This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

US Gets Involved In Another Foreign Conflict, Will Support French Troops In Central African Republic

Tyler Durden's picture




 

One of the underreported stories from last week, noted here previously, was that quietly, on the day in which French unemployment soared to a new 16 year high, French president Hollande did what every true Keynesian in his position would do and dispatched troops to the Central African Republic due to a "duty to intervene" and stop the "alarming, frightening massacres" taking place there. There were no YouTube clips available to justify said massacres yet: we assume they are being produced currently. A few days later the fighting has begun with Reuters reporting that French troops fought gunmen in Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, on Monday as they searched for weapons in an operation to disarm rival Muslim and Christian fighters responsible for hundreds of killings since last week. Shooting erupted near the airport in the morning after gunmen refused to hand over their weapons, and French forces later came under attack by former rebels in the city centre. France said it was prepared to use force if fighters rejected calls to disarm or return to barracks. Paris boosted its military presence to 1,600 troops at the weekend as waves of religious violence swept its former colony.

That's not news. The news is that the US is once again getting involved in yet another foreign conflict. Also from Reuters:

  • PENTAGON CONSIDERING REQUESTS FOR U.S. MILITARY SUPPORT TO FRENCH AND AFRICAN UNION FORCES IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - U.S. OFFICIAL
  • U.S. MILITARY LIKELY TO PROVIDE SOME LOGISTICAL SUPPORT -OFFICIAL

Some additional detail from the WSJ:

The U.S. will airlift African Union forces to the Central African Republic as part of an effort to aid French troops who are in the country to put down rising violence, defense officials said.

 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel authorized the deployment of the U.S. transport planes and pilots Sunday night, responding to a request for assistance from France. The planes will be used to carry troops from Burundi to the Central African Republic, where France has deployed 1,600 troops to try to quell rising violence.

 

Fighting has increased in the Central African Republic since March when a rebel group seized power. The rebel leader, Michel Djotodia, named himself president.

 

Turmoil has escalated in recent days, claiming 400 lives and prompting the French intervention. On Monday, French soldiers began disarming fighters in the Central African Republic.

And yet something is different about the C.A.R. - drones. From IBTimes:

Drones were deployed over the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday, marking the first time the United Nations has used unmanned surveillance aircraft in its peacekeeping efforts. A fleet of five unarmed drones will help U.N. troops monitor the vast Central African country of 66 million people, which has been plagued by violent militias for decades.

 

"Such high-technology systems allow a better knowledge of what is happening on the ground, which allows a force to better do its job," said Hervé Ladsous, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, according to the U.N. News Agency.

 

The new drone program marks another rare initiative for the U.N. It was originally approved by the Security Council in January, due in large part to the conflict in Goma. M23 surrendered last month, but ongoing peace talks in Uganda between the rebels and the Congolese government have reached an impasse over the wording of the final agreement.

Of course, someone must have benefited from the drone "surge." Indeed, someone did.

The drones for the Congo fleet were purchased from the electronics firm Selex ES, a unit of the Italian industrial and defense company Finmeccanica SpA (BIT:FNC). Deployment was originally planned for August, but a complicated procurement process delayed the launch until this week. If the drones prove effective, the U.N. may consider launching similar initiatives in other countries where peacekeeping operations are under way.

In other words, look for the C.A.R./Congo region to get drastically "destabilized" in the coming weeks, especially with both French and the US forced on the ground, and with hundreds of drones in the air repeating the bang up "peace intervention" job most recently achieved in Afghanistan. Why? Simple - because China has now been actively expanding its sphere of influence in Africa as we have been reporting over the past two years. Indeed as the map below which we posted first over a year ago shows, the Central African Republic is the only place that China does not have a major documented presence yet.

 

So the US (and the west) do the only thing they can: find a pretext to land a military force in order to stake a claim on what they believe are their critical strategic interests before Chinese moneyed-interests decide to do the same.

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:20 | 4229976 gafgroocK
gafgroocK's picture

 

 

 

Now this is odd, supporting Christians vs. the muslims?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:25 | 4229998 knukles
knukles's picture

Vive la France!
Le bastion de la whatever in French!

