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In todays video, I conducted an interview with James Corbett, about the Media, his recent video "The Media Are The Terrorists" and the Werther effect (copy cat effect ). We discuss the reasons why the media are seemingly incapable of telling the truth for certain subjects, the societal effect of the media and how tragic events are often a televised movie like event in peoples minds. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/china-an-interview-with-patrick-macfarlane Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. For the full interview and show notes go to - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/the-media-an-interview-with-james-corbett https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/

Mark Tran and Matthew Weaver, “ISIS Announces Islamic Caliphate in Area Straddling Iraq and Syria,” Guardian, June 30, 2014 Daniel Boffey, “Boko Haram Declares Allegiance to Islamic State,” Guardian, March 8, 2015 https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/. "American Airlines Flight 11 Mohamed Atta - Egypt, tactical leader of 9/11 plot and pilot Abdul Aziz al Omari - Saudi Arabia Wail al Shehri - Saudi Arabia Waleed al Shehri - Saudi Arabia Satam al Suqami - Saudi Arabia United Airlines Flight 175 Fayez Banihammad - United Arab Emirates Ahmed al Ghamdi - Saudi Arabia Hamza al Ghamdi - Saudi Arabia Marwan al Shehhi - United Arab Emirates, pilot Mohand al Shehri - Saudi Arabia American Airlines Flight 77 Hani Hanjour - Saudi Arabia, pilot Nawaf al Hazmi - Saudi Arabia Salem al Hazmi - Saudi Arabia Khalid al Mihdhar - Saudi Arabia Majed Moqed - Saudi Arabia United Airlines Flight 93 Saeed al Ghamdi - Saudi Arabia Ahmad al Haznawi - Saudi Arabia Ziad Jarrah - Lebanon, pilot Ahmed al Nami - Saudi Arabia" September 11th Hijackers Fast Facts,” CNN, last modified August 26, 2021 "It should not be hidden from you that the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them by the Zionist-Crusaders alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims’ blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures of the massacre of Qana, in Lebanon are still fresh in our memory. … The youths hold you responsible for all of the killings and evictions of the Muslims and the violation of the sanctities, carried out by your Zionist brothers in Lebanon; you openly supplied them with arms and finance." Bin Laden’s Fatwa BY NEWSDESK August 23, 1996 PBS Newshour Archived "The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has told interrogators that the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated him and his brother to carry out the attack, according to U.S. officials familiar with the interviews" Boston Bombing Suspect Cites US Wars as Motivation, Officials Say,” Washington Post, April 23, 2013 "After the bombing in 1993, the bombing conspirators wrote to the New York Times. They justified their attack as a way to transfer the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians to the American homeland and argued that Americans would only diminish their support for Israel when they suffered in the same way as Palestinians and other people like them in moderate Arab countries. The bombers argued that "the American people must know that their civilians who got killed are not better than those who are getting killed by the American weapons and support." The 1993 bombers were also motivated by delusions of grandeur and a sense of moral superiority. They claimed to be engaged in a war against the United States and that hundreds of others would join them in the fight. By casting their actions as part of a broader struggle, they legitimized their attempt at mass murder. Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, whom U.S. prosecutors described as the mastermind of the bombing, justified the attack as "necessary to use the same means against you because this is the only language which you understand." John Parachini, “Religion Isn’t Sole Motive of Terror,” RAND Corporation, September 16, 2001 "Religion is not the strongest driving force behind thousands of foreign fighters joining Isis and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, a report by US military researchers has found. A new study by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point revealed that the vast majority of almost 1,200 militants surveyed had no formal religious education and had not adhered to Islam for their entire lives.Extremist groups may prefer such recruits because they are “less capable of critically scrutinising the jihadi narrative and ideology” and instead adhere totally to their chosen organisation’s violent and reductive interpretation of Islam." Lizzie Dearden, “ISIS: Islam is ‘Not Strongest Factor’ Behind Foreign Fighters Joining Extremist Groups in Syria and Iraq,” Independent, November 16, 2016 (Quote not in book) Lizzie Dearden, “ISIS Claims Responsibility for Brussels Attacks ‘In Revenge for Belgium’s Role Fighting Militants in Syria and Iraq,’” Independent, March 22, 2016 "The monster behind the wheel of a box truck that plowed into Bastille Day revelers in Nice late Thursday - killing at least 84 - was a creepy petty criminal prone to violence, but not seen by police or neighbors as a religious fanatic, according to French reports."Terrorist Behind Nice Attack a Creepy Loner; Not Overtly Religious, Say Neighbors,” Fox News, July 15, 2016 (Quote not in book) "far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practice their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices. Very few have been brought up in strongly religious households, and there is a higher than average proportion of converts. Some are involved in drug-taking, drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. MI-5 says there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalization. . . . The security service also plays down the importance of radical extremist clerics, saying their influence in radicalizing British terrorists has moved into the background in recent years. . . . The MI-5 authors stress that the most pressing current threat is from Islamist extremist groups who justify the use of violence “in defense of Islam,” but that there are also violent extremists involved in non-Islamist movements." MI5 report challenges views on terrorism in Britain The Guardian Wed 20 Aug 2008 "[Religious] radicals refused to defend violent jihad in the West as religiously obligatory, acceptable or permitted. The same was true of the young Muslim sample. Young Muslims rejected al Qaeda’s message and often use simple, catchy sayings from the Qur’an or Hadith to express that rejection. However, there was widespread support among radicals and young Muslims for Iraqi and Afghan people “defending themselves” from “invaders,” framed in the language of self-defense, just war and state sovereignty." Demos 2010 Report, The Edge "All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema [religious leaders] have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by … the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said: “As for the fighting to repulse, it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life.” On that basis, and in compliance with Allah’s order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims: The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [in Mecca, Saudi Arabia] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim." Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders World Islamic Front Statement 23 February 1998 "Drone strikes are causing more and more Yemenis to hate America and join radical militants; they are not driven by ideology but rather by a sense of revenge and despair. Robert Grenier, the former head of the C.I.A.’s counterterrorism center, has warned that the American drone program in Yemen risks turning the country into a safe haven for Al Qaeda like the tribal areas of Pakistan — “the Arabian equivalent of Waziristan.” Ibrahim Mothana, “How Drones Help Al Qaeda,” New York Times, June 13, 2012 (Quote not in book) "Ninety-nine percent of the boys, I am told, have never heard of Osama bin Laden, despite the fact he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs in the next valley over from here. What has radicalized these boys instead, the school's director says, is what turns teenagers the world over to crime: poverty, poor education, limited prospects and often lack of parental control. It is in this setting that the boys have made ready recruits for Taliban scouts who wean them on tales of the U.S. drone strikes that have killed scores of Pakistani women and children over the past few years… The U.N. Special Rapporteur on drones, British lawyer Ben Emmerson, recently visited Pakistan and told me: "The consequence of drone strikes has been to radicalize an entirely new generation" Nic Robertson, “In Swat Valley, US Drone Strikes Radicalizing a New Generation,” CNN, April 15, 2013 (Quote not in book) Hassan Abbas, “How Drones Create More Terrorists,” Atlantic, August 23, 2013 "Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahideen in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national security advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct? Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout]. Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it? B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today? B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire. Q: And neither do you regret having supported Islamic fundamentalism, which has given arms and advice to future terrorists? B : What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? Q : “Some agitated Moslems”? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today... B: Nonsense! It is said that the West has a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid: There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner, without demagoguery or emotionalism. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is there in common among fundamentalist Saudi Arabia , moderate Morocco, militarist Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt, or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries…" Zbigniew Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998) - University Of Arizona "It's a proud day for America. And, by God, we've kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for all. Thank you very, very much." President George H. W. Bush Remarks to the American Legislative Exchange Council,” March 1, 1991 Iraq Sanctions: Humanitarian Implications and Options for the Future,” Global Policy Forum, August 6, 2002 "People say, 'You didn't recognize that it was going to have an effect on water or sewage,' " said the planning officer. "Well, what were we trying to do with {United Nations-approved economic} sanctions -- help out the Iraqi people? No. What we were doing with the attacks on infrastructure was to accelerate the effect of the sanctions." Col. John A. Warden III, deputy director of strategy, doctrine and plans for the Air Force, agreed that one purpose of destroying Iraq's electrical grid was that "you have imposed a long-term problem on the leadership that it has to deal with sometime." "Saddam Hussein cannot restore his own electricity," he said. "He needs help. If there are political objectives that the U.N. coalition has, it can say, 'Saddam, when you agree to do these things, we will allow people to come in and fix your electricity.' It gives us long-term leverage." Said another Air Force planner: "Big picture, we wanted to let people know, 'Get rid of this guy and we'll be more than happy to assist in rebuilding. We're not going to tolerate Saddam Hussein or his regime. Fix that, and we'll fix your electricity.' " ALLIED AIR WAR STRUCK BROADLY IN IRAQ The Washington Post June 23, 1991 Randy T. Odle, “UN Sanctions Against Iraq, Their Effects and Their Future,” Air War College, April 1997 "As many as 576,000 Iraqi children may have died since the end of the Persian Gulf war because of economic sanctions imposed by the Security Council, according to two scientists who surveyed the country for the Food and Agriculture Organization.The study also found steeply rising malnutrition among the young, suggesting that more children will be at risk in the coming years. The results of the survey will appear on Friday in The Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association."Barbara Crossette, “Iraq Sanctions Kill Children, U.N. Reports,” New York Times, December 1, 1995 (Quote not in book) Special Report: United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organization and World Food Program Food Supply and Nutrition Assessment Mission to Iraq,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, October 3, 1997 UN Sanctions Rebel Resigns,” BBC News, February 14, 2000 DCI Special Advisor Report on Iraq’s WMD, September 30, 2004 Madeline K. Albright, “Policy Speech on Iraq,” March 26, 1997 Patrick Cockburn, “Iraqi Officers Pay Dear for West’s Coup Fiasco,” Independent, February 17, 1998 "There are a lot of things that are different now [that the U.S. occupies Iraq], and one that has gone by almost unnoticed — but it’s huge — is that … we can now remove almost all of our forces from Saudi Arabia. Their presence there over the last 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It’s been a huge recruiting device for al Qaeda. In fact, if you look at bin Laden, one of his principle grievances was the presence of so-called crusader forces on the holy land, Mecca and Medina. I think just lifting that burden from the Saudis is itself going to open the door to other positive things. I don’t want to speak in messianic terms. It’s not going to change things overnight, but it’s a huge improvement." Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz Interview with Sam Tannenhaus,” Vanity Fair, Ucla, May 9, 2003 Eric Schmitt, “Rumsfeld Says US Will Cut Forces in Gulf,” New York Times, April 29, 2003 "Indeed, to this day, those involved in the decision to give the Afghan rebels access to a fortune in covert funding and top-level combat weaponry continue to defend that move in the context of the Cold War. Sen. Orrin Hatch, a senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee making those decisions, told my colleague Robert Windrem that he would make the same call again today even knowing what bin Laden would do subsequently. “It was worth it,” he said. “Those were very important, pivotal matters that played an important role in the downfall of the Soviet Union,” he said." Bin Laden comes home to roost Dec. 10, 2003, NBC By Michael Moran (Michael Moran, “Bin Laden Comes Home to Roost: His CIA Ties Are Only the Beginning of a Woeful Story,” NBC News, August 24, 1998) "Weeks before the terrorist attacks on 11 September, the United States and the United Nations ignored warnings from a secret Taliban emissary that Osama bin Laden was planning a huge attack on American soil. The warnings were delivered by an aide of Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the Taliban Foreign Minister at the time, who was known to be deeply unhappy with the foreign militants in Afghanistan, including Arabs." Kate Clark, “Revealed: The Taliban Minister, the US Envoy and the Warning of September 11 That Was Ignored,” Independent, September 6, 2002 US warned of September 11 plan - report, The Irish Times Sat, Sep 7, 2002 The Taliban File Part IV - National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 134 Posted September 11, 2004 - Updated August 18, 2005 Osama bin Laden: Taliban Spokesman Seeks New Proposal for Resolving Bin Laden Problem,” State Department Document, November 28, 1998 "We never heard what they were trying to say," said Milton Bearden, a former CIA station chief who oversaw U.S. covert operations in Afghanistan in the 1980s. "We had no common language. Ours was, 'Give up bin Laden.' They were saying, 'Do something to help us give him up.' "David B. Ottaway and Joe Stephens, “Diplomats Met with Taliban on Bin Laden,” Washington Post, October 29, 2001 White House Says ‘No’ to Taliban Demand for Proof,” CBC News, September 21, 2001 "A SECRET plan to put Osama bin Laden on trial in Pakistan has been blocked after President Musharraf said he could not guarantee his safety, it was disclosed yesterday… The proposal, which had bin Laden's approval, was that within the framework of Islamic shar'ia law evidence of his alleged involvement in the New York and Washington attacks would be placed before an international tribunal." Patrick Bishop, “Pakistan Blocks bin Laden Trial,” Telegraph, October 4, 2001 "Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Haji Abdul Kabir told reporters in Jalalabad, Afghanistan that the regime was willing to turn over bin Laden to a third country that would never "come under pressure from the United States," according to The Associated Press. U.S. officials have dismissed statements from the regime, which has at various times claimed bin Laden had left the country, was hiding in a location unknown even to the Taliban, was "under the control" of the regime and was free to lead a jihad or holy war from the country." U.S. Rejects New Taliban Offer ABC News 14th of October 2001 (Quote not im book) "For the first time, the Taliban offered to hand over Bin Laden for trial in a country other than the U.S. without asking to see evidence first in return for a halt to the bombing, a source close to Pakistan’s military leadership said. But U.S. officials appear to have dismissed the proposal and are instead hoping to engineer a split within the Taliban leadership. The offer was brought by Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the Taliban foreign minister and a man who is often regarded as a more moderate figure in the regime. He met officials from the CIA and Pakistan’s ISI intelligence directorate in Islamabad on Monday. ... [U]ntil now the Taliban regime has consistently said it has not seen any convincing evidence to implicate the Saudi dissident in any crime. “Now they have agreed to hand him over to a third country without the evidence being presented in advance,” the source close to the military said. ... The U.S. administration has not publicly supported the idea of a trial for Bin Laden outside America and appears intent on removing from power the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and the hardliners in the regime" The Guardian October 16, 2001 New offer on Bin Laden ''When I said no negotiations, I meant no negotiations,'' Mr. Bush told reporters upon landing on the South Lawn of the White House after returning from a weekend of intensive national security briefings at Camp David. He added that he was not interested in discussing Mr. bin Laden's innocence or guilt. ''We know he's guilty,'' he said." Elizabeth Bumiller, “A Nation Challenged: President Rejects Offer by Taliban for Negotiations,” New York Times, October 15, 2001 "TO: Mullah Omar FROM: Osama bin Laden FOLDER: Deleted File (Recovered) DATE: October 3, 2001 We treasure your message, which confirms your generous, heroic position in defending Islam and in standing up to the symbols of infidelity of this time. I would like to emphasize the major impact of your statements on the Islamic world. Nothing harms America more than receiving your strong response to its positions and statements. Thus it is very important that the Emirate respond to every threat or demand from America … with demands that America put an end to its support of Israel, and that U.S. forces withdraw from Saudi Arabia. … Their threat to invade Afghanistan should be countered by a threat on your part that America will not be able to dream of security until Muslims experience it as reality in Palestine and Afghanistan. Keep in mind that America is currently facing two contradictory problems: a) If it refrains from responding to jihad operations, its prestige will collapse, thus forcing it to withdraw its troops abroad and restrict itself to U.S. internal affairs. This will transform it from a major power to a third-rate power, similar to Russia. b) On the other hand, a campaign against Afghanistan will impose great long-term economic burdens, leading to further economic collapse, which will force America, God willing, to resort to the former Soviet Union’s only option: withdrawal from Afghanistan, disintegration, and contraction… We ask God to grant the Muslim Afghan nation, under your leadership, victory over the American infidels, just as He singled this nation out with the honor of defeating the Communist infidels" Inside Al-Qaeda’s Hard Drive The Atlantic By Alan Cullison SEPTEMBER 2004 "The strategic intent was to deliver a blow that would force the US to either alter its Middle East policies, or goad America into a disproportionate response that would trigger an apocalyptic confrontation between Islam and the West. Other secondary impacts, on the political and economic openness of the US and other states, and more directly on the US and global economies, were probably more 'unintended consequences' than design." Current and Projected National Security Threats to the United States: Hearing Before the Select Committee on Intelligence, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Second Session February 6, 2002 Page 63 Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson Director, Defense Intelligence Agency Testimony Authorization for Use of Military Force, Pub. L. No. 107-40, 155 Stat. 224 (2001) "Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated." Office of the Press Secretary September 20, 2001 Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People "With the intelligence all pointing toward bin Laden, Rumsfeld ordered the military to begin working on strike plans. And at 2:40 p.m., the notes quote Rumsfeld as saying he wanted "best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H." – meaning Saddam Hussein – "at same time. Not only UBL" – the initials used to identify Osama bin Laden…"Go massive," the notes quote him as saying. "Sweep it all up. Things related and not." Joel Roberts, “Plans for Iraq Attack Began On 9/11,” CBS News, September 4, 2002 "Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran) within five years, according to a memorandum disclosed by US General Wesley Clark." General Wesley Clark, not exact quote "On Thursday, September 20, Tony Blair arrived in Washington for a meeting at the White House. Until now, many assumed his and Bush’s early talks had been limited to the coming war in Afghanistan. In fact, they also spoke of Iraq. At a dinner in the White House, attended also by Colin Powell, Condi Rice, and the British ambassador to the United States, Sir Christopher Meyer, Bush made clear that he was determined to topple Saddam. “Rumors were already flying that Bush would use 9/11 as a pretext to attack Iraq,” Meyer remembers. “On the one hand, Blair came with a very strong message—don’t get distracted; the priorities were al-Qaeda, Afghanistan, the Taliban. Bush said, ‘I agree with you, Tony. We must deal with this first. But when we have dealt with Afghanistan, we must come back to Iraq.’ ” Bryan Burrough et al., “The Path to War,” Vanity Fair, December 19, 2008 "Letters of marque and reprisal resolve one of the most vexing problems facing the country: how do we obtain retribution against the perpetrators of the attacks without inflicting massive damage on the Middle East which could drive moderate Arabs into an allegiance with bin Laden and other terrorists. This is because using letters of marque and reprisal shows the people of the region that we are serious when we say our quarrel is not with them but with Osama bin Laden and all others who would dare commit terrorist acts against the United States." AIR PIRACY REPRISAL AND CAPTURE ACT OF 2001 HON. RON PAUL of texas in the house of representatives Wednesday, October 10, 2001 "The Taliban, on the other hand, would dig in and try to stall us until the first snows of winter, which were only a month or so away. People back at headquarters had told me to expect six months of World War I–style trench warfare. And as we tried to defeat the Taliban we had the added responsibility of searching for Osama bin Laden and destroying what we could of his terrorist organization." Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA ’s Key Field Commander Page 99-100 “I’m in San Francisco at the moment, sitting in the office of the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge. Believe it or not, they have an Afghan contact here who says his brother is on the front lines as a commander with the Taliban opposing you but would like to cut a deal.”... As she read the number I marveled at how globally connected even a Taliban commander in a backwater like Afghanistan could be with the right piece of technology. “Mary, give me your number and have the FBI keep their Afghan contact on a short leash in case I have problems contacting his brother, the commander.”... Mohammad says he has almost a thousand men under his command,” Aref* reported. Then he walked over to a map and pointed to a position northeast of Kabul. “He’s defending this position on the Shomali Plains and says he wants a half a million dollars to surrender all his forces, which he says he can arrange within a week… “Mohammad has twenty al-Qaeda fighters with him and wants to know what to do with the Arabs,” Engineer Aref* said. “Tell him to kill them all… The next morning, November 7, at 1100 hours gunfire could be heard from Mohammad’s position on the front. Thirty minutes later 730 soldiers crossed from the Taliban side in three single file lines with their hands up. Majid oversaw the quick bloodless transition, which lasted less than fifteen minutes. The Taliban soldiers simply marched into the Panshir and joined our side. They explained that the gunfire we heard was the sound of them killing the al-Qaeda fighters attached to their unit." Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA ’s Key Field Commander Page 158-160 “Afghan Warlord Says He Helped Bin Laden Escape,” Reuters, January 11, 2007 I quickly called CENTCOM and spoke to our Agency rep. “I have al-Qaeda trying to draw our Afghan allies into negotiations. I have refused. You need to talk to CENTCOM and throw as much air power at them as quickly as possible. Guys who fly airliners into skyscrapers don’t negotiate. They’re trying to reduce the intensity of our attacks so they can slip out."... I’d learned that Afghans love to negotiate. I also knew that as far as our Eastern Alliance allies were concerned, they would be happy to take our money and let al-Qaeda slip away. The next eight hours were extremely dangerous for Team Juliet and the handful of U.S. soldiers in Tora Bora, since they weren’t sure if our Eastern Alliance allies had sided with the enemy. Day and night, I kept thinking, We needed U.S. soldiers on the ground! We need them to do the fighting! We need them to block a possible al-Qaeda escape into Pakistan! I’d sent my request for 800 U.S. Army Rangers and was still waiting for a response. I repeated to anyone at headquarters who would listen: “We need Rangers now! The opportunity to get bin Laden and his men is slipping away!!” Apparently, the U.S. Rangers weren’t coming. CENTCOM commander General Tommy Franks later explained to Frontline: “The Afghans themselves wanted to get into Tora Bora. They wanted to do it very quickly. At that time, our Special Forces troopers were not yet in large numbers, even with those forces that we were providing support to. So rather than taking a decision that said: Let’s take a break for some prolonged period of time and try to introduce large numbers of non-Afghan coalition forces, the determination was made. I made it, and I think it was a pretty good determination, to provide support to that operation, and to work with the Pakistanis along the Pakistani border to bring it to conclusion.” He was either badly misinformed by his own people or blinded by the fog of war. I’d made it clear in my reports that our Afghan allies were hardly anxious to get at al-Qaeda in Tora Bora. So why was the U.S. military looking for excuses not to act decisively? Why would they want to leave something that was so important to an unreliable Afghan army that’d been cobbled together at the last minute? This was the opportunity we’d hoped for when we launched this mission. Our advantage was quickly slipping away." Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA ’s Key Field Commander Page 290-291 "Even though the JSOC commander was directing the battlefield in Tora Bora, George and I were still very much involved. I spoke again with Hank at CTC/ and asked one more time for the U.S. military to deploy ground troops to trap bin Laden and the remnants of his force in the White Mountains. Hank assured me that my request had been forwarded to CENTCOM and the seventh floor. He explained: “Unfortunately, it’s not my call.” Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA ’s Key Field Commander Page 305 "But the Al Qaeda leader would live to fight another day. Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies, and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected. Requests were also turned down for U.S. troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan. The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines. Instead, the U.S. command chose to rely on airstrikes and untrained Afghan militias to attack bin Laden and on Pakistan's loosely organized Frontier Corps to seal his escape routes. On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today. The decision not to deploy American forces to go after bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, the architects of the unconventional Afghan battle plan known as Operation Enduring Freedom. Rumsfeld said at the time that he was concerned that too many U.S. troops in Afghanistan would create an anti-American backlash and fuel a widespread insurgency... Even when his own commanders and senior intelligence officials in Afghanistan and Washington argued for dispatching more U.S. troops, Franks refused to deviate from the plan. There were enough U.S. troops in or near Afghanistan to execute the classic sweep-and-block maneuver required to attack bin Laden and try to prevent his escape. It would have been a dangerous fight across treacherous terrain, and the injection of more U.S. troops and the resulting casualties would have contradicted the risk-averse... After bin Laden's escape, some military and intelligence analysts and the press criticized the Pentagon's failure to mount a full-scale attack despite the tough rhetoric by President Bush. Franks, Vice President Dick Cheney and others defended the decision, arguing that the intelligence was inconclusive about the Al Qaeda leader's location. But the review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora. For example, the CIA and Delta Force commanders who spent three weeks at Tora Bora as well as other intelligence and military sources are certain he was there." TORA BORA REVISITED: HOW WE FAILED TO GET BIN LADEN AND WHY IT MATTERS TODAY A Report To Members OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE John F. Kerry, Chairman One Hundred Eleventh Congress First Session November 30, 2009 (Quote not in book) US Threatened to Bomb Pakistan, says Musharraf,” Daily Telegraph, September 22, 2006 "The report by The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) policy think-tank showed 92 percent of 1,000 Afghan men surveyed in Helmand and Kandahar know nothing of the hijacked airliner attacks on U.S. targets in 2001. “The lack of awareness of why we are there contributes to the high levels of negativity toward the NATO military operations and made the job of the Taliban easier,” ICOS President Norine MacDonald told Reuters from Washington" Paul Tait, “Few Afghans Know Reason for War, New Study Shows,” Reuters, November 19, 2010 (Quote not in book) "The man you are about to meet was the officer in command, leading a team from the U.S. Army's mysterious Delta Force - a unit so secret, it's often said Delta doesn't exist. But you are about to see Delta's operators in action… "We want to come in on the back door," Fury explains. "The original plan that we sent up through our higher headquarters, Delta Force wants to come in over the mountain with oxygen, coming from the Pakistan side, over the mountains and come in and get a drop on bin Laden from behind." But they didn't take that route, because Fury says they didn't get approval from a higher level. "Whether that was Central Command all the way up to the president of the United States, I'm not sure," he says… The next option that Delta wanted to employ was to drop hundreds of landmines in the mountain passes that led to Pakistan, which was bin Laden's escape route. "First guy blows his leg off, everybody else stops. That allows aircraft overhead to find them. They see all these heat sources out there. Okay, there a big large group of Al Qaeda moving south. They can engage that," Fury explains. But they didn't do that either, because Fury says that plan was also disapproved. He says he has "no idea" why. "How often does Delta come up with a tactical plan that's disapproved by higher headquarters?" Pelley asks. "In my experience, in my five years at Delta, never before," Fury says. The military wouldn't tell 60 Minutes who rejected the plans or why. Fury wasn't happy about it but he pressed on with the only option he had left, a frontal assault on bin Laden's dug-in al Qaeda fighters" "Elite Officer Recalls Bin Laden Hunt,” 60 Minutes, CBS News, October 2, 2008 "For Dalton Fury, the reward would have been worth the risk. ``In general, I definitely think it was worth the risk to the force to assault Tora Bora for Osama bin Laden,'' he told the committee staff. ``What other target out there, then or now, could be more important to our nation's struggle in the global war on terror?'' TORA BORA REVISITED: HOW WE FAILED TO GET BIN LADEN AND WHY IT MATTERS TODAY A Report To Members OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE John F. Kerry, Chairman One Hundred Eleventh Congress First Session November 30, 2009 Question: Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part — deep in your heart, don’t you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won’t really eliminate the threat of — Bush: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run if he’s alive at all. Who knows if he’s hiding in some cave or not; we haven’t heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is — really indicates to me people don’t understand the scope of the mission… So I don’t know where he is. You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you. I’m more worried about making sure that our soldiers are well-supplied; that the strategy is clear; that the coalition is strong; that when we find enemy [Taliban] bunched up like we did in Shahikot Mountains, that the military has all the support it needs to go in and do the job, which they did. And there will be other battles in Afghanistan… Question: But don’t you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won’t truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive… I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him. I know he is on the run. I was concerned about him when he had taken over a country. I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban. But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became — we shoved him out more and more on the margins" George W. Bush, “The President’s News Conference,” 38 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 407 (March 13, 2002 "Oct. 23, 2002 -- A new report accuses the State Department of staggering lapses in its visa program that gave Sept. 11 hijackers entry into the United States." Martha Raddatz, “State Dept. Lapses Aided 9/11 Hijackers,” ABC News, October 23, 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2001 "However, the war against terrorism ushers in a new paradigm, one in which groups with broad, international reach commit horrific acts against innocent civilians, sometimes with the direct support of states. Our nation recognizes that this new paradigm – ushered in not by us, but by terrorists – requires new thinking in the law of war, but thinking that should nevertheless be consistent with the principles of Geneva… a. I accept the legal conclusion of the Department of Justice and determine that none of the provisions of Geneva apply to our conflict with al Qaeda in Afghanistan or elsewhere throughout the world because, among other reasons, al Qaeda is not a High Contracting Party to Geneva. b. I accept the legal conclusion of the attorney general and the Department of Justice that I have the authority under the Constitution to suspend Geneva as between the United States and Afghanistan, but I decline to exercise that authority at this time. Accordingly, I determine that the provisions of Geneva will apply to our present conflict with the Taliban. I reserve the right to exercise the authority in this or future conflicts… d. Based on the facts supplied by the Department of Defense and the recommendation of the Department of Justice, I determine that the Taliban detainees are unlawful combatants and, therefore, do not qualify as prisoners of war under Article 4 of Geneva. I note that, because Geneva does not apply to our conflict with al Qaeda, al Qaeda detainees also do not qualify as prisoners of war." George W. Bush, “Memorandum to National Security Council Principles’ Committee,” February 7, 2002 "Additional elements of the necessity defense are worth noting here. First, the defense is not limited to certain types of harms. Therefore, the harm inflicted by necessity may include intentional homicide, so long as the harm avoided is greater (i.e., preventing more deaths). Id. at 634. Second, it must actually be the defendant's intention to avoid the greater harm; intending to commit murder and then learning only later that the death had the fortuitous result of saving other lives will not support a necessity defense. Id. at 635. Third, if the defendant reasonably believed that the lesser harm was necessary, even if, unknown to him, it was not, he may still avail himself of the defense." Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales Counsel to the President: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation Under U.S.C. 2340-2340A,” Office of the Assistant Attorney General, August 1, 2002 Page 40 "On Aug. 24, 2009, based on information the Department received pertaining to alleged CIA mistreatment of detainees, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he had expanded Mr. Durham’s mandate to conduct a preliminary review into whether federal laws were violated in connection with the interrogation of specific detainees at overseas locations. Attorney General Holder made clear at that time, that the Department would not prosecute anyone who acted in good faith and within the scope of the legal guidance given by the Office of Legal Counsel regarding the interrogation of detainees" Statement of Attorney General Eric Holder on Closure of Investigation into the Interrogation of Certain Detainees,” United States Department of Justice, August 30, 2012 Dana Priest, “CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons,” Washington Post, January 2, 2005 Nick Hawton, “Hunt for CIA ‘Black Site’ in Poland,” BBC News, December 28, 2006 Gordon Corera, “CIA ‘Secret Prison’ Found in Romania,” BBC News, December 8, 2011 Adam Zagorin, “US Used UK Isle for Interrogations,” Time, July 31, 2008 Duncan Campbell and Richard Norton-Taylor, “US Accused of Holding Terror Suspects on Prison Ships,” Guardian, June 2, 2008 Dana Priest, “Al Qaeda-Iraq Link Recanted,” Washington Post, August 1, 2004 "2. FACT: Extraordinary rendition began under the Clinton regime. Covert extraordinary rendition began as a systematic tactic on September 22, 1995, with the capture of terrorist Abu Talal al-Qasimi in Croatia; he was later transferred to Egypt for execution. The largest pre-9/11 CIA rendition occurred in 1998, when five suspects in Albania and Bulgaria were captured and rendered to Egypt. Two were hanged without trial; all were brutally tortured. Renditions after 9/11 were different, however. The numbers expanded dramatically, each rendition no longer required presidential approval, and it was no longer a requirement that a prisoner be 'wanted' for some offense in the country where he was sent. 3. FACT: The United States does send prisoners to other countries in the knowledge they will be tortured. In the course of researching the rendition program over four years, I’ve interviewed CIA pilots, case officers who’ve carried out renditions, senior CIA officers who’ve directed such operations and officials at the White House who have been involved in authorizing such measures. All of these sources acknowledged to me, in private or in on-the-record interviews, that claims by the White House that “we don’t send people to countries where they will be tortured” are lies." Five Facts and Five Fictions About CIA Rendition,” Frontline, PBS, November 4, 2007 “Colonel Wilkerson, in your prepared testimony you write that: As I compiled my dossier for Secretary Powell, and as I did further research, and as my views grew firmer and firmer, I needed frequently to reread that memo; that is to say, the memorandum of February 7, 2002. I need to balance in my own mind the overwhelming evidence that my own Government has sanctioned abuse and torture, which, at its worst, has led to the murder of 25 detainees and a total of at least 100 detainee deaths. We had murdered 25 or more people in detention. That was the clear low point of the evidence. So your testimony is that 100 detainees have died in detention, and that you believe 25 of those were, in effect, murdered? Colonel Wilkerson. Mr. Chairman, I think the number is actually higher than that now. The last time I checked, there was about 108. And the total number that were declared homicides by the military services or by the CIA or others doing investigation, CID and so forth, was 25, 26, 27 Mr. Nadler. Were declared homicide? Colonel Wilkerson. Correct. Starting as early as December in Afghanistan. Mr. Nadler. And these are homicides committed by people engaged in an interrogation? Colonel Wilkerson. Or in guarding prisoners or something like that. People who were in detention. Mr. Nadler. So these weren't people trying to escape or something. They were declared homicides by our own authorities? Colonel Wilkerson. Right. Mr. Nadler. Do you know if any were prosecuted? Colonel Wilkerson. As far as I know, several were. And they have come to different conclusion.” From the Department of Justice to Guantánamo Bay: Administration Lawyers and Administration Interrogation Rules Part II: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, 110 Congress (2008) Matthew Alexander, “I’m Still Tortured by What I Saw in Iraq,” Washington Post, November 30, 2008 "Guantánamo Bay has often been the focus of jihadist media and propaganda. Just recently, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the mouthpiece of the Taliban — put out a statement calling attention to the ongoing hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay. … In 2010, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released the first issue of Inspire, their English language recruitment magazine. … The plight of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay has been featured prominently in several issues. In the 2010 inaugural issue of Inspire, an essay by Osama bin Laden mentions “the crimes at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo . . . which shook the conscience of humanity.” Tellingly, bin Laden points out that “there has been no mentionable change” at Guantánamo and the prison is noted again later in the issue. … The essays of Abu Sufyan al-Azdi and Uthman al-Gamidi, two former detainees who returned to AQAP upon their release, call new individuals to join the jihad, whether at home or abroad. In Issue 7, Yahya Ibrahim notes that Guantánamo Bay “exposed the West for what it really is” and “showed the world the American understanding of human rights.” Thérèse Postel, “How Guantanamo Bay’s Existence Helps Al-Qaeda Recruit More Terrorists,” Atlantic, April 12, 2013 "S]ome of the consequences of Washington’s anti-terrorism policies had galvanized the Taliban. Commanders fixated on the deaths of Afghan, Iraqi and Palestinian civilians in military airstrikes, as well as the American detention of Muslim prisoners who had been held for years without being charged. America, Europe and Israel preached democracy, human rights and impartial justice to the Muslim world, they said, but failed to follow those principles themselves" David Rhode, “7 Months, 10 Days in Captivity,” New York Times, October 17, 2009 "Afghanistan: Forces Linked to Vice President Terrorize Villagers,” Human Rights Watch, July 31, 2016 Sune Engel Rasmussen, “Vice-President Leaves Afghanistan Amid Torture and Rape Claims,” Guardian, May 19, 2017 "KABUL, Afghanistan — Mohammed Mohaqiq says he was getting ready to make his run for the Afghan presidency when U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad dropped by his campaign office and proposed a deal.“He told me to drop out of the elections, but not in a way to put pressure,” Mohaqiq said. “It was like a request.”... “He left, and then called my most loyal men, and the most educated people in my party or campaign, to the presidential palace and told them to make me -- or request me -- to resign the nomination. And he told my men to ask me what I need in return.” Paul Watson, “US Hand Seen in Afghan Election,”Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2004 (Quote not in book) "Leaders of a south-east Afghanistan tribe have told its members they must vote for Hamid Karzai in presidential polls or their houses will be burned" Crispin Thorold, “Vote Threat to Afghan Tribesmen,” BBC News, September 24, 2004 "In 1996, approximately 40 percent of Afghans were Pashtun, 11.4 of whom are of the Durrani tribal group and 13.8 percent of the Ghilzai group. Tajiks make up the second largest ethnic group with 25.3 percent of the population, followed by Hazaras, 18 percent; Uzbeks, 6.3 percent; Turkmen, 2.5 percent; Qizilbash, 1.0; 6.9 percent other." US State Department, “Afghanistan,” Country Studies "Despite ethnic quotas and recruiting drives, the Afghan army is still dominated by northern minorities who were oppressed by the Taliban. Nearly all Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns. Although many Pashtuns, the country's biggest ethnic community, are not connected to the Taliban, the rift between northerners and the southern Pashtuns runs deep. Now this ethnically skewed army is pouring into southern Afghanistan as part of an operation to squeeze the Taliban out of strongholds here and win the loyalty of the main prize — the Afghan people" Heidi Vogt, “Ethnic Divisions Plague Afghan Army,” NBC News, July 28, 2010 (Quote not in book) "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World [Halford Mackinder]… Geopolitics has moved from the regional to the global dimension, with preponderance over the entire Eurasian continent serving as the central basis for global primacy. The United States, a non-Eurasian power, now enjoys international primacy, with its power directly deployed on three peripheries of the Eurasian continent, from which it exercises a powerful influence on the states occupying the Eurasian hinterland. But it is on the globe’s most important playing field — Eurasia — that a potential rival to America might at some point arise. Thus, focusing on the key players and properly assessing the terrain has to be the point of departure for the formulation of American geostrategy for the long-term management of America’s Eurasian geopolitical interests. … To put it in a terminology that harkens back to a more brutal age of ancient empires, the three grand imperatives of imperial geostrategy are to prevent collusion and maintain security dependence among the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and protected, and to keep the barbarians from coming together." The grand chessboard by Zbigniew K. Brzezinski Page 38-40 "Mr. DAMELIN. Let's focus specifically on the oil pipeline issue in the Caucasus. Could you briefly describe what the U.S. policy was in June 1995 with respect to oil pipelines in this part of the world? Ms. HESLIN. U.S. policy was to promote the rapid development of Caspian energy, specifically through the development of multiple pipelines on commercially viable international terms. We did so specifically to promote the independence of these oil-rich countries to, in essence, break Russia's monopoly control over the transportation of oil from that region which had significantly reduced its flow and frankly to promote western energy security through diversification of supply. So that was our policy. It was a geopolitical decision. We sought to link these countries specifically to the West, while promoting good relations with their neighbors.” Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with the 1996 Federal Election Campaign: Hearings Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, Part 7 Page 98 (Extended quote from book) Sheila Heslin Clinton National Security Council member Elise Labott, “US Gives $43 Million to Afghanistan,” CNN, May 17, 2001 "The previously unknown deposits including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys… “There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.” James Risen, “US Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan,” New York Times, June 13, 2010 James Bandler, “J.P. Morgan’s Hunt for Afghan Gold,” Forbes, May 11, 2011 "Once an American overseas base is established it takes on a life of its own. Original missions may become outdated but new missions are developed, not only with the intention of keeping the facility going, but often to actually enlarge it. Within the government departments most directly concerned — State and Defense — we found little initiative to reduce or eliminate any of these overseas facilities." Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad: Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate 1970 Page 20 "The Pentagon tries to prevent local populations from reclaiming or otherwise exerting their rights over these long-established bases (as in the cases of the Puerto Rican movement to get the navy off Vieques Island, which it used largely for target practice, and of the Oldnawan movement to get the marines and air force to go home — or at least go elsewhere). It also works hard to think of ways to reestablish the right to bases from which the United States has withdrawn or been expelled (in places like the Philippines, Taiwan, Greece, and Spain)" The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic Chalmers Johnson Page 152 (served in the Korean War, was a consultant for the CIA from 1967 to 1973) Sam Stein, “Top Defense Contractors Spent $27 Million Lobbying at Time of Afghan Surge Announcement,” Huffington Post, March 23, 2010 “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence-economic, political, even spiritual-is felt in every city, every state house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Farewell Address (1961) "The main request of the Taliban officials in this group was to be given immunity from arrest in exchange for agreeing to abstain from political life. At this juncture, these leading Taliban members (as well as the rank and file) did not appear to view the government and its foreign backers as necessitating a 1980s-type jihad. Some members even saw the new government as Islamic and legitimate. Indeed, Mullah Obaidullah and other former Taliban officials even surrendered to Afghan authorities in early 2002. But Karzai and other government officials ignored the overtures — largely due to pressures from the United States and the Northern Alliance, the Taliban’s erstwhile enemy. … Widespread intimidation and harassment of these former Taliban ensued. Sympathetic figures in the government told Jalaluddin Haqqani and others in the group that they should flee the country, for they would not be safe in Afghanistan. So the men eventually vanished across the border into Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. Many of the signatories of the letter were to become leading figures in the insurgency." Anand Gopal, “Missed Opportunities in Kandahar,” Foreign Policy, November 10, 2010 "​Still, a close look at U.S. military statistics shows that Afghan soldiers and police officers are far more expensive than you'd expect. They are paid an average of just $1,872 a year, but the overall cost of training and fielding a police officer is roughly $30,000 per year, while the cost of each soldier is nearly $46,000 per year. the United States bears virtually all of those costs, adding up to more than $3.5 billion a year." The US Spends $14K per Afghan Troop Per Year, but Each Earns $1,872,” Atlantic, April 16, 2012 "Much of the more than $115 billion the United States has committed to reconstruction projects and programs risks being wasted because the Afghans cannot sustain the investment—financially or functionally—without massive, continued donor support. Donors were expected to finance approximately 69% of Afghanistan’s $6.5 billion fiscal year (FY) 1395 national budget (December 22, 2015–December 21, 2016), mostly through grants. At 2016 conferences in Warsaw and Brussels, the United States and other donors pledged to maintain assistance to Afghanistan at or near current levels through 2020" High-Risk List, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, January 2017 Page 2 "Contracting represents a high risk to the success of Afghanistan reconstruction. The usual difficulties of contract management are magnified and aggravated by Afghanistan’s remoteness, active insurgency, widespread corruption, limited ministerial capability, difficulties in collecting and verifying data, and other issues. … SIGAR has found that challenges in Afghanistan are so widespread that sometimes there is an assumption that if you throw enough money or people at a problem, the status quo will improve. In other words, implementers sometimes think their initial objective need not be precise, because the intervention will surely do some good somewhere" High-Risk List, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, January 2017 Page 3,9 "Corruption significantly undermined the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by damaging the legitimacy of the Afghan government, strengthening popular support for the insurgency, and channeling material resources to insurgent groups. Surveys and anecdotal evidence indicate that corrupt officials at all levels of government victimized and alienated the Afghan population. Substantial U.S. funds found their way to insurgent groups, some portion of which was due to corruption. Corruption also undermined faith in the international reconstruction effort. The Afghan public witnessed limited oversight of lucrative reconstruction projects by the military and aid community, leading to bribery, fraud, extortion, and nepotism, as well as the empowerment of abusive warlords and their militias. Public trust in the U.S.