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The Golden Age Of Black Ops: US Special Forces Have Already Deployed To 105 Nations This Year
Submitted by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countries — roughly 70% of the nations on the planet — according to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt, a public affairs officer with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This capped a three-year span in which the country’s most elite forces were active in more than 150 different countries around the world, conducting missions ranging from kill/capture night raids to training exercises. And this year could be a record-breaker. Only a day before the failed raid that ended Luke Somers life — just 66 days into fiscal 2015 — America’s most elite troops had already set foot in 105 nations, approximately 80% of 2014’s total.
Despite its massive scale and scope, this secret global war across much of the planet is unknown to most Americans…”We want to be everywhere,” said Votel at Geolnt.
– From Nick Turse’s article in the Huffington Post: The Golden Age of Black Ops
The following article is one I’ve wanted to highlight for over a week, but the news has been so overwhelming I simply haven’t had a chance. Until now.
As someone who spends much of his time trying to understand the world around him, I’m always astounded to be floored by something I read. While regular readers of this site are well aware of how aggressively and irresponsibly the U.S. empire deploys military assets abroad, I think some of the following information will still shock you.
From the Huffington Post:
During the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2014, U.S. Special Operations forces (SOF) deployed to 133 countries — roughly 70% of the nations on the planet — according to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bockholt, a public affairs officer with U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This capped a three-year span in which the country’s most elite forces were active in more than 150 different countries around the world, conducting missions ranging from kill/capture night raids to training exercises. And this year could be a record-breaker. Only a day before the failed raid that ended Luke Somers life — just 66 days into fiscal 2015 — America’s most elite troops had already set foot in 105 nations, approximately 80% of 2014’s total.
Despite its massive scale and scope, this secret global war across much of the planet is unknown to most Americans. Unlike the December debacle in Yemen, the vast majority of special ops missions remain completely in the shadows, hidden from external oversight or press scrutiny. In fact, aside from modest amounts of information disclosed through highly-selective coverage by military media, officialWhite House leaks, SEALs with something to sell, and a few cherry-picked journalists reporting on cherry-picked opportunities, much of what America’s special operators do is never subjected to meaningful examination, which only increases the chances of unforeseen blowback and catastrophic consequences.
“The command is at its absolute zenith. And it is indeed a golden age for special operations.” Those were the words of Army General Joseph Votel III, a West Point graduate and Army Ranger, as he assumed command of SOCOM last August.
And don’t think that’s the end of it, either. As a result of McRaven’s push to create “a Global SOF network of like-minded interagency allies and partners,” Special Operations liaison officers, or SOLOs, are now embedded in 14 key U.S. embassies to assist in advising the special forces of various allied nations. Already operating in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Poland, Peru, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, the SOLO program is poised,according to Votel, to expand to 40 countries by 2019. The command, and especially JSOC, has also forged close ties with the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Security Agency, among others.
Special Operations Command’s global reach extends further still, with smaller, more agile elements operating in the shadows from bases in the United States to remote parts of Southeast Asia, from Middle Eastern outposts to austere African camps. Since 2002, SOCOM has also been authorized to create its own Joint Task Forces, a prerogative normally limited to larger combatant commands like CENTCOM. Take, for instance, Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) which, at its peak, had roughly 600 U.S. personnel supporting counterterrorist operations by Filipino allies against insurgent groups like Abu Sayyaf. After more than a decade spent battling that group, its numbers have been diminished, but it continues to be active, while violence in the region remains virtually unaltered.
Africa has, in fact, become a prime locale for shadowy covert missions by America’s special operators. “This particular unit has done impressive things. Whether it’s across Europe or Africa taking on a variety of contingencies, you are all contributing in a very significant way,” SOCOM’s commander, General Votel, told members of the 352nd Special Operations Group at their base in England last fall.
A clandestine Special Ops training effort in Libya imploded when militia or “terrorist” forces twice raided its camp, guarded by the Libyan military, and looted large quantities of high-tech American equipment, hundreds of weapons — including Glock pistols, and M4 rifles — as well as night vision devices and specialized lasers that can only be seen with such equipment. As a result, the mission was scuttled and the camp was abandoned. It was then reportedly taken over by a militia.
In February of last year, elite troops traveled to Niger for three weeks of military drills as part of Flintlock 2014, an annual Special Ops counterterrorism exercise that brought together the forces of the host nation, Canada, Chad, France, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Burkina Faso. Several months later, an officer from Burkina Faso, who received counterterrorism training in the U.S. under the auspices of SOCOM’s Joint Special Operations University in 2012, seized power in a coup. Special Ops forces, however, remained undaunted. Late last year, for example, under the auspices of SOC FWD West Africa, members of 5th Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, partnered with elite Moroccan troops for training at a base outside of Marrakech.
Deployments to African nations have, however, been just a part of the rapid growth of the Special Operations Command’s overseas reach. In the waning days of the Bush presidency, under then-SOCOM chief Admiral Eric Olson, Special Operations forces were reportedly deployed in about 60 countries around the world. By 2010, that number had swelled to 75, according to Karen DeYoung and Greg Jaffe of theWashington Post. In 2011, SOCOM spokesman Colonel Tim Nye told TomDispatchthat the total would reach 120 by the end of the year. With Admiral William McRaven in charge in 2013, then-Major Robert Bockholt told TomDispatch that the number had jumped to 134. Under the command of McRaven and Votel in 2014, according to Bockholt, the total slipped ever-so-slightly to 133. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel noted, however, that under McRaven’s command — which lasted from August 2011 to August 2014 — special ops forces deployed to more than 150 different countries. “In fact, SOCOM and the entire U.S. military are more engaged internationally than ever before — in more places and with a wider variety of missions,” he said in an August 2014 speech.
