Tag Archives: President Barack Obama

Jul 8 2014

Spending and Morality


Williams is right on!

Re-Post from CNSNEWS.com July 8, 2014 – 7:00 AM

By Walter E. Williams

During last year’s budget negotiation meetings, President Barack Obama told House Speaker John Boehner, “We don’t have a spending problem.” When Boehner responded with “But, Mr. President, we have a very serious spending problem,” Obama replied, “I’m getting tired of hearing you say that.”

In one sense, the president is right. What’s being called a spending problem is really a symptom of an unappreciated deep-seated national moral rot. Let’s examine it with a few questions.

Is it moral for Congress to forcibly use one person to serve the purposes of another? I believe that most Americans would pretend that to do so is offensive. Think about it this way. Suppose I saw a homeless, hungry elderly woman huddled on a heating grate in the dead of winter. To help the woman, I ask somebody for a $200 donation to help her out. If the person refuses, I then use intimidation, threats and coercion to take the person’s money. I then purchase food and shelter for the needy woman. My question to you: Have I committed a crime? I hope that most people would answer yes. It’s theft to take the property of one person to give to another.

Now comes the hard part. Would it be theft if I managed to get three people to agree that I should take the person’s money to help the woman? What if I got 100, 1 million or 300 million people to agree to take the person’s $200? Would it be theft then? What if instead of personally taking the person’s $200, I got together with other Americans and asked Congress to use Internal Revenue Service agents to take the person’s $200? The bottom-line question is: Does an act that’s clearly immoral when done privately become moral when it is done collectively and under the color of law? Put another way, does legality establish morality?

For most of our history, Congress did a far better job of limiting its activities to what was both moral and constitutional. As a result, federal spending was only 3 to 5 percent of the gross domestic product from our founding until the 1920s, in contrast with today’s 25 percent. Close to three-quarters of today’s federal spending can be described as Congress taking the earnings of one American to give to another through thousands of handout programs, such as farm subsidies, business bailouts and welfare.

During earlier times, such spending was deemed unconstitutional and immoral. James Madison, the acknowledged father of our Constitution, said, “Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” In 1794, when Congress appropriated $15,000 to assist some French refugees, Madison stood on the floor of the House of Representatives to object, saying, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” Today’s Americans would crucify a politician expressing similar statements.

There may be nitwits out there who’d assert, “That James Madison guy forgot about the Constitution’s general welfare clause.” Madison had that covered, explaining in a letter, “If Congress can do whatever in their discretion can be done by money, and will promote the general welfare, the Government is no longer a limited one possessing enumerated powers, but an indefinite one.”

Thomas Jefferson agreed, writing: Members of Congress “are not to do anything they please to provide for the general welfare. … It would reduce the (Constitution) to a single phrase, that of instituting a Congress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do whatever evil they please.”

The bottom line is that spending is not our basic problem. We’ve become an immoral people demanding that Congress forcibly use one American to serve the purposes of another. Deficits and runaway national debt are merely symptoms of that larger problem.

Jul 5 2014

Oh my Gosh! ‘What’ will Obama do?


Al Qaeda-Iraq forces advance on Baghdad military air base. US ponders air strike ahead of Iran and Russia

Re-Post from DEBKAfile  Exclusive Report  July 4, 2014, 10:03 PM (IDT)

Sukhoi SU-25 warplane in Baghdad
Sukhoi SU-25 warplane in Baghdad

Al Qaeda Iraq (IS) and its Sunni tribal allies are advancing on the al-Muthanna military air base at Baghdad international airport, according to the latest intelligence dated Friday, July 4. Three columns, of 1,000-1,500 fighters each, are descending on their target from the north and the west in US-made armored Humvees and APCs taken booty from the Iraqi army.The air field is situated 16 km west of central Baghdad. The Islamist State’s military planners, many of whom were officers in Saddam Hussein’s army – the president ousted in 2003 by the US invasion of Iraq – have calculated that there was no need at this stage to conquer the Iraqi capital.Seizing the military air field will afford them control of Baghdad air space and provide a forward base for bombing forays in different quarters of the city. The Islamists count on support in the Sunni suburbs of West Baghad.debkafile’s sources also reveal that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki made the fatal mistake of withdrawing his army’s 4th Division from the southern Shiite town of Karbala and deploying it in defense of Samarra 125 km north of Baghdad. By this maneuver, he cleared the way for the IS columns to press forward toward the al-Muthanna air base with no obstacles in their path. This alarming development may well force President Barack Obama to hurry up and issue the order for air or missile operations to stop al Qaeda’s forces in their tracks. Most of this week, intense discussions were taking place in the White House and Pentagon. It appeared that a final decision was impending.