War mongers deluxe!
Nice being war mongers when the troops can't even make it to the battlefield without somebody elses taxi cabs.
Now, I must ask, just what are the CAR's petroleum and gold resources, for we all know full well that ...
Oh never-mind...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:31 | 4230026 Enslavethechild...
EnslavethechildrenforBen's picture

Fuck yeah I'm going to join the Military and go kill poor black children for their desperately needed resources. Us rich white people will die without them.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:35 | 4230036 TruthInSunshine
Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:44 | 4230071 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

"repeating the bang up "peace intervention" job most recently achieved in Afghanistan."

 

It's funny that you are (not purposely of course) not mentioning the recent intervention of France in Mali (with also logistical support from the US) which ended not quite as you predicted... remember your article titled: "French Military Embarrassments Continue As Insurgents Grab More Territory In Mali".

What have you got to say about Mali today? Oh yes, that would be too painful to admit that it was indeed a success...

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:58 | 4230129 Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris's picture

France will surrender within weeks.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:05 | 4230166 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

"France will surrender within weeks."

Just as they did in Mali, right? The last western country that surrendered in Africa was... the US, in Somalia. God bless you.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:34 | 4230554 smlbizman
smlbizman's picture

how about this...stop using america as your platform...you cocksuckers are no more american than rat shit on a ship......you dont wear white hats ...either, i am not american or you're not...and we dont seem to have much in common...so with all due respect...go fuck your self..

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:39 | 4230569 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

That was a very well articulated and convincing argument. Thank you.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:48 | 4230597 Zero Point
Zero Point's picture

Are those the guys that called in JDAMs on suburbs after receiving small arms fire?

Nah, they're fucking tough alright.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:11 | 4230181 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

What did I tell you mooks last week that the old colonialism is back in style!!??

Now where the fuck is Italia invading old Ethiopia for old times sake?

And how bout the Brits doin their old dance on Egypt? 

Gosh darn, Germany didn't have any colonies that I know of.

Then there's SPAIN!  Don't wake up THOSE colonial muthas!

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:14 | 4230195 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

"Gosh darn, Germany didn't have any colonies that I know of."

They did, in Namibia.

Portugal and Netherlands were major colonizers as well.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:35 | 4230272 Relentless
Relentless's picture

Or howabout the US invading Hawaii? Oh wait, they haven't left yet.

Maybe the Prez can talk about feeing his home country from the boot of colonial oppression? Arghh, no Kenya is free isn't it?

Gosh, this colonies thing is complicated isn't it?

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:54 | 4230366 Enslavethechild...
EnslavethechildrenforBen's picture

Funny how, whenever Americans decide that they want to murder and steal resources, Muslims just happen to show up at that very spot on the globe like 5 minutes earlier...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:38 | 4230289 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

Good catch dude!  Yeah, Nambia was a German colony for all of 36 jahren. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia

Und didn't the Germans have great plans to use zeppelins for colonizing Africa?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:29 | 4230523 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

It never left concerning the French they figured out to how keep their empire after WWII the same way we play the reserve currency game. It is called the CFA Franc and it's fixed rate peg to the Franc and now the Euro. Look at how much of Central and Western Africa they control using this setup.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFA_franc

The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA [f??? se?f?], or colloquially franc) is the name of two currencies used in Africa which are guaranteed by the French treasury. The two CFA franc currencies are the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc. Although theoretically separate, the two CFA franc currencies are effectively interchangeable.

Both CFA Francs currently have a fixed exchange rate to the euro: 100 CFA francs = 1 former French (nouveau) franc = 0.152449 euro; or 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs exactly.

Although Central African CFA francs and West African CFA francs have always been at parity and have therefore always had the same monetary value against other currencies, they are in principle separate currencies. They could theoretically have different values from any moment if one of the two CFA monetary authorities, or France, decided it. Therefore West African CFA coins and banknotes are theoretically not accepted in countries using Central African CFA francs, and vice versa. However, in practice, the permanent parity of the two CFA franc currencies is widely assumed.

CFA Francs are used in fourteen countries: twelve formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (a former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (a former Spanish colony). These fourteen countries have a combined population of 147.5 million people (as of 2013),[1] and a combined GDP of US$166.6 billion (as of 2012).[2] The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:37 | 4230558 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

More importantly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currencies_related_to_the_euro#Pegged_curr...

