Our Next War?

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the British military are preparing for potential military action against Iran.

Only a year ago The Truthseeker had an interesting article which is so ridiculous it could be true. However, Libya interrupted the plans, although our presence there was officially halted this week.

"Where next?" thought Obama and phoned his lapdog Cameron. "Next is Iran and I want to bring the schedule forward.  Must keep the momentum of war going or the people will begin to notice the money we waste on such foolish adventures."

"Right behind you," said Cameron.

According to the Guardian, the US may want to take action before next November's US election.  Obama can't afford to lose because of unjustified US military intervention in other countries and he knows Americans will think a military operation now is purely political because Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme has been public knowledge for some years now. According to 'sources' there is 'new' intelligence which has declared Tehran is moving some new, more efficient centrifuges into the heavily fortified military base dug beneath a mountain at the city of Qom.

A British source:

"Beyond [12 months], we couldn't be sure our missiles could reach them," the source said. "So the window is closing, and the UK needs to do some sensible forward planning. The US could do this on their own but they won't. So we need to anticipate being asked to contribute. We had thought this would wait until after the US election next year, but now we are not so sure. President Obama has a big decision to make in the coming months because he won't want to do anything just before an election."

Yes, I have little doubt our warmongering leaders will take us to war with Iran -  and soon.

 source

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A Badly Judged Photocall

What's the girl thinking?

More and more I despair at the actions of our Prime Minister.  Surely he must have realised that the choreographed table tennis stunt was distasteful and not what is expected of British Prime Ministers.  Whilst I realise in this day and age that photocalls are an essential part of self-promotion from PMs, I expect Britain's most senior representative to act with dignity and not behaving like a schoolboy.

Why do British Prime Ministers have such a desperate desire to impress any president of the US?  When did we become so insecure?  Any relationship the US has had with Britain has been advantageous to them and everything the US government undertakes is calculated in terms of dollars, not relationships.

We are involved in two wars. I wonder how the family and friends of those who have lost their lives in these wars feel about seeing the two men responsible for the war operations, cavorting like teenagers instead of behaving like statesmen when in the public eye.

In an attempt to show the world they are 'just like us' the two leaders have shown how superfluous they are to the serious aspects of government. Then again, every business needs a chief salesman.

A badly judged photocall indeed.

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One Stands Out

Is This Obamadindong's American Dream?

Of the stories I only glimpsed whilst I was in the beautiful, affluent but overcrowded in places, South East, one stood and still does stand out. Our good old USA honest to goodness Chief Muslim. I was appalled when I heard of his comments and very keen to back up what I knew would be my blog list pals reaction. Who says this is the silly season? Whilst the media and the chatterati might consider August the month to bugger of, some of us manage to keep a decent torch alight. I was not disappointed. Gotty and barking led an excellent collection of posts and comments. Splendid but I still felt a desire to add my twopence worth. The belief that vast movements of people across the globe is somehow the way to go for the human race is madness. It is the way to create tensions, jealousies and animosity and implant them into a society on a grander scale than when "home" was where the tribe were, once upon a time.
Obummer's comments were of a very inflammatory nature and I suspect he was well aware of that fact. Since his inauguration he appears to have rushed forward an agenda, planned many years earlier, to marginalise the right and the white in much the same way as is happening in Europe and the UK. It can only and will end in tears. I suspect more than his rejection will be the end result. It will not be pretty.

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'Afghan war is lost and US government has to face it'

Meanwhile, Barack Obama goes on a US chat show to talk about the economy and the war in an attempt to improve his poor ratings. At least that may take the media's attention away from the postponement of the Senate hearing concerning al Megrahi's release and BP- postponed due to lack of witnesses.

Now these four vocal senators can slip back into oblivion as they've had their 15 minutes of fame.

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Has Cameron Bitten Off More Than He Can Chew?

Regular readers will know how infuriated I was when David Cameron did his U-turn and conceded to a meeting with the four US senators who have been aggressively calling for the Scottish and UK governments to have an inquiry regarding the release of Al-Megrahi. Since the meeting with Cameron the vociferous senators have touted themselves round the US television studios reiterating Cameron doesn't 'rule out' an inquiry into the Scottish government's handling of the release of Megrahi and the association of BP in the decision.

It's not that I disagree with free speech, but yesterday I found Cameron's denouncement of the Scottish government's decision quite disgraceful from a UK Prime Minister. In all my 64 years I've never heard a UK Prime Minister insult any UK country on the world stage in the manner David Cameron has in his few days of fawning and wooing Obama. It has become more and more embarrassing to watch.

