Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.

McCarthyism In Support of a NWO

by Oui Fri Sep 9th, 2022 at 11:53:08 AM EST

So the US has been in a hot hybrid war with Russia ... waiting for accidents to happen.   In the sixties studying at a university in de States, I was taught the Cold War was actually an economic war between the West and the Soviet Bloc ... it still is today for supremacy of fossil fuels and hegemony to lay out a global "New World Order" with leadership by Washington DC. Exceptionalism. Empires often deteriorated from within ... most hopeful to create a more peaceful world where priority is not economic growth and stash of wealth, but care for people, nature and the habitat needed for human survival.

The United States will fail to censor the world community ... in the digital age the US has most levers and assets to exhibit a 1984 full control of thought. Yet the US is not that mighty as it might believe. Their world is not that of the Europeans, South America, Africa or Eurasia or the Far East.

I came across an article written by Alistair Crooke ...

America's Wars Take on a Divisive Edge


As I am customed to do, I dig a bit into the origin of the author and website ... oh horror  ... both he and his website Strategic Culture Foundation. Both banned by US Treasury as assets of Putin's disinformation warfare against the Democratic West. Indeed, strategic-culture.org is registered in Moscow. Perhaps like so many on both sides, writers live in exile.

A moment in history ...

Endorsement of Hillary Clinton by Bernie Sanders today ... a betrayal | by Democrats Ramshield - July 25th, 2016 |

excellent discussion on "progressives" in the Democratic Party and foreign policy.

Putin's Asymmetric Assault On Democracy In Russia and Europe: Implications for U.S. National Security

United States Senate,
Committee on Foreign Relations,
Washington, DC, January 10, 2018

Dear Colleagues: For years, Vladimir Putin's government has engaged in a relentless assault to undermine democracy and the rule of law in Europe and the United States. Mr. Putin's Kremlin employs an asymmetric arsenal that includes military invasions, cyberattacks, disinformation, support for fringe political groups, and the weaponization of energy resources, organized crime, and corruption. The Kremlin has refined the use of these tools over time and these attacks have intensified in scale and complexity across Europe. If the United States fails to work with urgency to address this complex and growing threat, the regime in Moscow will become further emboldened. It will continue to develop and refine its arsenal to use on democracies around the world, including against U.S. elections in 2018 and 2020.

Following attacks like Pearl Harbor and 9/11, U.S. presidents have rallied the country and the world to address the challenges facing the nation. Yet the current President of the United States has barely acknowledged the threat posed by Mr. Putin's repeated attacks on democratic governments and institutions, let alone exercised the kind of leadership history has shown is necessary to effectively counter this kind of aggression. Never before in American history has so clear a threat to national security been so clearly ignored by a U.S. president.

The threat posed by Mr. Putin's meddling existed before the current U.S. Administration, and may well extend beyond it. Yet, as this report will demonstrate, the Russian government's malign influence operations can be deterred. Several countries in Europe took notice of the Kremlin's efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election and realized the danger posed to their democracies. They have taken steps to build resilience against Mr. Putin's aggression and interference, and the range of
effective measures implemented by European countries provide valuable lessons for the United States.

To that end, this report recommends a series of actions that the United States should take across government, civil society, and the private sector--and in cooperation with our allies--to push back against the Kremlin's aggression and establish a set of long-term norms that can neutralize such efforts to undermine democracy. Yet it must be noted that without leadership from the President, any attempt to marshal such a response will be inherently weakened at the outset.

In addition, it is important to draw a distinction between Mr. Putin's corrupt regime and the people of Russia. Many Russian citizens strive for a transparent, accountable government that operates under the democratic rule of law, and we hold hope for better relations in the future with a Russian government that reflects these demands. In the meantime, the United States must work with our allies to build defenses against Mr. Putin's asymmetric arsenal, and strengthen international norms and values to deter such behavior by Russia or any other country.

The events discussed in this report are illustrative, not exhaustive, and cover a period ending on December 31, 2017. There are several important geographic areas that remain beyond the scope of this report, including the Russian government's role in the Syria conflict, its complicated relationship with Turkey, or its involvement in places like Central Asia and Latin America. The Russian government's use of corruption and money laundering also merit additional examination by relevant committees in Congress, as well as the Executive Branch. Given the ongoing investigations by the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, this report does not delve into Russia's
interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Furthermore, U.S. election infrastructure, electrical grids, and information systems are outside the jurisdiction of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and therefore beyond the scope of the recommendations in this report, but certainly warrant further study.

Finally, there must be a bipartisan sense of urgency so the United States immediately begins taking the steps necessary to fortify and protect our democracy from Mr. Putin's malicious meddling. There is a long bipartisan tradition in Congress in support of firm policies to counter Russian government aggression and abuse against its own citizens, our allies, and universal values. This report seeks to continue that tradition.