-led intervention eroded, as international aid agencies, contractors, and ISAF were seen as complicit in the corrupt behavior of the Afghan government." Corruption in Conflict: Lessons Learned from the US Experience with Corruption in Afghanistan,” Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, September 2016 Page 75-76 "Adjusted for inflation, the $115 billion in U.S. appropriations provided to reconstruct Afghanistan exceeds the funds committed to the Marshall Plan, the U.S. aid program that, between 1948 and 1952, helped 16 West European countries recover in the aftermath of World War II. However, U.S. assistance to Afghanistan differs from the Marshall Plan in one key respect: whereas the Marshall Plan was a civilian effort operating in a post-war environment, over 60% of Afghanistan’s reconstruction funds have been spent to support the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in their efforts to secure a country still facing a determined insurgency. Including U.S. war funding unrelated to reconstruction, U.S. appropriations for Afghanistan now total more than three quarters of a trillion dollars—not including the $43.7 billion requested for FY 2017." High-Risk List, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, January 2017 Page 4 Together, DOD, State, and USAID spent approximately $759.6 million on 39 programs to support primary and secondary education in Afghanistan from FY 2002 to FY 2014. SIGAR’s analysis of State and USAID data showed that the agencies were able to identify the programs they implemented and the amount of funds (approximately $617.9 million) or the percentage of program funds that supported primary and secondary education. SIGAR found that DOD spent at least $141.7 million on Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) projects to support primary and secondary education. However, SIGAR found limitations in DOD’s tracking of certain CERP projects that prevented SIGAR from determining how much DOD spent on about 1,000 CERP projects related to education. Although DOD subsequently corrected the two limitations with how it tracked CERP funds, DOD spent additional money on CERP beyond the $141.7 million that SIGAR was able to identify." Primary and Secondary Education in Afghanistan: Comprehensive Assessments Needed to Determine the Progress and Effectiveness of over $759 Million in DOD, State, and USAID Programs,” Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, April 2016 Page 2 Marguerite Ward, “Afghanistan is on the Brink After US Invests $100 Billion,” CNBC, February 3, 2016 "Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I just would like to talk for a minute about the mission in the context of what is going on with the government in Kabul. The Washington Post did a story on February 25 which talks about ``Officials puzzle over millions of dollars leaving Afghanistan by plane for Dubai,'' and I will include that for the Record… Previous to that, the Post did a story about money funneled through a Kabul bank and companies owned by the bank's founder to individual friends, family, and business connections of Hamid Karzai. When you consider the amount of corruption that is going on in Afghanistan, it can only be called, charitably, ``crony capitalism.'' In fact, The Washington Post printed an article on February 22, entitled ``In Afghanistan, Signs of Crony Capitalism,'' and I include this for the Record." Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010) - Andrew Higgins, “Officials Puzzle Over Millions of Dollars Leaving Afghanistan by Plane for Dubai,” Washington Post, February 25 2010 "KABUL—American officers deployed as mentors in Afghanistan's main military hospital discovered a shocking secret last year: Injured soldiers were routinely dying of simple infections and even starving to death as some corrupt doctors and nurses demanded bribes for food and the most basic of care. The discovery, which hasn't previously been reported, added new details to longstanding evidence of gross mismanagement at Dawood National Military Hospital, where most salaries and supplies are paid for by American taxpayers." Maria Abi-Habib, “At Afghan Military Hospital, Graft and Deadly Neglect,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2011 "Since 2002, USAID and DOD have spent approximately $2.8 billion to construct and repair Afghanistan’s road infrastructure, and perform capacity-building activities… SIGAR selected and assessed the condition of 1,640 kilometers of U.S.- funded national and regional highways, or approximately 22 percent of all paved roads in Afghanistan. The results indicate that most of these highways need repair and maintenance. For example, SIGAR performed inspections of 20 road segments and found that 19 segments had road damage ranging from deep surface cracks to roads and bridges destroyed by weather or insurgents. Moreover, 17 segments were either poorly maintained or not maintained at all, resulting in road defects that limited drivability. MOPW officials acknowledged that roads in Afghanistan are in poor condition. In August 2015, an MOPW official stated that 20 percent of the roads were destroyed and the remaining 80 percent continue to deteriorate. The official added that the Kabul to Kandahar highway is beyond repair and needs to be rebuilt. USAID estimated that unless maintained, it would cost about $8.3 billion to replace Afghanistan’s road infrastructure, and estimated that 54 percent of Afghanistan’s road infrastructure suffered from poor maintenance and required rehabilitation beyond simple repairs.Afghanistan’s Road Infrastructure: Sustainment Challenges and Lack of Repairs Put US Investment at Risk,” Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, October 29, 2016 Page 1,2 Associated Press, “A Timeline of US Troop Levels in Afghanistan Since 2001,” Military Times, July 6, 2016 “I said from the get-go that we didn’t have enough money and we didn’t have enough soldiers,” said Robert P. Finn, who was the ambassador in 2002 and 2003. “I’m saying the same thing six years later.” Zalmay Khalilzad, who was the next ambassador and is now the American ambassador to the United Nations, said, “I do think that state-building and nation-building, we came to that reluctantly,” adding that “I think more could have been done earlier on these issues.” And Ronald E. Neumann, who replaced Mr. Khalilzad in Kabul, said, “The idea that we could just hunt terrorists and we didn’t have to do nation-building, and we could just leave it alone, that was a large mistake.” David Rohde and David Sanger, “How a ‘Good War’ in Afghanistan Went Bad,” New York Times, August 12, 2007 "KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, June 22, 2010 -- The United States military is helping fund both sides of the war in Afghanistan, knowingly financing a mafia-like collection of warlords and some of the very insurgents American troops are battling, according to Afghan and American officials and a new Congressional study released today.The military has turned to private trucking companies to transport the vast majority of materiel it needs to fight the war -- everything from bullets to Gatorade, gas to sandbags -- and in turn, the companies are using American money to pay, among others, the Taliban to try to guarantee the trucks' safe passage, the reports charge" Report: U.S. Bribes to Protect Convoys Are Funding Taliban Insurgents Rep. John Tierney concludes, "Tony Soprano would be proud of it." ABC News June 22, 2010 Warlord, Inc. : extortion and corruption along the U.S. supply chain in Afghanistan Author:John F Tierney; United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs.Publisher:[Washington, DC] : [U.S. House of Representatives], 2010. Carlotta Gall, “Saudis Bankroll Taliban, Even as King Officially Supports Afghan Government,” New York Times, December 6, 2016 "It hurts on a level that — three units from the Army, we all did what we did up there. And we all lost men. We all sacrificed. I was 18 years old when I got there. I really would not have expected to go through what we went through at that age. It confuses me, why it took so long for them to realize that we were not making progress up there." Alissa J. Rubin, “US Forces Close Post in Afghan ‘Valley of Death,’” New York Times, April 14, 2010 "Washington (CNN) -- The online leak of thousands of secret military documents from the war in Afghanistan by the website WikiLeaks did not disclose any sensitive intelligence sources or methods, the Department of Defense concluded… "The initial assessment in no way discounts the risk to national security," Gates wrote. "However, the review to date has not revealed any sensitive intelligence sources and methods compromised by the disclosure." Gates: Leaked documents don't reveal key intel, but risks remain By Adam Levine, CNN October 17, 2010 "Behind the military jargon, the war logs are littered with accounts of civilian tragedies. The 144 entries in the logs recording some of these so-called “blue on white” events, cover a wide spectrum of day-by-day assaults on Afghans, with hundreds of casualties. They range from the shootings of individual innocents to the often massive loss of life from air strikes, which eventually led President Hamid Karzai to protest publicly that the U.S. was treating Afghan lives as “cheap.” When civilian family members are actually killed in Afghanistan, their relatives do, in fairness, get greater solatia payments than cans of beans and Hershey bars. The logs refer to sums paid of 100,000 Afghani per corpse, equivalent to about £1,500 [approximately $1,900]" Afghanistan war logs: Secret CIA paramilitaries’ role in civilian deathsInnocent Afghan men, women and children have paid the price of the Americans' rules of engagement David Leigh Sun 25 Jul 2010 Declan Walsh, “Afghanistan War Logs: How US Marines Sanitized Record of Bloodbath,” Guardian, July 26, 2010 Clancy Chassay, “‘I Was Still Holding My Grandson’s Hand - the Rest Was Gone,’” Guardian, December 15, 2008 cannot be completely avoided C. J. Chivers, “7 Children Killed in Airstrike in Afghanistan,” New York Times, June 19, 2007 Jerome Starkey, “Western Troops Accused of Executing 10 Afghan Civilians, Including Children,” London Times, December 31, 2009 "This was the hidden civilian damage from the first drone strike Barack Obama ever ordered, on 23 January 2009, the inauguration of a counter-terrorism tactic likely to define Obama’s presidency in much of the Muslim world. It was the third day of his presidency. Reportedly, the strikes did not hit the Taliban target Obama and the Central Intelligence Agency sought. Instead, they changed Qureshi’s life irrevocably." Spencer Ackerman, “Victim of Obama’s First Drone Strike: ‘I Am the Living Example of What Drones Are,’” Guardian, January 23, 2016 (Quote not in book) Ewen MacAskill, “Obama Quietly Deploying 13,000 More US Troops to Afghanistan,” Guardian, October 13, 2009 "what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions and religion by internal and external enemies. The U.S. and NATO presence in Pashtun valleys and villages, as well as Afghan army and police units that are led and composed of non-Pashtun soldiers and police, provide an occupation force against which the insurgency is justified." Karen DeYoung, “US Official Resigns over Afghan War,” Washington Post, October 27, 2009 Matthew Hoh Political Officer in the Foreign Office and Civilization Representative in the Zabul Province - Resignation Letter "The U.S. ambassador in Kabul sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, senior U.S. officials said. Karl W. Eikenberry's memos, sent as President Obama enters the final stages of his deliberations over a new Afghanistan strategy, illustrated both the difficulty of the decision and the deepening divisions within the administration's national security team. After a top-level meeting on the issue Wednesday afternoon -- Obama's eighth since early last month -- the White House issued a statement that appeared to reflect Eikenberry's concerns…But Eikenberry's last-minute interventions have highlighted the nagging undercurrent of the policy discussion: the U.S. dependence on a partnership with a Karzai government whose incompetence and corruption is a universal concern within the administration. After months of political upheaval, in the wake of widespread fraud during the August presidential election, Karzai was installed last week for a second five-year term." Greg Jaffe “US Envoy Resists Troop Increase, Cites Karzai as Problem,” Washington Post, November 12, 2009 "The president had put all of us on notice in the late fall of 2010 that, while he wanted a low-key and swift review of the Afghan strategy iDecember...The key subjects were the troop drawdowns in July and determining what our presence should be in Afghanistan after 2014. Did we want bases? Would we continue to conduct counterterrorism operations? What is “Afghan good enough”? How big should the Afghan national security forces be? How much would they cost, and who would pay for them? Petraeus and the Defense Department were proposing an Afghan force level between 352,000 and 378,000. The president expressed his displeasure that those numbers had leaked, again making it look like the military was trying to “jam” him… "He concluded [Obama], "If I believe I am being gamed ..."and left the sentence hanging there with the clear implication the consequences would be dire. I was pretty upset myself. I thought implicitly accusing Petraeus (and perhaps Mullen and me) of gaming him in front of thirty people in the Situation Room was inappropriate, not to mention highly disrespectful of Petraeus. As I sat there, I thought: The president doesn't trust his commander, can't stand Karzai, doesn't believe in his own strategy, and doesn't consider the war to be his. For him, it's all about getting out. Biden continued to egg him on, and his staff missed no opportunity to pass him inflammatory news clips and other information raising questions about Petraeus and the senior military leaders. I called Donilon two days later to express my concern that the vice president was poisoning the well with the president with regard to Petraeus and Afghanistan. I said I thought Biden was subjecting Obama to Chinese water torture, every day saying, “the military can't be trusted,” "the strategy can't work,” “it's all failing,” “the military is trying to game you, to screw you." Robert M. Gates, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, (New York: Knopf, 2014) Page 557 (Extended Quote From Book) "Obama also shared with McDonough a long-standing resentment: He was tired of watching Washington unthinkingly drift toward war in Muslim countries. Four years earlier, the president believed, the Pentagon had “jammed” him on a troop surge for Afghanistan. Now, on Syria, he was beginning to feel jammed again" Jeffrey Goldberg, “The Obama Doctrine,” Atlantic, April 2016 Alex Spillius, “White House Angry at General Stanley McChrystal Speech on Afghanistan,” Daily Telegraph October 5, 2009 Evan Thomas, “General McChrystal’s Plan for Afghanistan,” Newsweek, September 25, 2009 "The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable," McChrystal said in a statement. He added that progress will demand a revised strategy, greater "resolve" and a "unity of effort" by the NATO-led multinational force… The appraisal comes amid declining U.S. public support for the war and growing tension between U.S. commanders in need of resources and a White House wary of committing to fresh troops. It echoes recent gloomy statements by top military officials such as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the conflict is "deteriorating" and that the Taliban is far more sophisticated than it was just a few years ago. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Monday called Afghanistan "a mixed picture" and said "a very tough fight" lies ahead." Ann Scott Tyson, “US Commander in Afghanistan Calls Situation ‘Serious,’” Washington Post, September 1, 2009 (quote not in book) For all his innovations, McChrystal still is hostage to geography: Afghanistan is bigger than Iraq, yet he has only half as many troops. He plans to double the size of Afghan forces to 400,000, but that will take years. The only place he can get the troops he needs now is from the United States. Asked if he's confident he'll get what he is asking for, McChrystal said, "I'm confident that I will have an absolute chance to provide my assessment and to make my recommendations." But you're already under pressure not to ask for more. I mean, how's that affect what you do?" Martin asked. "Doesn't affect me at all. And David, I take this extraordinarily seriously. I believe that what I am responsible to do is to give my best assessment," McChrystal said." David Martin, “McChrystal’s Frank Talk on Afghanistan,” 60 Minutes, CBS News, September 24, 2009 (Quote not in book) "The Afghanistan surge In December 2009, President Barack Obama announces a troop surge: He will deploy 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, on top of the 70,000 that he and Bush had previously authorized. NATO and other U.S. allies will increase their forces to 50,000."A timeline of US Troops in Afghanistan The Washington Post April 14th 2021 (Not in book) "Biden argued throughout the process, and would continue to argue, that the war was politically unsustainable at home. I thought he was wrong and that if the president remained steadfast and played his cards carefully, he could sustain even an unpopular war. Bush had done that with a far more unpopular war in Iraq and with both houses of Congress in the hands of the Democrats. The key was showing that we were being successful militarily, at some point announcing a drawdown of forces and being able to show that the end was in sight" Robert M. Gates, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, (New York: Knopf, 2014) Page 342 "A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Tuesday morning indicates that 39 percent of Americans favor the war in Afghanistan, with 58 percent opposed to the mission. Support is down from 53 percent in April, marking the lowest level since the start of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks." Steinhauser, “Poll: Support for Afghan War at All-time Low,” CNN Politics, September 15, 2009 Sune Engel Rasmussen, “US Funds Fed Corruption in Afghanistan, Eroding Security,” Guardian, September 14, 2016 David Collins “Rogue SAS Unit Accused of Executing Civilians in Afghanistan,” Sunday Times, July 2, 2017 David Brown, “SAS Under Investigation Over ‘Rogue Unit’ Deaths in Afghanistan,” July 3, 2017, London Times "A former British Army officer has claimed the Special Air Service (SAS) killed innocent Afghan civilians during night raids on their homes after ignoring warnings they were targeting the wrong people. Captain Mike Martin has told The Sunday Times how he expressed severe misgivings about the “flawed” intelligence used to justify the raids during top secret “board meetings” in which SAS targets were identified. He said: “They [the SAS] would go in and kill members of a family based on faulty intelligence. The next morning there would be people going, ‘What was going on last night? You just murdered a whole family … ‘Army apology’ for killing of four Afghans The British Army is said to have apologised to the family of four Afghan men who were shot dead by special forces soldiers during a night raid on their home in a village near Lashkar Gah in February 2011. Two of the victims are alleged to have been handcuffed before being killed. A family member, who found his father slumped against a wall, and a local official told The Sunday Times they were visited by British officers who they claim admitted the men had been wrongly targeted. “They just kept saying they were very, very sorry,” the official said. The Ministry of Defence declined to comment." SAS ‘Murderers’ Ignored Warning of Wrong Targets in Afghanistan,” Sunday Times, July 9, 2017 "The gamble here is that once Afghans see the semblance of a state taking hold in Marjah, rank-and-file Taliban will begin to take more seriously the offers that Mr. Karzai and the West are dangling to buy them off. Enticed by the offer of some political role in Afghan society — and a regular paycheck — they will think twice about trying to recapture the town. “We think many of the foot soldiers are in it for the money, not the ideology,” one British official said recently. “We need to test the proposition that it’s cheaper to enrich them a little than to fight them every spring and summer.” A Test For The Meaning Of Victory In Afghanistan New York Times Feb 13th 2010 Taimoor Shah and Rod Nordland, “Taliban Take an Afghan District, Sangin, That Many Marines Died to Keep,” New York Times, March 23, 2017 James Rupert and Steve Coll, “US Declines to Probe Afghan Drug Trade,” Washington Post, May 13, 1990 "According to the United Nations, the war-torn nation provides 90 percent of the world's supply of opium poppy, the bright, flowery crop that transforms into one of the most addictive drugs in existence… The U.S. has spent $8.4 billion in counternarcotics programs in Afghanistan. But opium output keeps rising: Fifteen years ago, Afghanistan accounted for just 70 percent of global illicit opium production" Elizabeth Chuck, “As Heroin Use Grows in US, Poppy Crops Thrive in Afghanistan,” NBC News, July 7, 2015 "Certain reconstruction projects such as improved irrigation, roads, and agricultural assistance can actually lead to increased opium cultivation. SIGAR found that affordable deep-well technology turned 200,000 hectares of desert in southwestern Afghanistan into arable land over the past decade. Due to relatively high opium prices and the rise of an inexpensive, skilled, and mobile labor force, much of this newly arable land is dedicated to opium cultivation. Poppy-growing provinces that were once declared “poppy free” have seen a resurgence in cultivation" High Risk List,” Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, December 2014 "As a former NATO official with years of experience in Kandahar puts it, "You have essentially a criminal enterprise in the guise of government, using us [NATO forces] as its enforcing arm." As a result, says this official, who asked not to be identified, "the people are turning to the Taliban as the only means of protection and outlet for their anger."... Antinarcotics experts in Kabul say that while they have no evidence linking the President's half brother to drug trafficking, he and his relatives have sway over top police officers in Kandahar and Helmand province who are alleged to have ensured the safe passage of drug shipments along the roads to Iran and Pakistan. International observers and diplomats in Kabul say Wali Karzai retains close ties with units of the U.S. special forces and the CIA in Kandahar. Last October, the New York Times alleged that Wali Karzai had been on the CIA payroll for the past eight years, a charge he denied when speaking to TIME. "I see these people, I talk to them in security meetings, but I have no control," he said. But TIME's sources insist that Wali Karzai in the past has threatened to call down NATO air strikes or arrange night raids by U.S. special forces on tribal elders who defied him. Says a former NATO official: "Most of our intelligence comes directly or indirectly from him. We really didn't see this dynamic because we were so focused on the enemy." Tim McGirk, “A US Stumbling Block in Kandahar: Karzai’s Brother,” Time, March 19, 2010 James Risen, “Reports Link Karzai’s Brother to Afghanistan Heroin Trade,” New York Times, October 4, 2008 Julius Cavendish, “Bodyguard Who Killed Karzai’s Brother Was Trusted CIA Contact,” Independent, July 15, 2011 Paul Harris, “Victorious Warlords Set to Open the Opium Floodgates,” Guardian, November 24, 2001 "More than ever, Afghan government officials have become directly involved in the opium trade, expanding their competition with the Taliban beyond politics and into a struggle for control of the drug traffic and revenue. At the local level, the fight itself can often look like a turf war between drug gangs, even as American troops are being pulled back into the battle on the government’s behalf, particularly in Helmand, in southern Afghanistan."There are phases of government complicity, starting with accommodation of the farmers and then on to cooperation with them,” said David Mansfield, a researcher who conducted more than 15 years of fieldwork on Afghan opium. “The last is predation, where the government essentially takes over the business entirely.”... “Over the years, I have seen the central government, the local government and the foreigners all talk very seriously about poppy,” said Hakim Angar, a former two-time police chief of Helmand Province. “In practice, they do nothing, and behind the scenes, the government makes secret deals to enrich themselves.” Azam Ahmed, “Tasked with Combating Opium, Afghan Officials Profit from It,” New York Times, February 15, 2016 "VIENNA, 21 June (UN Information Service) - A survey on Drug Use in Afghanistan, issued today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), shows that around one million Afghans (age 15-64) suffer from drug addiction. At eight per cent of the population, this rate is twice the global average "After three decades of war-related trauma, unlimited availability of cheap narcotics and limited access to treatment have created a major, and growing, addiction problem in Afghanistan," said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa. "The human face of Afghanistan's drug problem is not only seen on the streets of Moscow, London or Paris. It is in the eyes of its own citizens, dependent on a daily dose of opium and heroin above all - but also cannabis, painkillers and tranquilizers," said Mr. Costa. "Many Afghans are taking drugs as a kind of self-medication against the hardships of life. Significantly, many of them began taking drugs as migrants or refugees in camps in Iran and Pakistan," UNODC Reports Major, and Growing, Drug Abuse in Afghanistan,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, June 21, 2010 US Opposes Efforts to Legalize Opium in Afghanistan,” US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, February 20, 2007 Carlotta Gall, “Night Raids Curbing Taliban, but Afghans Cite Civilian Toll,” New York Times, July 8, 2011 Michael Hastings, “King David's War,” Rolling Stone, February 2, 2011 "Afghanistan: NATO Air Strike Kills Seven Policemen,” Daily Telegraph, February 18, 2010 American and Afghan officials have begun helping a number of anti-Taliban militias that have independently taken up arms against insurgents in several parts of Afghanistan… The emergence of the militias, which took some leaders in Kabul by surprise, has so encouraged the American and Afghan officials that they are planning to spur the growth of similar armed groups across the Taliban heartland… The American and Afghan officials say they are hoping the plan, called the Community Defense Initiative, will bring together thousands of gunmen to protect their neighborhoods from Taliban insurgents. Already there are hundreds of Afghans who are acting on their own against the Taliban, officials say. The endeavor represents one of the most ambitious and one of the riskiest plans for regaining the initiative against the Taliban, who are fighting more vigorously than at any time since 2001…“The idea is to get people to take responsibility for their own security,” said a senior American military official in Kabul, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “In many places they are already doing that.”Dexter Filkins, “Afghan Militias Battle Taliban with Aid of US,” New York Times, November 21, 2009 (Quote not in book) Dan Edge and Stephen Grey, “Kill/Capture,” Frontline, PBS, May 10, 2011 Secret Killing Program is Key in Iraq, Woodward says,” CNN, September 9, 2008 "JSOC’s success in targeting the right homes, businesses and individuals was only ever about 50 percent, according to two senior commanders. They considered this rate a good one." Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, “‘Top Secret America’: A Look at the Military’s Joint Special Operations Command,” Washington Post, September 2, 2011 "A Times investigation suggests that Nato’s claims are either wilfully false or, at best, misleading. More than a dozen survivors, officials, police chiefs and a religious leader interviewed at and around the scene of the attack maintain that the perpetrators were US and Afghan gunmen. The identity and status of the soldiers is unknown. The raid came more than a fortnight after the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan issued new guidelines designed to limit the use of night raids. Special forces and Western intelligence agencies that run covert operations in Afghanistan have been criticised for night raids based on dubious or false intelligence leading to civilian casualties… Three women crouching in a hallway behind him were hit by the same volley of fire. Bibi Shirin, 22, had four children under the age of 5. Bibi Saleha, 37, had 11 children. Both of them, according to their relatives, were pregnant. They were killed instantly." Jerome Starkey, “Nato ‘Covered Up’ Botched Night Raid in Afghanistan That Killed Five,” Times of London, March 13, 2010 (Quote not in book) Michael T. Flynn et al., “Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan,” Center for a New American Security, January 4, 2010 "Potential negative effects of HVT operations include increasing insurgent support, causing a government to neglect other aspects of its counterinsurgency strategy, provoking insurgents to alter strategy or organization in ways that favor the insurgents, strengthening an armed group’s popular support with the population, radicalizing an insurgent group’s remaining leaders, and creating a vacuum into which more radical groups can enter. HVT operations may, by eroding the “rules of the game” between the government and insurgents, escalate the level of violence in a conflict, which may or may not be in a government’s interest." Best Practices in Counterinsurgency,” CIA, posted by Wikileaks, July 7, 2009 Page I "The Coalition has led a sustained effort since 2001 to target Taliban leaders, but the government’s limited influence outside of Kabul has impeded integration of high-value targeting (HVT) efforts with other military and nonmilitary counterinsurgency elements, such as reconciliation programs. Afghan Government corruption and lack of unity, insufficient strength of Afghan and NATO security forces, and the country’s endemic lawlessness have constrained the effectiveness of these counterinsurgency elements. Senior Taliban leaders’ use of sanctuary in Pakistan has also complicated the HVT effort. Moreover, the Taliban has a high overall ability to replace lost leaders, a centralized but flexible command and control overlaid with egalitarian Pashtun structures, and good succession planning and bench strength, especially at the middle levels, according to clandestine and U.S. military reporting" Best Practices in Counterinsurgency,” CIA, posted by Wikileaks, July 7, 2009 Page 9 "The … inescapable truth asserts that merely killing insurgents usually serves to multiply enemies rather than subtract them. This counterintuitive dynamic is common in many guerrilla conflicts and is especially relevant in the revenge-prone Pashtun communities whose cooperation military forces seek to earn and maintain. The Soviets experienced this reality in the 1980s, when despite killing hundreds of thousands of Afghans, they faced a larger insurgency near the end of the war than they did at the beginning." Michael T. Flynn et al., “Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan,” Center for a New American Security, January 4, 2010 Page 8 Spencer Ackerman, “25 Tons of Bombs Wipe Afghan Town Off Map,” Wired, January 19, 2011 Kevin Sieff, “Years Later, a Flattened Afghan Village Reflects on US Bombardment,” Washington Post, August 25, 2013 "With an average of an assassination a day and a suicide bombing every second or third day, insurgents have greatly increased the level of violence in Afghanistan, and have become by far the biggest killers of civilians here, the United Nations said. … The most striking change has been in suicide bombings, whose numbers have tripled this year compared with 2009. Such attacks now take place an average of three times a week compared with once a week before. In addition, two of three of those suicide attacks are considered “complex,” in which attackers use a suicide bomb as well as other weapons" Rod Nordland, “Violence Up Sharply in Afghanistan,” New York Times, June 19, 2010 "The governor of Afghanistan's Kunar province said Sunday that 64 people, including some civilians, were killed in a joint operation by NATO's International Security Assistance Force and Afghan security forces over the past few days." Afghan Governor: Women and Children Killed in Military Operation,” CNN, February 20, 2011 (Quote not in book) Joshua Partlow, “Petraeus's Comments on Coalition Attack Reportedly Offend Karzai Government,” Washington Post, February 21, 2011 "According to the Washington Post, Petraeus addressed the issue during a meeting with Afghan officials Sunday at the presidential palace. The newspaper cited unnamed Afghan officials in the meeting as saying Petraeus said parents may have purposely burned their children to make it seem like they were victims of the U.S. air strikes. Petraeus said no such thing, according to a statement from the top ISAF spokesman in Afghanistan, Rear Adm. Greg Smith."At a Sunday NSC (National Security Council) meeting, General Petraeus never said children's hands and feet were purposely burned by their families in order to create a civilian casualty event. Rather, he said the injuries to the children appeared inconsistent with the types of munitions used," Smith said in a statement. He said Petraeus did say in the meeting that he had an idea how the children were burned. "The burns to their hands and feet may have been the result of discipline sometimes handed out to Afghan children. Regrettably this is customary among some Afghan fathers as a way of dealing with children who misbehave" Tension Between Petraeus, Afghans over Airstrike, Children,” CNN, February 22, 2011 "Nine boys collecting firewood to heat their homes in the eastern Afghanistan mountains were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents, according to a statement on Wednesday by NATO, which apologized for the mistake. The boys, who were 9 to 15 years old, were attacked on Tuesday in what amounted to one of the war’s worst cases of mistaken killings by foreign-led forces. The victims included two sets of brothers. A 10th boy survived… We were almost done collecting the wood when suddenly we saw the helicopters come,” said Hemad, who, like many Afghans, has only one name. “There were two of them. The helicopters hovered over us, scanned us and we saw a green flash from the helicopters. Then they flew back high up, and in a second round they hovered over us and started shooting. They fired a rocket which landed on a tree. The tree branches fell over me and shrapnel hit my right hand and my side.” General Petraeus pledged to investigate the attack and to take disciplinary action if appropriate. “We are deeply sorry for this tragedy and apologize to the members of the Afghan government, the people of Afghanistan and, most importantly, the surviving family members of those killed by our actions,” he said. “These deaths should have never happened.” It was the third instance in two weeks in which the Afghan government has accused NATO of killing civilians. NATO strongly disputes one of those reports, but another the killing of an Afghan Army soldier and his family in Nangarhar Province on Feb. 20 was also described as an accident." Alissa J. Rubin and Sangar Rahimi, “Nine Afghan Boys Collecting Firewood Killed by NATO Helicopters,”New York Times, March 2, 2011 (Extended Quote) "Army Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 23, told a military court he had helped to kill three unarmed Afghans. "The plan was to kill people, sir," he told an army judge in Fort Lea, near Seattle, after his plea… This week the German magazine Der Spiegel published three pictures that showed American soldiers, including Morlock, posing with the corpse of a young Afghan boy as if it were a hunting trophy. Some soldiers apparently kept body parts of their victims, including a skull, as souvenirs. In a statement issued in response to the publication of the photos the US army apologised to the families of the dead. "[The photos are] repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States army," the statement said. Morlock has told investigators that the murders took place between January and May last year and were instigated by an officer in his unit, Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs. He described how elaborate plans were made to pick out civilian targets, kill them and then make their deaths look like they were insurgents. In his confession Morlock described shooting a victim as Gibbs tossed a grenade at him. "We identify a guy. Gibbs makes a comment, like, you know, you guys wanna wax this guy or not," Morlock said in the confession" Paul Harris, “US Soldier Admits Killing Unarmed Afghans for Sport,” Guardian, March 23, 2011 In one of the most serious accusations of war crimes to emerge from the Afghan conflict, Gibbs recruited other soldiers to murder civilians he called "savages" after he took over command of a US army squad in Afghanistan's Kandahar province in November 2009. Prosecutors described Gibbs as hunting innocent Afghans "for sport", a view reinforced by the staff sergeant's statement likening the amputation of body parts as trophies to collecting antlers from a deer. Gibbs and other soldiers collected fingers, teeth and other body parts as trophies. They also took photographs of themselves posing next to their dead victims. In one of the pictures Morlock is seen lifting Mudin's head by its hair for the camera and smiling. The soldiers also took ghoulish pictures of themselves with dead combatants. The jury of five soldiers was shown pages of Facebook messages sent by Winfield to his parents in which he described how Gibbs led the killings. In one exchange with his father Winfield recounted Mudin's killing "An innocent dude. They planned and went through with it. I knew about it. Didn't believe they were going to do it. Then it happened. Pretty much the whole platoon knows about it. It's OK with all of them pretty much. Except me. I want to do something about it. The only problem is I don't feel safe here telling anyone. The guy who did it is the golden boy in the company who can never do anything wrong and it's my word against theirs," Winfield wrote. Winfield later told investigators: "[Gibbs] likes to kill things. He is pretty much evil incarnate. I mean, I have never met a man who can go from one minute joking around, then mindless killings." The court martial was told that Gibbs had six skull tattoos on his leg to mark up each of his "kills" from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.In his testimony Gibbs denied responsibility for the killings, saying the victims all died in legitimate combat. But he did admit slicing off body parts from Afghans, including the fingers of a man, and keeping them or giving them to other soldiers as trophies. In my mind I was there to take the antlers off the deer. You have to come to terms with what you're doing. Shooting people is not an easy thing to do," said Gibbs." Chris McGreal, “‘Kill Team’ US Platoon Commander Gui lty of Afghan Murders,” Guardian, November 10, 2011 "A] review of internal Army records and investigative files obtained by Rolling Stone, including dozens of interviews with members of Bravo Company compiled by military investigators, indicates that the dozen infantrymen being portrayed as members of a secretive “kill team” were operating out in the open, in plain view of the rest of the company. Far from being clandestine, as the Pentagon has implied, the murders of civilians were common knowledge among the unit and understood to be illegal by “pretty much the whole platoon,” according to one soldier who complained about them. Staged killings were an open topic of conversation, and at least one soldier from another battalion in the 3,800-man Stryker Brigade participated in attacks on unarmed civilians. “The platoon has a reputation,” a whistle-blower named Pfc. Justin Stoner told the Army Criminal Investigation Command. “They have had a lot of practice staging killings and getting away with it" Mark Boal, “The Kill Team: How US Soldiers in Afghanistan Murdered Innocent Civilians,” Rolling Stone, March 27, 2011 Officials: Bales Sneaked Off Base Twice During Rampage,” CNN, March 26, 2012 Army: Bales, Wife Laughed About Killing Charges,” USA Today, August 19, 2013 Brendan Vaughan, “Robert Bales Speaks: Confessions of America’s Most Notorious War Criminal,” GQ, October 21, 2015 Afghan Families Skeptical as US Reopens Investigation of Bodies Found Near Base,” Guardian, November 5, 2015 Matthew Cole, “The Crimes of SEAL Team 6,” Intercept, January 10, 2017 "The mission found “compelling” evidence that 125 detainees, or 46 per cent, of the 273 detainees interviewed who had been in NDS detention experienced interrogation techniques at the hands of NDS officials that constituted torture, and that torture is practiced “systematically” in a number of NDS detention facilities throughout Afghanistan,” states the report" Systematic Torture in Afghan Detention Facilities – UN Report,” UN News Centre, October 10, 2001 (Quote not in book) Sudarsan Raghavan, “Inside the CIA’s Shadow War in Afghanistan: Agency Oversees Militias Implicated in Torture, Civilian Killings,” Washington Post, December 3, 2015 Daniel L. Davis, “Dereliction of Duty II: Senior Military Leaders’ Loss of Integrity Wounds Afghan War Effort,” United States Army, February 6, 2012 "I think at most, we’re looking at maybe 50 to 100, maybe less. There’s no question that the main location of al Qaeda is in tribal areas of Pakistan.” CIA Director Leon Panetta: Serious Problems With Afghanistan War but Progress Being Made, ABC News JACK DATE June 27, 2010 Ben Anderson, “This Is What Winning Looks Like: My Afghanistan War Diary,” Vice, December 23, 2013 Chris Mondloch, “An Afghan Tragedy: The Pashtun Practice of Having Sex with Young Boys,” Independent, October 29, 2013 "Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, a member of the Special Forces, had helped to beat up the Afghan militia commander, Abdul Rahman, in 2011 after he abducted a boy and kept him chained to his bed as a sex slave. Sergeant Martland later told Army officials that he and a Special Forces captain, Dan Quinn, “felt that morally we could no longer stand by” and allow the Afghan local police “to commit atrocities.” After the episode, Captain Quinn was relieved of his command; he withdrew from Afghanistan and later left the military. But Sergeant Martland was put under an Army-wide review program that trims the number of its noncommissioned officers when their military records show performance or conduct that is “inconsistent” with standards. An initial decision to forcibly discharge him by Nov. 1, 2015, was delayed; in March 2016, the Army said it had postponed the discharge decision again, until May 1, to allow time for Sergeant Martland to appeal… The beating and its effect on the two men’s Army careers brought scrutiny to a policy of instructing American soldiers and Marines not to intervene in cases of child sex abuse by their Afghan allies. In an article in The New York Times last year, the spokesman for the American command in Afghanistan, Col. Brian Tribus, said of the United States’ military policy, “Generally, allegations of child sexual abuse by Afghan military or police personnel would be a matter of domestic Afghan criminal law.” He added that “there would be no express requirement that U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan report it.” An exception, he said, is when rape is being used as a weapon of war." Christine Houser, “Green Beret Who Beat Up Afghan Officer for Raping Boy Can Stay in Army,” New York Times, April 29, 2016 Shia Personal Status Law Dexter Filkins and Carlotta Gall, “Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor,” New York Times, November 22, 2010 Yaroslav Trofimov and Ehsanullah Amiri, “Afghan Presidential Front-Runner Escapes Assassination Attempt,” Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2014 Courtney Kube, “US Has Thousands More Troops in Afghanistan Than the Pentagon Admits,” NBC News, August 23, 2017 "Senator McCAIN. So in your view, if we left Afghanistan with no residual force, we could see a replay of the Iraq scenario? General DUNFORD. Senator If we leave at the end of 2014, the Afghan security forces will begin to deteriorate. The security environment will begin to deteriorate, and I think the only debate is the pace of that deterioration.” The Situation in Afghanistan: Hearing Before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session, March 12, 2014 Page 19 "The basing strategy with an open-ended American military presence would ensure sufficient forces to defend important population centers, retain bases critical for counterterrorism, and maintain a U.S. foothold in Central Asia. Although little has been explicitly written, a range of arguments imply that some strategists are thinking seriously about a semi-permanent Central Asian foothold from which to counter terrorism, monitor developments ranging from increased influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and potentially pressure the more vulnerable flanks in any future contingency with China, Iran, or Russia… The downside, of course, is that the United States would necessarily accept a state of long-term instability in Afghanistan because a permanent U.S. presence in Afghanistan will incentivize regional actors to competitively back proxies. For example, they could support new militant groups and inject new capabilities into the conflict, similar to what the United States did in the 1980s against the Soviet Union. Moreover, the Afghan government’s acquiescence to a permanent foreign occupier could very well weaken its own legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghan public. Finally, without alternative lines of communication, a sustained American presence in Afghanistan would only deepen its dependence upon Pakistan, frustrating U.S. cooperation with India as a balance against China." Sameer Lalwani, “Four Ways Forward in Afghanistan,” Foreign Affairs, May 25, 2017 "KABUL — United Nations officials Thursday condemned an airstrike by an unmanned U.S. military aircraft a day earlier that they said killed 15 civilians and wounded at least 12 in the insurgent-plagued eastern Afghan province of Nangahar. They called for a complete investigation." Pamela Constable, “UN Officials Criticize Fatal US Airstrike in Afghanistan,” Washington Post, September 29, 2016 (Quote not in book) Sarah Almuktar and Karen Yourish, “More Than 14 Years After US Invasion, the Taliban Control Large Parts of Afghanistan,” New York Times, April 19, 2016 "Reports of “ghost” soldiers and police continue to surface. In January 2016, media reported that the price of maintaining ghost soldiers on the rolls was being paid on the battlefield, as the number of troops fighting alongside “ghost soldiers” is a fraction of the men required for the fight. In June 2016, the Helmand Province police chief claimed half of the Helmand police consisted of ghost personnel. In late July, General Nicholson sent a letter to the Minister of Interior outlining the actions required to reduce or eliminate ghost police as a condition for continued U.S. support." High-Risk List, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, January 2017 Page 18 "The ANDSF [Afghan National Defense and Security Forces] has not yet been capable of securing all of Afghanistan and has lost territory to the insurgency. As of August 28, 2016, USFOR-A [U.S. Forces-Afghanistan] reported that only 63.4% of the country’s districts were under Afghan government control or influence a reduction from the 72% as of November 27, 2015" High-Risk List, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, January 2017 Page 2 "SIGAR’s data call in preparation for this quarterly report posed other questions regarding travel and security in Afghanistan that State declined to answer, saying they were internal operational matters and not part of reconstruction activities. However, SIGAR is concerned that U.S. officials, whether at State, USAID, Justice, Treasury, Commerce, or elsewhere, cannot oversee the billions of dollars the United States is dedicating to Afghan reconstruction if, for the most part, they cannot leave the U.S. embassy compound."Quarterly Report, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, July 30, 2017 Mary Kekatos, “‘Unprecedented’ Rate of Genital Injuries Among US Soldiers: Devastating Study Reveals More Than 1,300 Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Left with Life-Changing Wounds to Sexual Organs,” Daily Mail, January 16, 2017 "The United Nations reported today that Afghan hostilities in 2015 left more than 3,500 civilians dead, including an unprecedented number of children – one in four casualties over the past year was a child – and nearly 7,500 others wounded, making this the highest number of civilian casualties recorded… Civilian deaths and injuries caused by pro-Government forces caused 17 per cent of civilian casualties – 14 per cent from Afghan security forces, two per cent from international military forces, and one per cent from pro-Government armed groups. The report documents increased civilian casualties caused by pro-Government forces, including during ground engagements, aerial operations, and the activities of pro-Government armed groups" Afghan Casualties Hit Record High 11,000 in 2015 – UN Report,” UN News Centre, February 2016 Sayed Salahuddin and Pamela Constable, “UN Says Civilian Toll in Afghanistan is Highest in Years,” Washington Post, February 6, 2017 "Well, the drone hits in Afghanistan and Iraq, they don’t see children, they don’t see anybody. They kill women, children, they kill everybody. It’s a war, and in war, they kill people. They’re killing all Muslims. Judge: Now we're not talking about them; we’re talking about you. Shahzad: Well, I am part of that. I am part of the answer to the U.S. terrorizing the Muslim nations and the Muslim people. And, on behalf of that, I’m avenging the attack. Living in the United States, Americans only care about their own people, but they don’t care about the people elsewhere in the world when they die. Similarly, in Gaza Strip, somebody has to go and live with the family whose house is bulldozed by the Israeli bulldozer. There’s a lot of aggression… Judge: I see. Shahzad: We Muslims are one community. We’re not divided. Judge: Well, I don’t want to get drawn into a discussion of the Qur’an."Lorraine Adams and Ayesha Nasir, “Inside the Mind of the Times Square Bomber,” Guardian, September 18, 2010 "This past week, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev reportedly told investigators that he and his brother set off bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in part because of their opposition to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Marine who fought in Afghanistan in 2008 and 2010, the news made me wonder: Had my war brought the horrors of battle home?... I deployed to Afghanistan believing my presence in that country would help stop attacks such as Boston’s from happening. But instead, my war has spilled over, striking the city where my 22-year-old brother goes to school and where my mom, until recently, felt perfectly safe eating lunch outdoors. The Tsarnaev brothers aren’t the first alleged terrorists to cite U.S. military intervention in other countries as a reason for targeting civilians, and they won’t be the last. Despite our best efforts and valor, I wonder, have America’s wars made the homeland less safe? Sure, we’ve killed and captured thousands of radicals who wanted to harm Americans. But in doing so, have we created more?... While I was deployed, I went to bed at night believing that I was protecting the homeland because coming after me and my fellow Marines was a much easier commute for those so hell-bent on killing Americans. But that argument no longer makes sense if my war has inspired enemies at home." Thomas Gibbons-Neff, “I Could Justify Fighting in Afghanistan — Until the Boston Bombing,” Washington Post, April 26, 2013 "The 19-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings has told interrogators that the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan motivated him and his brother to carry out the attack, according to U.S. officials familiar with the interviews." Scott Wilson et al., “Boston Bombing Suspect Cites US Wars as Motivation, Officials Say,” Washington Post, April 23, 2013 "Everybody who was in the bathroom who survived could hear him talking to 911, saying the reason why he's doing this is because he wanted America to stop bombing his country," she said… "The motive is very clear to us who are laying in our own blood and other people's blood, who are injured, who were shot," Ms Carter said. "He wasn't going to stop killing people until he was killed, until he felt like his message got out there." Orlando Shooting: Omar Mateen ‘Wanted US to Stop Bombing Afghanistan,’ Survivor Says,” ABC News (Australia), June 14, 2016 "You kill innocent women and children by doing us airstrikes..now taste the Islamic state vengeance.” Brian Bennett and Del Quentin Wilber, “Orlando Gunman, During Pause in His Rampage, Searched Social Media for News of It,” Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2016 "SUSPECT: No. Because you have to tell America to stop bombing Syria and Iraq. They are killing a lot of innocent people. What am I to do here when my people are getting killed over there. You get what I'm saying? NEGOTIATOR: I do. I completely get what you're saying. What I'm trying to do is prevent anybody else from getting - SUSPECT: You need to stop the U.S. air strikes. They need to stop the U.S. air strikes, okay? NEGOTIATOR: I understand. SUSPECT: They need to stop the U.S. air strikes. You have to tell the U.S. government to stop bombing. They are killing too many children, they are killing too many women, okay? NEGOTIATOR: I understand that. Here is why I'm here right now. I'm with the Orlando police. Can you tell me what you know about what's going on tonight? SUSPECT: What's going on is that I feel the pain of the people getting killed in Syria and Iraq and all over the Muslim" Omar Mateen blamed Pentagon air strike which killed Iraqi ISIS leader for 'triggering' his Orlando terror attack during calls with police negotiator By Hannah For Dailymail 28 Sep 2016 "We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote." Statement by the President on the Terrorist Attacks in Iran,” June 7, 2017 "In his last official act of business in 2011, President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act from his vacation rental in Kailua, Hawaii. In a statement, the president said he did so with reservations about key provisions in the law - including a controversial component that would allow the military to indefinitely detain terror suspects, including American citizens arrested in the United States, without charge." Yunji De Nies, “With Reservations, Obama Signs Act to Allow Detention of Citizens,” ABC News, December 31, 2011 CIA Learned in ‘02 That Bin Laden Had No Iraq Ties, Report Says,” Washington Post, September 15, 2006 "We’ve spent trillions of dollars overseas, while allowing our own infrastructure to fall into total disrepair and decay. In the Middle East, we’ve spent as of four weeks ago, $6 trillion. Think of it. And by the way, the Middle East is in … much worse shape than it was 15 years ago. If our presidents would have gone to the beach for 15 years, we would be in much better shape than we are right now, that I can tell you. Be a hell of a lot better. We could have rebuilt our country three times with that money" Donald Trump, “Remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland,” DCPD-201700137 (February 24, 2017) CNN Erik Prince, “The MacArthur Model for Afghanistan,” Wall Street Journal, May 31, 2017 (Former U.S. Navy SEAL and the founder of Blackwater) Carla Babb, “Pentagon Withholds $50 Million in Pakistan Military Aid,” Voice of America, July 21, 2017 "We’re up against an enemy that knows that they cannot win at the ballot box, and you think — we have to sometimes remind ourselves of that reality. That’s why they use bombs, because ballots would ensure they never had a role to play, and based upon that foundation, that they cannot win the support, the affection, the respect of the Afghan people. We will stand by them. They’ve had a long, hard fight … and the fight goes on. But the bottom line is we’re not going to surrender civilization to people who cannot win at the ballot box." Press Availability with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne,” delivered in Sydney, Australia, June 5, 2017

