ISIS IS NOW OBAMA'S (ORWELL'S) PERMANENT WAR

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Barack Obama is now the leader of George Orwell's contemporary Oceania. In two 2009 speeches the Nobel Peace Prize winner affirmed that peace was no longer peace, but rather a permanent war that "extends well beyond Afghanistan and Pakistan" to "disorderly regions and diffuse enemies". He called this "global security". To the people of Afghanistan, which America had invaded and occupied, he said: "We have no interest in occupying your country" So get used to it, in Obama's Oceania the truth and lies are indivisible and war is a deadly and permanent reality. The Islamic State (ISIS), much like Al Qaeda, is a made-in-the-USA product, an instrument of terror designed to divide and conquer the oil-rich Middle East as well as counter Iran’s growing influence in the region: Allen L Roland, Ph.D

 

"Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." - H.L. Mencken 

 

I predict ISIS will become Obama's Vietnam and history will repeat itself but as Marx once correctly wrote ~ when history repeats itself, the first mistake is seen as a tragedy (Vietnam), and the repeat becomes a farce (ISIS).

 

As Peter Van Buren explains on Tom Dispatch.com ~ " We've been here before, as the failures of American policy and strategy in Vietnam metastasized into war in Cambodia and Laos to deny sanctuary to North Vietnamese forces. As with ISIS, we were told that they were barbarians who sought to impose an evil philosophy across an entire region. They, too, famously needed to be fought “over there” to prevent them from attacking us here. We didn't say “the Homeland” back then, but you get the picture….. When the reality of America's failure in Vietnam finally became so clear that there was no one left to lie to, America's war there ended and the troops came home. They never went back. America is now fighting the Iraq War for the third time, somehow madly expecting different results, while guaranteeing only failure." See article ~  http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175898/tomgram%3A_peter_van_buren%2C_back_to_the_future_in_iraq/#more

 

And a farce it indeed is while the American public remain blissfully unaware of Obama's folly in the Middle East. David Stockman seems to have caught the gist of Obama's quixotic “war” on ISIS ~

" So what we have now in the middle east is a replay of the bloody religious wars that once traumatized the West when Protestants accused Catholics of being idolatrous heretics and the latter returned the favor by putting Protestants to the stakes and the racks.  In the present instance, the real war being waged by ISIS is not against the liberties which pertain on the streets of New York City, but in Leupp’s words, “against the Shiites, Christians, Yezidis, secularists, and others it sees as unbelievers and as stooges of the west. But its primary target is the Shiites”. See article ~

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39731.htm#.VCHMlKgYZyM.email

 

In other words, ISIS is the noxious by-product of a fear driven U.S. foreign policy gone terribly wrong if not out of control ~ whereas the backdraft of America's war of terror  becomes a fearsome Frankenstein (ISIS) which we ourselves have created.

 

Arundhati Roy suggests that the “most appropriate metaphor for the insanity of our times” is the Siachen Glacier, where Indian and Pakistani soldiers have killed each other on the highest battlefield in the world. The glacier is now melting and revealing “thousands of empty artillery shells, empty fuel drums, ice axes, old boots, tents and every other kind of waste that thousands of warring human beings generate” in meaningless conflict. One wonders what eventually lies beneath the shifting sands of Iraq and Afghanistan ~ the victims of our ongoing fear driven foreign policy and "war of terror".

 

As consistently pointed out in countless worldwide polls ~ No other regime in today's world is responsible for such premeditated and repeated acts of mass murder against entire modern societies. The US with its military allies, most notably Israel, is presently by far the greatest threat to peace and the greatest purveyor of terror on the planet.