Sincerely,
Benjamin L. Cardin,
Ranking Member

The aggression coming from within leadership institutions of the United States since the attacks on America on 9/11 has caused a sickening paranoia. Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, GH Bush, Clinton, GW Bush, Obama, Trump and today Joe Biden have all flaunted United Nations agreements, treaties and its Charter repeatedly. In fact, many deeds can be alleged as war crimes and crimes against humanity. These senators and representatives bring harm and disaster on the global community and should clean house first. A Civil War is pending.

My diary on this topic ...

Counterinsurgency Cyberwarfare NATO vs. Russia - Part 3 | Jan. 30, 2018 |

In the diary I linked to article ...

Russian Actions and Methods against the United States and NATO | By Maj. Collins Devon Cockrell, U.S. Army - published on: 22 Sept. 2017 |

Today I dug a bit deeper into the author and found his thesis ... the chosen timeline made it interesting as disinformation and war propaganda is from all ages and not from adversaries only.

Gray Zone Warfare: German and Russian Political Warfare, 1935-1939, and 2014

Nation states face heightened threats from methods of warfare from other nation states traditionally viewed as unconventional or irregular. Understanding these methods is important to the study of warfare. "Gray Zone Warfare: German and Russian Political Warfare 1935-1939, and 2014" examines efforts by pre-World War Two Germany and the current Russian state to apply Political Warfare to achieve strategic foreign policy goals, short of Conventional Warfare. Political Warfare undermined institutions, influenced foreign and domestic populations and weakened and disrupted alliances. Using structured, focused comparison case study method, this thesis examines Political Warfare between these two widely separated periods.

Additional reading ...

US Army Special Warfare. Its Origins: Psychological and Unconventional Warfare, 1941-1952
By Alfred H. Paddock, Jr. - 1982

Thus NATO allies have been in a coordinated state of hybrid warfare with the 🇷🇺 Russian Federation for decades. The war machine of propaganda indoctrinating citizens of the Western World have been targeted by an unrelenting barrage of the same narrative ... Putin did it ‼️

NATO Ivo Daalder and John Kerry: "We'll make Russia a pariah state."

PropOrNot [November 2016]

The 'Washington Post' 'Blacklist' Story Is Shameful and Disgusting | RollingStone - Nov. 18, 2016 |

A technology reporter for the Washington Post named Craig Timberg ran an incredible story. It has no analog that I can think of in modern times. Headlined "Russian propaganda effort helped spread `fake news' during election, experts say," the piece promotes the work of a shadowy group that smears some 200 alternative news outlets as either knowing or unwitting agents of a foreign power, including popular sites like Truthdig and Naked Capitalism.

The thrust of Timberg's astonishingly lazy report is that a Russian intelligence operation of some kind was behind the publication of a "hurricane" of false news reports during the election season, in particular stories harmful to Hillary Clinton. The piece referenced those 200 websites as "routine peddlers of Russian propaganda."

The piece relied on what it claimed were "two teams of independent researchers," but the citing of a report by the longtime anticommunist Foreign Policy Research Institute was really window dressing.

The meat of the story relied on a report by unnamed analysts from a single mysterious "organization" called PropOrNot - we don't know if it's one person or, as it claims, over 30 - a "group" that seems to have been in existence for just a few months.

Washington Post Distances Itself From Anti-Russian Propaganda Group That Called Out Fake News Peddlers | The Wrap |

RussiaGate was actually IntelliGate ... the intelligence community of Nine Eyes running amok. The Dutch with Mark Rutte have played a pivotal role in this devious scheme. He got an embarrassment from the Dutch voters in 2016 when they voted AGAINST the Ukraine joining the European Union.

Dutch Media Take EU Disinfo Watchdog to Court | March 9, 2018 |

NATO's open door policy stipulated that a nation can only join the EU by committing to NATO membership. Economic blackmail ... Brussels funding NATO expansion. Twenty years ago, Putin's Russia expressed the intention to expand its role in the Friendship treaty with NATO ... Washington refused and reset the relationship to an adversary and later as the number ONE enemy state.

    "We didn't finish our revolution, we didn't remove Lukashenko, we didn't prevent Russians from crossing our border to attack Ukraine--all of these are reasons to fight in Ukraine."

    @AnneApplebaum meets Belarus freedom fighters on their way to @BelWarriors

    'Lukashenko Is Easier to Unseat Than Putin' | Atlantic Council by Anne Applebaum |

    A band of Belarusians is resisting the threat of a neo-Soviet empire by taking up arms in Ukraine.

Anne Applebaum and husband Radek Sikorski were at the frontline to harass everything about Russia, warmongering and spreading lies. For policy of regime change as American policy these two can join hands with the likes of John Bolton ... in and in EVIL.