They don't intervene unless the country has currency pegged to the Euro.

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 21:11 | 4231231 GoldenTool
GoldenTool's picture

What do you think the EU is?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:36 | 4230278 rwe2late
rwe2late's picture

 Mali,

a "success" ?

Foreign occupation, martial law, unbridled access of foreign corporations to Mali's uranium and other resources,

and unending conflict against "jihadists" both generated by the

unending "war on terror" and funded by "allies" of the West (e.g. Saudi Arabia) if not directly by one of the Western powers.

And for France, diverted resources, wasted lives, political deceit,

and another pretended excuse for militarism and martial law.

Some set the bar for success rather low, narrow, and short-term.

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:55 | 4230383 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

How about measuring the success of the operation by what the population thinks about their situation today vs. under the islamic rulers? By that definition, Mali was a success. Ask any Malian, if you know any... 

The only issue they have now is that a "political reconciliation" is forced (by France and the UN) upon them with the Touareg tribes in the North, the very same Touareg tribes that teamed up with the Jihadees to get rid of the official government ruling of the region. It's a bit hard for the population toswallow that one, and anyone could understand it.

Regardless, as of today, the situation in Mali has improved a lot compared to where it was just a couple of years ago. Same goes for Cote d'Ivoire where France intervened as well. Not all interventions are bad and for them to be successful, the country that is intervening must have a deep knowledge of the country it is intervening in, which France has with most of its former african colonies, and which the US didn't have in Somalia, Irak, Afghanistan, etc... You can't solve everything with drones and F16. At some point, the solution has to be political (and always will).

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:55 | 4230628 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

former african colonies

That is a laugh they just changed the control mechanism from troops on the ground to monetary in nature aka the CFA Franc. If the Euro's dominance wasn't at stake the French would have never went into Mali. Darfur and Sudan comes to mind.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:20 | 4230674 Fortunate Fool
Fortunate Fool's picture

The issue is, France doesn't know much about Darfur and Sudan, hence the reason why they didn't intervene. Most of the political and military elite of former french colonies are still educated and trained in France. France knows everything about these countries, and while they are independent, they still have a lot of economic, social and cultural ties with France. The US intervened in Liberia in the past. Look at the History of this country and you'll understand why.

CFA, I'm afraid, has very little to do with it (sorry if that doesn't fit your conspiracy theory). Proof? France intervened in Democratic Republic of Congo and in Rwanda which are not using the CFA. Actually, any country could leave the CFA if it wanted to, but the new currency would end up immidiatly like the Zimbabwe dollar. In fact, the CFA is more a (small) burden for the ECB.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 22:15 | 4231359 rwe2late
rwe2late's picture

 Fortunate Fool,

Your self-congratulatory "white man's burden" arguments are unconvincing.

The jihadist and economic problems of Mali are fostered by the governments and business interests of the"West"(USA) and their partners (including France and Saudi Arabia).

They then intervene supposedly to suppress the problems they create. You are mistaken to believe these interventions are done out of magnanimity or humanitarianism. In any event, the interests of the occupier will always supersede those of the occupied.

You misdirect when you describe the whole business as a burden to France et al. France is not a monolith. It is a burden to most, and a benefit to a few.

Again, there is nothing essentially smart about militarism. What is best for France and NATO is to get out of the business of military interventions, interventions invariably centered on controlling resources, securing markets, and dominating finances for the benefit of a few.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:23 | 4230501 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Central African Republic must either have gold mines or bitcoins.   Maybe Obama just wants to give them all EBT cards.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:38 | 4230044 kaiserhoff
kaiserhoff's picture

Wag ze dawg.

  Anything to get odumpstercare off the front page.

  Good luck with that.  The snake bite that keeps on biting.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:39 | 4230054 knukles
knukles's picture

But wait, there's more!

Another war, another Nobel Peace Prize, especially when the "Kinetic Police Action" is justified over Nelson Mandela's grave.