SOCOM refused to comment on the nature of its missions or the benefits of operating in so many nations. The command would not even name a single country where U.S. special operations forces deployed in the last three years. A glance at just some of the operations, exercises, and activities that have come to light, however, paints a picture of a globetrotting command in constant churn with alliances in every corner of the planet.
In September, about 1,200 U.S. special operators and support personnel joined with elite troops from the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Finland, Great Britain, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Slovenia for Jackal Stone, a training exercise that focused on everything from close quarters combat and sniper tactics to small boat operations and hostage rescue missions.
To America’s black ops chiefs, the globe is as unstable as it is interconnected. “I guarantee you what happens in Latin America affects what happens in West Africa, which affects what happens in Southern Europe, which affects what happens in Southwest Asia,” McRaven told last year’s Geolnt, an annual gathering of surveillance-industry executives and military personnel. Their solution to interlocked instability? More missions in more nations — in more than three-quarters of the world’s countries, in fact — during McRaven’s tenure. And the stage appears set for yet more of the same in the years ahead. “We want to be everywhere,” said Votel at Geolnt. His forces are already well on their way in 2015.
“Our nation has very high expectations of SOF,” he told special operators in England last fall. “They look to us to do the very hard missions in very difficult conditions.” The nature and whereabouts of most of those “hard missions,” however, remain unknown to Americans. And Votel apparently isn’t interested in shedding light on them. “Sorry, but no,” was SOCOM’s response to TomDispatch’s request for an interview with the special ops chief about current and future operations. In fact, the command refused to make any personnel available for a discussion of what it’s doing in America’s name and with taxpayer dollars. It’s not hard to guess why.
Through a deft combination of bravado and secrecy, well-placed leaks, adroit marketing and public relations efforts, the skillful cultivation of a superman mystique (with a dollop of tortured fragility on the side), and one extremely popular, high-profile, targeted killing, Special Operations forces have become the darlings ofAmerican popular culture, while the command has been a consistent winner in Washington’s bare-knuckled budget battles.
This is particularly striking given what’s actually occurred in the field: in Africa, the arming and outfitting of militants and the training of a coup leader; in Iraq, America’s most elite forces were implicated in torture, the destruction of homes, and the killing and wounding of innocents; in Afghanistan, it was a similar story, with repeated reports of civilian deaths; while in Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia it’s been more of thesame. And this only scratches the surface of special ops miscues.
So not only does the American public have no idea what is going on, what is going on often ends in disaster. See more below.
After more than a decade of secret wars, massive surveillance, untold numbers of night raids, detentions, and assassinations, not to mention billions upon billions of dollars spent, the results speak for themselves. SOCOM has more than doubled in size and the secretive JSOC may be almost as large as SOCOM was in 2001. Since September of that year, 36 new terror groups have sprung up, including multiple al-Qaeda franchises, offshoots, and allies. Today, these groups still operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan — there are now 11 recognized al-Qaeda affiliates in the latter nation, five in the former — as well as in Mali and Tunisia, Libya and Morocco, Nigeria and Somalia, Lebanon and Yemen, among other countries. One offshoot wasborn of the American invasion of Iraq, was nurtured in a U.S. prison camp, and, now known as the Islamic State, controls a wide swath of that country and neighboring Syria, a proto-caliphate in the heart of the Middle East that was only the stuff of jihadi dreams back in 2001. That group, alone, has an estimated strength of around 30,000and managed to take over a huge swath of territory, including Iraq’s second largest city, despite being relentlessly targeted in its infancy by JSOC.
“We need to continue to synchronize the deployment of SOF throughout the globe,” says Votel. “We all need to be synched up, coordinated, and prepared throughout the command.” Left out of sync are the American people who have consistently been kept in the dark about what America’s special operators are doing and where they’re doing it, not to mention the checkered results of, and blowback from, what they’ve done. But if history is any guide, the black ops blackout will help ensure that this continues to be a “golden age” for U.S. Special Operations Command.
Repeat after me: USA! USA!
* * *
For related articles, see:
More Foreign Policy Incompetence – U.S. Humanitarian Aid is Going Directly to ISIS
Leon Panetta, Head of Pentagon and C.I.A. Under Obama, Says Brace for 30 Year War with ISIS
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Black Ops all over the planet? This has absolutely no repercussions.... none....
Today other countries, tomorrow our homes...
So, our guys camp in Afirca was over run and.... oh why not just quote the word.... A clandestine Special Ops training effort in Libya imploded when militia or “terrorist” forces twice raided its camp, guarded by the Libyan military, and looted large quantities of high-tech American equipment, hundreds of weapons — including Glock pistols, and M4 rifles — as well as night vision devices and specialized lasers that can only be seen with such equipment. As a result, the mission was scuttled and the camp was abandoned. It was then reportedly taken over by a militia.
These guys are good. Er, I mean the PGA. Right?
Professional Gunman's Assoc?
Chosenites want to be EVERYWHERE. Sorry folks, but this isn't news. I don't know that "Conspiracy" is the right word, but I do have a "Theory" about what's behind all of this. I think that back in Germany before Hitler, when they were counterfeiting themselves unlimited quantities of money and bidding up the cost of all the food, Gold and other resources like farms, ranches, homes, timber, etc, that since the good German Christians and Muslims were not allowed to print money they were all left to starve to death. Chosenites don't share with non-chosenites. I think that's why Hitler took all six million chosenites money printing presses away from them and returned them to their rightful owners, to we the people. Suddenly we the people had money again, and we could afford to buy food, houses, cars and everything we needed to flourish. Law enforcement and Soldiers could again hold their heads high because they were once again on the right side of the law, they were protecting and serving the people as they are paid to do. Without the parasites stealing everything from their great nation, the people once again prospered. It took the combined evil Bankers from several other countries to defeat the good people of Germany so that the Bankers once again could get the money printing presses back away from the people and start counterfeiting again.