 

As WSWS clearly points out this week ~ " With even the pretense of democratic control and popular support dispensed with, it is increasingly clear that all the real decisions are being taken by the most powerful branch of the state, the vast military-intelligence apparatus. Significantly, the first public announcement of the Syrian war came not from the White House, but the Pentagon….Obama serves merely as a mouthpiece for this murderous machine, and his repeated promises not to deploy ground troops will soon be waved aside as the generals implement their strategy." http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/09/24/pers-s24.html

"America stands for something different. We believe that right makes might ~ that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones; that people should be able to choose their own future …We fight for our ideals, and are willing to criticize ourselves when we fall short. Because we hold our leaders accountable, and insist on a free press and independent judiciary"~ these hypocritical words of President Obama, offered as kool-Aid for the world at the UN this week, are the words of a man who will eventually be seen as an ambitious community organizer and corporate shill who paid his dues to Wall Street and the Global elite but lost his soul in the process. See the broken promises and lies of Obama  http://thetruthwins.com/archives/a-list-of-23-famous-obama-quotes-that-turned-out-to-be-broken-promises-or-cold-hearted-lies

 

Obama finally has his war and it will most definitely be part of his enduring legacy, much like his predecessor G.W. Bush's Iraq disaster ~ and both were based on assertions that had nothing to do with reality. In other words, Bush's axis of evil has now become Obama's network of death and both are a well packaged web of lies meant to deceive the American public and the world ~ but, make no mistake about it,  the ultimate aim is regime change in Syria.

 

“The only difference between Obama and Bush is that Obama is killing more people. He’s about double the numbers now. Can you imagine if McCain had won and did precisely what Obama has done, with every speech and every political maneuver overseas? There’d be riots in the streets about the people we’re killing. And yet because it’s Obama, and he’s better looking and better at reading the teleprompter, we let him get away with it.”  ~ Penn Jillette

 

Allen L Roland, Ph.D
http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/isis-is-now-obamas-orwells-permanent-war.html

 

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and heart centered spiritual counselor Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private Skype consultations at allen@allenroland.com

  Allen L Roland is also a lecturer and shares a weekly political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

 

ARAB SPRING MOVES FROM STREETS TO BALLOT BOX / OWS TAKE NOTE

The Arab spring has become a fall parliamentary election and yet another step toward a true Egyptian Democracy. There are still stumbling blocks ahead but they will most likely be turned into stepping stones by an empowered people who are more than willing to take to the streets in demanding true change ~ Occupy Wall Street take note: Allen L Roland

The Occupy Movement started in Egypt last spring but that wave of revolt has now become a tsunami of occupy movements throughout the world ~ for each success of the people asserting their power against the military or financial elite inspires countless others to flex their muscles and take action.

Nothing can stop this global revolution for it is already too big to fail and most certainly too strong to cave under the military repression of any country or state. The people have tasted the water of freedom but it has not quenched their thirst ~ they want to drink directly from that well. And their excitement is palpable as witnessed by the extraordinary high turnout ~ 2 minute Video http://www.aol.com/video/high-voter-turnout-for-egyptian-elections/517216628/

Egypt is, once again, showing the way with the commencement of their parliamentary election this week. Russia Today (RT) interviewed me yesterday on the significance of these elections. Here, in essence, are their questions and my answers;

(RT) Early results indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Salafists are leading the polls. Are we seeing Egypt turning into an Islamic republic with Sharia law instead of a western-style democracy?

Answer: It’s much too early to tell. Only 9 of Egypt’s 27 provinces have voted and that total only represents 30% of the seats. It was expected that Egypt’s most powerful fundamentalist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, would make the strongest showing in what is the first parliament elections since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

(RT) A record turnout in the elections... But how much power and influence will the Parliament actually have, or will the military still pull the strings, as some fear? After all Egypt’s ruling military have said the newly elected parliament would not have the authority to dismiss the Prime Minister who they appointed or his government ~ so who exactly is in power?

Answer: This is an important first step for millions of Egyptians to make a difference and change the system. There will be on turning back until they achieve their goals and this open and fair election is the second step. The first step was taking to the streets and demanding the removal of Mubarak and this election. The next step will be demanding real authority for the freely elected Parliament. With each step, they increase their power and numbers and the military will have to acquiesce or face an even greater people revolt in Tahrir square.

(RT) So if the muslim Brotherhood does secure power in Egypt~ how does this affect Cairo’s relations with its neighbors and Western countries?