"far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practice their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices. Very few have been brought up in strongly religious households, and there is a higher than average proportion of converts. Some are involved in drug-taking, drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. MI-5 says there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalization. . . . The security service also plays down the importance of radical extremist clerics, saying their influence in radicalizing British terrorists has moved into the background in recent years. . . . The MI-5 authors stress that the most pressing current threat is from Islamist extremist groups who justify the use of violence “in defense of Islam,” but that there are also violent extremists involved in non-Islamist movements." MI5 report challenges views on terrorism in Britain The Guardian Wed 20 Aug 2008 "[Religious] radicals refused to defend violent jihad in the West as religiously obligatory, acceptable or permitted. The same was true of the young Muslim sample. Young Muslims rejected al Qaeda’s message and often use simple, catchy sayings from the Qur’an or Hadith to express that rejection. However, there was widespread support among radicals and young Muslims for Iraqi and Afghan people “defending themselves” from “invaders,” framed in the language of self-defense, just war and state sovereignty." Demos 2010 Report, The Edge of Violence Page 16 "It was also interesting to confirm that President Carter gave the Iraqis a green light to launch the war against Iran through Fahd.” Talking Points, State Department, "Talking Points" [for Alexander Haig meeting with Ronald Reagan], Top Secret/Sensitive, circa April 1981 "Former Reagan administration National Security Council staff member Howard Teicher says that after Ronald Reagan signed a national security decision directive calling for the U.S. to do whatever was necessary to prevent Iraq's defeat in the Iran-Iraq war, Director of Central Intelligence William Casey personally led efforts to ensure that Iraq had sufficient weapons, including cluster bombs, and that the U.S. provided Iraq with financial credits, intelligence, and strategic military advice. The CIA also provided Iraq, through third parties that included Israel and Egypt, with military hardware compatible with its Soviet-origin weaponry." Document 61: United States District Court (Florida: Southern District) Affidavit. "United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Carlos Cardoen [et al.]" [Charge that Teledyne Wah Chang Albany Illegally Provided a Proscribed Substance, Zirconium, to Cardoen Industries and to Iraq], January 31, 1995. “confirming Iraqi use of chemical weapons. We also know that Iraq has acquired CW production primarily from Western firms, including possibly a U.S. foreign subsidiary” “Iraq Use of Chemical Weapons,” unclassified memo from Jonathan Howe to the secretary of state, November 1, 1983, National Security Archives, www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/iraq24.pdf. (quote not in book but relevant) "GLASPIE: I think I understand this. I have lived here for years. I admire your extraordinary efforts to rebuild your country. I know you need funds. We understand that and our opinion is that you should have the opportunity to rebuild your country. But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait." CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting With U.S. EnvoyThe New York Times Sept. 23, 1990 (quote not in book but relevant) "Mr Kelly: We have no defense treaty relationship with any Gulf country . That is clear . We support the security and independence of friendly states in the region. Ever since the Truman administration , we have maintained Naval forces in the Gulf because of our interest in stability in that region . We are calling for a peaceful resolution of any differences in that area and we hope and trust and believe that the sovereignty of every state in the Gulf ought to be respected . Mr. HAMILTION: Do we have a commitment to our friends in the Gulf in the event that they are engaged in oil or territorial dis putes with their neighbors ? Mr. KELLY: As I said , Mr. Chairman , we have no defense treaty relationships with any of the countries . We have historically avoided taking a position on border disputes or on internal OPEC deliberations , but we have certainly , as have all administrations , resoundingly called for the peaceful settlement of disputes and differences in the area. Mr. HAMILTON: If Iraq , for example , charged across the border into Kuwait , for whatever reason , what would be our position with regard to the use of U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That , Mr. Chairman , is a hypothetical or a contingency , the kind of which I can't get into . Suffice it to say we would be extremely concerned , but I cannot get into the realm of '' what if answers. Mr. HAMILTON: In that circumstance , it is correct to say , however , that we do not have a treaty commitment which would obligate us to engage U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct. Mr. HAMILTON: That is correct , is it not ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct , sir ..” Developments in the Middle East, July 1990: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session, July 31, 1990, Volume 4 Page 14 "Despite the qualifiers that Kelly put into place about America’s preference for peaceful solutions to disputes, the only thing the Iraqi regime heard was that we had no legal obligation or even any mechanism to react to an invasion. That had far more effect than anything April Glaspie may or may not have said in her meeting with Saddam Hussein.” The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies That Put the White House on Trial and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity Joseph Wilson (Diplomat to US Iraq Ambassador to Iraq Glaspie) "While I was there, I saw the Iraqi soldiers come into the hospital with guns. They took the babies out of the incubators, took the incubators and left the children to die on the cold floor. It was horrifying. I could not help but think of my nephew who was born premature and might have died that day as well. After I left the hospital, some of my friends and I distributed flyers condemning the Iraqi invasion until we were warned we might be killed if the Iraqis saw us. The Iraqis have destroyed everything in Kuwait. They stripped the supermarkets of food, the pharmacies of medicine, the factories of medical supplies, ransacked their houses and tortured neighbors and friends. I saw and talked to a friend of mine after his torture and release by the Iraqis. He is 22 but he looked as though he could have been an old man. The Iraqis dunked his head into a swimming pool until he almost drowned. They pulled out his fingernails and then played [sic] electric shocks to sensitive private parts of his body. He was lucky to survive. If an Iraqi soldier is found dead in the neighborhood, they burn to the ground all the houses in the general vicinity and would not let firefighters come until the only ash and rubble was left. The Iraqis were making fun of President Bush and verbally and physically abusing my family and me on our way out of Kuwait. We only did so because life in Kuwait became unbearable. They have forced us to hide, burn or destroy everything identifying our country and our government. I want to emphasize that Kuwait is our mother and the Emir our father. We repeated this on the roofs of our houses in Kuwait until the Iraqis began shooting at us, and we shall repeat it again. I am glad I am 15, old enough to remember Kuwait before Saddam Hussein destroyed it and young enough to rebuild it Thank you." Nayirah testimony, Video "deliberately did great harm to Iraq's ability to support itself as an industrial society. The worst civilian suffering, senior officers say, has resulted not from bombs that went astray but from precision-guided weapons that hit exactly where they were aimed -- at electrical plants, oil refineries and transportation networks. Each of these targets was acknowledged during the war, but all the purposes and consequences of their destruction were not divulged. Among the justifications offered now, particularly by the Air Force in recent briefings, is that Iraqi civilians were not blameless for Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. "The definition of innocents gets to be a little bit unclear," said a senior Air Force officer, noting that many Iraqis supported the invasion of Kuwait. "They do live there, and ultimately the people have some control over what goes on in their country." ALLIED AIR WAR STRUCK BROADLY IN IRAQ June 23, 1991 NYT "Mr. Gates, who has been nominated to be Director of Central Intelligence, said of Mr. Hussein, "Iraqis will pay the price while he is in power." "All possible sanctions will be maintained until he is gone," Mr. Gates continued. He said Iraq "will be nothing but a pariah state" as long as Mr. Hussein rules and that "Iraqis will not participate in post-crisis political, economic and security arrangements until there is a change in regime." AFTER THE WAR; Bush Links End Of Trading Ban To Hussein Exit NYT May 21, 1991 "If Saddam Hussein did not exist, we would have to invent him. He is the linchpin of American policy in the Mideast. Without him, Washington would be stumbling in the desert sands. . . . If not for Saddam, would the Saudi royal family, terrified of being seen as an American protectorate (which in a sense it is), allow American troops on their soil? Would Kuwait house more than 30,000 pieces of American combat hardware, kept in readiness should the need arise? Would the King of Jordan, the political weather vane of the region, allow the Marines to conduct exercises within his borders? . . . [T]he end of Saddam Hussein would be the end of the anti-Saddam coalition. Nothing destroys an alliance like the disappearance of the enemy. . . . Imagine American policy in the Middle East if we didn’t have Saddam Hussein to kick around anymore." Thank Goodness For A Villain BY FAREED ZAKARIA ON 9/15/96 Newsweek (Ex-CNNbroadcaster, CFR) "Pentagon officials declined two written requests for a review of the 28 electrical targets and explanations of their specific military relevance. "People say, 'You didn't recognize that it was going to have an effect on water or sewage,' " said the planning officer. "Well, what were we trying to do with {United Nations-approved economic} sanctions -- help out the Iraqi people? No. What we were doing with the attacks on infrastructure was to accelerate the effect of the sanctions." Col. John A. Warden III, deputy director of strategy, doctrine and plans for the Air Force, agreed that one purpose of destroying Iraq's electrical grid was that "you have imposed a long-term problem on the leadership that it has to deal with sometime." "Saddam Hussein cannot restore his own electricity," he said. "He needs help. If there are political objectives that the U.N. coalition has, it can say, 'Saddam, when you agree to do these things, we will allow people to come in and fix your electricity.' It gives us long-term leverage." Said another Air Force planner: "Big picture, we wanted to let people know, 'Get rid of this guy and we'll be more than happy to assist in rebuilding. We're not going to tolerate Saddam Hussein or his regime. Fix that, and we'll fix your electricity.' " ALLIED AIR WAR STRUCK BROADLY IN IRAQ The Washington Post June 23, 1991 "Leslie Stahl: "We have heard that a half million children have died (as a result of sanctions against Iraq). I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" Madeleine Albright: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price, we think the price is worth it." 60 minutes Interview with Madeline Albright 1996 Clinton's secretary of state, commenting on the sanctions on Iraq "Ms Heslin: U.S. policy was to promote the rapid development of Caspian energy. . . . We did so specifically to promote the independence of these oil-rich countries, to in essence break Russia’s monopoly control over the transportation of oil from that region, and frankly, to promote Western energy security through diversification of supply.” Investigation of Illegal Or Improper Activities in Connection with the 1996 Federal Election Campaign: Hearings Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fifth Congress, First Session, Part 7. Sheila Heslin, an energy expert from the Clinton White House’s National Security Council Page 98 Taliban ready to strike a deal on Bin Laden Islamic scholars could hear US evidence Trial may be held in a third country The Guardian Thu 22 Feb 2001 "For the first time, the Taliban offered to hand over Bin Laden for trial in a country other than the U.S. without asking to see evidence first in return for a halt to the bombing, a source close to Pakistan’s military leadership said. But U.S. officials appear to have dismissed the proposal and are instead hoping to engineer a split within the Taliban leadership. The offer was brought by Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the Taliban foreign minister and a man who is often regarded as a more moderate figure in the regime. He met officials from the CIA and Pakistan’s ISI intelligence directorate in Islamabad on Monday. . . [U]ntil now the Taliban regime has consistently said it has not seen any convincing evidence to implicate the Saudi dissident in any crime. “Now they have agreed to hand him over to a third country without the evidence being presented in advance,” the source close to the military said. . . . The U.S. administration has not publicly supported the idea of a trial for Bin Laden outside America and appears intent on removing from power the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and the hardliners in the regime." The Guardian October 16, 2001 New offer on Bin Laden "But the Al Qaeda leader would live to fight another day. Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies, and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected. Requests were also turned down for U.S. troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan. The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines. Instead, the U.S. command chose to rely on airstrikes and untrained Afghan militias to attack bin Laden and on Pakistan's loosely organized Frontier Corps to seal his escape routes. On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today. The decision not to deploy American forces to go after bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks, the architects of the unconventional Afghan battle plan known as Operation Enduring Freedom. Rumsfeld said at the time that he was concerned that too many U.S. troops in Afghanistan would create an anti-American backlash and fuel a widespread insurgency... Even when his own commanders and senior intelligence officials in Afghanistan and Washington argued for dispatching more U.S. troops, Franks refused to deviate from the plan. There were enough U.S. troops in or near Afghanistan to execute the classic sweep-and-block maneuver required to attack bin Laden and try to prevent his escape. It would have been a dangerous fight across treacherous terrain, and the injection of more U.S. troops and the resulting casualties would have contradicted the risk-averse... After bin Laden's escape, some military and intelligence analysts and the press criticized the Pentagon's failure to mount a full-scale attack despite the tough rhetoric by President Bush. Franks, Vice President Dick Cheney and others defended the decision, arguing that the intelligence was inconclusive about the Al Qaeda leader's location. But the review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora. For example, the CIA and Delta Force commanders who spent three weeks at Tora Bora as well as other intelligence and military sources are certain he was there." TORA BORA REVISITED: HOW WE FAILED TO GET BIN LADEN AND WHY IT MATTERS TODAY A Report To Members OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE John F. Kerry, Chairman One Hundred Eleventh Congress First Session November 30, 2009 "Shortly after 9/11, the Pentagon adopted a plan to topple the governments of seven countries Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Iran) within five years, according to a memorandum disclosed by US General Wesley Clark." General Wesley Clark, not exact quote “As I have heard Bush say, only a wartime president is likely to achieve greatness, in part because the epochal upheavals of war provide the opportunity for transformative change of the kind Bush hoped to achieve. In Iraq, Bush saw his opportunity to create a legacy of greatness.” What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception By Scott McClellan "From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go," says O'Neill, who adds that going after Saddam was topic "A" 10 days after the inauguration - eight months before Sept. 11. "From the very first instance, it was about Iraq. It was about what we can do to change this regime," says Suskind. "Day one, these things were laid and sealed." As treasury secretary, O'Neill was a permanent member of the National Security Council. He says in the book he was surprised at the meeting that questions such as "Why Saddam?" and "Why now?" were never asked. "It was all about finding a way to do it. That was the tone of it. The president saying 'Go find me a way to do this,'" says O'Neill. "For me, the notion of pre-emption, that the U.S. has the unilateral right to do whatever we decide to do, is a really huge leap" Bush Sought 'Way' To Invade Iraq? 60-minutes CBS BY REBECCA LEUNG JANUARY 9, 2004 "Is the Iraq war the great neoconservative war? It’s the war the neoconservatives wanted, Friedman says. It’s the war the neoconservatives marketed. Those people had an idea to sell when September 11 came, and they sold it. Oh boy, did they sell it. So this is not a war that the masses demanded. This is a war of an elite. Friedman laughs: I could give you the names of 25 people (all of whom are at this moment within a five-block radius of this office) who, if you had exiled them to a desert island a year and a half ago, the Iraq war would not have happened." White Man's Burden The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who are pushing President Bush to change the course of history. Two of them, journalists William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer, say it's possible. But another journalist, Thomas Friedman (not part of the group), is skeptical Ari Shavit Apr 3, 2003 Haaretz "The predominantly Shia population of southern Lebanon has been tied for centuries to the Shia leadership in Najf, Iraq rather than Iran. Were the Hashemites to control Iraq, they could use their influence over Najf to help Israel wean the south Lebanese Shia away from Hizballah, Iran, and Syria. Shia retain strong ties to the Hashemites: the Shia venerate foremost the Prophetís family, the direct descendants of which ó and in whose veins the blood of the Prophet flows ó is King Hussein" A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm "If, on the other hand, Jordan wins, then Syria would be isolated and surrounded by a new pro-western Jordanian-Israeli-Iraqi-Turkish bloc, the first of which can help contain and manage (through its more solid and traditional regime) the scope of the coming chaos in Iraq and most probably in Syria. In the long-run, a Hashemite victory could usher in an era defined by a stable balance of power system rooted to tribal alliances. These alliances, in turn, can form solid bases for the development of states" Coping with Crumbling States: A Western and Israeli Balance of Power Strategy for the Levant Page 2 "Since the collapse of the Soviet empire, this [American security] perimeter has expanded slowly but inexorably. . . . In the Persian Gulf region, the presence of American forces, along with British and French units, has become a semipermanent fact of life. Though the immediate mission of those forces is to enforce the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, they represent the long-term commitment of the United States and its major allies to a region of vital importance. Indeed, the United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein." PNAC, Rebuilding America's Defences Page 14 "PBS Interviewer: Of course, a lot CIA guys, when we interview them, blame you guys for the intel mistakes or the wrong emphasis. ... They would just say: "Who are these guys? What do they really know? Atta's a mistake. It's been repudiated." "Michael Maloof: This is the same crowd that worked with the mujahideen in Bosnia, that couldn't give us any heads up on the worst intelligence failure in U.S. history? And they're going to criticize me? It's pathetic. You've got to consider the source. They basically blew it." PBS Interviews Michael Maloof: Dark Side 20th June 2006 "It has been reported that the U.N. Secretariat has come up with a plan to inspect Iraq for weapons of mass destruction. But that proposal is a clever arrangement to slowly undermine the Bush administration’s policy on Iraq while having the appearance of cooperation." Smoke screen on weapons inspections Thursday, October 31, 2002 Newt Gingrich Washington Times "Senior IDF officers and those close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, such as National Security Advisor Ephraim Halevy, paint a rosy picture of the wonderful future Israel can expect after the war. They envision a domino effect, with the fall of Saddam Hussein followed by that of Israel’s other enemies." Background Enthusiastic IDF Awaits War in Iraq Senior security figures paint a rosy picture of the post-war future Israel can expect. They envision a domino effect, with Saddam's fall followed by that of Israel's other enemies: Arafat, Nasrallah, Assad, the ayatollah and maybe even Gadaffi. Aluf BennHaaretz Correspondent Feb 16, 2003 Haaretz "Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I’ll tell you what I think the real threat [is] and actually has been since 1990—it’s the threat against Israel. And this is the threat that dare not speak its name, because the Europeans don’t care deeply about that threat, I will tell you frankly. And the American government doesn’t want to lean too hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular sell. Don’t look at the links between Iraq and al Qaeda, but then ask yourself the question, “Gee, is Iraq tied to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the people who are carrying out suicide bombings in Israel?” Easy question to answer; the evidence is abundant" Foreign Policy Experts Assess War on Terrorism, Saber Rattling Toward Iraq September 11, 2002 Michael Marshall (Mentioned here, in part) "John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved. A former Bolton deputy says the U.S. undersecretary of state felt Jose Bustani “had to go,” particularly because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors to Baghdad. That might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged Iraqi weapons and undermined a U.S. rationale for war." Bolton’s role in diplomat’s ouster questioned John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved NBC June 4, 2005 "Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans -- this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that that day never comes. (Applause.)" For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary January 28, 2003 President Delivers "State of the Union" "Mr. Obeidi told Mr. Hage that Iraq would make deals to avoid war, including helping in the Mideast peace process. "He said, if this is about oil, we will talk about U.S. oil concessions," Mr. Hage recalled. "If it is about the peace process, then we can talk. If this is about weapons of mass destruction, let the Americans send over their people. There are no weapons of mass destruction." Mr. Obeidi said the "Americans could send 2,000 F.B.I. agents to look wherever they wanted," Mr. Hage recalled. He said that when he told Mr. Obeidi that the United States seemed adamant that Saddam Hussein give up power, Mr. Obeidi bristled, saying that would be capitulation. But later, Mr. Hage recounted, Mr. Obeidi said Iraq could agree to hold elections within the next two years… Mr. Hage said Mr. Habbush began to vent his frustration over what the Americans really wanted. He said that to demonstrate the Iraqis' willingness to help fight terrorism, Mr. Habbush offered to hand over Abdul Rahman Yasin, who has been indicted in United States in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Mr. Yasin fled to Iraq after the bombing, and the United States put up a $25 million reward for his capture… The report also listed five areas of concessions the Iraqis said they would make to avoid a war, including cooperation in fighting terrorism and "full support for any U.S. plan" in the Arab-Israeli peace process. In addition, the report said that "the U.S. will be given first priority as it relates to Iraq oil, mining rights," and that Iraq would cooperate with United States strategic interests in the region. Finally, under the heading "Disarmament," the report said, "Direct U.S. involvement on the ground in disarming Iraq Mr. Perle said he subsequently contacted a C.I.A. official to ask if he should meet with the Iraqis. "The answer came back that they weren't interested in pursuing it," Baghdad Scrambled to Offer Deal to U.S. as War Loomed By James Risen Nov. 5, 2003 "Mr. Perle said he sought authorization from C.I.A. officials to meet with the Iraqis, but the officials told him they did not want to pursue this channel, and they indicated they had already engaged in separate contacts with Baghdad. Mr. Perle said the response was simple: "The message was, `Tell them that we will see them in Baghdad.' " Baghdad Scrambled to Offer Deal to U.S. as War Loomed By James Risen Nov. 5, 2003 "Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror is about to end. He will go quickly, but not alone: in a parting irony, he will take the UN down with him. Well, not the whole UN. The “good works” part will survive, the low-risk peacekeeping bureaucracies will remain, the chatterbox on the Hudson will continue to bleat. What will die is the fantasy of the UN as the foundation of a new world order. As we sift the debris, it will be important to preserve, the better to understand, the intellectual wreckage of the liberal conceit of safety through international law administered by international institutions." Thank God for the death of the UN Richard Perle Its abject failure gave us only anarchy. The world needs order The Guardian Thu 20 Mar 2003 "Ahmed Chalabi is a treacherous, spineless turncoat. He had one set of friends before he was in power, and now he’s got another. He said he would end Iraq’s boycott of trade with Israel and would allow Israeli companies to do business there. He said [the new Iraqi government] would agree to rebuild the pipeline from Mosul [in the northern Iraqi oil fields] to Haifa [the Israeli port and the location of a major refinery]. . . . He promised that. He promised a lot of things. How Ahmed Chalabi conned the neocons A Salon By JOHN DIZARD PUBLISHED MAY 4, 2004 "Chalabi's Arab admirers say they knew he'd never make good on his promises to ally with Israel. "I was worried that he was going to do business with the Zionists," confesses Moh'd Asad, the managing director of the Amman, Jordan-based International Investment Arabian Group, an industrial and agricultural exporter, who is one of Chalabi's Palestinian friends and business partners. "He told me not to worry, that he just needed the Jews in order to get what he wanted from Washington, and that he would turn on them after that." How Ahmed Chalabi conned the neocons A Salon By JOHN DIZARD PUBLISHED MAY 4, 2004 "King Abdullah promised Saudi cooperation, but was deeply skeptical of the chances of success