EuroTrib search for diaries ...

Anne Applebaum - https:/www.eurotrib.com?op=search&offset=0&old_count=50&type=diary&topic=&sect ion=&string=Anne+Applebaum&search=Search&search_archive=yes&count=50

Radek Sikorski - https:/www.eurotrib.com?op=search&offset=0&old_count=50&type=diary&topic=&sect ion=&string=Sikorski&search=Search&search_archive=yes&count=50

Trump's Revival of anti-EU Sentiment in Warsaw | July 6th, 2017 |

What America stands for ...

Rumsfeld Visits Baghdad's Abu Ghraib Prison | Haaretz - May 12, 2004 |

Members of Congress after viewing fresh photos and videos said the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military personnel included torture, humiliation and forced sex beyond what has been seen in public.

Lawmakers said they saw disturbing images that included military dogs snarling at cowering prisoners, Iraqi women commanded to expose their breasts and photos of sex acts, including forced homosexual sex.

In addition, lawmakers said there were images of hooded Iraqi prisoners being forced to masturbate while cameras captured the scene.

Most lawmakers said they opposed public release of the Iraqi prison pictures, which everyone agreed were stomach-turning.

Sen. John Warner said making the images public could "possibly endanger the men and women of the armed forces."

Birth of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) or the Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL)

The abuse was cited in a grisly execution video posted on the Web site of an Islamic militant group. The video showed the beheading of an American civilian who had been seized in Iraq, and included the claim that his death was revenge for the mistreatment of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib.

Bush denounced the "brutal execution" and said those responsible hoped to "shake our confidence." They will fail, he said, adding, "We will complete our mission."

"The prayers of the entire world are with the people of
Ukraine tonight as they suffer an unprovoked and
unjustified attack by Russian military forces.
President Putin has chosen a premeditated war
that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human
suffering. Russia alone is responsible for the death
and destruction this attack will bring, and the United
States and its Allies and partners will respond in a
united and decisive way.
The world will hold Russia accountable."
- President Joe Biden

Joe Biden was fully aware he and NATO has crossed the red lines of Russia's vital national security. Only he as the global leader of the most powerful armed forces could have prevented war in Europe. He refused.

Successive American administrations post 9/11 have terrorized the Middle East, AfPak region and Iraq. Terror has exploded in greater numbers, attacks, deaths and destroyed the fabric of society in the Western world. Invitation to Islamophobia, xenophobia and in the end Russophobia led to a strong movement advancing rightwing extremism and populist political parties.

The European project has been destroyed.

A warning gone unheeded ...

Europe, don't let Biden clip your wings | Politico Opinion - Nov. 2020 |

Related reading ...

Democracy, Demography and the East-West Divide in Europe

🌐. 🌐. 🌐. 🌐. 🌐. 🌐. 🌐. 🌐.

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Hillary Rodham admitted she was a Barry Goldwater girl in the '64 presidential campaign running against Democrat Lyndon Johnson who won by a landslide. Looking at the aggressive foreign policy of Joe Biden, I would not be surprised if he was a Goldwater boy on American foreign policy. A carbon copy of Barry's campaign promises that never got any traction until the rightwing extremists of the GOP persisted and changed politics in the US. Neoconservatism to wage wars to advance America's national interests. The economics of Trump's MAGA and dissing closest allies into a state of recession and poverty. For what maniac goal Joe?

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Fri Sep 9th, 2022 at 08:15:08 PM EST
Goldwater Would Threaten a Break With Soviet; He Says on TV Such a Tactic Would Force Concession; Favors Renouncing Test Ban if It Was to U.S. Advantage | NY Times - Jan. 6, 1964 |

Senator Barry Goldwater said tonight that if he were elected President he would seek to extract concessions from the Soviet Union by threatening to break off diplomatic relations.

The Arizona Republican advanced this idea on the N.B.C. television program "Meet the Press." It was his first appearance before a national television audience since he announced last Friday that he was a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination.

During the 30‐minute program, Senator Goldwater unsmilingly gave his views on foreign policy, civil rights, economics and poverty. He fully lived up to expectations that he would campaign as a champion of unbending conservatims.

In line with his opposition in the Senate to the treaty banning all but underground nuclear tests, Senator Goldwater said that as President he would renounce the pact "if it appeared to our advantage to test in the atmosphere."

The Senator stressed his belief that there was nothing to be gained by continuing relations with the Soviet Union unless the United States could force certain concessions from Moscow. The concessions he listed seemed to amount to an abandonment of key features of Soviet policy.

Senator Goldwater said it would be up to the Senate to decide on a rupture of relations. However, a President may end diplomatic ties with another country simply by withdrawing the United States mission. Action by Congress is not required.