Thursday, July 3, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, left open the possibility of an expanded role for US military advisers in Iraq. Air strikes are one of the options, he said. More than ever before, speed is of the essence. IS’s commanders have their eye on the assault planes stored at the Baghdad air base which Iran and Russia delivered in the last 10 days to help Maliki fight the Sunni Islamists. They are all designed for striking ground targets. Iran sent eight fighters – four Su-25UBKMs and four Su-25Kms with crews, and the Russians six Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoots, along with air and ground maintenance crews. Since al-Muthanna is guarded by Iraqi special forces, IS reckons that the takeover of the base and its valuable prize of warplanes before they become operational will be a walkover, especially after they proved their mettle by commandeering a mountain of advanced US weaponry.

The Obama administration therefore needs to decide in the coming hours on a US air strike that will head off the Iraqi Islamists before they grab the strategic air base and acquire their first fleet of warplanes. It is just as important for Washington to embark on this action before America is beaten to the draw by Tehran or Moscow.

Jul 2 2014

Obama One the ISIS (Caliph) Three


The ISIS ‘Caliph’ now on U.S. Kill list
Shadowy Baghdadi issues first statement since January urging global terror attacks

ISIL fighters marching in Syria (AP)

BY:
July 1, 2014 4:01 pm

President Barack Obama has authorized targeted killings of the leaders of the al Qaeda offshoot led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi using drone strikes or special operations, as the Iraqi terrorist on Tuesday urged jihadists to conduct worldwide attacks.

A U.S. official familiar with internal Obama administration discussions on Iraq said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (IS) leader and several other commanders are now on the kill list of those targeted as U.S. national security threats. The list was approved by the president and allows U.S. intelligence agencies and the military to conduct strikes against the targeted terrorists after they have been located and their identities confirmed.

CIA and White House National Security Council spokesmen declined to comment on the kill list designations.

However, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, revealed last week that attacking IS leaders is under consideration.

Currently, several hundred U.S. troops are providing security in Baghdad and assessing Iraq’s security needs, Dempsey said on NPR on June 28. The military is preparing “additional options” including the targeting of “high-value individuals,” he said.

“Those options are being refined because the first step was to make sure we had the right intelligence architecture in place, and we’re flying a great deal of both manned and unmanned ISR—intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets,” Dempsey said. “And we’re building a picture so that if the decision were made to support the Iraqi security forces as they confront ISIL, then we could do so.”

Meanwhile, Baghdadi, who was declared the prophetic leader, or caliph, of all Muslims on Sunday by his group the Islamic State, issued his first public statement since January on Tuesday. He called on Muslims to extend jihad, or holy war, around the world.

The IS’s declaration of a caliphate—an Islamic state ruled by a single religious and political leader—represents a major escalation of global Islamist jihad.

“So raise your ambitions, O soldiers of the Islamic State for your brothers all over the world are waiting for your rescue, and are anticipating your brigades,” Baghdadi stated in a six-page message.

“Raise your head high, for today … you have a state and caliphate.”

Baghdadi concluded the message by urging jihadists to continue fighting and said, “If you hold to it, you will conquer Rome and own the world.”

The listing of Baghdadi and IS leaders, including military commander Abu-Umar al-Shishani and the group’s spokesman Abu-Muhammad al-Adnani, comes as the U.S. military began flying armed drone missions over Iraq.

The Predator drones, armed with Hellfire missiles, are used as “force protection” for U.S. military troops that were dispatched recently to Baghdad to bolster Iraq’s military.

However, officials said the deployment of armed drones also was done in anticipation that future intelligence operations by special operations commandos in Iraq will be used to identify and locate IS leaders and commanders for drone strikes.

The plans to attack the terror leaders were given added urgency by the early June military-style incursion into Iraq. The IS, backed by former Saddam Hussein military leaders and troops, seized Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul and other towns linking IS rebels in a swath of territory stretching from Aleppo in Syria through central Iraq and southward to areas west of Baghdad.