and even appeared to question the bonafides of U.S. policy in Iraq. He commented that whereas in the past the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Saddam Hussein had agreed on the need to contain Iran, U.S. policy had now given Iraq to Iran as a “gift on a golden platter." AMBASSADOR KHALILZAD SEEKS POST-IRAQI ELECTIONS SUPPORT FROM SAUDI LEADERS Date: 2006 January 2 "How do I know that? How can I say that? Let me give you a closer look. Look at the image on the left. On the left is a close-up of one of the four chemical bunkers. The two arrows indicate the presence of sure signs that the bunkers are storing chemical munitions. The arrow at the top that says “security” points to a facility that is the signature item for this kind of bunker. Inside that facility are special guards and special equipment to monitor any leakage that might come out of the bunker. The truck you also see is a signature item. It’s a decontamination vehicle in case something goes wrong. This is characteristic of those four bunkers. The special security facility and the decontamination vehicle will be in the area, if not at any one of them or one of the other, it is moving around those four, and it moves as it needed to move, as people are working in the different bunkers. Now, look at the picture on the right. You are now looking at two of those sanitized bunkers. The signature vehicles are gone, the tents are gone, it’s been cleaned up, and it was done on the 22nd of December, as the U.N. inspection team is arriving, and you can see the inspection vehicles arriving in the lower portion of the picture on the right." Full text of Colin Powell's speech US secretary of state's address to the United Nations security council Part 2 Part 3 The Guardian Feb 2003 "The United States had gone to war declaring it must destroy an active weapons of mass destruction program. Instead, American troops gradually found and ultimately suffered from the remnants of long-abandoned programs, built in close collaboration with the West. . . . The discoveries of these chemical weapons did not support the government’s invasion rationale. . . . [D]uring the long occupation, American troops began encountering old chemical munitions in hidden caches and roadside bombs. Typically 155-millimeter artillery shells or 122-millimeter rockets, they were remnants of an arms program Iraq had rushed into production in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. All had been manufactured before 1991, participants said. . . . Participants in the chemical weapons discoveries said the United States suppressed knowledge of finds for multiple reasons, including that the government bristled at further acknowledgment it had been wrong. “They needed something to say that after Sept. 11 Saddam used chemical rounds,” Mr. Lampier said. “And all of this was from the pre-1991 era.” Others pointed to another embarrassment. In five of six incidents in which troops were wounded by chemical agents, the munitions appeared to have been designed in the United States, manufactured in Europe and filled in chemical agent production lines built in Iraq by Western companies." The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons BY C. J. CHIVERS October 14th 2014 NYT "Iraqi officials, including the chief of the Iraqi Intelligence Service, had told the businessman that they wanted Washington to know that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction, and they offered to allow American troops and experts to conduct a search. The businessman said in an interview that the Iraqis also offered to hand over a man accused of being involved in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 who was being held in Baghdad. At one point, he said, the Iraqis pledged to hold elections… Mr. Obeidi told Mr. Hage that Iraq would make deals to avoid war, including helping in the Mideast peace process. ''He said, if this is about oil, we will talk about U.S. oil concessions,'' Mr. Hage recalled. ''If it is about the peace process, then we can talk. If this is about weapons of mass destruction, let the Americans send over their people. There are no weapons of mass destruction.'' THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: DIPLOMACY; Iraq Said to Have Tried to Reach Last-Minute Deal to Avert War NYT Nov. 6, 2003 "All the decades of deceit and cruelty have now reached an end. Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict commenced at a time of our choosing. .. It is too late for Saddam Hussein to remain in power. It is not too late for the Iraq military to act with honor and protect your country, by permitting the peaceful entry of coalition forces to eliminate weapons of mass destruction. Our forces will give Iraqi military units clear instructions on actions they can take to avoid being attack and destroyed. I urge every member of the Iraqi military and intelligence services: If war comes, do not fight for a dying regime that is not worth your own life. And all Iraqi military and civilian personnel should listen carefully to this warning: In any conflict, your fate will depend on your actions. Do not destroy oil wells, a source of wealth that belongs to the Iraqi people. Do not obey any command to use weapons of mass destruction against anyone, including the Iraqi people. War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals will be punished and it will be no defense to say, "I was just following orders." Should Saddam Hussein choose confrontation, the American people can know that every measure has been taken to avoid war and every measure will be taken to win it." Bush: 'Leave Iraq within 48 hours' Tuesday, March 18, 2003 Posted (CNN) -- Here is a transcript of President George W. Bush's Monday night televised address to the nation "a training ground, a recruitment ground, the opportunity for enhancing technical skills. . . . There is even, under the best scenario, over time, the likelihood that some of the jihadists who are not killed there will, in a sense, go home, wherever home is, and will therefore disperse to various other countries." Iraq New Terror Breeding Ground The Washingtno Post January 14, 2005, David B. Low, the national intelligence officer for transnational threats "The al Qaeda membership that was distinguished by having trained in Afghanistan will gradually dissipate, to be replaced in part by the dispersion of the experienced survivors of the conflict in Iraq.” BBC 14 January, 2005, National Intelligence Council report Mapping the Global Future "Mr. Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent. . . . “It bothers me when they say there were seven guys, so they must all be militants,” the [senior intelligence] official said. “They count the corpses and they’re not really sure who they are.” Secret ‘Kill List’ Proves a Test of Obama’s Principles and Will May 29th NYT "The resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes . . . is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who’ve never seen one or seen the effects of one.” He said it worsens a “perception of American arrogance that says, ‘Well we can fly where we want, we can shoot where we want, because we can.’” Reuters JAN 7, 2013 Retired general cautions against overuse of "hated" drones General McChrystal "According to sensitive information available to this these individuals, Qaddafi's government holds 143 tons of gold, and a similar amount in silver… This gold was accumulated prior to the current rebellion and was intended to be used to establish a pan-African currency based on the Libyan golden Dinar. This plan was designed to provide the Francophone African Countries with an alternative to the French.franc (CFA). (Source Comment: According to knowledgeable individuals this quantity of gold and silver is valued at more than $7 billion. French intelligence officers discovered this plan shortly after the current rebellion began, and this was one of the factors that influenced President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to commit France to the attack on Libya. According to these individuals Sarkozy's plans are driven by the following issues: a. A desire to gain a greater share of Libya oil production, b. Increase French influence in North Africa, c. Improve his intemai political situation in France, d. Provide the French military with an opportunity to reassert its position in the world, e. Address the concern of his advisors over Qaddafi's long term plans to supplant France as the dominant power in Francophone Africa)" U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05779612 Date: 12/31/2015, Email Between Hillary Clinton And Sidney Blumenthal, April 2, 2011 "Ten days ago, having tried to end the violence without using force, the international community offered Qaddafi a final chance to stop his campaign of killing, or face the consequences. Rather than stand down, his forces continued their advance, bearing down on the city of Benghazi, home to nearly 700,000 men, women and children who sought their freedom from fear. At this point, the United States and the world faced a choice. Qaddafi declared he would show “no mercy” to his own people. He compared them to rats, and threatened to go door to door to inflict punishment. In the past, we have seen him hang civilians in the streets, and kill over a thousand people in a single day. Now we saw regime forces on the outskirts of the city. We knew that if we wanted -- if we waited one more day, Benghazi, a city nearly the size of Charlotte, could suffer a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world." March 28, 2011 Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on Libya National Defense University Washington, D.C. "One of America's most senior diplomats claimed at the United Nations security council that Muammar Gaddafi is supplying his troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape, according to diplomats… A UN diplomat at the closed session on Thursday said: "I was in the room when she mentioned Viagra. The remark did not cause a stir at the time. It was during a discussion about whether there is moral equivalence between the Gaddafi forces and the rebels. She listed human rights abuses by Gaddafi's forces, including snipers shooting children in the street and the Viagra story." Gaddafi ‘supplies troops with Viagra to encourage mass rape’, claims diplomat US ambassador Susan Rice The Guardian Fri 29 Apr 2011 "Many Western policymakers genuinely believed that Muammar Gaddafi would have ordered his troops to massacre civilians in Benghazi, if those forces had been able to enter the city. However, while Muammar Gaddafi certainly threatened violence against those who took up arms against his rule, this did not necessarily translate into a threat to everyone in Benghazi. In short, the scale of the threat to civilians was presented with unjustified certainty. US intelligence officials reportedly described the intervention as “an intelligence-light decision” House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK’s future policy options Third Report of Session 2016–17 Page 19 "As mercenaries, reputedly from Chad and Mali fight for him, a million African refugees and thousands of African migrant workers stand the risk of being murdered for their tenuous link to him. One Turkish construction worker told the BBC "We had 70–80 people from Chad working for our company. They were cut dead with pruning shears and axes, attackers saying, ‘You are providing troops for Gaddafi.’ The Sudanese were also massacred. We saw it for ourselves.” 25 February 2011 BBC African viewpoint: Colonel's continent? "Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- "Eight hundred," says the auctioneer. "900 ... 1,000 ... 1,100 ..." Sold. For 1,200 Libyan dinars -- the equivalent of $800. Not a used car, a piece of land, or an item of furniture. Not "merchandise" at all, but two human beings… Buyers raise their hands as the price rises, "500, 550, 600, 650 ..." Within minutes it is all over and the men, utterly resigned to their fate, are being handed over to their new "masters." After the auction, we met two of the men who had been sold. They were so traumatized by what they'd been through that they could not speak, and so scared that they were suspicious of everyone they met. People for sale: Where lives are auctioned for $400 CNN November 15, 2017 "GOLDBERG: Can you just talk about Syria as a strategic issue? Talk about it as a humanitarian issue, as well. But it would seem to me that one way to weaken and further isolate Iran is to remove or help remove Iran's only Arab ally. PRESIDENT OBAMA: Absolutely. GOLDBERG: And so the question is: What else can this administration be doing? PRESIDENT OBAMA: … [The Arab Spring is] engulfing Syria, and Syria is basically their only true ally in the region. And it is our estimation that [President Bashar al-Assad's] days are numbered. It's a matter not of if, but when. Now, can we accelerate that? We're working with the world community to try to do that. It is complicated by the fact that Syria is a much bigger, more sophisticated, and more complicated country than Libya, for example -- the opposition is hugely splintered -- that although there's unanimity within the Arab world at this point, internationally, countries like Russia are still blocking potential UN mandates or action. And so what we're trying to do -- and the secretary of state just came back from helping to lead the Friends of Syria group in Tunisia -- is to try to come up with a series of strategies that can provide humanitarian relief. But they can also accelerate a transition to a peaceful and stable and representative Syrian government. If that happens, that will be a profound loss for Iran. GOLDBERG: Is there anything you could do to move it faster? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, nothing that I can tell you, because your classified clearance isn't good enough. (Laughter.)" Obama to Iran and Israel: 'As President of the United States, I Don't Bluff' By Jeffrey Goldberg MARCH 2, 2012 The Atlantic “I believe there are ways to get weapons to the opposition without direct United States involvement,” Mr. McCain said… “Breaking Syria apart from Iran could be as important to containing a nuclear Iran as sanctions,” Mr. Graham said. “If the Syrian regime is replaced with another form of government that doesn’t tie its future to the Iranians, the world is a better place." Two Senators Say U.S. Should Arm Syrian Rebels NYT Feb. 19, 2012 John McCain Lindsey Graham "It is the strategic relationship between Iran and the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria that makes it possible for Iran to undermine Israel’s security—not through a direct attack, which in the thirty years of hostility between Iran and Israel has never occurred, but through its proxies in Lebanon, like Hezbollah, that are sustained, armed and trained by Iran via Syria. The end of the Assad regime would end this dangerous alliance. Israel’s leadership understands well why defeating Assad is now in its interests. . . . With Assad gone, and Iran no longer able to threaten Israel through its proxies, it is possible that the United States and Israel can agree on red lines for when Iran’s program has crossed an unacceptable threshold. In short, the White House can ease the tension that has developed with Israel over Iran by doing the right thing in Syria." The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria Cutting Iran's link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk By James P. Rubin June 4th 2012 Foreign Policy (Bill Clintons Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs) "Some worry that U.S. involvement risks a confrontation with Russia. However, the Kosovo example — where NATO went to war against another Russian ally, while Moscow did little more than complain — shows otherwise. In that case, Russia had genuine ethnic and political ties to the Serbs, which don’t exist between Russia and Syria. Managing Russia’s reaction to outside intervention will be difficult but should not be exaggerated. Arming the Syrian opposition and creating a coalition air force to support them is a low-cost, high-payoff approach. Whether an air operation should just create a no-fly zone that grounds the regimes’ aircraft and helicopters or actually conduct air to ground attacks on Syrian tanks and artillery should be the subject of immediate military planning. And as Barak, the Israeli defense minister, also noted, Syria’s air defenses may be better than Libya’s but they are no match for a modern air force." The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria Cutting Iran's link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk By James P. Rubin June 4th 2012 Foreign Policy (Bill Clintons Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs) "The larger point is that as long as Washington stays firm that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed, à la Kosovo and Libya, the cost to the United States will be limited. Victory may not come quickly or easily, but it will come. And the payoff will be substantial. Iran would be strategically isolated, unable to exert its influence in the Middle East. The resulting regime in Syria will likely regard the United States as more friend than enemy. Washington would gain substantial recognition as fighting for the people in the Arab world, not the corrupt regimes. With the Islamic Republic deprived of its gateway to the Arab world, the Israelis’ rationale for a bolt from the blue attack on its nuclear facilities would diminish. A new Syrian regime might eventually even resume the frozen peace talks regarding the Golan Heights. In Lebanon, Hezbollah would be cut off from its Iranian sponsor, since Syria would no longer be a transit point for Iranian training, assistance, and missile" The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria Cutting Iran's link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk By James P. Rubin June 4th 2012 Foreign Policy (Bill Clintons Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs) "Foreign power loomed. According to a top-secret National Security Agency document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the March 2013 rocket attacks were directly ordered by a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Salman bin Sultan, to help mark the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution. Salman had provided 120 tons of explosives and other weaponry to opposition forces, giving them instructions to “light up Damascus” and “flatten” the airport, the document, produced by U.S. government surveillance on Syrian opposition factions, shows."NSA DOCUMENT SAYS SAUDI PRINCE DIRECTLY ORDERED COORDINATED ATTACK BY SYRIAN REBELS ON DAMASCUS“ The Intercept October 24 2017 NSA Document "Officials who supported the shift said the Obama administration could no longer tolerate what one of them described as “a deal with the devil,” whereby the United States largely held its fire against al-Nusra because the group was popular with Syrians in rebel-controlled areas and furthered the U.S. goal of putting military pressure on Assad. Russia had accused the United States of sheltering al-Nusra, a charge repeated Thursday in Moscow by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “The president doesn’t want this group to be what inherits the country if Assad ever does fall,” a senior U.S. official said. “This cannot be the viable Syrian opposition. It’s al-Qaeda.” Obama directs Pentagon to target al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, one of the most formidable forces fighting Assad November 10th 2016 The Washington Post "After a couple hours of talking, they said without saying that SOF teams (presumably from US, UK, France, Jordan, Turkey) are already on the ground focused on recce [i.e. reconnaissance] missions and training opposition forces... They have been told to prepare contingencies and be ready to act within 2-3 months, but they still stress that this is all being done as contingency planning, not as a move toward escalation." HACKED STRATFOR EMAILS: Source Says Several Countries Already Have Forces In Syria Yahoo News March 6, 2012 "blacklisting the Nusra Front could backfire. It would pit the United States against some of the best fighters in the insurgency that it aims to support. While some Syrian rebels fear the group’s growing power, others work closely with it and admire it—or, at least, its military achievements—and are loath to end their cooperation." Syrian Rebels Tied to Al Qaeda Play Key Role in war NYT Dec. 8, 2012 "We know al-Qaida. Zawahiri is supporting the opposition in Syria. Are we supporting al-Qaida in Syria? Hamas is now supporting the opposition. Are we supporting Hamas in Syria? So, I think . . . despite the great pleas that we hear from those people who are being ruthlessly assaulted by Assad . . . if you’re a military planner or if you’re a secretary of state and you’re trying to figure out do you have the elements of an opposition that is actually viable, we don’t see that." Interview With Wyatt Andrews of CBS Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State February 26, 2012 "From: Jake Sullivan To: Hillary Clinton Date: 2012-02-12 09:01 Subject: SPOT REPORT 02/12/II See last item - AQ is on our side in Syria" UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05789138 Date: 10/30/2015 - Wiki Leaks "The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda” Foreign Affairs How the Group Has Rebranded Itself By Colin P. Clarke October 24, 2017 - The Good and Bad of Ahrar Al-Sham: An Al Qaeda-Linked Group Worth Befriending.” By Michael Doran, William McCants, and Clint Watts January 23, 2014 - Accepting Al Qaeda The Enemy of the United States’ Enemy By Barak Mendelsohn March 9th 2015 (CFR Magazine) "there was a slight absurdity in the fact that we were debating options to provide military support to the opposition at the same time that we were deciding to designate al-Nusra, a big chunk of that opposition, as a terrorist organization. So there was kind of a schizophrenia that’s inherent in a lot of U.S. foreign policy that came to a head in Syria." CONFRONTING THE CONSEQUENCES OF OBAMA’S FOREIGN POLICY Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser, joins Mehdi Hasan June 22 2018 The Intercept "Instead, Mr. Obama decided to make the rebel training program a “covert action” run by the C.I.A. He signed a secret finding allowing the agency to begin preparing to train and arm small groups of rebels in Jordan, a move that circumvented the legal issues and allowed the White House to officially deny it was giving the lethal aid. Besides the legal worries, there were other concerns driving the decision to make the program a secret. As one former senior administration official put it, “We needed plausible deniability in case the arms got into the hands of Al Nusra.” Obama’s Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed October 22nd 2013 NYT "Abu Kumayt, a fighter with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front who said he fought in the battle under cover, gave a slightly different version. He said that groups with the antitank missiles fought alongside Nusra fighters and under their command — but that only Nusra and its Islamist ally Ahrar al-Sham were allowed to enter the base when it fell. Nusra, he said, lets groups vetted by the United States keep the appearance of independence, so that they will continue to receive American supplies. His group’s commander, Jamal Maarouf, has been unable to enter Syria since his fighters were driven from their base in Idlib Province this fall. In his house in Reyhanli, near Antakya, he blamed anemic Western support and a mistake that he and other fighters made: They initially welcomed Nusra’s foreign jihadists, believing that they would help bring victory. No F.S.A. faction in the north can operate without Nusra’s approval,” Mr. Maarouf said, adding that the front had either bought or terrorized F.S.A. fighters into compliance. “Nusra cannot cover every area so they still need them. But once they take control, they will confiscate all weapons or oblige those factions to pledge allegiance.”As Syria’s Revolution Sputters, a Chaotic Stalemate December 27th 2014 NYT "Although the Nusra Front was widely seen as an effective fighting force against Mr. Assad’s troops, its Qaeda affiliation made it impossible for the Obama administration to provide direct support for the group. American intelligence officials estimate that the Nusra Front now has as many as 20,000 fighters in Syria, making it Al Qaeda’s largest affiliate. Unlike other Qaeda affiliates such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Nusra Front has long focused on battling the Syrian government rather than plotting terrorist attacks against the United States and Europe." Behind the Sudden Death of a $1 Billion Secret CIA Syria war August 2nd 2017 NYT "always been a fantasy. This idea that we could provide some light arms or even more sophisticated arms to what was essentially an opposition made up of former doctors, farmers, pharmacists and so forth, and that they were going to be able to battle not only a well-armed state but also a well-armed state backed by Russia, backed by Iran, a battle-hardened Hezbollah, that was never in the cards. There’s not as much capacity as you would hope." Obama on the world NYT August 8th 2014 "[Iraq are ] going to have to show us that [they] are willing and ready to try and maintain a unified Iraqi government that is based on compromise. We’re not going to let them create some caliphate through Syria and Iraq. But we can only do that if we know that we have got partners on the ground who are capable of filling the void." Obama on the world NYT August 8th 2014 "The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad will prove a major blow to Iran and Hezbollah, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday. Speaking to CNN, Barak said regime change in Syria would remove a key element connecting Iran and Hezbollah in the region, weakening the two actors’ ability to fight Israel. He said Islamic Jihad, a Gaza-based terror group, may also be affected by Assad’s downfall." Barak: Fall of Assad regime will seriously hurt Iran and Hezbollah Defense minister says Syrian president's fate is sealed, though it's taking longer than expected 17 May 2012 Times of Israel "The initial message about the Syrian issue was that we always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran,” he said. This was the case, he said, even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated to al-Qaida. “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” he said, adding that this designation did not apply to everyone in the Syrian opposition. “Still, the greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc. That is a position we had well before the outbreak of hostilities in Syria. With the outbreak of hostilities we continued to want Assad to go.” 'Israel wanted Assad gone since start of Syria civil war' SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the US Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post in a parting interview "For Jerusalem, the status quo, horrific as it may be from a humanitarian perspective, seems preferable to either a victory by Mr. Assad’s government and his Iranian backers or a strengthening of rebel groups, increasingly dominated by Sunni jihadis. "This is a playoff situation in which you need both teams to lose, but at least you don’t want one to win — we’ll settle for a tie,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. “Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death: that’s the strategic thinking here. As long as this lingers, there’s no real threat from Syria.” Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria September 5th 2013 NYT "Nusra Front, however, hasn’t bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer—and some of its severely wounded fighters are regularly taken across the frontier fence to receive treatment in Israeli hospitals… Only about one-third of the Syrians treated in Israel, however, were women and children. An Israeli military official acknowledged that most of the rebels on the other side of the fence belong to Nusra but said that Israel offered medical help to anyone in need, without checking their identity. “We don’t ask who they are, we don’t do any screening…Once the treatment is done, we take them back to the border and they go on their way,” he said." Al Qaeda a Lesser Evil? Syria War Pulls U.S., Israel Apart Mountaintop on edge of Golan Heights illustrates complexities. WSJ March 12th 2015 "What my constant cry was that our biggest problem was our allies. Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends, and I’ve a great relationship with [Turkish President Recep] Erdoğan, who I’ve just spent a lot of time with, the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden, everybody is awakened because this outfit called ISIL, which was al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space and territory in eastern Syria, work with al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on, and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them. So, what happened? Now, all of a sudden [now that ISIS has taken over western Iraq]—I don’t want to be too facetious—but they have seen the lord. Now we have—the president’s been able to put together a coalition of our Sunni neighbors, because America can’t once again go into a [Sunni] Muslim nation and be the aggressor. It has to be led by Sunnis. To go and attack a Sunni organization. And so, what do we have for the first time? Now Saudi Arabia has stopped the funding from going in. Saudi Arabia is allowing training on its soil of American forces under Title 10, open training. The Qataris have cut off their support for the most extreme elements of the terrorist organizations. And the Turks, President Erdoğan told me—he is an old friend—said, “You were right; we let too many people through. Now we are trying to seal the border.” VP Joe Biden 2014 talk to Harvard University Delivers remarks on foreign policy "John Kerry: I think we've put an extraordinary amount of arms in. Michael Ratney: And . . . I have to say . . . it’s a double-edged sword because you give people the ability to defend themselves, but when you pump more weapons into a situation like Syria, it doesn’t end well for Syrians, because there is always someone else who is going to pump more weapons in for the other side. The armed groups in Syria get a lot of support, not just from the United States but from other partners. Kerry: Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia—a huge amount of weapons coming in. A huge amount of money. Ratney: But pumping weapons in causes someone else to pump more weapons in and you end up with Aleppo. Kerry: The reason Russia came in is because ISIL was getting stronger, Daesh was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus and so forth. And that’s why Russia came in. Because they didn’t want a Daesh government and they supported Assad. And we know that this was growing. We were watching. We saw that Daesh was growing in strength, and we thought Assad was threatened. We thought, however, we could probably manage. Uh, you know, that Assad would then negotiate. Instead of negotiating, he got Putin to support him." John Kerry, Michael Ratney Leaked meeting with Syrian revolutionaries, Min 25 David Petraeus' bright idea: give terrorists weapons to beat terrorists Former CIA director David Petraeus is advocating giving arms to members of al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida off-shoot, to beat Isis. That is madness. The Guardian September 2nd 2015 "he acknowledges that his team routinely misled senior leaders about troop levels in Syria. “We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,” Jeffrey said in an interview. The actual number of troops in northeast Syria is “a lot more than” the roughly two hundred troops Trump initially agreed to leave there in 2019… “What Syria withdrawal? There was never a Syria withdrawal,” Jeffrey said. “When the situation in northeast Syria had been fairly stable after we defeated ISIS, [Trump] was inclined to pull out. In each case, we then decided to come up with five better arguments for why we needed to stay. And we succeeded both times. That’s the story.” Outgoing Syria Envoy Admits Hiding US Troop Numbers; Praises Trump’s Mideast Record ‘We were always playing shell games,’ says Amb. Jim Jeffrey, who also gives advice to President-elect Biden. Defence One NOVEMBER 12, 2020 Jim Jeffrey Interview with Defence one "This is a time for Trump to be Trump — utterly cynical and unpredictable. ISIS right now is the biggest threat to Iran, Hezbollah, Russia and pro-Shiite Iranian militias — because ISIS is a Sunni terrorist group that plays as dirty as Iran and Russia. Trump should want to defeat ISIS in Iraq. But in Syria? Not for free, not now. In Syria, Trump should let ISIS be Assad’s, Iran’s, Hezbollah’s and Russia’s headache — the same way we encouraged the mujahedeen fighters to bleed Russia in Afghanistan." Why Is Trump Fighting ISIS in Syria? Thomas L Freidman April 12th 2017 NYT "The ongoing civil war in Syria was a significant factor in driving worldwide terrorism events in 2014. The rate of foreign terrorist fighter travel to Syria – totaling more than 16,000 foreign terrorist fighters from more than 90 countries as of late December – exceeded the rate of foreign terrorist fighters who traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, or Somalia at any point in the last 20 years. Many of the foreign terrorist fighters joined ISIL, which, through intimidation and exploitation of political grievances, a weak security environment in Iraq, and the conflict in Syria, secured sufficient support to conduct complex military operations in an effort to seize contiguous territory in western Iraq and eastern Syria for a self-declared Islamic caliphate. ISIL routinely and indiscriminately targeted defenseless civilians, including religious pilgrims, while engaging in violent repression of local inhabitants." BUREAU OF COUNTERTERRORISM Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 Report US State Department "Mr. Rohrabacher. Okay. I have just a couple more seconds here. Let me just note that we have recently seen an attack on Iran and the Iranian Government. The mullahs believe the Sunni forces have attacked them. This may signal a ratcheting up of certain commitments by the United States of America. And as far as I am concerned I just want to make this point and see what you think. Isn't it a good thing for us to have the United States finally backing up Sunnis who will attack Hezbollah and the Shiite threat to us? Isn't that a good thing? And if so, maybe it is a Trump strategy of actually supporting one group against another, considering that you have two terrorist organizations. Mr. Levitt. Those attacks were claimed by the Islamic State. It is never in our interest to support a terrorist group like the Islamic State. We should condemn the attacks in Iran. Mr. Rohrabacher. Even---- Mr. Levitt [continuing]. We should condemn any act of terrorism, even as we hold Iran accountable for its sponsorship of terrorism." Serial No. 115-51 (House Hearing) - Attacking Hezbollah's Financial Network: Policy Options General. Thursday, June 8, 2017. "We know that the aim of the Iranian regime is to reach the focal point of Muslims [Mecca] and we will not wait until the fight is inside Saudi Arabia and we will work so that the battle is on their side, inside Iran, not Saudi Arabia" MAY 2, 2017 Reuters Powerful Saudi prince sees no chance for dialogue with Iran "The U.S. has formed ties with Houthi rebels who seized control of Yemen’s capital, White House officials and rebel commanders said, in the clearest indication of a shift in the U.S. approach there as it seeks to maintain its fight against a key branch of al Qaeda. American officials are communicating with Houthi fighters, largely through intermediaries, the officials and commanders have disclosed, to promote a stable political transition as the Houthis gain more power and to ensure Washington can continue its campaign of drone strikes against leaders of the group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, officials said. . . . U.S. officials said they also are seeking to harness the Houthis’ concurrent war on AQAP to weaken the terrorist organization’s grip on havens in Yemen’s west and south. . . . Houthi commanders, in recent interviews conducted in Yemen, asserted that the U.S. began sharing intelligence on AQAP positions in November, using intermediaries, as the conflict in the country intensified. They specifically cited a Houthi campaign against AQAP positions in western Al Baitha province as one such operation. One Houthi commander said the U.S. provided logistical aid to the militants and exchanged intelligence on AQAP to support the Houthis’ operations against the group and pinpoint drone strikes. The Americans passed on all this information, the officer said, through Yemeni counter-terrorism officials." In Strategic Shift, U.S. Draws Closer to Yemeni Rebels Jan 29th 2015 WSJ "Senior U.S. intelligence official Michael Vickers said Jan. 21 that the United States is continuing attacks on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) despite ongoing violence in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and has an intelligence relationship with the Houthi insurgent group that has seized much of the capital since September. . . . Vickers, a special forces veteran and current undersecretary of defense for intelligence, presented a more nuanced view of the Houthis’ recent advances and aims than has been reported in much of the Western and Sunni Gulf media. . . . Vickers, in response to a question from Al-Monitor, stated, “The Houthis are anti al-Qaeda, and we’ve been able to continue some of our counter-terrorism operations against al-Qaeda in the past months.” Asked after the public event whether that included lines of intelligence to the Houthis, Vickers said, “That’s a safe assumption.” The Atlantic Council January 22, 2015 Slavin: United States Maintains Intelligence Relationship With Houthis By Barbara Slavin - Senior US intelligence official Michael Vickers "The United States strongly condemns ongoing military actions taken by the Houthis against the elected government of Yemen. These actions have caused widespread instability and chaos that threaten the safety and well-being of all Yemeni citizens.The United States has been in close contact with President Hadi and our regional partners. In response to the deteriorating security situation, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, and others will undertake military action to defend Saudi Arabia’s border and to protect Yemen’s legitimate government. As announced by GCC members earlier tonight, they are taking this action at the request of Yemeni President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi… In support of GCC actions to defend against Houthi violence, President Obama has authorized the provision of logistical and intelligence support to GCC-led military operations. While U.S. forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support." March 25, 2015 Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on the Situation in Yemen “We’re doing this not because we think it would be good for Yemen policy; we’re doing it because we think it’s good for U.S.-Saudi relations,” said Ilan Goldenberg, a former Obama administration official who is now with the Center for a New American Security." Saudi-led Yemen air war’s high civilian toll unsettles U.S. officials April 16th 2015 LA Times "Gen Lloyd Austin, commander of US Central Command, admitted in March 2015: “I don’t currently know the specific goals and objectives of the Saudi campaign, and I would have to know that to be able to assess the likelihood of success.” Yet that hasn’t stopped the military from helping the Saudis kill thousands of civilians since." The US is promoting war crimes in Yemen Trevor Timm August 18th 2016 The Guardian "The Saudi bosses absolutely depend on BAE Systems,” John Deverell, a former MoD mandarin and defence attache to Saudi Arabia and Yemen, told me. “They couldn’t do it without us.” A BAE employee recently put it more plainly to Channel 4’s Dispatches: “If we weren’t there, in seven to 14 days there wouldn’t be a jet in the sky.” The Saudis couldn’t do it without us’: the UK’s true role in Yemen’s deadly war 18th of June 2019 The Guardian "British technicians working for the UK’s biggest defence contractor are working on air bases in Saudi Arabia keeping Saudi jets in the sky. One former BAE Systems worker who left a few months ago reveals the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) would be unable to fly its fleet of Typhoon fighter jets without this support. He tells Dispatches: “With the amount of aircraft they’ve got and the operational demands, if we weren’t there in 7 to 14 days there wouldn’t be a jet in the sky.”Britain's Hidden War: 1 April 2019 Monday 1st April, Channel 4 "In recent weeks, the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen has allied with armed tribes to fight Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, putting that alliance on the same side of the country’s civil war as the United States and Saudi Arabia. In Syria, al Qaeda-allied fighters are important members of a rebel coalition against President Bashar al-Assad that includes groups supported by the West. This strategy has clear benefits for a group that has long been near the top of the United States’s list of enemies by allowing it to build local support while providing some cover against the threat of foreign military action." AL-Qaeda tries a new tactic to keep power: Sharing it June 9th 2015 NYT "But that’s not the view of McCain and other hawkish senators around him. They see Iran’s fingerprints all over whatever goes wrong in the region — a view that alarms Horton. “This is a guy who complained that we were Iran’s air force in Iraq,” he said. “Well, guess what? Now we’re Al-Qaeda’s air force in Yemen.” US generals: Saudi intervention in Yemen ‘a bad idea’Analysis: Some top officers question Washington’s support for Riyadh-led intervention, which they say is doomed April 17, 2015 Aljazeera "If Islamic State’s capital is the Syrian city of Raqqa, then al Qaeda’s is Mukalla, a southeastern Yemeni port city of 500,000 people. Al Qaeda fighters there have abolished taxes for local residents, operate speedboats manned by RPG-wielding fighters who impose fees on ship traffic, and make propaganda videos in which they boast about paving local roads and stocking hospitals. The economic empire was described by more than a dozen diplomats, Yemeni security officials, tribal leaders and residents of Mukalla. Its emergence is the most striking unintended consequence of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. The campaign, backed by the United States, has helped Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to become stronger than at any time since it first emerged almost 20 years ago. . . . A senior Yemeni government official said the war against the Houthis “provided a suitable environment for the . . . expansion of al Qaeda.” The withdrawal of government army units from their bases in the south allowed al Qaeda to acquire “very large quantities of sophisticated and advanced weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and armed vehicles.” How Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen has made al Qaeda stronger – and richer Reuters April 8, 2016 "The coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaida fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself. These compromises and alliances have allowed al-Qaida militants to survive to fight another day — and risk strengthening the most dangerous branch of the terror network that carried out the 9/11 attacks. Key participants in the pacts said the U.S. was aware of the arrangements and held off on any drone strikes." AP Investigation: US allies, al-Qaida battle rebels in Yemen August 7, 2018 "Iran—when I became President, I had a meeting at the Pentagon with lots of generals. They were like from a movie. Better looking than Tom Cruise, and stronger. And I had more generals than I’ve ever seen, and we were at the bottom of this incredible room. And I said, “This is the greatest room I’ve ever seen.” I saw more computer boards than I think that they make today. And every part of the Middle East, and other places that was under attack, was under attack because of Iran. And I said to myself, “Wow.” I mean, you look at Yemen, you look at Syria, you look at every place. Saudi Arabia was under siege. They were all. I mean, they wanted Yemen because of the long border with Saudi Arabia, and that’s why they’re there, frankly. But every place was under siege." Remarks by President Trump in Cabinet Meeting January 3, 2019, Iran Watch, Snopes "It remains our assessment that Iran does not exert command and control over the Houthis in Yemen" April 2015, the United States National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan Testimony March 9, 2017 Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Resolving the Conflict in Yemen: U.S. Interests, Risks, and Policy "Almost a quarter of a million people have died in Yemen’s war, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on its website on Tuesday, confirming the huge toll from a conflict that has ravaged Yemen’s economy and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis… “The war had already caused an estimated 233,000 deaths, including 131,000 from indirect causes such as lack of food, health services and infrastructure”, it said. More than 3,000 child deaths “Hostilities have directly caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties; 3,153 child deaths and 5,660 children were verified in the first five years of the conflict, and 1,500 civilian casualties were reported in the first nine months of 2020.” UN humanitarian office puts Yemen war dead at 233,000, mostly from ‘indirect causes’ 1st December 2020 UN "The brutal war in Yemen has already caused the country to miss out on $126 billion of potential economic growth, according to UNDP. The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, has estimated 80 per cent of the population, or 24 million people, rely on aid and protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need… For example, the authors project that 1.3 million lives will be lost if the war continues through 2030. Moreover, a growing proportion of those deaths will not be due to fighting, but to the impacts on livelihoods, food prices and the deterioration of health, education and basic services." Yemen recovery possible if war stops now: UNDP report 23rd November UN News "Thus far, the report projects that 60 percent of deaths from the crisis have been caused by these secondary factors – a proportion projected to grow to 75 per cent by 2030 if the war continues… The crisis has already pushed an additional 4.9 million people into malnutrition, and the report projects that this toll will grow to 9.2 million by 2030 if the war persists; by the same year, the number of people living in extreme poverty would surge to 22 million, 65% of the population." UNDP: Recovery in Yemen possible despite fast-deteriorating situation If war stops now, new report projects Yemen can eradicate extreme poverty within a generation NOVEMBER 23, 2021 UN "By comparing the current reality in Yemen to a scenario where no conflict ever occurred, we can provide an estimate of the total death count – the number of deaths caused both directly and indirectly from the conflict. By doing so, we found that by the end of 2021, Yemen’s conflict will lead to 377,000 deaths – nearly 60 per cent of which are indirect and caused by issues associated with conflict like lack of access to food, water, and healthcare. These deaths are overwhelmingly made up of young children who are especially vulnerable to under and malnutrition. In 2021, a Yemeni child under the age of five dies every nine minutes because of the conflict. This is a significant increase since our 2019 report, Assessing the Impact of War on Development in Yemen, that – through the same assessment – found this to be approximately every 12 minutes." Assessing the Impact of War in Yemen: Pathways for Recovery UNDP November 23rd Page 12 "The motive was very clear to us who are laying in our own blood and other people’s blood, who are injured, who were shot. Everybody who was in that bathroom who survived could hear him talking to 911, saying the reason why he’s doing this is because he wanted America to stop bombing his country.” Orlando shooting survivor describes attack: ‘We knew what his motive was’ June 15th 2016 The Guardian "While I was deployed, I went to bed at night believing that I was protecting the homeland because coming after me and my fellow Marines was a much easier commute for those so hell-bent on killing Americans. But that argument no longer makes sense if my war has inspired enemies at home." I could justify fighting in Afghanistan — until the Boston bombing The Washington Post April 26th 2013 "Alshamrani also was said to have retweeted tweets from Mutairi, which called for 'jihad' against American and Israeli 'crusaders.'.. The aviation student's screed invoked purported 'crimes against Muslims,' blasted the US government for supporting Israel and brought up the notorious prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." Saudi Air Force officer who killed three US sailors at Pensacola naval station retweeted hate preacher's call for 'jihad' against American 'crusaders' years before his attack in series of tweets supporting terror, 11th of December 2019 The Daily Mail Weeping Angel - Wikileaks Vault 7 "So for you, this is a moral issue? You know that there are a lot of jobs at stake. If a lot of these defense contractors stop selling war planes and other sophisticated equipment to Saudi Arabia, there’s going to be a significant loss of jobs, of revenue here in the United States. That’s secondary from your standpoint?" Wolf Blitzer (CNN Host) says to Senator Rand Paul, The Intercept September 9th 2016 "Senior Western diplomats have told Foreign Policy on many occasions that sanctions are the West’s last leverage against Assad to pressure him to . . . agree to a political reconciliation that, if carried out sincerely, would eventually mean him leaving power. They insist that paying for Syrian reconstruction, including infrastructure like power plants and irrigation systems that are necessary for the country’s food security and daily life, will end up strengthening the regime’s oppression. They say they have no intention of letting Assad succeed in that, at least not unless he makes significant concessions." Assad’s Syria Is Starting to Starve Like Saddam’s Iraq How sanctions against the Syrian regime are forcing the country into famine. December 2nd 2020 Foreign Policy Unverified Sources "First, for over seven years, the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples. If some people have in the past argued about the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it. The best proof of this is the Americans’ continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, but they are helpless. Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, which has exceeded one million . . . despite all this, the Americans are once again trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation. So here they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors. Third, if the Americans’ aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews’ petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there. The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel’s survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula." Bin Laden "The issue here is whether the West and Israel can construct a strategy for limiting and expediting the chaotic collapse that will ensue in order to move on to the task of creating a better circumstance. . . . If . . . Jordan wins, then Syria would be isolated and surrounded by a new pro-western Jordanian-Israeli-Iraqi-Turkish bloc, the first of which can help contain and manage (through its more solid and traditional regime) the scope of the coming chaos in Iraq and most probably in Syria." David Wurmser Coping with Crumbling states The NIE’s conclusion was so stunning that I felt certain it would immediately leak to the press. As much as I disliked the idea, I decided to declassify the key findings so that we could shape the news stories with the facts. . . . Both [Israel and the Arabian states] were deeply concerned about Iran and furious with the United States over the NIE. “Your Majesty, may I begin the meeting?” I asked. “I’m confident every one of you believes I wrote the NIE as a way to avoid taking action against Iran.” No one said a word. They were too polite to confirm their suspicion aloud. “You have to understand our system,” I said. “The NIE was produced independently by our intelligence community. I am as angry about it as you are.” The NIE didn’t just undermine diplomacy. It also tied my hands on the military side. . . . After the NIE, how could I possibly explain using the military to destroy the nuclear facilities of a country the intelligence community said had no active weapons program?" Decision Points George W Bush "diminish Iran’s influence in the Arab world. . . . Iran knows that if his regime fell, it would lose its most important base in the Arab world and a supply line to pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.” Max Boot