MLK On Freedom in 1963

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Sep 9th, 2022 at 08:16:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Roots of Biden's War in Ukraine Reviewed

In 1945 the policy of British "colonial" PM Winston Churchill too was to destroy the USSR and the Soviet people ...

The Blob Is Back Under Biden

Sir Winston Churchill rightly found his Waterloo in London politics. So concerned was the Prime Minister, that in the spring of 1945 he ordered his Chiefs of Staff to prepare a plan to attack the Soviet Empire.  

Operation Unthinkable - Churchill's plans to invade the Soviet Union

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Sep 9th, 2022 at 08:17:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The Cairo Conference, 1943

In November and December of 1943, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met with Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss the progress of the war against Japan and the future of Asia.

In addition to discussions about logistics, they issued a press release that cemented China's status as one of the four allied Great Powers and agreed that territories taken from China by Japan, including Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Pescadores, would be returned to the control of the Republic of China after the conflict ended.

At the series of meetings in Cairo, Roosevelt outlined his vision for postwar Asia. He wanted to establish the Republic of China as one of his "Four Policemen." This concept referred to a vision for a cooperative world order in which a dominant power in each major region would be responsible for keeping the peace there.

In 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Britain's poorest, most dismal African colony, and what he saw there fired him with a fervor that helped found the United Nations.

"That Hell-hole Of Yours"

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Sep 9th, 2022 at 08:18:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
HUAC origin story

low-brow Encyclopedia | House Un-American Activities Committee

In 1938, the U.S. House of Representatives established the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). With communist and fascist regimes posing threats to the security of European countries, Congress decided to investigate the potential of danger in the United States. HUAC had the responsibility of investigating un-American propaganda and activities that might threaten national security. It focused mostly on communist and fascist organizations. Its guidelines, however, were vague enough that many people who simply disagreed with [US] government policy found themselves under scrutiny by the committee.

Defining A Purpose

Because HUAC was led by U.S. representative Martin Dies Jr. (1900-1972) of Texass, it was also called the Dies Committee.

Sponsors of the motion to establish HUAC expected it to reduce the potential threat of foreign agents and subversive activities  by communist and fascist interests. Under the leadership of Dies, however, the term "un-American" gained a broader definition, and many without communist or fascist ["]ties["] were investigated. HUAC investigations became a means to suppress any dissent, often with the effect of undermining the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. Liberals, intellectuals, artists, labor leaders, immigrants, Jews, and African Americans found themselves targets of HUAC investigations.
[...]
Founded in 1938 as the House Special Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities and chaired by a conservative Texas Democrat, Martin Dies, HUAC became a standing committee of the House in 1945. In 1969 it announced a new focus, domestic terrorism [!], and received a new name, the House Internal Security Committee. Six years later, in the wake of Vietnam and Watergate, the full House abolished the committee.

ENTER House Select Committee on Intelligence (1975), House Premanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSIC) 1977, then Herr Field Marshal Rev. Mr Chairmen Devin Nunes (R), 2015-2019; Adam Schiff (D), 2019-present RUSSIAGATE! PUTIN twitter-bot FARA indictment 'PEACHMENT purge proceedings.

East Texass History | Martin Dies, Democrat

In 1938, Dies created and secured appointment as the first chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, which was tasked with investigating subversive groups within the United States. Initially, the committee focused on domestic extremism and the Ku Klux Klan. Over time, however, the committee re-oriented its attention to suspected communists and civil rights supporters. Many critics of the committee complained that its members violated the rights of suspects and publicly ruined the careers of many good people for political reasons....
DeLeon, "Martin Dies Jr., the House Un-American Activities Committee, and Racial Discrimination in Mid-Century America," long form (2019), 71 pp
Despite Dies' promises to conduct fair and impartial hearings, his House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) has long been regarded as a problematic, even dangerous, detour into demagoguery and extremism. In an October 1938 poll taken during the first months of Dies' chairmanship, a pair of New York Daily News columnists found that only two of the eighteen reporters who regularly covered the hearings thought they were fair; eleven said they were unfair, and other reporters were unwilling to take a stand. The Communist Party USA called the Committee an "outfit of storm troopers" in its newspaper, The Daily Worker, and liberal critics at the New Republic and the Nation agreed [!].3 As one recent critic has noted, "Dies regularly accused the U.S. government of employing Communists, showcased ex-Communist and anti-Communist witnesses brandishing long lists of names, practiced guilt by association, and attempted to intimidate and bully unfriendly witnesses."4