THATS WHY THEIR COUNTERFEIT MONEY TODAY READS FEDERAL RESERVE INSTEAD OF READING WE THE PEOPLE.
When our currency once again reads "We the people", you will know that the REAL TERRORISTS have been defeated.
Wake the fuck up people.
Very close S-e. You forgot the prt where the US agreed to let those who print to get back to it as long as it was the US dollar that would be the Global currency.
That and money pulled out their A$$ would have value because of the mutual agreement that if you don't have any you DIE.
Well said.
What makes you think that the difference in one fiat over another based on who printed it makes one counterfeit and the other good money. They are both fiat and a false system of reckoning value cannot be good. We the People or not. Open your eyes and come to the understanding that evil deeds are evil no matter who does them and then you will be using your brain for something useful.
You mean that we probably wanted to unofficialy arm some terrorist group and this is the best way we found to do it.
The "special" killers are drawn from militaries all over the world. Dont think they are ruled buy/for americans. They are also in small armies like Massachusetts Northampton --emviromental police--. And other govt agencies.
IridiumRebel said: "Today other countries, tomorrow our homes..."
Exactly, and those boys won't believe it or know what to do when their bullets run out and there is a mob of 5,000 descending upon them. Get out now U.S. Special Forces, you won't survive it; imagine the King's soldiers of the French Revolution.
Instead, start thinking about how you can REALLY serve your country and look into the FED, 1913, the bailouts of 2008-2009, Hank Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, Jon Corzine, and all of .gov that you "serve".
Us real people (working, honest, decent, legal fellow Citizens) would appreciate it.
Thank you for your service.
Service you say? What fucking service? The only service any public employee, including military, knows is that service unto themselves. Taking all they can get from anyone and everyone. Best wake up and don't eve consider those in your camp as they sure as hell aren't nor will they ever be. Not till their fucking gravy train implodes.
Yesterday other countries, today our homes...here I fix it for you.
So many enemies...so little time!
So many enemies ... so much more profit.
I'm making over $7k a month working part time. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make online so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do... www.globe-report.com
Get off your ass desk-jockey, Uncle Sam needs YOU to spread mayhem to the four corners!
I'm making over $60 billion a month working part time for the ECB. I kept hearing other people tell me how much money they can make at central banks so I decided to look into it. Well, it was all true and has totally changed my life. This is what I do..
Join specops and see the World. Just have a plan for killing everyone you meet.
When the world is full of nails you need lots of hammers, right?
as far as 'blowback' goes... well that just means job security.......
That is why the US uses screwdrivers. They are so cheap when everything is a nail. That just increases the profit margin.,
Drop your Call of Duty, join the specops, meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them. Be the first kid on the block to get a confirmed kill!
USA was illegally collecting more than 99 billion pieces of intelligence a month a few years ago per Snowden. That number may be well over 120 billion pieces a month today.
When you have 900 military bases in 130 countries (per Ron Paul), your forces are sure to be deployed in at least 130 countries every year.
The empire needs a global military presence to foist its worthless fiat on the rest of this world. When Saddam tried to sell his oil in Euros and Gaddafi tried to introduce a gold-backed currency (gold Dinar), the consequences were clear for everyone.
Whatever happened to Libya's 144 tons of gold?
Gaddafi gold-for-oil, dollar-doom plans behind Libya 'mission'?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuqZfaj34nc
Earth: 248 armed conflicts after WW2; US started 201 (81%), killing 30 million so farhttp://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/05/earth-248-armed-conflicts-ww2-us-...
They already got Iraq's, Libya's and Ukraine's gold. I wonder how much gold is in Syria and Iran.
Hell, I haven't heard much about Spain lately, they better watch out too! :)
They needed that gold to fill the repatriations.
81% START RATE???!!! UNACCEPTABLE.
BY GOD, I'LL SHAKE THIS RAT OUTFIT LIKE A TERRIER UNTIL I SEE A 95% START RATE! AM I CLEAR?!
Power cartels, vigilantes, mafias, and private security agencies.
Welcome back to the Middle Ages.
Not enough enlightenment maybe go with Dark Ages
Eventually!
105 nations? That's the admission anyway. Heh heh.
Can the Fed just start minting Nobel Peace Prizes for the Assclown in Chief yet?
AND NOW WE'RE IN YOUR HEAD TOO!
(cue Dr. Evil laugh...
Even if the probability of discovery or error is very low, when you start cranking up the number of episodes, it's a statistic certainty they will happen.
Assuming they keep this up, something very big and very wrong is bound to end up as a headline news across the planet. If they're scaling up like this, they should be scaling back on use of force, etc if they don't want this to happen -- but of course, these are the hired guns of madmen, so you can count of bad news soon.
The question is not whether there will be war (there will be a lot of it)but what kind of war. And who will fight whom?
Once the legal monopoly of armed force, long claimed by the state, is wrested out of its hands, existing distinctions between war and crime will break down……
The urban crime will develop along racial, religious, social, and political lines.
Source: The Coming Anarchy, by Robert Kaplan
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Anarchy-Shattering-Dreams-Post/dp/037570759X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422938452&sr=1-1&keywords=the+coming+anarchy
Once the legal monopoly of armed force, long claimed by the state
The first instance of this is Dutch, then British West Indies Companies. Both of these companies had mercenary arms which enforced contracts made in India and elsewhere.
Later, when the Bank of England was formed in 1694, the mercenary army transferred to them. This private bank then hosted England with debt means, and the formal British Army then came under indirect control.
As always, the state can be and often is usurped by private money power. When this happens, the state is no longer under political or even lawful control.
All of the modern wars and deaths are an extension of this philosophy, where privateers want to hold and own rents on society via usury mechanisms.