The resurrection of the Al-Megrahi affair has even brought one of my favourite bloggers back to his keyboard after insisting he could no longer contribute and believe me, he's a man who does know Scottish law. Along with others who smell the hypocrisy, Ian Hamilton decries Cameron's behaviour in the US - something which will haunt David Cameron and the Tory party in Scotland for years to come. Cameron knows the Thatcher era resulted in Scotland being bereft of Tory politicians for years and now he's ensured that Scotland will be bereft of tories possibly forever. Even staunch tories here are shocked by his impropriety. We don't take unwarranted or unproven criticism lightly here.

There may be questions about the Magrahi conviction and release to answer, but for Cameron to stand on the world stage and condemn the Scottish government for their decision, when he's not even fully aware of all the details - because the last Westminster government and US governments refused permission for the Scottish government to release all communications -shows the shallowness of the man's knowledge.

Last night there was an excellent interview on Newsnight Scotland with a UN observer at the Lockerbie trial, a Scottish lawyer who is an expert in American politics and Dr Swire, who lost his daughter in the Lockerbie bombing. Dr Swire firmly stated: "Scotland should hold her head up high over all this". You can view the programme here.

Has Cameron bitten off more than he can chew? He'd better believe it. I suggest all Scots interested in ensuring Scotland is treated with respect on the world stage by the British PM should write to their MP saying just that. I intend to do so. I also thought I would write directly to David Cameron, then decided I'd be wasting my time. The new Prime Minister regards Scotland as nothing more than a political punchbag.

Is this the straw that will break the camel's back in Scotland and make us realise we must take control of our own country and not attached ourselves to those politicians in the UK government who wish to destroy us worldwide?

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The 'Special' Relationship

David Cameron travelled to Washington yesterday for his first official visit to the United States since becoming Prime Minister in May.

A strategy for what he calls a 'vital year' in Afghanistan is likely to be top of the agenda when he meets the US president today yet Cameron, in his remarks about the UK being the junior partner in the imaginery relationship, leaves him at a serious disadvantage. Since we are regularly preached to about equality in this country, why would a prime minister openly admit to being the submissive partner in any relationship?

The coalition government's handling of the Afghanistan war has been dreadful to date. First we were told that all troops would be home by the next election; then Liam Fox suggested they were there for the long haul of at least 10 to 20 years and the latest from the Prime Minister is that they will return by 2014.

Strategy? There is no strategy. Obama judges his allies by the extent of their commitment to his ever-changing plans for this war which he personally has intensified because he needs to show the Americans that withdrawal will start before the next US election.

Next on Obama's agenda will possibly be BP which is now being linked to the Megrahi's release. David Cameron has been most vocal in his opinion that the release was a big mistake yet he must be aware there is considerable doubt to Megrahi's guilt. Lallands Peat Worrier has an excellent post regarding one aspect of the Megrahi story while Lobbydog shows just how well Nigel Sheinwald, the British Ambassador in Washington, is fueling the flames of the situation. Calls have been made for an investigation and it's report US officials in Washington have confirmed that they want to ask past and present UK ministers to give evidence about their handling of the case - casting a shadow over former justice secretary Jack Straw and the Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill.

But Scotland's First Minister refuses to let any investigation stop with his Justice Minister. He's suggested that the US senators look elsewhere. "It is important to understand that what the American senators want to inquire about is whether there was a deal in the desert with Col Gaddafi," he stated. "The best way to answer that would be to call Mr Blair and ask him directly." Well done Alex Salmond.

The foreign relations committee will move quickly this week to identify witnesses to testify at hearings, set for 29 July, on BP's alleged involvement in the Megrahi case. It is not clear if any Britons asked to give evidence will oblige. The hearings are threatening to add serious new strains between the US and Britain but there is no sign that the Obama administration means to distance itself from the Senate's initiative.

In the past week not only has David Cameron treated Scotland like an ill-behaved child but decided he'll continue the fictitious believe that there is anything special about our relationship with the US. It's time he started to talk up Britain and put our interest first and last, but will he during this visit? My image is of a fawning British Prime Minister happy to take instructions from a US president who has lost the confidence of his people. Mr Cameron isn't doing too well in his choice of best friends.

Christopher Meyer:

If ever there was a moment for Britain to press the reset button, it is in its relationship with America. That should be David Cameron's paramount objective.

He will need to do so with a tough-minded realism, in which the national interest is not sacrificed to the sentimental rhetoric of the Special Relationship.