Although civil libertarians condemned Dies and his investigatory tactics, the general public seemed to approve of his efforts. In a Gallup Poll taken in December 1938, 74 percent of those who were familiar with the Special Committee approved of its work. Many respondents said that it helped to "keep our eyes open in the midst of all this world trouble," and to "weed out those who want to overthrow the American system."
[...]
In 1968, Walter Goodman released an even more comprehensive book, The Committee: The Extraordinary Career of the House of on Un-American Activities, which discussed the various stages of HUAC from the 1930s to the 1960s. Goodman argued that Nazism, fascism, and communism were the initial investigation targets, but that it was communism that became the committee's consistent focus. He discussed how different committee members directed attacks at various organizations, with Hollywood's supposed connection to communism being a favorite subject for several of the investigators.12
[...]
The most comprehensive scholarly treatment of Dies and his work was done by Dennis Kay McDaniel. In his 1988 University of Houston dissertation entitled Martin Dies of Un-American Activities: His Life and Times, McDaniel argued that Dies' personal views and prejudices shaped his efforts with HUAC. Dies' views were not only from his home congressional district, however, but also from his father who had been in the House of Representatives two decades prior. Martin Dies father, Martin Dies Sr., McDaniel argued, was extremely ["]nativist["] and suspicious of anything ["]progressive["]. Furthermore, using here-to-fore unavailable congressional records, McDaniel illustrated how Dies' father fought to defend white supremacy, something Dies Jr. did as well, especially when it came to his stance on racial segregation.13

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cold War scholars have divided into two opposing camps on the role of government leaders fighting communism. ...

by Cat on Sun Sep 11th, 2022 at 05:03:29 PM EST
Thanks! Excellent addition fills many historic gaps and builds a clear picture where we were and explains the recent two decades as well.

The role of J. Edgar Hoover fits well and how the FBI tried to smear MLK as a Communist and traitor for criticizing the Vietnam War shortly before he was assassinated in Memphis. 1968 another pivotal year in American History ... death MLK and Robert Kennedy, the Chicago protests around the DNC convention and of course the Nixon/Kissinger role in undermining the Paris Peace talks to end the Vietnam War. Speaking of patriotism and the role of American traitors. Depends on who authors history.



'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Sun Sep 11th, 2022 at 06:56:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
pretty sure this is archived, but I can't be bothered to retrieve it. In point of fact, US gov is not even trying to hide record of calumny heaped on mendacity. The institutional pride been waiting for fan fiction writers to click a clue. Fuck George Clooney's "Hollywood" red scare, fuck Leonardo Di Caprio's J.E. Hoover "biopic", and fuck Kushner's rainbow melodrama--which I regret having paid real US-dollars to rent an orchestra-row seat.

FBI.gov | A Brief History, The Nation Calls, 1908-1923, GD II-GD III cycle

But violence was just the tip of the criminal iceberg. Corruption was rampant nationwide--especially in local politics, with crooked political machines like Tammany Hall in full flower. Big business had its share of sleaze, too, from the shoddy, even criminal, conditions in meat packaging plants and factories (as muckrakers like Upton Sinclair had so artfully exposed) to the illegal monopolies [read: labor unions, not Standard Oil] threatening to control entire industries.
[...]
It happened at the hands of a 28-year-old Ohioan named Leon Czolgosz, who after losing his factory job and turning to the writings of anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, took a train to Buffalo, bought a revolver, and put a bullet in the stomach of a visiting President McKinley [R].
muh PBS "immigrant experience"
Eight days later, on September 14, 1901, McKinley was dead, and his vice president Teddy Roosevelt [R] took the oval office.

Call it Czolgosz's folly, because this new President was a staunch advocate of the rising "Progressive Movement." Many progressives, including Roosevelt, believed that the federal government's guiding hand was necessary to foster justice in an industrial society. Roosevelt, who had no tolerance for corruption and little trust of those he called the "malefactors of great wealth," had already cracked the whip of reform for six years as a Civil Service Commissioner in Washington (where, as he said, "we stirred things up well") and for two years as head of the New York [!!] Police Department.

Good read: Caleb Carr, The Alienist historical fiction
He was a believer in the law and in the enforcement of that law, and it was under his reform-driven leadership that the FBI would get its start.
[...]
The chain of events was set in motion in 1906, when Roosevelt appointed a likeminded reformer named Charles Bonaparte as his second Attorney General. The grandnephew of the infamous French emperor, Bonaparte was a noted civic reformer. He met Roosevelt in 1892 when they both spoke at a reform meeting in Baltimore [!!]. Roosevelt, then with the Commission, talked with pride about his insistence that Border Patrol applicants pass marksmanship tests, with the most accurate getting the jobs. Following him on the program, Bonaparte countered, tongue in cheek, that target shooting was not the way to get the best men. "Roosevelt should have had the men shoot at each other, and given the jobs to the survivors." Roosevelt soon grew to trust this short, stocky, balding man from Baltimore [!!] and appointed Bonaparte to a series of posts during his presidency.