A lot of this is muscle to keep players at the petro-dollar table.
Presume if you are a despot at some otherwise insignificant shithole somewhere around the world. Run a spec-op close enough to home and the phone rings around the same time at the ambasadors house reminding the listener, "We are counting on you for support. Do you need a low interest rate loan to keep things progression for your country?"
The pace is up because the despots need constant reminding with all the bigger problems abounding.
When the despot-defection comes (1) good riddance and (2) it won't be good for our elites or by proxy, us, in material terms.
Gunboat diplomacy? Things changed much?
Regards,
Cooter
It's the golden age of SOCOM's budget and its operators frequent flyer miles, but in terms of #Winning, they now can't even defeat goat fuckers or topple or prop up foreign governments like they used to. Something as complex as preventing the death of the petro dollar is way above their skill level.
ya'll figure out who B. Hussein O. really is yet?
Maybe Fucking Darth Vader, a Muslim Jihadi without any papers originally from Kenya by way of Indonesia, destroyer of nations, pillager of civilizations and mankind, maybe?
"Close enough for government work?"
The old question: if they're used so often how are they special any more?
Spec Ops has been greatly glorified over the years. Movies, sorta, but more via CoD and other video games.
The other question is the recruitment quality of the operators. How has that been effected by increased usage and expansion?
plus the dumbing down of western societies...
I have an idea:
- Let's give away all our power of propaganda & the power of T.V. to:
A. Advertisers, businesses, corporations, think tanks, foundations
B. Government, bought & controlled by A.
Surely there is no reason to create a national power to counter the propaganda & advertising.
Surely there is no reason to aid debate in an Era where people struggle to keep up with information, are addicted to computers, have clear social problems from the technology era/computer & TV era.
S/ Big Time
General Use License @2015, forward & use as you want.
Does anyone on this planet need to ask who is the evil empire? Seriously? All they need now is another Sith Lord named Palpatine. Sheesh. How obvious can one get?
PS: Anyone want to guess how many [infra]-red dots on the new fellows in Greece?
Unlimited Power!!!!
US is just another terrorist nation.
U.S. And Israel.
This sounds like safari on steroids. I'm sure they have a blast doing it, but maybe they should fund their own sporting activities themselves. We have really gone off the deep end. Does Obama really have the constitutional authority to launch black ops where and whenever he sees fit?
the sporting event is herd control
that be us
Obama uses the bill or rights for butt wipe.
The Constitution has been suspended for the duration of a never ending war.
Zee Protection Squadron
I enjoy watching reruns of THE UNIT (aired 2006-2009 on CBS) on Amazon Prime Video. Great series! Too bad it was cancelled after 4 seasons.
It was cancelled because it turned into a fucking soap opera. As in estrogen started ruling over the plots. That and David Mamut had a change of heart about who he should worship.
Here's how you watch episodes of The Unit: every time a woman appears on screen, fast forward until you see dudes with guns again. More enjoyable and saves time, a 42 minute episode becomes a 25 minute episode.
I enjoy watching reruns of THE UNIT (aired 2006-2009 on CBS) on Amazon Prime Video. Great series! Too bad it was cancelled after 4 seasons.
I would be fascinated to see how men for these missions are selected for this elite training. Are they the true psychopaths hungering for glory and power? Or are they the duped and gullible indoctrinated with a sense of high purpose and patriotism? Any thought, doubt or questioning as to the validity of what they do could cause failure.
Part of me has such admiration for men to perform such feats. The bravery, focus and valor is amazing to me. But, then again, to realize the horrible consequences of these actions in terms of what this country truly has become is horrendous.
This evil government is using the hearts of men to their advantage and tossing them away like soiled toilet paper when they no longer are useful. Simply disgusting and we will pay for these atrocities.
Miffed
FYI
https://notes.utk.edu/bio/greenberg.nsf/a80806fbebea8dd285257015006e1943...
Another discriminator for identifying natural killers is their socio-economic background. Natural killers usually come from a middle or upper class background. The volunteer military has had the luxury to pick and choose those who will be allowed into the service, and we exclude those with criminal records. Sociopaths follow a "cheater strategy" to obtain what they want.21 The lack of a social conscience allows the sociopath to cheat without remorse. Consequently, those who find themselves in the economically disadvantaged lower class will resort to crime unless placed in a highly controlled environment. In other words, a sociopath from a depressed economic background will most likely have a criminal record, and under today’s standards, he would not be able to enter the military. Thus, natural killers in the US military will most likely come from a middle or upper class background.
Sociopaths are generally extroverts. One reason for this is the inheritance of a nervous system that is relatively insensitive to low levels of stimulation. Individuals with this physiotype tend to be extroverted.22 They also have lower than average levels of adrenaline and seek experiences to heighten this. Extroverts and sociopaths are less affected by threats of pain or punishment, and they have greater tolerance of actual pain or punishment. Both sociopaths and extroverts will approach a situation that most people will avoid.23 These factors were confirmed by the HumRRO study conclusion that fighters were extroverted, spontaneous and relatively free from anxiety.24
The natural killer has above-average intelligence. Like sociopaths with no economic resources, those without above-average intelligence end up in jail. Therefore, sociopaths in our military are usually intelligent. The HumRRO study found that the intelligence quotient (IQ) of fighters was, on average, 13 points higher than nonfighters’. The study subjects were all infantrymen and the mean group IQ was only 85, 15 points below the national average of 100. This indicated that less intelligent men were sent forward to fight, but within that group, the more intelligent ones were better fighters.25
Additionally, the natural killer has a caustic sense of humor that relies on sharp wit and biting sarcasm.26 Such hostile humor acts as a tension-discharger, a relief valve. While we normally associate humor with friendly behavior, laughter itself is a primarily aggressive behavior. Laughter is usually directed at someone and is infectious, with the unspoken agreement being to "join in or not be part of the group."27 With aggression as the underlying theme, the natural killer enjoys humor.
