealth and power; America love you long time, America beaucoup, America beaucoup love wealth and power.

Americans are not imperialists? I mean, ca'mon, don't try to shine us on, Americans are beaucoup imperialists, and it ain't just in Washington, that's just a scapegoat, imperial hubris, the force is strong in this one, Americans literally worship themselves as if they were Demi-Gods.

I don't have anywhere near a share of the $20 trillion economy, do you?
We've not fought a defensive war since 1812, and the "empire" has done little or nothing for the average citizen - in fact, leaving us worse off for all of the gross corporate and government corruption. Down with it, I say. Splendid isolation sounds like just the thing.

We'll be here on our ultra-fortified continent chilling. Europe can blow themselves up again if they please.

[Smitty-48]

Decadence indeed, but bear in mind, it wasn't a lottery, it was a bankruptcy buyout at pennies on the dollar, the problem with splendid isolation is, where do you think the twenty trillion dollar economy comes from?

If you think you get a twenty trillion dollar economy in splendid isolation, you are fooling yourselves, the British Empire; the British don't have it anymore, look at them now. America owns the British Empire; cha-ching on a global scale don't kid yourselves.

There is a motherlode of wealth and power in play, and last time I checked; wealth and power; America love you long time, America beaucoup, America beaucoup love wealth and power.

Americans are not imperialists? I mean, ca'mon, don't try to shine us on, Americans are beaucoup imperialists, and it ain't just in Washington, that's just a scapegoat, imperial hubris, the force is strong in this one, Americans literally worship themselves as if they were Demi-Gods.

I don't have anywhere near a share of the $20 trillion economy, do you?
We've not fought a defensive war since 1812, and the "empire" has done little or nothing for the average citizen - in fact, leaving us worse off for all of the gross corporate and government corruption. Down with it, I say. Splendid isolation sounds like just the thing.

We'll be here on our ultra-fortified continent chilling. Europe can blow themselves up again if they please.

Well, you know, fair enough, but without an empire, Americans would have to start paying for everything and operating within a budget, and I'm just not seeing the political will for that, but by all means, I'm not insisting that you run an empire of paper, but at the same time, it's not like I'm averse to get dat paper neither, while you are making it rain. Whatever, let me know when the new paradigm is at hand, and I will make the adjustment, it's not like Canada could ever wag the dog on this issue after all.

[Smitty-48]

That being said, pretty sure Big Daddy Trump is here to make it rain; all rumors of America becoming a Giant Canada any moment now; greatly exaggerated to say the least, or so it seems.

Near as I can tell, what Imperator Trump is in fact saying;

"Empire of Liberty, except for the Liberty part, shitcan that nonsense and just render unto Ceasar".

Far from swearing off of imperial hubris, America has in fact just doubled down; The Imperial Presidency on Steroids.

[Montegriffo]

We need the Ottoman empire to come back. Something to stabilize that region.

Yes, and this was the rabbit hole that the British went down and then left for America to deal with, the Ottoman Turks were integral to maintaining the stable line of communication through the Near East, to the Middle East, and Far East beyond, when the Ottoman's sided with the Kaiser, and so the British sent Lawrence into Arabia to bring the Ottoman's down, that can of worms has been in play ever since, when America bought the British Empire out, America inherited the can of worms.

I'm not getting involved in this one but from an historical point wasn't the Ottoman Empire described as the sick man of Europe as far back as the 1850's? Was there really any chance they could have held the Arab world together even without the Crimean war and WWI?

[Smitty-48]

We need the Ottoman empire to come back. Something to stabilize that region.

Yes, and this was the rabbit hole that the British went down and then left for America to deal with, the Ottoman Turks were integral to maintaining the stable line of communication through the Near East, to the Middle East, and Far East beyond, when the Ottoman's sided with the Kaiser, and so the British sent Lawrence into Arabia to bring the Ottoman's down, that can of worms has been in play ever since, when America bought the British Empire out, America inherited the can of worms.

I'm not getting involved in this one but from an historical point wasn't the Ottoman Empire described as the sick man of Europe as far back as the 1850's? Was there really any chance they could have held the Arab world together even without the Crimean war and WWI?

Well the whole point of the Crimean War was to hold it together, expressly because it was guarding the lines of communication to the Empire, the whole point of flipping to the Russian side and infecting Britain with the sickness, was apparently; "ZOMG Belgian Neutrality!".

Was the Ottoman Empire on the verge of collapse in 1913? I would say no, before the war and Lawerence of Arabia showing up, the Arabs were perfectly happy to figtht amongst themselves, ensuring that the Turks could continue to divide and rule.

Perhaps Turkey would have to give up control of the Balkans, but I don't think the Arabian Penninsula was in play, until the British sided with the Russians and French, and then Turkey sided with the Kaiser, and then went after the Suez.