Soon after becoming the nation's top lawman, Bonaparte learned that his hands were largely tied in tackling the rising tide of crime and corruption. He had no squad of investigators to call his own except for one or two special agents and other investigators who carried out specific assignments on his behalf. They included a force of examiners trained as accountants who reviewed the financial transactions of the federal courts and some civil rights investigators. By 1907, when he wanted to send an investigator out to gather the facts or to help a U.S. Attorney build a case, he was usually borrowing operatives from the Secret Service [not Pinkerton]. These men were well trained, dedicated--and expensive. And they reported not to the Attorney General, but to the Chief of the Secret Service. This situation frustrated Bonaparte, who had little control over his own investigations.

Bonaparte made the problem known to Congress, which wondered why he was even renting Secret Service investigators at all when there was no specific provision in the law for it. In a complicated, political showdown with Congress, involving what lawmakers charged was Roosevelt's grab for executive power, Congress banned the loan of Secret Service operatives to any federal department in May 1908.

Now Bonaparte had no choice, ironically, but to create his own force of investigators, and that's exactly what he did in the coming weeks, apparently with Roosevelt's blessing. In late June, the Attorney General quietly hired nine of the Secret Service investigators he had borrowed before and brought them together with another 25 of his own to form a special agent force. On July 26, 1908, Bonaparte ordered Department of Justice attorneys to refer most investigative matters to his Chief Examiner, Stanley W. Finch, for handling by one of these 34 agents. The new force had its mission—to conduct investigations for the Department of Justice—so that date is celebrated as the official birth of the FBI.
[...]
During its first 15 years, the Bureau was a shadow of its future self. It was not yet strong enough to withstand the sometimes corrupting influence of patronage politics on hiring, promotions, and transfers. New agents received limited training and were sometimes undisciplined and poorly managed. The story is told, for example, of a Philadelphia [Iziat's Baltimore "suburb" !!] agent who was for years allowed to split time between doing his job and tending his cranberry bog. Later, a more demanding J. Edgar Hoover reportedly made him chose between the two.

Still, the groundwork for the future was being laid. Some excellent investigators and administrators were hired (like the Russian-born Emilio Kosterlitzky), providing a stable corps of talent. And the young Bureau was getting its feet wet in all kinds of investigative areas--not just in law enforcement disciplines, but also in the national security and intelligence arenas.

by Cat on Sun Sep 11th, 2022 at 08:35:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
by Cat on Sun Sep 11th, 2022 at 08:40:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
To meet the imaginary Russian threat to Western Europe, Germany will lead an expanded, militarized EU | By Diane Johnstone |

Since the start of the Russian operation in Ukraine, German politician Ursula von der Leyen has used her position as head of the EU Commission to impose ever more drastic sanctions on Russia, leading to the threat of a serious European energy crisis this winter. Her hostility to Russia seems boundless. In Kiev last April she called for rapid EU membership for Ukraine, notoriously the most corrupt country in Europe and far from meeting EU standards. She proclaimed that "Russia will descend into economic, financial and technological decay, while Ukraine is marching towards a European future." For von der Leyen, Ukraine is "fighting our war." All of this goes far beyond her authority to speak for the EU's 27 Members, but nobody stops her.

Germany's Green Party foreign minister Annalena Baerbock is every bit as intent on "ruining Russia." Proponent of a "feminist foreign policy", Baerbock expresses policy in personal terms. "If I give the promise to people in Ukraine, we stand with you as long as you need us," she told the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy (NED)-sponsored Forum 2000 in Prague on Aug. 31, speaking in English.

"People will go on the street and say, we cannot pay our energy prices, and I will say, `Yes I know so we will help you with social measures. [...] We will stand with Ukraine and this means the sanctions will stay also til winter time even if it gets really tough for politicians.'"

Certainly, support for Ukraine is strong in Germany, but perhaps because of the looming energy shortage, a recent Forsa poll indicates that some 77 percent of Germans would favor diplomatic efforts to end the war - which should be the business of the foreign minister. But Baerbock shows no interest in diplomacy, only in "strategic failure" for Russia - however long it takes.

More reading ...

There is reason to surmise that current German Russophobia draws much of its legitimization from the Russophobia of former Nazi allies in smaller European countries.

While German anti-Russian revanchism may have taken a couple of generations to assert itself, there were a number of smaller, more obscure revanchisms that flourished at the end of the European war that were incorporated into United States Cold War operations.

Those little revanchisms were not subjected to the denazification gestures or Holocaust guilt imposed on Germany. Rather, they were welcomed by the C.I.A., Radio Free Europe and Congressional committees for their fervent anticommunism. They were strengthened politically in the United States by anticommunist diasporas from Eastern Europe.

Excellent read ...

