The balance of power has changed in the middle east starting at bush 41.helped along by the neocons. why? I certainly don't know but the paradigm has shifted. Trump has played ball to a degree after all he's a deal maker.but Trump is a nationalist and this doesn't fit the noecon mold. Trump is trying to deal but I'm sure he know that he's dealing with snakes.
On Aug 12, 2016 6:21 AM, "MJ" <[email protected]> wrote: > > August 7, 2016 > > *Why Neocons Can’t Stomach Trump * > *Neocons are jumping off the Republican ship for Hillary Clinton even > though Donald Trump has shifted their way on Israel and military spending. > The big reason is his resistance to a new Cold War with Russia, says JP > Sottile. *By JP Sottile > > Bill Kristol is downright *despondent* > <http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/2016-bill-kristol-republicans-conservative-movement-donald-trump-politics-214025> > after his *failed search* > <http://reason.com/blog/2016/07/27/bill-kristol-and-a-bush-looking-libertar> > for an alternative to Donald Trump. Max Boot is *indignant* > <http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/max-boot-anti-trump-foreign-policy> > about his “ *stupid* > <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/opinion/how-the-stupid-party-created-donald-trump.html>” > party’s willingness to ride a bragging bull into a delicate *China* > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrfE9I8_hs> policy shop. And the > leading light of the first family of military interventionism *Robert > Kagan* > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/there-is-something-very-wrong-with-donald-trump/2016/08/01/73809c72-57fe-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html> > is *actually lining up neoconservatives* > <https://theintercept.com/2016/07/25/robert-kagan-and-other-neocons-back-hillary-clinton/> > behind the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. > > At the same time, the Democrats have become the party of bare-knuckled, > full-throated American Exceptionalism. That transformation was announced > with a *vein-popping zeal* > <http://reason.com/blog/2016/07/31/readwatch-the-scariest-speech-from-both> > by retired general and *wannabe motivation screamer* > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXsFwGA4VpM> John Allen at the > Democratic convention in the City of Brotherly Love. During his “speech,” a > few plaintive protests of “ *no more war* > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/john-allens-speech-at-convention-met-with-usa-chants/2016/07/28/641a470e-5530-11e6-b652-315ae5d4d4dd_video.html>” > were actually drowned-out by Democrats chanting “USA-USA-USA!” > > This is the same Democratic Party often criticized by Kagan & Co. as the > purveyors of timidity, flaccidity and moral perfidy. It’s not that > Democrats haven’t dropped bombs, dealt arms and overturned regimes. They > have. And they’ve even got the Peace Prize-winning *Obama-dropper* > <http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/07/06/the-numbers-in-obamas-drone-death-report-dont-add-up/> > to prove it. But unlike enthusiastically belligerent Republicans, the Dems > are supposed to be the party that does it, but doesn’t really like to do it. > > But now, they’ve got Hillary Clinton. And she’s *weaponized* > <http://newsvandal.com/2014/06/hillary-clinton-and-the-weaponization-of-the-state-department/> > the State Department. She *really likes* > <http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27/hillary-the-hawk-a-history-clinton-2016-military-intervention-libya-iraq-syria/> > regime change. And her nominating convention not only embraced the > military, but it sanctified the very Gold Star families that neocon-style > interventionism creates. It certainly *created the pain* > <http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/08/04/trump-khan-iraq-vote> of the > Khan family who lost their son in the * illegal* > <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/sep/16/iraq.iraq> war in Iraq. > But the Dems didn’t mention that sad fact as they grabbed the flag away > from the Republicans. > > > *Truly Neo-confusing. *It kinda feels like reality has slipped off its > axis and we’ve landed on a *Bizarro World* > <http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Htrae> version of America. Democrats are acting > like Republicans. Pat Buchanan is championing the GOP’s “*Peace Candidate* > <http://buchanan.org/blog/trump-peace-candidate-125499>.” And the neocons > are fleeing from the party they’ve used like a geopolitical cudgel for the > better part of three decades. > > At first glance, it all makes sense. Trump captured the GOP nomination in > no small part by trashing two of the neocons’ favorite things ever the > Bush family and the Iraq War. He also suggested early on that he’d approach > the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as (gasp!) an honest > broker. Trump