Tony Blair's approach to the U.S. must be buried once and for all.

source plus others

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The US Top Brasses

Photo: Getty

General Stanley McChrystal, the man in charge in Afghanistan, has been summoned to the White House. It would seem he was stitched up by the popular American magazine Rollingstone although surely he knew that being in the company of a magazine writer for several days wasn't a smart idea.

I've read the article and don't see anything which necessitates an apology - nothing said by the General is a sacking offence. Yet, the President is upset and demands his military chief leave his post and nip the few thousand miles for a reprimand or the sack. Can't have the military top brass criticising the civilian top brass can we?

There are all sorts of rumours flying about the American media. He 'could face court marshall' says one paper and suggests that he would end up sitting behind a desk like the disgraced Canadian Brigadier General Dan Menard, who was speedily removed from his post in Afghanistan.

Another rumour is that he will offer to resign, but will he?

He has shown exceptionally poor judgement in this case and it's not the first time, but the US is at war and thousands of US military depend upon this man's decisions. It's a crucial time in Afghanistan right now and the possible departure of McChrystal is just bizarre. Obama should look a little closer to home and allow his military chief to get on with his job.

Why has a magazine article acquired so much attention from the White House? I can only think President Obama can't accept criticism and is fairly thin-skinned. Not good attributes for a man who likes to be thought of as the leader of the western world.

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Why Is Bob Ainsworth Speaking Out Now?

Why was Bob Ainsworth so candid with the Defence Committee on Tuesday? It's seldom a UK Cabinet Minister takes a swipe at the US president and especially not this US president who still seems to have an almost demi-god status in British politics.

Has Mr Ainsworth had enough and thought his honesty would cost him his job? Does he now know too much and like Eric Joyce want out but it's prepared to resign? Or does he know he won't be relected so he has nothing to lose?

His comments included: "The 98 British deaths this year had been a key factor but the hiatus in the US had not helped bolster public support.

"The prism through which this is all seen, in the UK is the deaths in theatre and that tends to wipe out in the public mind and does damage to people's perceptions of the success that we are having in Afghanistan."

The prime minister's spokesman hurriedly denied that the Defence Secretary was suggesting the US delay had made it more difficult to make the case for the campaign in the UK.

Nine thousand troops in a theatre of war with no political leadership offered is nothing less than a national disgrace. A country like Britain having to wait for a US President to tell us what to do makes a mockery of our democracy, or what's left of it. Gordon Brown agreed he would send 500 more troops if the other UN countries contributed. I would like to see Europe's contribution before one soldier steps on a plane to Afghanistan because I do not believe any country will contribute more military.

A rather interesting extract from an article on Frank Spiel Mill's site for you:

Third, Commander in Chief Obama’s releasing of the formerly Top Secret Memos on his own army’s interrogation techniques befouls the inferred loyalty he owes his soldiers. No competent commander gives the enemy any part of his soldier’s interrogation operations manual. No sane commander takes a further step backwards and eliminates the very interrogation techniques proven to add to the advantage he continually seeks. Such actions heighten the risk of harm to his troops, weaken his army’s potential for victory and threaten the security of his nation. For war is unequivocally harsh my friends and foes. And it appears that Commander in Chief Obama does not have the stomach for war at the Jihadist-level. Duck and take cover.

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Obama and "The Special Relationship'

Our ally? Never.

At last, a journalist who tells how it really is. Fraser Nelson, the editor of the Spectator, is trailing an article by Con Coghlin in today's Spectator in which Con discusses the way Washington, with regard to the Afghanistan war, is treating Britain.

"The Afghan issue has made clear the astonishing disregard with which Mr Obama treats Britain. As he decides how many more troops to send to Afghanistan - a decision which will fundamentally affect the scope of the mission (war*) - Britain is reduced to taking a guess. The White House dies not even pretend to portray this as a joint decision. It is diplomatic cold-shouldering that stands in contrast not just to the Blair-Bush era, but to the togetherness of the soldiers on the ground."

As Fraser Nelson says, in this respect he's the worst kind of ally. How long have a few of us been saying exactly this? Have people started to waken up? I do hope so.

*Some journalists still have a problem with the word war. Perhaps they can't find it in their hearts to call the death of 235 British soldiers in a hostile country, where our troops are continually in armed conflict, a war. I can, because it is.

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Do You Believe Gordon Brown?

I've listened to Gordon Brown's speech earlier in which he tries to convince us, the great unwashed, that our armed forces need to be in Afghanistan in order to keep our streets safe.

"Fighting there, so that we are safer at home..." In what way are we safer here with most of our military away from home fighting an unnecessary war in a foreign land?