Ah, Springtime in Pretoria...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:57 | 4230390 Enslavethechild...
EnslavethechildrenforBen's picture

Hurry, don't delay, buy now and you also get...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:02 | 4230156 falak pema
falak pema's picture

While the world heads for Mandela's funeral the MIC plans the carve up of Africa in the opposite direction of his legacy to Africa. 

And, in this cynical, mad race for resources remember that the pecking order is what it has been since those church bells rang in Congo for the execution of Lumumba in 1961, organised by the CIA, as vividly portrayed in De Niro's film "The Good Shepherd".

1° USA

2° UK

3° France

4° Way below, China and India... That's the military presence right now of foreign troops the most armed and trained plus countless private operators for the Corporates notably in Congo where the mines are.

If you watch the pecking order of those attending the funeral of the last African freedom patriot : 

1° USA  Carter, Clinton, GWB, Obammy

2° UK  Cameron, Blair, Brown

3° France Hollande, Sarkozy. 

All others are not on the podium...

Warmongers is but the LAST phase of the Matrix; it goes :

1° Pick up RM (Oil notably since 50 years)

2° Set up crony regimes even in pseudo independent states by controlling the kick backs, the arms support for pretorian guards and setting up their plush RE acquisitons in the leading cities of the world. Pure Oligarchy financial plays.

3° Get them to negotiate good prices for RM for heavy kick backs on long iron clad contracts via TBTF corporates (JPM/HSBC/Exxon/ Shell/Glencore/BHP etc etc etc.).

4° Add as sweetener the Arms contracts on planned obsolescence basis to generate MIC revenues and presence.

5° Create regime changes from time to time to keep the native elites happy on musical chairs basis.

Repeat. All countries are part of the matrix, as the current enemy "radical islam" knows no borders.  Ironic that the radical Islam is financed by guess who... Hmmm no different to MENA and ME! 

Unfortunately for West the  $/debt Crisis is making this process unstable like everything else. Tipping moments...shades of past african dicey plays, as the ROI on military presence in CAR is like in Afghan... zilch.

When the short term push and the long term pull are like Vice leaning on Crime's Arm, as depicted by the annals of Napoleon's aftermath  written by Chateaubriand; you know how it will finish, whatever the current humanitarian wrapping.  

The acid test is what portion of any western economic exploitation of local RM goes to the local economy?

The past answer is invariably < 10% and its totally reserved for the local Oligarchy! 

No place for honest men or valid dreams as long as this continues. 

PS : Btw CAR has big DIAMOND mines and maybe Gold. Its population is 5.5 Million for a geographical size of FRANCE + BELGIUM, aka 650 000 sq Km. Not a bad sized "protectorate", if you find RM...Next door Chad just as empty, 10 million for 1.3 million sq Km, has oil.

Empty Western Sahel Africa : 5 countries

Mauritania/Mali/Guinee/Chad/CAR : pop 48 Million, Size : 4.5 Million sq KM Plenty of sand and brush, but RM (uranium, oil, gold, diamonds) for a region approx. 50% of USA.

Nice place to build the biggest solar project enuff to suffice the world, PRovided you can store it and transport it (via DC current to minimise loss). Long term prospects in more populous regions of Nigeria and others is huge economic potential. 

These guys are desperate for RM and markets. Hope the next generation will be more balanced...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:21 | 4230676 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

"The Good Shepherd" +100 for the reference, excellent movie!!

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:57 | 4230778 Jethro
Jethro's picture

You could be right.  The drillers and miners will descend upon them like a plague of locusts. 

US involvement goes against Obama's overt anti-colonialist leanings.  If he had a conscience, US involvement in the CAR would be his own personal kryptonite.  But, I doubt that he makes his own descisions, or has a conscience.

The CAR now, will resemble the CAR after all the natural resources are gone.  Patrick Moynihan will, unfortunately be proven correct again and again vis-a-vis his book Pandaemonium.  Africa can't escape tribalism.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:27 | 4229999 Bearhug Bernanke
Bearhug Bernanke's picture

America knows war, they are war masters.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KpzBAKJmig


Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:38 | 4230048 Enslavethechild...
EnslavethechildrenforBen's picture

What took them so long to get to turning Africa in to the 51st state?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:49 | 4230093 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

58th, according to our Dear Leader.