Answer: The trends indicate that Egypt’s most powerful fundamentalist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, will make the strongest showing in the first parliament elections since the fall of Mubarak ~ perhaps 30 to 40% of the vote. Remember, that this initial vote, which takes place in three two day stages, only covers nine of Egypt’s 27 provinces ~ which in turn determines only 30% of the seats. The reality is that the Muslim Brotherhood will have a seat at the political table but will have to work with other factions within the Parliamentary system. The West is going to have to accept a dramatically changing political situation in Egypt for their leverage and control has weakened considerably ~ for on the streets, the West is still viewed with well deserved suspicion.

(RT) What does Egypt’s election mean for other countries caught up in the Arab Spring ?

Answer: Egypt is an inspiration for countries across the world to realize that change and democracy is possible ~ but only if you take to the streets and put your life on the line in order to claim it. Think American Revolution which went rapidly from an idea of freedom to open rebellion and finally to a war against oppression and eventually independence. It was a long and grueling process but it was worth it.

The Arab spring which started in Egypt has finally reached the Ballot Boxes and each stepping stone to freedom and independence should be celebrated but there are many steps left in this process ~ which includes the Military (and the West) willingly letting go of their influence and control.

Tony Karon, Time, says it best ~ “2011 will be remembered as the year the middle East, as a region, declared its independence from U.S. influence”

Egypt also remains an inspiration to the OWS movement who must soon take our rebellion against political deception and financial oppression to the ballot box in the form of constitutional amendments or independent candidates who are deeply committed to our constitution and change WE, the people, can all finally believe in.

What if it is better to perish fighting for freedom than to live as a slave? What if freedom’s greatest hour of danger is right now?

5 minute must see Video: http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/5863.html

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds: Samuel Adams

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/arab-spring-moves-from-streets-to.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

THIS WEEK WE ARE ALL PALESTINIANS

This week the United States Middle East hypocrisy will be viewed by the world. After 44 years of illegal military occupation by Israel, Palestine is reaching out to the world for recognition and statehood even though their bid for statehood at the UN Security Council will surely be vetoed by Obama. Our ongoing support for this glaring example of unjust Apartheid is still the number one reason America is not trusted in the Middle East and throughout the world: Allen L Roland

Here’s the graphic evidence of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine but this map does not show the approximately 600 roadblocks and check points in the West Bank as well as the infamous Separation Wall.

Israel's Separation Barrier, dubbed the "Apartheid Wall" or "Berlin Wall" by Palestinians, has increasingly attracted international media attention, largely due to the hard-to-ignore scale of the project. The most obvious historical parallel to the barrier is the Berlin Wall, which was 96 miles long. Israel's barrier, still under construction, is expected to reach at least 403 miles in length ( About the distance from SF to LA ) The average height of the Berlin Wall was 11.8 feet, compared with the maximum* current height of Israel's Wall ~ 25 feet.

Israel's Apartheid barrier is therefore planned to be four times as long and in places twice as high as the Berlin Wall. The World Court calls it a gross violation of international law and basic human rights ~ yet Israel is continuing to build the wall in several regions of the West Bank. Also note that The Wall encompasses more than 50 Israeli civilian settlements in the Occupied Territories, in which the majority of Israeli settlers live and which are illegal under international law ~ which notes that security exceptions in international humanitarian law cannot be invoked to justify measures that benefit unlawful civilian Israeli settlements at the expense of the occupied Palestinian population.

And then there’s Israel’s Palestinian concentration camp, Gaza ~ note the Bombed out Gaza street with Israeli surveillance tower in background

The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 25 miles long, and between 4 to 7.5 miles wide, with a total area of 140 square miles. The territory takes its name from Gaza, its main city.

Ellen Cantarow confirms in AlterNet, that Gaza is a Concentration Camp ~ “Gaza is an immense concentration camp ~ 1.5 million people squeezed into 140 square miles hemmed in on all sides by 25-foot-high walls separated by a vast expanse of bulldozed earth. The 2005 "pull-out" left Gaza still controlled by Israel from air and sea, its entries and exits prisonlike mazes electronically controlled and under constant surveillance. Bombing it, assaulting it with tanks and Uzis, is like shooting animals in a pen. The claptrap about "pinpoint" accuracy and "avoiding civilians" is a lie so flagrant, so transparent, that any child ~ certainly any Gaza child ~ could grasp it ...”