A defense of honest inquiry, and of Gene Sharp | by geezer in Paris on Feb 22nd, 2011 |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Mon Sep 12th, 2022 at 08:31:41 PM EST


'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Sep 14th, 2022 at 12:08:22 PM EST
... it shows that the  EU needs effective mechanisms to sanction its own members to ensure their conformity with European law.

Both Poland and Hungary are not the worst offenders of the founding principles of the European Union. Search for leadership in Brussels. The EU has become equivalent to NATO, both headquartered in Brussels. After 9/11 NATO has become the mercenary for America's global wars. Enforcers of the hegemon. #WarofTerror #Islamophobia #xenophobia #populistregimes #neo-nazis #endofdemocracy #Blitzkrieg

The EU was on a leash of Washington DC to expand to 28 states and more are on the way. Failing to set the entrance level where it should be, there is no mechanism to undue the corruption inside many countries. Throwing European funds into the deep pockets of oligarchs. Corruption ... failures led to War in Ukraine, the ultimate failure of Brussels, both EU and NATO. End of Europe as we knew it. The "democracy" of the European Parliament mirrors the failed status of its member states. The same in US Congress, much more extreme than policy in the White House on foreign policy, sanctions and international trade. The US didn't appreciate to outcome of globalization that helped to end poverty in China. The decades of Bush - Obama - Trump - Biden. Cut-throat capitalism takes hold on the continent. Panic in many European capitals.

Will the EU-27 Survive the Biden Years?

I got the answer within 6 montbs.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Fri Sep 16th, 2022 at 06:48:43 AM EST
The Media War On Truthful Reporting And Legitimate Opinions - A Documentary | MofA - April 21, 2018 |

See also my writings of failed PropOrNot campaign launched as NATO propaganda and incitement against Russia started in November 2016.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Sep 17th, 2022 at 11:02:39 PM EST
As the United States and ally United Kingdom amassed half a million Armed Forces with all modern warfare of armoured vehicles, fighter planes and heavy bombers stationed on the territory of friendly nations in the region. (Qatar and Saudi Arabia) which are shouldering the costs of a military operation similar to 1991. Turkey expressed their neutrality by not participating and rejecting the request by president George Bush to launch the invasion from their territory. Saudi King expressed doubt on the mission, especially as the Sunni population is in a minority. Bringing "democracy" would tip the balance to Iran and the Shia suppressed majority. President Mubarak of Egypt warned Bush and Blair, the invasion would open Pandora's Box.

Statement by France to Security Council

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 14 -- Following is a transcript of the remarks of the French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, before the United Nations Security Council today, as recorded by the Federal News Service.

DOMINIQUE GALOUZEAU DE VILLEPIN (French minister of foreign affairs): (Through interpreter.) Mr. President, Mr. Secretary- General, distinguished ministers, distinguished ambassadors, I would like to thank Mr. Blix and Mr. ElBaradei for the information they have given us on the continuing inspections in Iraq. I would like to reiterate to them France's confidence and complete support in their work.

....
You know the value that France has placed on the unity of the Security Council from the outset of the Iraq crisis. This unity rests on two fundamental elements at this time. We are pursuing together the objective of effectively disarming Iraq. We have an obligation to achieve results. Let us not cast doubt on our common commitment to this goal.
In the ballistic area, the information provided by Iraq has enabled the inspectors to make progress. We now know exactly the real capabilities of the Al-Samoud missile. The unauthorized programs must now be dismantled in accordance with Mr. Blix's conclusions.

In the nuclear domain, useful information has been given to the IAEA on the most important points discussed by Mr. ElBaradei on 27 January. The acquisition of magnets that could be used to enrich uranium and the list of contacts between Iraq and the country likely to have provided it with uranium.

And so here we are at the heart of the logic of Resolution 1441, which must ensure effective inspections through precisely identifying banned programs and then eliminating them. We all realize that success in the inspections presupposes that we get full and complete cooperation from Iraq. France has consistently demanded this.

Real progress is emerging. Iraq has agreed to aerial reconnaissance over its territory; it has allowed Iraqi scientists to be questioned by inspectors without witnesses; a bill barring all activities linked to weapons of mass destruction programs is being adopted, which is in accordance with the long-standing request from the inspectors; and Iraq is providing a detailed list of experts who witnessed the destruction of military programs in 1991.

Sismi and the FBI: Yella Cake saga and alu tubes

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 at 09:58:06 AM EST
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 at 10:01:44 AM EST
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Philip Hammond: Iraq, 2003  Framing post-Cold War Conflicts

INTRODUCTION

The 1990s and early 2000s were characterised by a high level of activism on the part of the major Western powers. More than half of peacekeeping operations mounted by the United Nations (UN) since 1948 were set up in the decade after 1989, for example; at its peak in 1994, the number of troops deployed on such missions reached 72,000 (IISS 1999: 291). The Cold War NATO military alliance first saw action only after the fall of communism, bombing the Bosnian Serbs in 1994 and 1995 and again bombing Yugoslavia in 1999. Britain and France undertook unilateral military missions in former African colonies, and for the first time since 1945 Germany and Japan sent troops overseas on active duty.