Potato, patoto.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:29 | 4230009 BaBaBouy
BaBaBouy's picture

Oblama NEEDS WAR...

Homeland NSA TSA ... "Ready To Roll"...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:14 | 4230461 Afrispaans
Afrispaans's picture

Boots on the ground in Africa = pain. Somalia is an amusement park compared to the Central Sub Saharan regions. Maybe Africom studied the Executive Outcomes handbook, but most likely not. Expect the role to be strictly "advicsory" and logistical, and if not, for the kak to Jackson Pollock with extreme prejudice. No army has ever walked into Central Africa and walked out smiling. 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:21 | 4229978 One And Only
One And Only's picture

Nobel peace prize in 3,2, 1.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:37 | 4229982 BaBaBouy
BaBaBouy's picture

.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:27 | 4229991 Grande Tetons
Grande Tetons's picture

Looks like a Risk board where the Asian kids are winning while the dumb white kids sit in the corner with their thumbs up their asses. 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:25 | 4229992 Rehab Willie
Rehab Willie's picture

MOAR WOAR

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:38 | 4230291 WOAR
WOAR's picture

LET ME HEAR YOU ROAR!

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:26 | 4229996 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

When all else fails, find some brown people and bomb the shit out of them.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:27 | 4230011 OwnSilverPlayMusic
OwnSilverPlayMusic's picture

George Carlin on American Foreign Policy- Bomb Brown People! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDw-zFFhFgc

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:28 | 4230000 JustObserving
JustObserving's picture

In today's news, Obama lied about Syria but no newspaper in the land of the free would print Seymour Hersh's story:

Obama admin 'cherry-picked intelligence' to justify Syria strike

Washington knew Syrian rebels could produce sarin gas but “cherry-picked” intel to blame President Assad for the Aug. 21 attack on Ghouta, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has revealed, citing senior US security sources.

The report was published in the London Review of Books after two of Hersh’s regular publishers, The New Yorker and The Washington Post, turned the article down.

Hersh, whose Pulitzers were for his exposes on American military misconduct in the Iraq and Vietnam wars, got his information on Syria from whistle-blowing acting and former intelligence and military officers, who for security reasons were not identified in the report.

According to Hersh’s findings, months before the chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus, which almost prompted US air strikes on Syria, “the American intelligence agencies produced a series of highly classified reports… citing evidence that the Al-Nusra Front, a jihadi group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, had mastered the mechanics of creating sarin and was capable of manufacturing it in quantity.

The attack took place on August 21, the same day UN inspectors arrived in Damascus to investigate allegations of use of chemical weapons. The casualty figures have ranged from several hundred to more than 1,400 deaths.

Before the attack, the Obama administration repeatedly described the use of chemical weapons in Syria as a “red line,” which would signal the US could intervene in the conflict.

Hersh wrote that he does not believe the intelligence data, pointing at the rebels’ having capability for making sarin, could have in any way escaped the White House’s attention.

Already by late May, the senior intelligence consultant told me, the CIA had briefed the Obama administration on Al-Nusra and its work with sarin,” he wrote.

Obama’s laying the blame for the nerve gas attack on Assad’s forces, completely disregarding Al-Nusra as a suspect in the case, is thus described in the report as the administration’s having “cherry-picked intelligence to justify a strike against Assad.

http://rt.com/news/us-syria-sarin-report-932/

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:32 | 4230028 replaceme
replaceme's picture

Hells Yea! Wonder if in that report is anything about us supporting al qaeda into the ranks of the chemically armed....  I cringe when I think how close we came to war over that contrived bullshit.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:50 | 4230101 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

Remember the Maine.

Wed, 12/11/2013 - 14:13 | 4236649 rwe2late
rwe2late's picture

Winston Churchill,

Don't be falsely amnesiac.

You ought remember the (munitions-carrying) Lusitania sinking,

something as First Lord of the Admiralty you longed for,

but have alleged plausible deniability for your

involvement, or was it convenient non-involvement?