said he really wanted to “ *make that deal* > <http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-says-he-will-try-to-broker-israeli-palestinian-peace-deal/>.” > Without irony, one-time *neocon wonderboy* > <https://consortiumnews.com/2015/11/18/neocons-make-rubio-their-favorite/> > Marco Rubio remarked that it isn’t a “ *real estate deal* > <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/270866-rubio-to-trump-israel-palestinian-conflict-isnt-a-real>” > when, in fact, that’s exactly what it is. > > But the ever-pliable Trump *quickly got religion* > <http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-palestinians-must-stop-terror-for-peace-deal/> > on Israel. He did an *about-face* > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-israel-settlements_us_572a03ede4b096e9f08fc693>, > marched into AIPAC’s annual confab, and* staked out a claim* > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQgDgMGuDI0> on the *reflexively > pro-Israel* > <http://nypost.com/2016/07/20/trump-is-plainly-the-best-bet-for-the-jews/> > side of the issue. But it wasn’t enough to assuage the angst of the GOP’s > forever-circling hawks. > > Frankly, nothing seems enough to sway the neocons in Donald’s direction. > But it’s not for lack of trying on Trump’s part. Really, he’s checked off > many of the boxes that make neocons smile. > > Trump wants a “yuuge” military … the biggest and baddest ever! So big, > that no one in a million years will ever challenge it. That sure sounds a > lot like Reagan’s “peace through strength.” Neocons do love Reagan. And, as > if on cue, the Kristol/Kagan-led “Foreign Policy Initiative” *just posted* > <http://foreignpolicyi.org/content/fpi-bulletin-why-it%E2%80%99s-time-re-invest-us-military> > a clarion call to spend more bucks to buy bigger bangs for an already > *gargantuan* > <https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/us-military-spending-vs-world/> > military. Doesn’t that fit with Donald’s plan to spend defense dollars like > a drunken sailor? > > Maybe neocons don’t want the military to be *so big* that no one will > ever try anything. Maybe they want a few challenges here and there, just > for a little * creative destruction* > <http://www.alternet.org/story/15860/who_is_michael_ledeen> to keep the > world on its toes. But Trump’s right there with them. He wants to “*bomb > the shit* <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWejiXvd-P8>” out of ISIS. And *he > even said* > <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/290115-trump-us-has-no-choice-but-to-bomb-isis-in-libya> > America has “no choice but to bomb Libya” and “take out” the Islamic State. > > > *C’mon, Neocons … What’s Not to Like? *And how about Trump’s > Islamophobia? It sure seems *simpatico* > <https://lobelog.com/the-neocon-islamophobe-nexus-clarion-brings-together-perle-and-gaffney/> > with the last two decades of neoconservative drum-beating. Trump repeatedly > uses the magic words “Radical Islamic Terrorism.” Can’t you just hear the > longing sighs coming out of the *American Enterprise Institute* > <http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/06/01/493383/aei-islamophobia-rubin-spencer/> > ? > > He also wants to ban Muslims. Or “just” ban people coming from countries > where Muslims have committed terrorism. Who knows? Either way, the message > is “Muslims bad.” It even gave neocon bushwacker Frank Gaffney a serious > *man-crush* > <http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/08/donald-trump-frank-gaffney-islamophobia-poll/> > on The Donald. > > To be fair, other less “fringy” neocons like Kristol have *repudiated* > <http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/08/media/donald-trump-muslim-ban-conservative-media/> > the Muslim ban idea. But, as *filmmaker Robbie Martin* > <https://twitter.com/FluorescentGrey> showed in his just-completed series > on the neocons and their “*very heavy agenda* > <http://averyheavyagenda.blogspot.com/>,” even the most intellectually > renowned among them has engaged in the dangerous stereotyping of all > Muslims as terrorists. > > In fact, Martin featured a *frightening clip* > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdcj4-2RePo> of two Kagans (Robert’s dad > Donald and his brother Fred) making the case that the U.S. military should > clean out the Occupied Territories in the aftermath of 9/11 because radical > Muslims and “the Arabs” are all basically the same. Oh, by the way, they > only respect brute force. So why not take advantage of the “New Pearl > Harbor” and show them all who’s boss? > > It’s kinda like the “dancing Muslims” Trump *and only Trump* > <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/nov/22/donald-trump/fact-checking-trumps-claim-thousands-new-jersey-ch/> > saw celebrating the 9/11 attacks in New Jersey. Even if he didn’t see > them, or just conflated them with an *isolated