Potential natural killers can be identified through long-term observation testing. Supervisors can look for natural killer traits in their soldiers. Over time, they will develop a close enough relationship with their soldiers to be able to distinguish those who match most of the characteristics of killers. Personality-type testing may also identify natural killers. One such test already in use by the military is the Myers-Briggs personality-type test. Considering the characteristics discussed above, the natural killer would most likely be an ESTP (extroverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving) personality type on this test. ESTPs are outgoing, highly adaptive, deal in facts, sensory oriented, excel at sports, learn through life experience, prefer action to conversation and are tough in harsh situations.28 Matching the ESTP personality type to intelligent, caustic, later sons will help identify potential natural killers. The ESTP personality type, coupled with the other associated traits, is not an absolute determinant of a natural killer or a sociopath, but it provides a good baseline. Personality-type testing at initial entry could identify and help place natural killers where they can best employ their talent—in infantry, armor and special operations units.
This is going to be deeply unpopular, but in my youth I was also bright eyed and bushy tailed for words like duty and honour. I did my short stint in the infantry, never saw any action and got the hell out of there as soon as I figured out that my decision-making process was compromised by the inexperience of youth, excitement and ego. I listened, looked and finally understood that all of it was focused on one thing and one thing only: Killing people on demand. The rest was either public relations bullshit, boosting self-admiration or projecting paranoia. To the military, the world is full of enemies and it was my duty to kill them first before they kill me. It would probably shock most people to learn that indoctrination often made you look at the enemy and his whole tribe as subhuman - men, women, children - there was a lot of casual dark humour about doing things to them that would make any normal person reach for the phone to call the men in white coats with butterfly nets. It took me years to get rid of that stupid world view.
When people start their cloying admiration of the military, especially about the guys in the SF & their courage, I just wonder whether they are brain dead. I cannot for the life of me understand how you can equate courage with sneaking behind a man and stabbing him in the back, or hiding in the bushes to shoot him from afar, or leaving traps/IEDs to blow his legs off. The basic purpose of the SF is surviving in hostile territories by evasion and stealth: Sneaking around and hiding, killing people quietly and then running away. They rarely engage and when they do, they have huge support behind them. Heroism, courage, bravery - I've always equated that with fighting against an equal or greater foe and acquitting oneself honorably, not sneaking around killing the poorest people in the third world defending their homes with antiques.
Look at the most popular works of entertainment in the media and it is revelatory. They celebrate and romanticise the very worst and insane behaviours we do to each other - assassins, special forces, organized criminals, mass murderers, wars, lust, greed and vulgar extravagance. It's an indictment of the societies we have created for ourselves and the worst thing we can possibly do to the next generation of young people who have made these into templates for their own lives.
Excellent post, YHC-FTSE.
I was a bit of a slow learner in the military. It wasn't until around my fifth year that i suddenly got it: THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT. So I learned eventually and got the hell out...
...and went straight into college. A few years there and guess what i suddenly realized?! Corporate world, too: BULLSHIT. Once you make it this far awake, you kinda keep going (American Dream = BULLSHIT, American History = BULLSHIT, etc.).
Good post.
This is fighting. This is war. Courage, heroism, patriotism are for the propagandists. Always need more fodder (recruits) for the machine.
Those who train to fight, fight dirty with minimum risk to the self and maximum to the other guy. There's nothing nice about it. Have you noticed how martial orders all have "codes"? Bushido, Chivalry? It's because what they train to do is fundamentally sickening.
Exactly why I did not see Sniper. While I understand Kyle was just doing his job and Clint Eastwood did not support the Iraqi war, my opinion is this, if a foreign nation unjustly invaded your country wouldn't you become a terrorist too? Yet we portray these people as criminals. I assure you that my son and I would have been willing to die to take down a few of the invaders.
"I would be fascinated to see how men for these missions are selected for this elite training"
Maybe Kay Griggs can shed some light on this for you.
A very interesting description of where your tax dollar goes.
I have watched 3 of the 4 videos so far, how do you spell "CORUPTION"
The price of Empire.
Thanks America.
Hey! The U.S. has to have something to brag about!
After all we have over 1.7 million men and women in uniform and yet when we need 200,000 to fight an actual war - as in the invasion of Iraq - we have to call up national guardsmen - the state militiamen.
Aside from 60,000 marines and about 50,000 airborne rangers is there anyone in uniform that can actually fight!! And why do we have to send navy frogmen (Seals) a thousand miles inland to fight in the mountians of Afghanistan and Pakistan?
It looks to me like most of the military is just a glorified jobs corps.
God help us if our job corps has to go up against the Russians!!
You just hit on the US miitary's weakness. It's enormous.
Just read some Sun-Tsu. What, 2500 years ago? You don't confront the enormous monster, you undermine it. You can "kill" 50% of US front line forces by one act of congress, defunding the military.
Watch it happen.
why is it that we have to invade other countries, how would we feel if "black ops" from other countries invaded the US?
If they were slitting throats on K Street, I don't think we'd mind that much. Otherwise, we'd be looking to put them into body bags.
So all the drug cartels aren't doing special ops north of the border?
California's Weed Growing Militias have utterly defeated the Mexican Cartels.
The DEA and hard drugs are another story.
They have barely dented the Cartels operations.
"why is it that we have to invade other countries"
Confession of an Economic Hitman
They must be on missions to win hearts and minds
Most of their activity is just joint training exercises. If we were actually fighting in 140 countries there would be a lot of special ops coming back in body bags from all over the world, with families and relatives blogging and talking to the alternative media.