(P.S., fellow ZH reader, my comment is not directed at you unless you are the long-dead Winston Churchill)

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:16 | 4230196 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

The Administration managed to pull off the Libyan war with the "imminent genocide" lie.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:44 | 4230315 Things that go bump
Things that go bump's picture

I don't think they can use that sort of thing anymore. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:38 | 4230031 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Seriously the tinfoil hat media was on the cherry picking story from the get go. Now the MSM is trying to make themselves look relevant and cutting edge months after the fact. So when non MSM source read by tinfoil hats reports it, it is a nonissue but when a pull my pultzer MSM shill reports it months later it is some big revelation.

Also this story has been reported elsewhere and they are playing it is legitimate because seymour butts has a pultzer prize angle for legitimacy.

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:45 | 4230328 Things that go bump
Things that go bump's picture

Isn't Seymour Butts the author of "Under the Bleachers"?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:37 | 4230358 booboo
booboo's picture

yes, he also co authored "Russian Torture Tactics" with Whotore Yurtitov

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:15 | 4230458 emersonreturn
emersonreturn's picture

yeah seymour hersh.  thank you justobserving.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:27 | 4230003 BandGap
BandGap's picture

Yes!!! I was getting bored with those old, run of the mill skirmishes. This will allow some more pratice with airplanes and drones. Good deal.

NATO was created for what purpose? If you listened to the Soviets back in the day it is exactly what it stands for right now.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:56 | 4230119 knukles
knukles's picture

Night-time Assisted Toilet Opportunities

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:31 | 4230017 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

CFA Franc fixed peg to the Franc now Euro. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Central African people. Resources and money systems to pay for it for pennies on the dollar.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:31 | 4230018 granolageek
granolageek's picture

Am I the only one who noticed that Congo is not Central African Republic? Or that there was zero mention of the US with respect to the CAR? It didn't even actually say that the drones in Congo were American.  Do you really think the US has theonly drones in the world?

Tyler stirring the pot again.

 

This post will disappear in 3-2-1...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:37 | 4230040 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

They have the only ones in Congo......

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:43 | 4230065 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

The United States gave billions of dollars in aid to the wealthy European principality of Andorra, which it mistakenly assumed was a poor African country.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q_iqrvnC_4

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:58 | 4230128 knukles
knukles's picture

Rufus T Firefly "Hail, Hail Fredonia"

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:30 | 4230019 AmericasCicero
AmericasCicero's picture

Predator drone unemployment was starting to creep up and those pesky amazon drones are going to take all their jobs at home!

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:33 | 4230033 Hedgetard55
Hedgetard55's picture

Niger

Nigeria.

 

Are these nor raycis names?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:57 | 4230133 knukles
knukles's picture

Depends upon how you pronounce them.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:42 | 4230041 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

And just think when the "dust settles" only then will the gold and platinum in the ground be available again for production at a date and time yet to be determined.

So how many other Countries in the Middle East and Africa like "Libya" can the U.S. and France loot that has GLD already available for good delivery?...  I can think of two already but those operations are going to be very costly and will require many reinforcements to obtain.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:50 | 4230097 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

..."the Central African Republic is the only place that China does not have a major documented presence yet"...

Or one that we know about that has been "edited for your well being" by the MSM at the moment.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:39 | 4230052 Ponzi Pontiff
Ponzi Pontiff's picture

O/T, but this made me laugh: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/10506464/Central-banks-lo...

I sprayed the screen with coffee when I read the "The US Federal Reserve, which is one of the biggest holders of physical gold reserves".

Apparently they've got 8,000 tonnes in there.  Wonder why Germany has to wait so long for the return of what is basically just a rounding error on 8,000 tonnes ...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:41 | 4230060 firstdivision
firstdivision's picture

Ahhh Africa, the last bastion ripe for financial development and exploitation.  Problem is the citizens don't have much wealth for banks to seperate them from.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:46 | 4230085 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

Ghana and Zambia have the fastest growing economies, err, wealth extraction on the Planet.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:52 | 4230113 Theta_Burn
Theta_Burn's picture

Wait a minute...

France decides to take the moral high road and turn all liberate-y and uncle sam-bone is going to assist!?!? (not that it supprises me, as the French/Nato ran out of bombs after 3 days, on the last camping trip) where are the funds coming from to accomplish this? my tax dollars? fuck that shit..

Why isn't O liberator blazing this trail of righteousness on his own if it be so noble?