The rationale and justification for this activism, however, were necessarily different from the past. This book is about how the media have interpreted conflict and international intervention in the years after the Cold War. By comparing press coverage of a number of different wars and crises, it seeks to establish which have been the dominant themes in explaining the post-Cold War international order and to discover how far the patterns established prior to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks have subsequently changed. Throughout, the key concern is with the legitimacy of Western intervention: the aim is to investigate the extent to which Western military action is represented in news reporting as justifiable and necessary. For journalists, charged with writing the first draft of history without benefit of hindsight, the work of interpretation and analysis must be direct and instantaneous. Yet reporters do not work in a vacuum: their writing will be influenced by the stock of ideas circulating in the culture in which they are working, particularly those which are taken up and promulgated by powerful sources. Below we first outline a number of key debates which have been influential in shaping how the post-Cold War world has been understood, before going on to examine the role played by the news media.

Explaining post-Cold War conflicts and interventions

Although the threat of nuclear war has receded, the post-Cold War world hasnot been peaceful. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), there were 57 different major armed conflicts in 45 different locations around the globe between 1990 and 2001. In any one year, there were on average around 27 ongoing major armed conflicts (SIPRI 2000: 17; SIPRI2001: 66). Both the dynamics of these conflicts and the Western response to them seemed to call for new explanations, but such explanations have been controversial, not least because how conflicts are understood would seem to have a bearing on how governments might react to them. As we shall see, much discussion of media coverage of recent crises has centred on whether the `wrong' interpretation has sometimes inhibited an effective response

Culture and anarchy

One of the most common ideas about post-Cold War conflicts is that the collapse of communism unleashed pent-up tensions. As the 1992 SIPRI Yearbook put it:

    The end of the Cold War ... removed various restraints exercised over parties to ethnic conflicts during the Cold War....The conflict in Yugoslavia followed the end of the Communist regimes in Eastern and Central Europe. It brought to light old and unresolved animosities between, in particular, Serbs and Croats. The Communist regime had kept these animosities under control through repression.(SIPRI 1992: 420)

In this scenario, `old animosities' based on ethnic or national identity had been simmering away under the surface only to burst forth once the restraint of communist repression was removed.

Phil Hammond, Emeritus Professor of Media & Communications at London South Bank University

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 at 09:59:22 AM EST
Book review: Philip Hammond Media, War and Postmodernity | London - 2007 |

Media, War and Postmodernity is an ambitious work in which Philip Hammond explores the link between rising numbers of military engagements overseas and the demise of social cohesion or clarity of purpose at home. In essence, the thesis is that the latter drive the former, but as a consequence fighting war - including the so-called global war on terror - has been turned into a shallow media spectacle, unable to address either the causes of conflict or to provide any redeeming sense of moral mission and direction.

Where Hammond's argument is at its most persuasive is when he is dealing with specific events, particularly his examination of the responses to 9/11. Here he shows how those who presumed those attacks might somehow restore belief in politics were both deluded and ultimately to be disappointed.

In fact, a sense of real life imitating art prevailed as the surreal, déja vu sensation of passively watching the Twin Towers collapsing on television was the dominant experience of the times. It is this feeling of inauthenticity - a disembodied attitude of incredulity towards events - that he defines as post-modern. For Hammond, as for many of the authors he cites, the cause of this was the gradual disengagement of ordinary people from the world of politics through a process of defeat and diminishment on the one hand and, more problematically for now, self-denial as to their role in and potential for shaping the world. Less encumbered by class conflict than at any time since it first emerged, the elite today are nevertheless unable to articulate a project for society. But power without purpose is meaningless and random, so politics has dissolved into an uninspiring management process, driven by image or emotion.

Exactly!! Yesterday's discussion with Professor in journalism Jeroen Smit, University of Amsterdam, made the same argument. A lack of vision or target on the horizon so more people understand where all the decisions, or lack thereof, leads to an ultimate goal in five, ten or fifteen years. Politicians have been immersed in too many crisis and have failed in solutions. Their answer lies in hiring more PR advisors to sell stupid plans to the public. Media have failed in their task to ask the tough questions, as they prefer to stay friendly with key politicians, afraid to be cut from future interviews or call in the Q&A press briefing.

Now that cabinet Rutte IV has tanked in the latest polls and protests are everywhere through the Netherlands, finally reporters and journalists are doing a 180 degrees and ride the wave of unrest. Stupidity all around, the younger generation lacking personal historical experience.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Wed Sep 21st, 2022 at 10:00:24 AM EST
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