incident* > <http://www.mediaite.com/online/this-is-the-footage-donald-trump-thinks-he-saw-on-911/> > in East Jerusalem, what’s the difference? It’s all the same to him. > > Just like aggrieved and aggressive Muslims were all the same to the Kagans > on 9/11. Doesn’t that make Trump’s persistent suspicion of Muslims a > perfect match for the neoconservative wrecking crew? > > And then there’s the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump has relentlessly > criticized as being so bad that it’s downright *suspicious* > <http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/264598-trump-iran-deal-was-so-bad-its-suspicious>. > He said he wants to “ *renegotiate* > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/04/donald-trump-is-right-about-tearing-up-the-iran-deal-says-a-leading-iranian-hard-liner/>” > immediately after taking office. And he *wrongly claims* > <https://lobelog.com/trump-got-pretty-much-everything-wrong-about-the-iran-deal/> > the deal is a fast-track to a nuclear-armed Iran (an error that puts him > squarely in the neocon camp). As a rule of thumb, he’s *livid* > <http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/trump-iran-video-money/2016/08/03/id/742028/> > about all things related to Iran. So, what’s the problem? Why can’t the > neocons wrap their arms around Donald Trump? > > > *In a Word: Russia. *It’s framed as a troublesome “bromance” between > Vladimir Putin and Trump. Critics don’t like Trump’s comfort with a “ > *dictator* > <http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2016-07-27-US--DEM%202016-Convention-The%20Latest/id-4dd74d65754940aba8f481692dc73d28>” > who, as Kagan’s wife Victoria Nuland *recently told* > <http://russialist.org/video-transcript-russian-violations-of-borders-treaties-and-human-rights-u-s-senate-testimony-by-assistant-secretary-victoria-nuland-russia-ukraine-syria-senate-video-nuland/> > the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, engages in “aggression.” She’s > currently the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian > Affairs. She *basically managed* > <https://consortiumnews.com/2015/07/13/the-mess-that-nuland-made/> the *2014 > coup* > <http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/05/chronology-of-the-ukrainian-coup/> > in Ukraine. And she’s outraged by Russian aggression in Ukraine. > > But she’s not bothered by her * husband’s role* > <http://mondoweiss.net/2015/11/regime-change-trauma/> in pushing for the > most blatant and wanton act of aggression thus far this century the > unwarranted destruction of Iraq. Go figure. > > On the other hand, Putin has the *unmitigated gall* > <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/4/russia-counters-us-nato-moves-eastern-europe-its-o/> > to move military forces around *inside* the borders of *his own* country. > He’s * blamed* > <http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-clinton-idUSKCN10B0IX> > for hacking the Democratic Party despite a *lack of actual evidence* > <http://fair.org/home/nyt-leads-with-russia-hack-conspiracy-despite-no-evidence-in-next-to-last-paragraph/> > and the NSA’s own *hacking hijinks* > <http://www.reuters.com/article/us-election-intelligence-commentary-idUSKCN10F1H5>. > And he’s accused of “ *meddling* > <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/world/europe/dnc-hack-russia.html>” in > U.S. elections a pretty rich accusation given America’s long history of > *surreptitious > electioneering* > <http://original.antiwar.com/paul/2014/03/24/us-democracy-promotion-destroys-democracy-overseas/> > around the world. > > There is *no doubt* > <http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/28/politics/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-quotes/index.html> > that “Bad Vlad” likes Donald. And Donald *likes* > <http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/politics/donald-trump-praises-defends-vladimir-putin/> > Vlad. But the real problem isn’t their bromance. This is about the > neoconservative desire to make sure the United States is the lone guarantor > of the geopolitical order. This is about Pax Americana. This is about > resurrecting the faded dream of a new American century. > > And what stands in the way of the type of the neocon dream of global > “full-spectrum dominance?” Russia’s nuclear arsenal. > > Russia is the only nation with an arsenal big enough to withstand the > subtle nuclear blackmail of America’s trillion-dollar nuclear “ *upgrade* > <http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-02/us-begins-upgrading-its-nuclear-bomb-arsenal>.” > That’s why *Russia is concerned* > <http://thebulletin.org/technical-concerns-why-russia-worries-about-missile-defense> > about the *missile defense systems* > <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nato-takes-control-of-us-built-missile-defense-shield_us_578009d5e4b0344d514f528b> > arrayed on their border. Those systems can knock down retaliatory strikes, > thus making a