"Joined by countries from all over the world..." Yes indeed other countries are contributed their troops through the Nato alliance. We have 9,000 of our troops out there, Germany has 4,200, less than half that amount and they are constitutionally restricted to non-combative roles. France has 3,000 troops in Afghanistan and refuses to send more.

"Britain could not afford to walk away..." That's fear-mongering and disingenuous. No reason given as to what it is we can't afford because there is none.

Brown threatened Karzai with the withdrawal of international support if he doesn't tackle corruption. I've been listening to this same sentence from Brown for many months now. The Afghan government will continue to operate as it does. Yes it will do a little window dressing to ensure the $billions of aid continue to flow in and to show the outside world change, but the core will stay as it has for generations.

"In the end we will succeed or fail together..." Emotive words again, desperately trying to convey that Britain would be cowardly to remove themselves from this conflict. It has become very evident over the past months that Obama calls the tune in this war and the other countries play the supporting acts. Those like Canada have this sussed and already have a planned withdrawal organised but the UK government refuse to even utter the words.

As I've said many times, our presence in this war will reverberate throughout these islands for generations. Our borders are wide open to those who wish to do us harm and therefore we already have many living here who wish us harm. Our forces would be far better utilised policing our borders to ensure that no more gain entry. Surely as an island we are in a better position than many other countries of ensuring our coastlines and official entry points are stringently supervised.

The most revealing detail in this, and the Iraq war, is that all three main political parties continue to support it. With the exception of a few brave dissenters, none of the opposition leaders has questioned why we continue to be committed to this war, when there is a flood of evidence which proves Gordon Brown's reasons are wrong. No political leader has the courage to look far enough into the future to see the damage this will do to what was once a free country. The blame lies not only at the feet of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown but with David Cameron and Nick Clegg. They're all responsible for the misery which will be caused here in the coming years.

I don't believe Brown, not for one minute.

It has just come to my notice JesstheDog has also posted on this subject. Have a read here.

Update: A quote from Gordon Brown in the Record:

"A 'Fortress Britain' policy of just protecting your own borders is not going to be sufficient."

What evidence does he have to make that assertion? No effort has been made for years to protect our borders efficiently. Quite the contrary.

Source

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Welcome Home

For seven months the Black Watch has served on the front line in Afghanistan, but this week three flights will bring the 430 battle weary soldiers home.

Five Black Watch soldiers lost their lives and 31 were wounded in action during their time in southern Afghanistan and their Commanding Officer, Lt-Col Stephen Cartwright, flew into Scotland on Saturday, ahead of his men, to meet the bereaved families.

He told of his "immeasurable pride" in those men both lost and returning.

"... I saw young Scottish soldiers perform at the very highest level," he said.

"The regiment was given lots of dangerous and difficult tasks and we were pushed to the extreme, but the men's performance was outstanding and every mission was a success," he stated.

Meanwhile the actions of the Black Watch have also attracted international praise. Before leaving Kandahar they were presented with the Canadian Joint Talk Force Commander's Commendation for their courage on operations. It is the first time the international honour has been awarded in three years.

The Black Watch's return this week will be followed by a series of six homecoming marches in their traditional heartland of Perthshire, Dundee, Fife and Angus next month. A memorial service will also be held in Inverness Cathedral on 3 December in thanksgiving for their return and in memory of those lost in action.

Anyone wishing the dates of the marches should check the Black Watch website.

Further to my post in which I mentioned the death of SSgt Schmid, I was very sad to hear he lost his life on his last day of deployment. This is another tragedy which could have well been avoided if Gordon Brown had shown the world Britain was a country which made its own military decisions. Now it has been proven that we are nothing but a supporting 'act' for the US. Our troops are presently in limbo while our PM waits for Mr Abama to tell him what to do. How did we get into this position?

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When War Becomes Peace and the Lie Becomes the Truth

I've unashamedly lifted the title for this post from Global Research which states 'We are at a crossroads of the most serious crisis of modern history. The US in partnership with NATO and Israel has launched a global military adventure which, in a very real sense, threatens the future of humanity.

At this critical juncture in our history the Norwegian Nobel Committee's decision to award the nobel peace prize to President Obama constitutes an unmitigated tool of propaganda and distortion, which unreservedly reports the Pentagon's 'Long War': a 'War without Borders' in the true sense of the word, characterised by the worldwide deployment of US military might'.

You can read the whole article here. It may give you food for thought, as it did me.