“There have been eight military assaults on Gaza since 2004; blockades started in 2005, and then a siege of medieval proportions in 2006, collective punishment for Gazans' having elected the wrong party for Israel and its U.S. patron….By December 2008, Richard Falk, special reporter on the Occupied Territories for the United Nations, reported an overall Gaza malnutrition rate of 75 percent, a childhood anemia rate of 46 percent and a devastated infrastructure. (For more, see Richard Falk's "Understanding the Gaza Catastrophe.")”

“The latest war -- called Operation Cast Lead ~ is the "holocaust" promised by Israel's Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai in 2008 when he said Israel would create a ‘shoa’ if Qassem rockets kept dropping on Israeli towns like Sderot.

Shoa, Hebrew for holocaust, is a serious word denoting the extermination of an entire people. Vilnai embarrassed the Israeli government, and no official has used the term since…. The Israeli human rights organization B'tselem reported 900 Palestinians killed, with more than 4,200 injured. The Israeli toll: three civilians and seven soldiers killed, more than 82 civilians and 61 soldiers injured. As for Israeli civilians killed by rockets, the Israel Project lists 25 dead during the past seven years…. “

“Operation Cast Lead is one of the great war crimes of our era. It was planned six to 18 months in advance, according to journalist Jonathan Cook. The war design "required directing artillery fire and air strikes at civilian neighborhoods from which rockets were fired ~ despite being a violation of international law. Legal advisers, Barak noted, were seeking ways to avoid such prohibitions, presumably in the hope the international community would turn a blind eye."

So to President-elect Barack Obama in his silence; to our senators and representatives who obediently parrot American Israel Public Affairs Committee's ( AIPAC) lines, forgiving the occupier and blaming the occupied, I'd address European Parliament member Luisa Morgantini's closing words in her open letter to European leaders:

"Israel has a right to exist as a normal state, a state for its citizens, along the 1967 borders, much wider than those of the partition plan passed by the United Nations in 1947. But I would have liked to hear your outrage and your humanity, and to hear you shouting for the pain of so many deaths and so much destruction, for such arrogance, for so much inhumanity, for so many violations of international and humanitarian law … "My God, what a terrible world we live in!" See full report http://www.alternet.org/audits/120197

Here’s the Amnesty International 2011 Annual report for Israel and the Occupied Territories (OPT) ~ note Life expectancy and Infant mortality rates.

Head of state: Shimon Peres
Head of government: Benjamin Netanyahu
Death penalty: abolitionist for ordinary crimes
Population: 7.3 million (Israel); 4.4 million (OPT)
Life expectancy: 80.3 years (Israel) vs. 72.9 years (OPT)
Under - 5 mortality (m/f): 6/5 per 1,000 (Israel) vs. 23/18 per 1,000 (OPT)

Around 6,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, many after unfair military trials. Israeli conscientious objectors to military service continued to be imprisoned. http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/annual-report-israel-and-the-occupied-palestinian-territories-2011#.TnVymSwwq_k.email

This week we are all Palestinians demanding freedom and statehood ~ but as Palestine pushes for statehood, Israel finds itself increasingly isolated and rightfully condemned by its Middle East neighbors. Turkey Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is an excellent example ~ Erdogan recently said in a Sept. 13 speech to the Arab League that Israel must "pay a price for its aggression and crimes" and that supporting Palestinian statehood was "not a choice but an obligation." Israel, he said, is "the West's spoiled child."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2093351,00.html#ixzz1YPqKf0qf

Here are five practical reasons why the US should support the Palestinian bid and not exercise its veto at the UN ~ besides the obvious moral reason ( courtesy of Resa Aslan, LA Times ) See article ~ http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/289-134/7484-yes-to-palestine

1. Negotiations have failed.

2. The current Likud-led Israeli government is unlikely to ever agree to a sovereign Palestinian state.

3. President Obama has utterly failed to advance the Middle East peace process.

4. Contrary to popular belief, it is not political suicide to defy the will of Israel.

5. The Palestinians are doing almost exactly what Israelis did 60 years ago. “In 1948, after the UN voted for the partition of Palestine, debate among the world powers about how to divide the land dragged on and violence between Jews and Arabs grew worse. The Jewish Agency simply pre-empted negotiations and unilaterally declared the state of Israel; the United States immediately recognized it, and the UN accepted Israeli sovereignty the following year.”

