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By Charles M. Phipps on September 11th, 2013
It seems appropriate today being September 11 to take a look at who our president’s new friends are. I’m referring to the Syrian rebels. So many things to cover…
Last week in Congressional hearings Secretary of State John Kerry testified that Islamic extremists are just marginal players in the Syrian civil war and are unlikely to benefit much from any bombing done by the United States. Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R-TX) disagreed with Kerry, saying that the classified briefings he received as chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security indicated that “the majority now of these rebel forces – and I say majority now – are radical Islamists pouring in from all over the world to come to Syria for the fight.”
A Catholic nun who lives in the St. James Monastery in Qara, Syria has been reporting what has actually been happening in Syria and she had some not so complimentary things to say about the rebels.
In […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on September 9th, 2013
Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum has an interesting take on the situation with Syria. And that is to forget Syria and target the real threat in the Middle East – Iran. He rightly states that Syrian chemical weapons and their use pale in comparison to the danger and possible horror of Iranian nuclear weapons. He also points out a thought I have had all along, that being that while the deaths of 1,429 by chemical weapons is appalling, it is not worse than killing one hundred times that many through other means, including torture. Pipes sees three possible courses of action that can be taken and the benefits and consequences of each.
1. Knock off the Assad regime. Attractive in itself, especially because it takes out Tehran’s No. 1 ally and disrupts supply lines to Hizbullah, this scenario opens a can of worms: anarchy in Syria, foreign intervention by neighbors, the prospect of Al-Qaeda-connected Islamists taking […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on September 5th, 2013
It is now coming out that the U.S. Central Command has a plan to secure the VX and sarin in Syria and that plan will require 75,000 American troops in Syria. The plan was devised more than eighteen months ago, long before Bashar al-Assad allegedly used chemical weapons against the rebels. A Department of Defense official told the U.K.’s MailOnline that, “The report exists, and it was prepared at the request of the National Security Advisor’s staff.” You can read the MailOnline’s complete article here.
At the same time this plan is seeing the light of day, Secretary of State John Kerry has been appearing before Congressional committees repeatedly asserting that there will be “no boots on the ground.” This is less than a day after Kerry said that securing the chemical weapons could require more than just air strikes.
Which is it? No boots on the ground or 75,000 troops on the ground? It appears to me the Obama […] → Keep reading
By Charles M. Phipps on July 8th, 2013
The people in Egypt have made it clear they do not like President Obama. Obama’s support for their ousted leader, Mohamed Morsi, did not sit well with the Egyptians and they wasted no time in displaying their displeasure during protests over the last few days.
Obama has claimed that the United States isn’t aligned with or supporting any particular group or political party. His actions tell a different story. Obama gave Egyptian President Morsi $250 million in March in addition to 200 Abrams tanks and 12 F-16s, with 8 more to be delivered by the end of the year. Pretty strong support for the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Morsi is a member.
The White House released a statement which said, “The United States categorically rejects the false claims propagated by some in Egypt that we are working with specific political parties or movements to dictate how Egypt’s transition should proceed. We remain committed to the Egyptian people and their aspiration […] → Keep reading
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