...awaits congressional approval

 

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:19 | 4230220 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

"where are the funds coming from to accomplish this?"...

This gals been working for the CIA and Karzai's folks for the past 11 years.  I'd ask her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnMa652dZ5E

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 15:10 | 4233258 Analyse2
Analyse2's picture

@Theta_Burn

"the French/Nato ran out of bombs after 3 days, on the last camping trip"

One more myth totally invented by the neo-cons specialists of French-bashing since the Irak's war.

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 15:30 | 4233327 Analyse2
Analyse2's picture

The neo-cons warmongers even told us that the French fighter bombers dropped non explosive concrete training bombs.

How can you swallow such enormous bullshits ?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 15:58 | 4230138 tony wilson
tony wilson's picture

we be sprayin um.

we been dumpin depleted uranium on um.

we be bill gates vaccine nin  um.

and these fuckers still will not die.

so now billy bob dinkley will join inspector clouseau to secure der oil and der diamonds.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:09 | 4230174 zrussell
zrussell's picture

Monsanto's handling that problem very well...

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:07 | 4230157 zrussell
zrussell's picture

Doesn't the FED need to cough up 200 tones of gold for the 4th Reich?

Are there any mines in the area?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:20 | 4230224 ironmace
ironmace's picture

Slowly but surely, WWIII cometh

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:28 | 4230250 Fred C Dobbs
Fred C Dobbs's picture

"Shooting erupted near the airport in the morning after gunmen refused to hand over their weapons"

Why would anyone surrender their arms to a foreign invading army?  

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:57 | 4230386 W74
W74's picture

The French seem to have a lot of practice securing airports.  Perhaps Washington can contract out with them to pull airfield security while fat American kids trying to get a bit of coin and a college ride go out in search of flying bullets and IEDs.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:57 | 4230397 booboo
booboo's picture

Let me try to re write that. "People minding their own business were asked to give up their right to self defense and attacked by armed invaders and returned fire and this occured near the vicinity of an airport but we thought that adding "airport" which to a 9/11 zombified american reader may direct them to choose sides, our side preferably"

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:49 | 4230348 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

"...some logistical support" sounds a lot like 125 cruise missiles on the first day.

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:53 | 4230359 W74
W74's picture

Why is Botswana grey?  Surely the Chinese have a hand in the immense Dimond and PM mining industries there.  Or is that the exclusive realm of the Fiefdom of DeBeers? (which is the defacto government of Botswana anyway)

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 16:59 | 4230396 The-Dirty-Scurd
Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:08 | 4230434 solgundy
solgundy's picture

it's the Global Warming thing,,,,,the CAR is GREEN......The Central African Republic primarily uses hydroelectricity because there are few resources for energy.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 21:05 | 4231218 Dr. Sandi
Dr. Sandi's picture

Damn. All this time I thought Hydro WAS a resource.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:14 | 4230462 Van Halen
Van Halen's picture

What's also important to note here is that this is another country that just fell to Islam. Take a few minutes of your time and research how much of Africa has gone Islamic in the last 15 years.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:21 | 4230486 Bawneee Fwank
Bawneee Fwank's picture

What drug does this country produce?

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:18 | 4230683 Rusty Shorts
Rusty Shorts's picture

Ganja, lots of it.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:22 | 4230493 The Heart
The Heart's picture

Distractions distractions...oh what will it be next?

MEANWHILE, IN THE REAL NEWS, HERE IS ONE OF THE MOST HORRIFIC COP KILLINGS EVER SEEN. THE MURDER AND PILLAGING OF THIS POOR HUMAN BEINGS BODY IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE OF THE ANIMALISTIC BRUTALITY AND WHAT'S TO COME FROM THESE MURDEROUS THINGS THAT HAVE A POT-METAL BADGE AND A GUN, AND THINK THEY CAN GO ABOUT SOCIETY MURDERING PEOPLE LIKE THIS. SURE, THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A BAD GUY, BUT TO BE GUNNED DOWN LIKE THIS? IS THIS THE NEW KIND OF AMERICAN JUSTICE?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNnwc1RByzo

Evil run amok in society will bring more. The wheels of REAL justice are turning...the wave  of furry is forming.