Just what exactly do these cretins think they are accomplishing? With idiots like these "volunteers" this county doesn't have much time left.
i don't think there's an individual source for this, but didn't this happen before the iraq, gulf, vietnam, and other wars? Seems like the more shaken up all the lbds get the more the us government wants those with brains to expand them. Back around the time wikileaks was covering the black unit there was a new source stating spec ops had expanded to 96,000. Now I know that's a joke.
Not a bit different than the blue black boy from Africaland taking up a tommy gun to slaughter the village next door. Not because he knows why, but for lunch.
But these are American men. It's pathetic.
Did Greece happen to be one of those 105 nations?
i wonder...O expressed sympathy, no?
dup
what a great cuntry,,,
It's fun to know secret shit and blow things up; right up to the point you realize you are just working for some slow burn corporate takeover of some far away undeveloped resource or proposed pipeline in some ridiculous part of the world that never entered modernity.
It's one thing to be burned out on mission fatigue.
It's another for your whole squad to be strung out on heroin on a slow boat from Karachi to Marseille.
So much for the GWOT.
You run a couple of tours and then figure you can make 10x the money "working" half the time; and again for what - training half-wit boy-lovers that live amongst the rocks and goats.
The SOF is not the same today as the dayz of yesteryear. These folks are born not made on an assembly line, but more importantly a real warrior can find some poetics and virtue in their inner and worldwide conflicts.
These guys and their command ... Well, like the old movie goes; 'You're just an errand boy sent to collect the bill.'
The purpose of War is to END War, not turn it into a 24/7 global franchise.
PS. Black-ops don't have public relations. Psyops does, but YOU are the target of those operations.
great comment.
"The purpose of War is to END War, not turn it into a 24/7 global franchise."
Last century thinking. Better get up to speed with the new business model. Lower level conflicts require a much larger sales footprint to retain volumes and profitabilty.
Marines die, that's what we're here for
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBz8ywqPyRE
Yeah. I was in a bunch of clubs. I gave 'em up when I grew up around sixteen. Bunch of fucking morons if you ask me.
Kubrick weren't no dummy and you'll notice he avoided Hollywood like the plague.
hollywood bullshit.
selling shit to homeboys and rednecks.
zionist amis at their best
Ya don't expect to fight WWIII with kind words do ya? They have enough weapons to wipe out nations and everyone in the world. Time to head for the hills. The banksters got hold of the printing press, the weapons manufacturerers and the US military forces.
I swell with pride at the thought of military conquest. Time for a little NATIONAL ANTHEM action...
Yet when you bring this up or the fact or that all of the defense related spending is driving us off a cliff you get an indifferent or even visceral reaction from most people I speak to. Actually some very well educated people who think we don't spend enough!
CBO just said we'll spend $350B the next decade on the U.S. nuclear arsenal alone and that is the fiscally conservative estimate assuming we don't update or modernize it.
Doesn't include either a bunch of toxic waste sites with legacy nuclear waste and fallout slated for cleanup too.
Does the Constitution provide for a standing army? Isn't the army supposed to be disbanded after two years? Isn't the Navy the only military force supposed to be maintained?
Yeah, something like that but progressives are in charge, and they hate that old outdated un-modren thing......
Grimaldus
I wonder who has collected the most trophy ears from different foreign countries 'terrorists'?
* Today other countries, tomorrow our homes...
People from 133 countries want it very much.
Failure doesn't seem to be a deterent but a reason to keep doing the same stupid stuff and expecting a different outcome.At least they can give Hollywood the true 'facts' and make movies. Shit like Zero Dark Thirty instantly comes to mind. Failures become success stories. More taxpayer dollars coming your way.No questions asked.
The result of the generation of sprogs that 'grew-up' playing first-person-shooter games.
".. “We want to be everywhere,” said Votel.."
Eager to get kicked in the ass from "everywhere". A general of my boots...
America! Fuck yeah!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIPljGWGNt4
2:32 mins
I don't know that "Conspiracy" is the right word, but I do have a "Theory" about what's behind all of this. I think that back in Germany before Hitler, when they were counterfeiting themselves unlimited quantities of money and bidding up the cost of all the Gold and other resources like farms, ranches, homes, etc. that since the good German Christians and Muslims were not allowed to print money they were all left to starve to death. I think that's why Hitler took all six million of their money printing presses away from them and gave them to the people. Suddenly we the people had money again, and we could afford to buy food, houses and cars. Law enforcement and Soldiers could again hold their heads high because they were all back on the right side of the law again. Without the parasites stealing everything, the people once again prospered in their great nation. It took the combined evil Bankers from several other countries to defeat the good people of Germany so that the Bankers once again could get the printing presses back away from the people and start counterfeiting again. THATS WHY THEIR COUNTERFEIT MONEY READS FEDERAL RESERVE INSTEAD OF READING WE THE PEOPLE.
More Full Spectrum Dominance NAZI delusions as the Homeland GESTAPO runs riot in Slumville USSA. The sickening reality however, is more total sphincter flatulence in an imploding Ponzi sewer "economy", a collapsing foodstamp currency and bankrupt society of snaggle-toothed demobbed Pentacon Kill Industries gophers happy to die for the zero 1% psychopaths that own US.
Back to the Renaissance age with a vengeance, where every third world prince fighting as FRONT man for the Oligarchy--corporate global brotherhood of commodity rape today -- Glencore/Exxon/Vitol/BHP/Koch/JPM/Squid -- (Venice/Genoa/Florence/Isabella's Seville and consorts inc. in that age)-- will require his conditorri soldiers of fortune.
Of course the Pope is always present in the form of the FED and his printing press!
History rhymes bigtime down the barrel of a kalashnikov!