Regarding the current Palestinian statehood bid; Tony (political whore) Blair is acting ‘like an Israeli diplomat' and has earned the full fury of Palestinian leaders after he was accused of blatant pro-Israel bias for his role in attempting to derail their bid for statehood at the UN. See report ~ http://tgr.ph/nwxRcM

In summary, are we not committing the same moral crimes in illegally occupied Iraq and Afghanistan as the Israelis are doing in Palestine ~ forgiving the occupier and blaming the occupied for the continuing bloodshed and civilian deaths. We all have blood on our hands in the Middle East and granting statehood to Palestine would be an important step toward restoring our severely damaged international credibility, moral integrity and self respect as well as bringing the world closer to peace.

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/this-week-we-are-all-palestinians.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

WAGGING THE DOG IN LIBYA

Libyan rebels or paid actors on a world stage where Crude oil has risen more than 30% since the conflict began.

Something makes me very suspicious about our involvement in Libya. Unlike the uprisings in Egypt ~ there is a pervading sense of a manufactured crisis or a wagging the dog operation with the media once again playing an active role in this deception as they did in Iraq: Allen L Roland

Let’s see now ….. let me get this straight ~

First we had a "no fly" zone.

That evolved into bombing missions.

However, the so-called “rebels”, knew that inflating their peril was their best hope for getting outside help. So, they blatantly concocted the specter of genocide ~ and Obama conveniently used it to justify a so called humanitarian intervention. Think Iraq war build up.

As Steve Chapman writes in Reason.com ~ “In 2002, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice waved off doubts about Saddam Hussein's nuclear ambitions, saying, "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." Right now, the Benghazi bloodbath looks like Obama's mushroom cloud.” See story ~ http://reason.com/archives/2011/04/04/obamas-war-of-choice

But NATO's running it now, not the US, so no worries, right?

Now there's growing talk of putting US troops on the ground.

And last Saturday Robert Parry, Consortium News, reported ~ “ Neocon editors who increasingly dominate the New York Times want President Barack Obama to deploy A-10 and AC-130 aircraft for close-combat attacks against Libyan government forces in urban areas." http://www.readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/71-71/5566-nyt-demands-libyan-war-escalation

The drumbeats of war are growing and all seemingly in support of the noble and downtrodden Libyan "rebels” ~ which are quite often 3 or more guys, an AK and a pick up truck.

Robert Wenzel wrote in the Economic Policy Journal: " I have never before heard of a central bank being created in just a matter of weeks out of a popular uprising. This suggests we have a bit more than a rag tag bunch of rebels running around and that there are some pretty sophisticated influences."

In that regard, Libya not only has oil. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), its central bank has nearly 144 tons of gold, in its vaults.

But what if there are no or very few Libyan rebels? What if this is a Wag the Dog Operation fueled by the global financial elite?

In 1997, the world at large was still relatively innocent about “political spin”. It is fair to say that the film “Wag the Dog”, made an important contribution in the general public’s understanding of political spin and how events can be manufactured by the media to change the political climate and even start a war ~ again, think Iraq war build up .

So now what about those so-called freedom loving Libyan rebels?

Hunch: My hunch says there aren't that many rebels, or very few, for that matter ~ and that this is a CIA special ops sponsored revolt with the ultimate aim being to maintain control of that Libyan sweet crude oil and fortify the political image of our Imperialistic war machine as well as our Nobel Peace Laureate president ( chuckle ).

This video clip, from Wag The Dog, depicts what it looks like when the media creates terrorists and atrocities and it’s not a wild stretch of the imagination that it’s happening right now in Libya.

Video: 4 minutes

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/1074.html

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/wagging-dog-in-libya.html

About the Author: Allen L Roland is a Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist. Allen is also available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations. Dr. Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website www.allenroland.com . He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net