The rules of real justice and order must be maintained.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0L2LTL3vyE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHuWFO1-MM

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:28 | 4230709 Jethro
Jethro's picture

That was an unjustified shooting IMHO.  He was an idiot for jumping out of his vehicle, and he probably had a history of violence or just being plain stupid, but he didn't need to get ventillated.

To qualify that statement, I used to be a Marine Security Guard at a couple of different Embassies and worked a POTUS and Sec State visit with Dip Sec and SS on foreign soil.  Granted I was static security, I acknowledge this.  I was a grunt before that though, in a line unit (1/5).  After my stint in the USMC, I was a self-employed PI for several years while putting myself through college.  I have been in tense situations before.  I've had firearms drawn on me before.  I've drawn firearms before.  I also applied for, and was accepted to a slot for my state's Highway Patrol academy.  I easily made the cut, and kept my slot as the class size went from 120 to 110, to 100 down to 80 (via state budget).  I went to their mini-boot camp, and made my decision to not attend based on my interaction with the other candidates.  I wouldn't, and couldn't trust any of the other candidates with a loaded weapon behind my back.  I informed the head of the HP of this in my exit interview.  To say that he was angry would be an understatement.  The class lost my slot too.  Keep in mind, the HP (at the time) was the pinnacle of LEO personnel in the area.   

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 05:42 | 4231788 lakecity55
lakecity55's picture

It would appear so, I have to agree.

I used to work license checkpoints.

As everyone knows, you have loads of cops around. Despite this,  A maniac got out of his vehicle and began shooting, unprovoked. a HP trooper wounded him and we cuffed him then he was off to the medics and jail.

I had my service pistol out, but there was no clear shot. You just never know. He was wasted on dope and had an outstanding warrant, as we found out later. He was also only out of stir for only about 2 months, after serving something like 2 years of 7.

Over the last few years, however, the ROE has absolutely changed. I no longer am active, largely due to the militarization situation. But,  if you are pulled, DO NOT make any weird moves. When the officer approaches your car, have your hands on the wheel.

There has been a trend towards a military posture for a while, but I can assure you under Backdoor Barry, it has really accelerated.

 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:41 | 4230582 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Preping China to hit the US in the upcoming war.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 17:53 | 4230620 ncdirtdigger
ncdirtdigger's picture

Omar peace prizes!

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:27 | 4230705 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

Africa = Quagmire.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:32 | 4230718 chump666
chump666's picture

Quagmire wars are plundering wars by failing empires. 

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 20:28 | 4231095 W74
W74's picture

Chalon/Catalunian Fields.  People often forget that while Rome was in it's last throes Attila the Hun's (much shorter, but almost as large geographically) empire was falling inward on itself as well.  Both were in the process of plundering what was left of central Gaul and the (then essentially Germanic) Franks got the worst of both sticks.  We all know the rest of the story: Dark Ages and Feudalism as the not-so-great cure.

Mon, 12/09/2013 - 18:31 | 4230714 chump666
chump666's picture

It's so Napoleon at the end of his reign, cept whilst he was there he kinda did get France on it's feet.  Although wars are expensive and England (1800s) was able to create inflation and bankrupt France at the same time (have France perpetually at war), difference this time  Hollande is a EU/ECB/NATO stooge, Africa is a possible battle ground for ww3, China is there as is Russia (resources and strategic fronts).   

France needs a revolution and some choppin'

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 01:59 | 4231641 esum
esum's picture

wtf is congress doing? since when can hagel authorize warlike acts?

next it will be the butler in the white house starting a war...

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 05:25 | 4231784 lakecity55
lakecity55's picture

have you guys looked at the mineral resources in the CAR?

it's loaded.

 

Tue, 12/10/2013 - 22:20 | 4234719 rbblum
rbblum's picture

So where was the US military support during the time of need . . .  in Benghazi ?

Wed, 12/11/2013 - 01:17 | 4235113 TheGrandChessboard
TheGrandChessboard's picture

Population of car is 4 million not 66. Lookalike dudden had another black out

Tue, 01/07/2014 - 12:27 | 4308240 SmittyinLA
SmittyinLA's picture

Looks like the US is China's Johnny on the spot rent-a-cop goon squad.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!