And Potus of the Sublime Gate plays golf and spouts philosophy to his Ottoman harem of DC as kingpin of West's Constantinople gone Stamboul in profligate spend of eastern encroaching sino-arab credit spree magnificence.
Run you dumb Greeks from pillar to post while we print your demise by Seal teamed backup, ostensibly to sell Mcdonald's freedom fries to promote the Oligarchy's official cry of "Hakuna Matata", the Lion King-- Disney's Circle of Life song.
"Its all for freedom!"-- So says Sepp Blatter and Nike his sponsor, as Qatar's money greases the wheels of sport business now part of Oligarchy turf to its zillion dollar short hairs.
Ron Paul can go ahead and eat his own heart out.
We need a final solution to the khazar problem.
Hillary I mean military intelligence Did they count the United States? "Sweet Caroline"
Krugman: “Fiat Money…Backed By Men With Guns” USA USA USAWhat is Putin offering on gold backed bonds? Wake Up
I'm a Canadian. If I see armed foreign troops on our land, I am going to First Nations, getting a few boys and we are going to send home where they belong.
When American Abrams tanks roll into Quebec, you are welcome to join us.
You all forget that the USA does not own Canada, even though most of the citizens down there in their patronizing attitudes think you do.
We are a sovereign nation, not that the USA has any respect for sovereignity.
It is those attitudes which are making more enemies for you than friends in this world. When Rome fell, I am sure the world rejoiced. I am sure when the USA is humbled a bit, the world will feel a lot more peaceful. Is it any wonder more Canadians now choose to go to Mexico or elsewhere for vacations than the good old USA?
We don't need no ignorant bullies on our land. You can take your sniper movies and keep them.
Cherry picker indeed, check your info sources. Never heard as discussion of USA owning Canada, but you think most of us think that. Rant, but do it well, otherwise you are acting like a tot who wants a cookie.
Awake US citizens are more fed up than any other citizen with regards to our policies.
I do not believe for one second that the Mericans are awake. If you are stop your war mongering .gov.
but wait, with 49 million on food stamps, where do you think the money to refill those EBT cards comes from. ie. theft and force from other nations.
Cherry Picker, the only reason the US allows you to survive is you still agree to accept printed us dolars in exchange for oil and other real goods/services. Once you realize that, you will understand that everyone the world over is a slave to the US.
Yes, you are essentially a slave because you accept worthless paper for your labor. The one who prints that paper is your owner. That owner needs to have troops stationed in 150 countries to make sure their will is enforced.
Now you know how the French feel.
Well, not really. America hasn't invaded your country and destroyed your govt. and way of life. Not yet, anyway.
Je me souviens We Remember
Quebec's answer?
Maple syrup sticky-bombs. eh?
What ISIS is to Saudi Arabia,these special forces will be to US.
Blowback will come big time.
So the world isn't connected by religion, or economy, or love and spiritual values. It's held together by Global MIC, with its SS squads hiding in every shadow. Bright future ahead, 'Merica.
FUCK YEAH!
"It's held together by Global MIC"
Almost correct. Add -- paid for by unlimited printed FRN.
Damn that gave me an idea...
Kumbaya songbooks loaded with anthrax.
I think it is important to point out that
PROGRESSIVES ARE IN CHARGE!
This is not a surprise, bloody progressives are driven to kill their own babies in record numbers so what does that tell you?. Nothing will stop the Bill Ayers progressive bloodlust--millions upon millions of dead necessary for progressive utopia. Ban DDT so millions die of malaria. Scam the price of hydrocarbon energy so high the poor people of the world are crushed. Bomb the fuck out of everybody. Start wars everywhere. Interfere because we know what is good for you.
What is the US FEDGOV full of? Bloody obamatron corzine progressives. Not a goddamn constitutional conservative in sight. We are so fucked.....
Grimaldus
Not even Hollywood is perverted enough to script something as repulsive and disgusting as this is....
"SOCOM.
Working hard today to build a better terrorist for tomorrow".
"Full spectrum dominance and employment".
"Building Democracy on the night-shift."
"SOF- Send the best to eliminate the rest."
They need some PR with some snap to it. I'm thinking maybe a catchy jingle as well as the usual catch-phrase. I know...sounds old-fashioned, but these things work in cycles.
Those are just toss-outs, I'm working on it.
Black ops use to be called filibustering before the civil war.
That was okay, because it was a way of attacking the Spanish Empire.
http://www.nicaragua-guide.com/william-walker.html
All in the name of defending Israel. If we don't do it then who? I mean we can't leave it ALL up to Mossad
Despite its massive scale and scope, this secret global war across much of the planet is unknown to most Americans…”We want to be everywhere,” said Votel at Geolnt.
Academi and Greystone must be "pigs in shit" with the billable labor rates these days!...
But how much longer can you bill to the Federal Government when you start accumulating unexpected casualties because you are "everywhere" and your people both inside and outside the U.S. military are wrapped way too tight... So tight in fact they need pills to keep themselves together so that they don't "snap" like a twig?...
Hit and run is all they are capable of providing at this point. Just ask the NovoRuss how many of those "NATO" boyz stay put when they are "clearing the swamp"? I love the story about the American helicopter pilot last July that got his ride shot out of the sky by rebel forces in Ukraine only to have his merc buddies that survived the crash take his side arm away from him and run when they were getting overrun! What a morale booster that must be serving in a unit like that?!!!
Just ask Alexander The Great how it turned out for him in the end!
The old Greek saying goes...
The eyes are always bigger than the stomach!
Al had those bad-ass Thracians with him. As long as the money rolled in, they were good as gold. Macedonians and Greeks? Eh, not so much.
As long as the money rolled in, they were good as gold. Macedonians and Greeks?
sh
But they ran out of money and just got their asses kicked!
Alexander had to pay his troops with real money. The US gets to print unlimited FRNs that eveyone, even the enemies, accepts for their labor and services. Pretty hard to defeat that.