Analysts say IS will likely be rejected by the vast majority of Muslims who do not want a brutal terrorist as their spiritual leader. However, the danger of a new wave of international terrorist attacks by jihadists associated with Baghdadi is viewed as a major threat.

“While Baghdadi’s concerns may appear localized, his long-term objectives are most certainly not,” said Charlie Cooper, a counterterrorism analyst with the British think tank Quilliam Foundation. “Now that he has claimed the caliphate, he has effectively positioned himself as the standard-bearer of jihadism the world over.”

Baghdadi’s declaration of a caliphate and himself as caliph has been met with disdain by some analysts.

Bruce Riedel, a Brookings Institution specialist on the Middle East, said Baghdadi now claims to be a descendant of Islam’s founder Mohammad.

“With the announcement of a caliphate by ISIS we now have an alleged ‘true’ name for ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi,” Riedel said. “He is ‘really’ Ibrahim ibn Awwad ibn Ibrahim Ali ibn Muhammad al Badri al Hashimi al Husayni al Qurashi. That means he is a descendent of the prophet, which is of course critical to being a caliph, and he comes from the same tribe, Qurashi, and the same family, Hashemites. This also makes him a blood relative of King Abdullah II of Jordan.”

An earlier claimant of the same title, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq, was known as “Abu Omar al Hashimi al Qurashi al Baghdadi.” However, Riedel said “a drone did him in.”

“So now a man whose real name we don’t know claims to be the leader of all Muslims,” Riedel said, noting that the sole photograph of Baghdadi was provided by Iraqi intelligence, “So I doubt it really is a picture of him.”

Bill Roggio, a terrorism analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, also said Baghdadi remains shrouded in mystery.

“Much like the Taliban’s Mullah Omar, Baghdadi isn’t one to release a lot of speeches,” Roggio said. “However, ISIS/the Islamic State has released numerous statements under its official media outlets.”

Roggio said Baghdadi’s latest statement also includes a call for Muslims to travel to the Islamic State.

Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, a former Delta Force commando and undersecretary of defense for intelligence in the George W. Bush administration, said the rise of Baghdadi, who was held in a U.S. military prison for four years before being released, highlights the danger posed by the administration’s release of five Taliban commanders from the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Baghdadi is a difficult target who has avoided Western intelligence for years and can be expected to limit his use of electronic communications to avoid detection, Boykin said.

Noting that Secretary of State John Kerry last month dismissed concerns about the recent release of the five Taliban leaders in exchange for captured Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, Boykin said Kerry also suggested that if the commanders returned to battle in Afghanistan they would be killed by drones.

“Oh really, Mr. Kerry?” Boykin asked. “Here we have a really bad actor [Baghdadi] who was in U.S. custody for four years and we can’t find him nor take him out.”

“So tell me why I should not be concerned about the five Gitmo thugs again,” he said. “Baghdadi is very aware of the threat to him personally from a U.S. drone strike and he is smart enough to command through limited use of electronic comms.”

Patrick Poole, a counterterrorism analyst, said Baghdadi and IS leaders are hiding from possible drone strikes but also must be on alert for attacks from rival al Qaeda groups.

“They have threats coming from at least two different directions,” Poole said. “The actuarial tables on the life of jihadist leaders really weighs against these guys, and most rise up through these jihadist groups through the typically violent death of the predecessors.”

Al Jazeera reported Saturday that armed drone strikes were recently carried out against IS terrorists in Mosul. The report could not be confirmed.

In his statement, Baghdadi said the world has been divided between two camps: Islam and “the camp of disbelief and hypocrisy.” Jihadists must battle “the camp of the Jews, the crusaders, their allies, and with them the rest of the nations and religions of disbelief, all being led by America and Russia, and being mobilized by the Jews,” he said.

He defended the use of what in the West is called terrorism. “Terrorism is to refuse humiliation, subjugation, and subordination [to infidels],” he said. “Terrorism is for the Muslim to live as a Muslim, honorably with might and freedom. Terrorism is to insist upon your rights and not give them up.”

However, the use of terrorism against other Muslims is not permitted, he stated.