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Government Support? Don't Make Me Laugh

We have 9,000 of our armed forces on duty in Afghanistan. They have been sent there, supposedly to protect us citizens of the UK, by both ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair and the present Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

What are they doing in Afghanistan? Any plan that did exist is less coherent today than it was even a month ago, compounded by Bob Ainsworth admitting, during his photo opportunity visit with Alan Johnson to Helmand, that it would take time - and help from other Nato allies - to provide the extra troops called for by General McChrystal.

What's really happening is the government are keeping these men and women in this hostile country for prestige which has nothing to do with the safety of our islands. Because of Gordon Brown's obsession to be seen as the saviour of the world, he is happy to sacrifice the lives of many in the armed forces. His Defence Secretary admits the government's war chest is empty. Surely that is proof enough that our soldiers will not be receiving the equipment and supplies they need to survive. Ainsworth continues by saying Britain needs more support from Nato allies. Hasn't it yet occurred to him that other Nato countries are not prepared to offer more troops because they know their people will rebel?

We have soldiers pleading for extra support, senior British military officers warning of the risks of sending more troops without the equipment required to protect them, the US Commander insisting more personnel are essential because he does have a plan yet the leaders of Britain and the US refuse to make decisions and seem content to allow their military to continue to be killed. Life seems so cheap to those in power doesn't it.

Of course military bosses don't want to be seen as having failed either, but there's no honour in allowing the people under their command to be sitting ducks.

I cannot comment on how effective General McChrystal's strategy would be, but it seems President Obama doesn't like it.

To quote General McChrystal: "Waiting does not prolong a favourable outcome. This effort will not remain winnable indefinitely and nor will it win public support."

It is to be hoped this will waken Americans to the futility of this war. They respect their armed forces far more than the British. What it will take to waken us and demand these courageous people return home I leave that to you to decide

Update: Clarinda has provided me with this post. It gives basic and very underestimated costs of this war to America.

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Is Another War in the Offing?

I found this staged announcement, from Obama, Brown and Sarkozy, chilling when I watched it live last week. In fact I'd go as far to say the presentation had a sinister aura.

First thought that sprang to mind was 'this is a precursor speech to war with Iran' and I'm not the only person to think so.

Of course there are always other opinions and James Cusick provides one:

Over the next few crucial months, Obama may need to look to Brown as his “global” ally and Brown will be more than happy to take the role as international global statesman as they both focus on the crisis of Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

By accident, and certainly not by any choreography, Brown has been handed a global crisis that could transform his last months in office. The crisis centres on a secret Iranian nuclear enrichment plant and demands that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors be given access to the hidden plant at Qom in Iran. In the absence of co-operation by the Iranians, a new regime of sanctions will be imposed with the potential backing of Russia.

The worrying part is that, when questioned, David Miliband immediately refused to rule out the option of military action.

Iain MacWhirter contributed to this subject today too:

Perhaps a small new war might save Gordon’s bacon. The refusal by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, to rule out military action against Iran for developing a second uranium enrichment plant, suggests that Britain is not going to complain too loudly if Israel bombs it, as they did the Osirak plant in Iraq in 1981. There is nothing like heightened international tension to bolster a political leader.

Once I read that when politicians get the taste for war they never stop being warmongers. I do wish I could remember who wrote that because it becomes more believable each day.

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Obama Proves Practice Makes Perfect

Obama shows that practice makes perfect. All these years in front of the mirror has obviously paid off.

This video shows 130 Obama 'meets and greets' condensed into 22 seconds. Enjoy!

Barack Obama's amazingly consistent smile from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

With thanks to Dick Puddlecote

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Update on Gordon's Saviour of the World Award

Thanks to Prodicus who has discovered that, although Gordon and Sarah Brown were listed as guests on the tickets for the event given by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation in the US, the Prime Minister was only there for 15 minutes.

This left the $1,000 a head gathering dumbfounded.

A No 10 spokesman said Gordon Brown had never been due to attend the dinner.

Obviously Gordon was far more interested in his 15 minute kitchen summit with Obama.

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Rejection Can Cause Depression

We really ought to have some sympathy for our Prime Minister. Once more he's been snubbed by Obama and his lackeys have been doing their best over the weekend to say Brown's request for a meeting was "overplayed".

British officials made five attempts to secure official talks with the US President and even agreed to a policy change in an attempt to land a joint appearance between the two leaders, said diplomatic sources.

But the White House rebuffed the offers and Mr Brown, who had hoped to increase his popularity by appearing on his own with Mr Obama, had to settle instead for a snatched conversation with the President in the New York kitchen.

Unrequited love can lead to serious depression so is it any wonder our PM is believed to be taking antidepressants? Keep taking the pills Gordon, I don't think Barack wants to be friends.

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