first strike with *new nuclear cruise missiles* > <http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/tabid/223/Article/881056/af-releases-request-for-proposal-for-nuclear-air-launched-cruise-missile-replac.aspx> > at least theoretically possible. > > The United States is also using NATO expansion to *increasingly encircle* > <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/u-s-nato-troop-buildup-in-eastern-europe-to-counter-russians-is-largest-since-cold-war/> > a nation that once was America’s geopolitical equal. That’s why Trump’s > criticism of America’s outsized support for NATO must’ve been the tipping > point from disdain to panic among *neocon* > <http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-boot-trump-russian-connection-20160725-snap-story.html> > and *neoliberal* > <http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/madeleine-albright-trump-victory-putin-gift> > interventionists alike. > > The oddity is that there does seem to be more than a passing affinity > between Trump and Putin. Trump’s *statements on Ukraine* > <http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/aug/04/what-you-need-know-about-donald-trump-russia-and-u/> > would be easily dismissed if his *campaign manager Paul Manafort* > <http://www.politico.eu/article/trump-changed-views-on-ukraine-after-hiring-paul-manafort-campaign-manager-russia-vladimir-putin/> > hadn’t *worked as a political consultant* > <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/us/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html> > to the pre-Nuland leadership of Ukraine. And Trump’s statements on Crimea > might be written off if he’d release his taxes and end speculation of > financial ties to Putin’s regime. > > But the visceral reaction against his repeated calls for cooperation *“By > the way, wouldn’t it be great if we got along with Russia?”* > <http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/08/03/Trump-Slams-US-Military-Arms-He-Swoons-Over-Russian-Military> > exposes the extent to which the entire foreign policy and political > establishments are squarely on the same page. They are angling for Cold War > 2.0, and Trump is the only major figure willing to challenge that orthodoxy. > > Unlike Hillary Clinton, of course, which brings the whole thing back to > the miasma of confusion hanging over this strange election. Hillary is *on > the neocon team* > <http://mondoweiss.net/2016/07/clinton-megadonor-islamophobic/> if not > in name, certainly in deed. She will “ *stand up* > <http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/10/13/hillary-clinton-democratic-debate-putin-bully-13.cnn>” > to Bad Vlad. She’s targeted by Russian hackers because Putin prefers his “ > *unwitting > agent* > <http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/michael-morell-endorses-clinton-226707>” > Donald Trump. And Donald is, *according to an emerging narrative* > <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/08/trumps-turn-toward-appeasement/493934/>, > a latter-day Neville Chamberlain just inviting the Ruskies to take over the > Baltic States, Ukraine, and God knows what else. > > The greatest irony of all is that Trump catapulted over the neocons’ > preferred presidential options by slamming their pet project the War on > Iraq. Trump’s criticism of that war and the chaos it unleashed resonated > with the very voters the Neocons took for granted as pliable, > fear-responsive bumpkins. That left the neocons out in the cold just as > they were angling to trump the disorderly, hard-to-prosecute mess they call > “The Global War on Terror.” > > What they really want, and have always wanted, is to revive the greatest > war of all the Cold War. That’s the grand chessboard they yearn to play > on once again. The War on Terror was really just a stop-gap, like methadone > for imperialists. But now they’ve scored because it looks like the supposed > party of imperial intransigence is, under the guidance of Hillary Clinton, > poised to take the reins from a Trump-addled GOP. > > And if a *recent article in * > <http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/breedlove-network-sought-weapons-deliveries-for-ukraine-a-1104837.html> > *Der > Spiegel* > <http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/breedlove-network-sought-weapons-deliveries-for-ukraine-a-1104837.html> > is right, Kagan’s wife Victoria has emerged as a candidate for the prized > position of secretary of state should Hillary win. If that comes to pass, > the neocons may not have succeeded in their initial plan for a new American > century, but they will have hastily completed their last-minute project for > a new Democratic Party. And that means this election isn’t that > Neo-confusing after all. > > > https://consortiumnews.com/2016/08/07/why-neocons-cant-stomach-trump/ > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. 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