Jun 27 2014

King Abdullah calls up Saudi armed forces on high preparedness


The ISIS moves toward Saudi Arabia

Re-Post from http://www.debka.com/article/24034/King-Abdullah-calls-up-Saudi-armed-forces-on-high-preparedness-Egyptian-troops-ready-to-fly-to-kingdom

Thursday, June 26, the day before US Secretary of State John Kerry was due in Riyadh, King Abdullah summoned a National Security Council meeting “upon the current security events in the region, especially in Iraq,” and ordered “all necessary measures to protect the kingdom against terrorist threats.” This meant a general call-up of military units for a high level of preparedness.

debkafile’s military sources disclose that Egypt is assembling an expeditionary commando force to fly to Saudi Arabia and bolster its border defenses. This flurry of Saudi-Egyptian military steps comes in the wake of intelligence gathered by Saudi reconnaissance planes showing Iraqi Al Qaeda-linked Sunni fighters (ISIS) heading for the Saudi border and aiming to seize control of the Iraqi-Saudi crossing at Ar Ar (pop: 200,000). ISIS and its Sunni allies are still on the march after capturing Iraq’s border crossings with Syria and Jordan earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Kerry warned Mideast nations against taking new military action in Iraq that might heighten sectarian divisions. By then, he had been overtaken by a rush of events, as debkafile reported this morning. When the first of the 300 military advisers US President Barack Obama promised the Iraqi government arrived in Baghdad Wednesday, June 25, Iranian and Saudi Arabian arms shipments were already in full flow to opposing sides in embattled Iraq, debkafile’s military sources report.

At least two cargo planes from bases in Iran were landing daily at Baghdad’s military airport, carrying 150 tons of military equipment. More than 1,000 tons were flown in this past week alone. Tehran has replicated for the Iraqi army the routine it established for Bashar Assad’s army, furnishing its needs on a daily basis as per its commanders’ requests. Those requests come before a joint Iranian-Iraqi headquarters set up at the Iraqi high command in Baghdad for approval and the assigning of priorities for shipment.

At the same time, Saudi arms are flowing to the Iraqi Sunni tribes fighting alongside the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) against the Iraqi army and the Shiite Nouri al-Maliki’s government.

They are coming in both overland and by airlift.
Saudi arms convoys are crossing the border into Iraq with Saudi and Jordanian air force cover and heading north up to the Al-Qa’im district near the Syrian border. There, Sunni and ISIS fighters, after capturing this key Anbar district, have begun refurbishing the bases and runways at H-2, once one of Saddam Hussein’s largest airbases. Situated 350 kilometers west of Baghdad, this air base has two long runways and hangars for fighter planes and helicopters.

debkafile‘s military sources disclose that, on Tuesday June 24, unmarked civilian cargo planes landed at the base, bringing arms shipments from Saudi Arabia.

The response was swift. Syrian warplanes, on their first bombing mission inside Iraq, tried to damage the partially repaired runways at H-2 to prevent any more Saudi air shipments from landing.
Military sources in Washington confirmed Wednesday June 25 that those air strikes were conducted by the Syrian Air Force “in Anbar province” and left at least 57 people dead and 120 wounded – most of them Iraqi civilians. They declined to say what was attacked, referring only to ISIS-related targets.

That incident was a striking demonstration of the tight operational sync between the Iranian command centers in Damascus and Baghdad, which are attached respectively to the high commands of the Syrian and Iraqi armies. This coordination offers Tehran the flexibility for its command centers in both Arab capitals to send Iranian drones aloft from Syrian or Iraqi airbases to feed those centers with the intelligence they need for the strategic planning of military operations to be conducted by the Syrian and Iraqi armies.

Iranian command centers in Baghdad and Damascus are fully equipped therefore to decide which Syrian, Iraqi or Hizballah force carries out a planned operation in either Syria or Iraq. Both are now pushing back against further ISIS advances towards its goal of a Sunni caliphate spanning both countries.

This is just what US Secretary of State John Kerry meant when he said in Brussels Wednesday June 25, after two days of talks in Iraq, that “the war in Iraq is being widened.”

He had good reason to sound worried. Shortly before he spoke, the first group of US military personnel, out of the 300 that President Obama had promised, had arrived in Baghdad. But neither Tehran nor Riyadh had consulted Washington before they organized heavy arms shipments to their respective allies in Iraq.

The Iraqi battle arena is become a veritable Babel of war. So far, six countries are involved in varying degrees: the US, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.