national security

Washington is stepping up its campaign to censor the internet. It had to come, and will succeed. It will put paid forever to America’s flirtation with freedom. We are hard pressed to think of a society in such internal decline that has turned itself around, and we cannot imagine how America might do so. One sure thing is that, once the internet is gelded, there will be no hope at all. And the assault has begun.

Looking at a map of current American military engagements overseas, one cannot help but notice their wide geographical spread and their seemingly interminable nature. Battles have raged in Europe (Yugoslavia and Ukraine), in Africa, in the Middle East, and in central Asia. The American Empire has launched this country into a series of battles that have no end in sight and no location that may not become a focal point of military force. Upon close inspection, however, all of their rationales fall apart. None is satisfactory. The interventions are too widespread, too long-lasting and too unsuccessful at what they supposedly accomplish to lend support to any of the common justifications.

Lately, and tragically, not a month can pass in Europe without some deadly, mass shooting event whose inspiration is supposedly racial hatred. One month after the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris which left 20 people dead, another series of deadly shootings rocked otherwise quiet Copenhagen this weekend, where the person suspected to be responsible for the death of two people and injuring five first at a freedom of speech event and subsequently, at a synagogue in Copenhagen, was killed by police early in the Sunday morning hours.

Here come the "information sharing and analysis organizations", or ISAOs.

“If America’s Leaders Did Not Have The Courage To Punish [the Foreign Country] For The Blatant Murder Of American Citizens, It Seemed Clear That Their American Friends Would Let Them Get Away With Almost Anything”

With Russia allegedly moving its military presence deeper into NATO territory in Europe (with a Cyrpiot base), Bloomberg reports that in response to the regions' growing strategic importance, the US plans to open naval base in Australia (risking further "inflamed tensions" with China) in the midst of a “pivot-to-Asia” that will see 60% of its naval forces deployed in the region by 2020. The latest move, Admiral Greenert confirms, "we’re doing a study together with the Australia Defence Force to see what might be feasible for naval cooperation in and around Australia, which might include basing ships," as the Indian Ocean and South China Seas are becoming "geostrategic hot spots."

When Ukrainian army officers came to the Ukrainian village of Velikaya Znamenka to tell the men to prepare to be drafted, they weren’t prepared for what happened next. As the commanding officer was speaking, a woman seized the microphone and proceeded to tell him off: “We’re sick of this war! Our husbands and sons aren’t going anywhere!” She then launched into a passionate speech, denouncing the war, and the coup leaders in Kiev, to the cheers of the crowd. What she did is now a crime in Ukraine: the only reason she wasn’t arrested on the spot is that the villagers wouldn’t have permitted it.

Following the arrest of 3 Russians on Wall Street for alleged spying, the message from John Carlin, assistant US attorney general for National Security, is clear, "they want what you have." The "they" are multiple foreign nations spying on the US financial markets and the "what you have" is, according to Carlin, financial markets that are "the envy of the world." As we explained recently, it appears the pretext for the scapegoat of the next possible (June rate hike-inspired?) market crash is being prepared, as Carlin confirms, "it's not just the Russians, there are multiple foreign nations that want to gather as much information about" the stock market as possible. When asked why, his response, "they are doing this for a number of reasons."

If you are one of the slithering acolytes of political theory then the primary tool of organization for you is to lie, and to lie often. Tricking people into action using false premises, telling people what they want to hear rather than opening their eyes to reality, is perhaps the easiest way to build a movement. Of course, that movement will eventually destroy itself as the lies begin to inhibit progress rather than inspire it. But in most cases, by the time the organization self-destructs it has already been exploited for the nefarious purpose it was intended. For the liberty movement, the movement against globalization and forced centralization of financial and political power, lies are simply not an option. We must organize around the truth, no matter how painful it happens to be.

“Keep Fear Alive”

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). And this year could be a record-breaker, 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...

When Eric Holder announced his resignation, many breathed a sigh of relief thinking it can’t get much worse, but not so fast. The authoritarian streak and rampant cronyism of the Obama administration is a well oiled machine. You didn’t think you’d get off that easily did you? Enter Loretta Lynch.

• Falling Prices Spread Pain Far Across The Oil Patch (WSJ)
• ISIS Group Claims Responsibility for Attacks That Killed 27 in Egypt (NBC)
• Russia Unexpectedly Cuts Key Rate as Economy Eclipses Ruble (BBG)
• Greece’s Feisty Finance Minister Tries a More Moderate Message (NYT)
• U.S. homeownership hits 20-year low, but new households growing (Reuters)
• Indian Banks’ Shares Plunge as Bad-Loan Provisions Surge (BBG)
• Underground Terror Network Said to Benefit Would-Be Jihadists in Europe (WSJ)
• Russia warns West support for Kiev could lead to 'catastrophe' (Reuters)

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey has, according to Politico, asked The National Defense University to establish an essay and research competition focused on the Middle East in honor of Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah. How very generous for America's top uniformed military leader to recognize such a leader of another nation... Though no details of the prize are available, we thought we would take a stab (figuratively) at an essay...