The US is a FN cancer.
I just hope the somewhat-civilized world can remove it out without killing itself.
"... what is going on often ends in disaster"
Sounds like mission accomplished to me. US foreign policy objective is to subjugate and control sovereign states and their resources. Where that is not possible, they cause chaos. Ukraine is now a failed state and a thorn in Putin's side. Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan have non-functional or compliant governments. Syria and Iran are obvious targets. And the list goes on.
Seriously, WTF is "regime change" anyhow, and why does the world tolerate USG overt and covert operations designed to collapse governments.
I think there is a major geopolical realignment underway that the US is desperately trying to subvert. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS development bank, the high-speed rail between Moscow and Beijing are all initiatives that undermine US influence in Eurasia and South America, and in fact exclude the US. Venezuela, Argentina, possibly Brazil are moving into the Russia/China sphere. Will Greece embrace Moscow?
Africa is a wild card right now. China is moving quickly to develop and manage economic relations with governments throughout Africa. US response is generally military intervention, typically by proxy, to bring down and replace governments that refuse to comply or that are warming to Chinese and Russian influence.
Yesterday was declared 'Kyles day' by the governor of Texas. I cannot help but feel a little sick when sniper killers are considered heroes. Hide somewhere and kill people and if you kill enough you will be a hero.
Yesterday was declared 'Kyles day' by the governor of Texas
Did you hear the one about the Texan that was so full of shit that when they gave him an enema they had to bury him in shoe box?!!!
Would love to see how Chris Kyle's pals are doing in Mauripol these days?... I'm sure the challenges are very different than what they were up against in Mosul or Baghdad! Hope all of them are from Texas!
Any Texas volunteers along with your "governor" against the Ruskies?...
Will Greece embrace Moscow?
Excellent question rF... You have to ask yourself why Secret Chimp in the Oval Office is playing the dual false narrative on the other side of the EU with his George Soros script with CNN Sunday morning?...
On the one side of that big stupid shit eating mouth of his he says that a compromise with the debt payments are in order to ease the suffering of the Greek people... while out of the other side he admits to committing treason with the transition from the democratically elected Yanukovich governemnt with a coup he helped orchestrate because the U.S./EU partnership didn't get it's way after Yanukovich made a pivot to Russia?...
A lot is at stake in that tiny poor Country. Not just for the EU but all those military assets inside that Country that is not only rich in oil and gas resources yet to be tapped, but it's location and logistics for a U.S. military that has been at the breaking point for the last 7 years!
As I've said here before this ain't your 1967 CIA overthrow of a Greek government with a coup d' etat as the well of sound money to pay for it is nigh dry this time around!
The American government knows it and more importantly so does the new Greek government!
After more than a decade of secret wars, massive surveillance, untold numbers of night raids, detentions, and assassinations, not to mention billions upon billions of dollars spent, the results speak for themselves.
Is this behavior civilized? Does it make American’s safer? Does it follow the George Washington’s warning at founding of our country– don’t get involved in entangling alliances?
The Tbill/Washington Consensus government was born due to deficit spending on Vietnam War. Dollars were spent overseas – especially in Asia, found their way to French Central Banks, and then would cycle to America to buy what? Nothing. These foreign dollars would buy gold for awhile, until they started depleting America’s stock, and then Nixon went off of Gold standard, daring European allies to buy American Main Street Goods.
Instead of buying goods, French/British/German and other’s bought debt in the form of Tbills. This created the TBILL economy. Why buy U.S. debt rather than goods? Because one less car bought from America means one more car produced in the home country.
The dollars then recycled in a loop: 1) Deficit spent into War and industrial complex 2) Spent overseas for services and goods 3) Cycles back to a T-bill 4) T Bill stays on the books and grows with usury 5) Dollars cycle out of T-bill and into government hands. 6) Spent by government back into Military Industrial complex. 7) Spent by government back into #2 above. Then start the cycle again at #2.
Government deficit spend money is started with a new T-bill bond issued into primary markets, where it eventually finds new money created by the FED. This process then avoids scrutiny by the taxpayer as it circumvents him/her. I consider it unlawful.
Thomas Jefferson said that if he could have one do-over in life, it would be to disallow government from borrowing what should be its own credit.
The cycle above funds about 800 overseas military bases and installations. This is a giant unnecessary rent scheme that steals from the productive and causes destruction. BRICS and others have figured out that recycling dollars to a Washington Consensus T-bill economy is funding their own dispossession. China plays the game to steal jobs and knowledge, but will eventually pull the plug. They already tried recently with SDR gambit at IMF.
Now instead of an above board military, we have underground mercenaries whose behavior is private, sneaky, and by extension- most likely unlawful.
Neo-crypteians for a world of helots.
Well, white-trash monkeys from middle America have to make a living somehow...
"Oh my god--a second plane has just crashed into the South Tower!" LOLOLOLOLOL...
GOOD NEWS !
This is best way for them to get invaluable experience. But USA government shows its incomeptence in getting them delpoyed to ONLY 105 nations.
And Now, Exxon is in one of the last places on earth creating an economic hit on a small country "Papua New Guinea", chasing after LNG, meanwhile destroying the homeland of the Native people who are getting ready to fight them to the death, of course the Papua New Guinea Govt is on board because they themselves "personally" will become rich, meanwhile the people suffer. This very same scenario has been plyed over and over and over again, by the corporations that own the USSA, once again read "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" Not only do the politicians of theses countries get rich, but the Merican corporations that come to build the infrastructure gouge the shit out of them as well.
Well if you cannot get rich honestly lie, cheat and steal from third world countries.
Either yer with the terr'sts or yer the ones being shot at by us!
oh wait...
Scope Creep...SOF/Merc Style...