In this interview with Scott Horton, we talk about Bill Hicks, the war on drugs, world government, Joe Biden, Iraq and Scott's journey to his current path. As Scott's main focus is usually foreign policy, I thought it would be great to get his thoughts on some other topics. Unsurprisingly, foreign policy still came up in certain segments, nevertheless, the majority of the interview was not focused on foreign policy. I hope you enjoyed the interview. Bio Scott Horton is director of the Libertarian Institute, editorial director of Antiwar.com, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He’s the author of the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand:Time to End the War in Afghanistan and editor of the 2019 book The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019 and the 2022 book Hotter Than the Sun: Time to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Horton is currently at work on the forthcoming book Provoked: How America Started the New Cold War With Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine. He’s conducted more than 5,900 interviews since 2003. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-interview-with-stephen-zunes-joe-biden-the-iraq-war-rewriting-history-beyond Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Scott Horton's Links https://scotthorton.org/interviews/ Scott Hortons Website https://twitter.com/scotthortonshow Books Scotts Books Show Notes Nun, 84, sentenced to three years in jail for nuclear break-in This article is more than 9 years old Sister Megan Rice and two other defendants jailed for entering Oak Ridge plant and daubing it with Biblical messages Karen McVeigh in New York 19 Feb 2014 The Guardian A World Free of Nuclear Weapons by Henry A. Kissinger The Wall Street Journal January 4, 2007 Building on George Shultz’s Vision of a World Without Nukes by William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, Sam Nunn The Wall Street Journal March 24, 2021 Statement by Secretary Antony Blinken on the Death of Secretary George Shultz FEBRUARY 7, 2021 Are We Ready for a New World Order? | WGS2022 World Government Summit Extending Russia Competing from Advantageous Ground April 24th 2019 Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen “We shall have world government, whether or not we like it. The question is only whether world government will be achieved by consent or by conquest.”—CFR member James Paul Warburg - Revision of the United Nations Charter: Hearings Before the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Revision of the United Nations Charter, Eighty-First Congress, Second Session, on Feb. 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 17, 20, 1950 Front Cover United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Subcommittee on Revision of the United Nations Charter U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950 Page 494 Justin Raimondo July 28, 2003 WHO LIED US INTO WAR? Let's find out #Raimondo20yearsago Bill Hicks The War on Drugs Is Lost By NRO STAFF July 28, 2014 National Review Leading Conservative Voice Endorses Legalizing Narcotics Give this article By Christopher S. Wren Jan. 22, 1996 NYT William F Buckley John Ehrlichman Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies Tuesday, November 24, 2020 4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis February 25 Heard on Morning Edition By Brian Mann NPR CDC Advises Against Misapplication of the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain Print Some policies, practices attributed to the Guideline are inconsistent with its recommendations Media Statement Embargoed Until: Wednesday, April 24, 2019 CDC What Chronic-Pain Patients Are Deeply Afraid Of Getting off opioids can be a crisis itself — so patients and prescribers need strong support. Oct. 31, 2019 NYT U.S. Overdose Deaths In 2021 Increased Half as Much as in 2020 – But Are Still Up 15% Print For Immediate Release: May 11, 2022 CDC Bootleggers and Baptists U.S. Legalization of Marijuana Has Hit Mexican Cartels' Cross-Border Trade BY IOAN GRILLO/MEXICO CITY APRIL 8, 2015 TIME Magazine Secret Service investigation into White House cocaine fails to identify suspect Inquiry into bag of drug found in West Wing concludes but ‘lack of physical evidence’ hampers efforts US politics – live updates Jenna Amatulli Thu 13 Jul 2023 The Guardian Cocaine cartels cash in on sky-high prices in Australia By Perry Duffin July 16, 2023 The Sydney Morning Herald Joe Rogan Experience #1136 - Hamilton Morris "Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD): DESOXYN tablets are indicated as an integral part of a total treatment program which typically includes other remedial measures (psychological, educational, social) for a stabilizing effect in children over 6 years of age with a behavioral syndrome characterized by the following group of developmentally inappropriate symptoms: moderate to severe distractibility, short attention span, hyperactivity, emotional lability, and impulsivity. " FDA Methamphetamine - Wikipedia *label (fda.gov) Drug Fact Sheet: Methamphetamine (dea.gov) US Department of Justice - Controlled Substance Schedules Drug Fact Sheet: Marijuana/Cannabis (dea.gov) Biden Emotionally Speaks About Being Proud Of Son Hunter Overcoming 'Drug Problem' | NBC News Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act CSPAN Biden 1993 speech During a 1993 speech pushing the crime bill, Biden warned of 'predators on our streets.' Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 Cindy McCain's tangled story of addiction Cindy McCain Sept. 12, 2008 NBC Incarceration in the United States Program Details UNICOR is a life-changing correctional program that has a profound impact on everyone in the community CIA involvement in Contra cocaine trafficking Cambridge schools are divided over middle school algebra By Christopher Huffaker Globe Staff July 14, 2023 Boston Globe - Scott Tweet NY Post From Ford to Obama, a history of illegal drugs in the White House By Josh Christenson July 5, 2023

“Richard B. Cheney Oral History, Secretary of Defense,” Presidential Oral Histories, Miller Center, University of Virginia, March 16–17, 2000 "Compliance with the resolutions will instantly stop the bloodshed. And there's another way for the bloodshed to stop, and that is for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside, and then comply with the United Nations resolutions and rejoin the family of peace-loving nations. We have no argument with the people of Iraq. Our differences are with that brutal dictator in Baghdad." George H. W. Bush, “Remarks to Raytheon Missile Systems Plant Employees in Andover, Massachusetts,” February 15, 1991 "In my own view, I've always said that it would be -- that the Iraqi people should put him aside and that would facilitate the resolution of all these problems that exist, and certainly would facilitate the acceptance of Iraq back into the family of peace-loving nations." George H. W. Bush, press conference, White House, March 1, 1991 "President George W. Bush today announced his intention to nominate Paul Wolfowitz, dean of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), as deputy secretary of Defense. Wolfowitz has served as the dean of SAIS since 01/1994." School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, “President Bush Nominates SAIS Dean Paul Wolfowitz as Deputy Secretary of Defense,” press release, February 4, 2001 Paul Wolfowitz and Zalmay Khalilzad, “Overthrow Him,” Weekly Standard, December 1, 1997 Washington Examiner reprint "In spite of the setting, it didn't take long for the meeting to turn ugly, with Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz pushing hard to invade Iraq, and Colin Powell and I countering that we should go after bin Laden at this time. At one of the breaks, President Bush pulled me aside and asked, "What am I missing here, Hugh?" You've got it exactly right, Mr. President," I told him. "I have neither seen nor heard anything from either the CIA or the FBI that indicates any linkage whatsoever to Iraq. Stand firm, because it will destroy us in the eyes of the Arab world if we go after Iraq under the guise of Saddam somehow being tied to this when the facts show otherwise. What you'll have is the extremists and the fundamentalists painting it as the Americans are going after their Arab brothers just because they want to. Earlier, both Colin and I had reiterated that there was not one shred of evidence that Iraq was involved in the 9/1 1 attacks — they had all the earmarks of bin Laden but no link whatsoever to Saddam. By the time I was finished stating my case, the President seemed to have made his decision. "We're going to get that guy [Saddam], but we're going to get him at a time and place of our own choosing," he said, nailing the lid on any further discussions about Iraq for the moment." Hugh Shelton, Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010) Page 444 According to Rice,the issue of what,if anything, to do about Iraq was really engaged at Camp David. Briefing papers on Iraq, along with many others, were in briefing materials for the participants. Rice told us the administration was concerned that Iraq would take advantage of the 9/11 attacks. She recalled that in the first Camp David session chaired by the President, Rumsfeld asked what the administration should do about Iraq. Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz made the case for striking Iraq during “this round” of the war on terrorism. A Defense Department paper for the Camp David briefing book on the strategic concept for the war on terrorism specified three priority targets for initial action: al Qaeda,the Taliban,and Iraq. It argued that of the three,al Qaeda and Iraq posed a strategic threat to the United States. Iraq’s long-standing involvement in terrorism was cited, along with its interest in weapons of mass destruction. Secretary Powell recalled that Wolfowitz—not Rumsfeld—argued that Iraq was ultimately the source of the terrorist problem and should therefore be attacked. Powell said that Wolfowitz was not able to justify his belief that Iraq was behind 9/11.“Paul was always of the view that Iraq was a problem that had to be dealt with,” Powell told us.“And he saw this as one way of using this event as a way to deal with the Iraq problem.” Powell said that President Bush did not give Wolfowitz’s argument “much weight.” Though continuing to worry about Iraq in the following week, Powell said, President Bush saw Afghanistan as the priority. President Bush told Bob Woodward that the decision not to invade Iraq was made at the morning session on September 15. Iraq was not even on the table during the September 15 afternoon session, which dealt solely with Afghanistan. Rice said that when President Bush called her on Sunday, September 16,he said the focus would be on Afghanistan, although he still wanted plans for Iraq should the country take some action or the administration eventually determine that it had been involved in the 9/11 attacks. At the September 17 NSC meeting, there was some further discussion of “phase two” of the war on terrorism. President Bush ordered the Defense Department to be ready to deal with Iraq if Baghdad acted against U.S. interests, with plans to include possibly occupying Iraqi oil fields." Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (“The 9/11 Commission Report”), (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2004) Page 335 Declassified and Approved for Release, 10 April 2004  Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US August 6th 2001 David Von Drehle and R. Jeffrey Smith, “U.S. Strikes Iraq for Plot to Kill Bush,” Washington Post, June 27, 1993 Iraq ‘behind US anthrax outbreaks’ Pentagon hardliners press for strikes on Saddam · Britain's GPs put on full alert over deadly disease War on Terrorism: Observer special David Rose and Ed Vulliamy, New York Sun 14 Oct 2001 John McCain, interview with David Letterman, Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, October 18, 2001 “Oil Take-Over Pact Announced by Iraq,” New York Times, March 1, 1973 "If one looked at the declarations that we got under resolution 687 from the Iraqis--the initial ones were laugh-out-loud funny. As a matter of fact, we laughed out loud when we looked at them: the nuclear program was entirely peaceful; the chemical declaration was actually quite extensive, if not complete; there was no biological weapons program; and we always thought that the ballistic missile program declaration was incomplete. We knew that these declarations were not right" Robert Gallucci, address at “Understanding the Lessons of Nuclear Inspections and Monitoring in Iraq: A Ten-Year Review,” Institute for Science and International Security, June 14, 2001 transcript "Now, the United Nations believes that he still has very large quantities of VX. VX is a substance, a nerve agent, which is so deadly that a single drop can kill you within a couple of minutes. Anthrax is a biological agent that kills people within five to seven hours -- seven days, rather, after they breathe an amount the size of a single dust particle. If you were to take a five-pound bag of anthrax, properly dispersed, it would kill half the population of Columbus, Ohio."Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, and National Security Advisor Samuel R. Berger Remarks at Town Hall Meeting, Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, February 18, l998 As released by the Office of the Spokesman, February 20, 1998 U.S. Department of State (William Cohen) Douglas Feith to Donald Rumsfeld, “Strategic Planning Guidance for the Joint Staff,” memo, September 18, 2001 "So got on the plane, and we had a chance to talk, and there was a point where Doug and I were talking and we both agreed that it was probably some sort of a jihadist group. I can’t remember what the exact words that we used.  And my staff was around me, and his staff was around him.  I think we were actually on the airplane.  And he said, “I think that the Iraqis are involved in this.”  And I said, “No.  No way.  The Iraqis aren’t involved in this.  “The Iraqis don’t support al Qaeda.  They don’t support Islamist groups, and they wouldn’t do anything as reckless as this.  I just don’t buy it.” Interviewer What was he basing—it was Feith saying this to you—what was he basing his supposition on? John Abizaid Well, with this Administration that had just come in, they were always talking about Saddam Hussein and Iraq all the time.  And they regarded him as a clear if not present danger they regarded him as a danger.  I think there was a belief that they would do whatever they needed to do to break out of these sanctions. And there was a certain amount of intelligence that suggested it although I thought it was very weak.  In retrospect, I still think it was actually weaker than I thought  that suggested that there was some conniving between the Iraqi intelligence services and some of al Qaeda.  But you know there’s always conniving going on in the Middle East with all sorts of different people at all sorts of different levels.  But it wasn’t it just didn’t make any sense to me that there was a connection there, and I told him so.  And we had a pretty heated debate about it." John Abizaid, “Preparing for War After 9/11,” West Point Center for Oral History, April 9, 2012, transcript "After Mr. Cheney and King Abdullah met this evening, Jordanian authorities said in a statement that the monarch had expressed concern about ''the repercussions of any possible strike on Iraq and the dangers of that on the stability and security of the region.'' Instead of backing tough action against Baghdad, King Abdullah urged that the Bush administration's disputes with Iraq be resolved ''through dialogue and peaceful means,'' according to the statement… In Jordan, however, the situation is the reverse. The Jordanians are saying publicly that the danger of instability in the region does not arise from Iraq but from the American plans to take action against the Baghdad regime." Michael R. Gordon, “Middle East Turmoil: Diplomacy; Cheney, in Jordan, Meets Opposition to Military Move in Iraq,” New York Times, March 13, 2002 "WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 - The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials. The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition. The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons. The fact that Mr. Libi recanted after the American invasion of Iraq and that intelligence based on his remarks was withdrawn by the C.I.A. in March 2004 has been public for more than a year. But American officials had not previously acknowledged either that Mr. Libi made the false statements in foreign custody or that Mr. Libi contended that his statements had been coerced." Douglas Jehl, “Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S.Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim,” New York Times, December 9, 2005 "We spent a long time at dinner on IRAQ. It is clear that Bush is grateful for your support and has registered that you are getting flak. I said that you would not budge in your support for regime change but you had to manage a press, a Parliament and a public opinion that was very different than anything in the States. And you would not budge either in your insistence that, if we pursued regime change, it must be very carefully done and produce the right result. Failure was not an option. Condi's enthusiasm for regime change is undimmed. But there were some signs, since we last spoke, of greater awareness of the practical difficulties and political risks… From what she said, Bush has yet to find the answers to the big questions: - how to persuade international opinion that military action against Iraq is necessary and justified; - what value to put on the exiled Iraqi opposition; - how to coordinate a US/allied military… He also wants your support. He is still smarting from the comments by other European leaders on his Iraq policy." David Manning to Tony Blair, “Your Trip to the U.S.,” memo, March 14, 2002 "On Iraq I opened by sticking very closely to the script that you used with Rice last week. We backed regime change, but the plan had to be clever and failure was not an option. It.would be a tough sell for us domestically, and probably tougher elsewhere in Europe. The US could go it alone if it wanted to. But if it wanted to act with partners there had to be a strategy for building support for military action against Saddam… Wolfowitz said that he fully agreed. He took a slightly different position from others in the Administration, who were focussed on Saddam's capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction. The WMD danger was of course crucial to the public case against Saddam, particularly the potential linkage to terrorism. But Wolfowitz thought it indispensable to spell out in detail Saddam's barbarism. This was well documented from what he had done during the occupation of Kuwait, the incursion into Kurdish territory, the assault on the Marsh Arabs and to his own people. A lot of work had been done on this towards the end of the first Bush administration. Wolfowitz thought that this would go a long way to destroying any notion of moral equivalence between Iraq and Israel." Christopher Meyer to David Manning, “Iraq and Afghanistan: Conversation with Wolfowitz,” memo, March 18, 2001 Document 6 Bob Woodward, “CIA Told to Do ‘Whatever Necessary’ to Kill bin Laden,” Washington Post October 21, 2001 William Safire, “On Language: Pound Sand,” New York Times, March 31, 2002 “There is a real willingness in the Middle East to get Saddam out but a total opposition to mixing this up with the current operation. . . . The uncertainty caused by Phase 2 seeming to extend to Iraq, Syria etc. is really hurting [Arab leaders] because it seems to confirm the UBL propaganda that this is West vs. Arab. I have no doubt we need to deal with Saddam. But if we hit Iraq now, we would lose the Arab world, Russia, probably half the EU and my fear is the impact of all that on Pakistan. However, I am sure we can devise a strategy for Saddam deliverable at a later date." Blair to Bush, October 11, 2001 Blair to Bush, October 11, 2001 “In objective terms, Iran may be the greater problem for the UK. . . . Ironically, we have Saddam Hussein bound into an established control mechanism… . . We also have to answer the big question —what will this action achieve? There seems to be a larger hole in this than on anything. Most of the assessments from the US have assumed regime change as a means of eliminating Iraq’s WMD threat. But none has satisfactorily answered how that regime change is to be secured, and how there can be any certainty that the replacement regime will be better. Iraq has had no history of democracy so no-one has this habit or experience." Minute Hoon to Prime Minister, 22 March 2002, ‘Iraq’ Page 4-  Hoon to Blair, memo, March 22, 2002 - Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 6 July 2016 for The Report Of The Iraq Inquiry Page 87 “By linking these countries together in his ‘axis of evil’ speech, President Bush implied an identity between them not only in terms of their threat, but also in terms of the action necessary to deal with the threat. A lot of work will now need to be done to delink the three, and to show why military action against Iraq is so much more justified than against Iran and North Korea" Minute Straw to Prime Minister, 25 March 2002, ‘Crawford/Iraq’ Page 2 "I think that when it became clear to him that the United States was thinking of moving its policy forward towards regime change, he wanted to try and influence the United States and get it to stay in the UN, to go to the UN route, which is what we spent the rest of the year trying to do, but he was willing to signal that he accepted that disarmament might not be achieved through the UN route" Monday, 30 November 2009 Subject: UK policy towards Iraq 2001 - 2003 Witnesses: David Manning Page 75-75 "I repeated that it was impossible for the United Kingdom to take part in action against Iraq unless it were through the United Nations. This was our preference, but it was also the political reality. We had no doubt that the United States could take action against Iraq if it wished to do so, but if it wished to do so with us, and if it wished to do so in an international coalition, it would have to go back to the United Nations" Monday, 30 November 2009 Subject: UK policy towards Iraq 2001 - 2003 Witnesses: David Manning Page 19 (Not in book, but similar discussions) "I expected. I think the basic problem was that they genuinely didn’t understand anti-Americanism. They couldn’t see how, given that in this instance they had been the victim, and given all the help they had tried to administer around the world, they were not more popular. So it made them more insular, and a lot of their ideas were actually about things that would simply strengthen their standing at home but do nothing for them overseas necessarily." The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 64 "Concerning the Iraqi issue, His Majesty warned, during his meetings with the three leaders, that attacking Iraq will form a catastrophe for the region at large and will increase instability and chaos. His Majesty pointed out that dialogue is the sole means to tackle the Iraqi issue and solve all disputed issues between Iraq and the UN… His Majesty pointed out that focusing on the Iraqi issue without any positive move towards the Palestinian issue and the Arab Israeli conflict raises disapproval." “King and Queen Return Home,” King Abdullah II official website, August 4, 2002 "Attached is a quote from the Washington Post, Wednesday, October 17, 2001, quoting Rich Armitage saying, “If the coalition felt it was necessary to go after terrorist groups in other countries, this would be a matter for the coalition to discuss among themselves.” First, I should say I have no idea what Armitage actually said. But if he said it, I have this thought: I think we have all agreed that there is not a single coalition, and that the mission will determine the coalition—not that the coalition would determine the mission. The President is on record, repeatedly, as saying we will be going after other terrorist networks and other states that harbor terrorists. I think we ought to try to all get our positions calibrated so we are all on the same sheet of music." Donald Rumsfeld to Colin Powell, “Coalitions,” memo, October 18, 2001 “More surprising: An Iraqi ex-intelligence officer who has told the Iraqi National Congress of specific sightings of "Islamicists" training on a Boeing 707 parked in Salman Pak as recently as September 2000 says he was treated dismissively by CIA officers in Ankara this week. They reportedly showed no interest in pursuing a possible Iraqconnection to Sept. 11" Jim Hoagland, “What About Iraq?,” Washington Post, October 12, 2001 "The Deputy Director for Intelligence (DDI) directed that Iraq and al-Qaida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship be published on June 21, 2002, although it did not reflect the NESA's views. CTC's explanation of its approach to this study and the analysts' differing viewswere contained in the paper's Scope Note, which stated: (U) This intelligence assessment responds to senior policymaker interest in a comprehensive assessment of Iraqi regime links to al-Qa'ida. Our approach is purposefully aggressive in seeking to draw connections, on the assumption that any indication of a relationship between these two hostile elements could carry great dangers to the United States."Central Intelligence Agency, “Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship” (the “Murky Paper”), June 21, 2002 Page 305 "Some analysts concur with the assessment that intelligence reporting provides “no conclusive evidence of cooperation on specific terrorist operations,” but believe that the available signs support a conclusion that Iraq has had sporadic, wary contacts with al-Qaida since the mid-1990s, rather than a relationship with al-Qaida that has developed over time. These analysts would contend that mistrust and conflicting ideologies and goals probably tempered these contacts and severely limited the opportunities for cooperation. These analysts do not rule out that Baghdad sought and obtained a nonaggression agreement or made limited offers of cooperation, training, or even safehaven (ultimately uncorroborated or withdrawn) in an effort to manipulate, penetrate, or otherwise keep tabs on al-Qaida or selected operatives." Central Intelligence Agency, “Iraq and al-Qa’ida: Interpreting a Murky Relationship” (the “Murky Paper”), June 21, 2002 Page 306 "Our understanding of the relationship between Iraq and al-Qa’ida is evolving and is based on sources of varying reliability. . . . We have solid reporting of senior-level contacts between Iraq and al-Qa’ida going back a decade. . . . We have credible reporting that al-Qa’ida leaders sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire WMD capabilities. The reporting also stated that Iraq has provided training to al-Qa’ida members in the areas of poisons and gasses and making conventional bombs. . . Iraq’s increasing support to extremist Palestinians, coupled with growing.indications of a relationship with al-Qa’ida, suggest that Baghdad’slinks to terrorists will increase, even absent U.S. military action" AUTHORIZATION OF THE USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES AGAINST IRAQ [Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)][Senate] (CIA Director George Tenet) "Mr Bush said in his ITV interview that they would discuss "all options" over action on Iraq but there were "no immediate plans" for action. He said: "I made up my mind that Saddam needs to go. That's about all I'm willing to share with you."" “Blair Flies In with Ceasefire Agenda,” BBC News, April 6, 2002 "And as I have said repeatedly, Saddam Hussein would like nothing more than to use a terrorist network to attack and to kill and leave no fingerprints behind. Colin Powell will continue making that case to the American people and the world at the United Nations." White House, “President Bush Meets with Prime Minister Blair,” news release transcript, January 31, 2003 "King Abdullah of Jordan was just here again. He's obviously intensely concerned, because Jordan has a majority population of Palestinians. And to attack Iraq, while the Middle East is in the terror that it is right now, and America appears not to be dealing with something which, to every Muslim, is a real problem, but instead go over here, I think, could turn the whole region into a cauldron and, thus, destroy the war on terrorism." Brent Scowcroft, Face the Nation, CBS, August 4, 2002 Brent Scowcroft, “Don’t Attack Saddam,” Wall Street Journal, August 15, 2002 "David's strong sense was that though they might go it alone, they didn’t want to. They valued TB’s advice. They needed to be persuaded on UN/ultimatum and on the need to do more re the Middle East. Bush felt that it was possible to see a quick collapse of the Iraqis. He had also talked up evidence of links with al-Qaeda, which our and US intelligence were not convinced of. We were pushing the idea of a tough, time-bound ultimatum. Bush had said he was ‘evangelical’ re getting rid of Saddam and was a ‘good vs evil guy’. He felt equally strongly about Korea. But David felt it was not a lost cause to push him down the UN ultimatum route. TB’s note had made clear our basic support but also said we had to be blunt about the difficulties. His note went through the need for an agreed strategy on six fronts — UN ultimatum route/evidence/MEPP/post-Saddam/Arab Muslim worlds/ Afghanistan" The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 285 "I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties. The planning on this and the strategy are the toughest yet. This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War." Tony Blair to George W. Bush, “Note on Iraq,” letter, July 28, 2002 Page 1 "And - and here is my real point - public opinion is public opinion. And opinion in the US is quite simply on a different planet from opinion here, in Europe or in the Arab world. In Britain, right now I couldn't be sure of support from Parliament, Party, public or even some of the Cabinet. And this is Britain. In Europe generally, people just don’t have the same sense of urgency post 9/11 as people in the US; they suspect - and are told by populist politicians ~ that it’s all to do with 43 settling the score with the enemy of 41; and various other extraneous issues like steel etc have soured the atmosphere a little." Tony Blair to George W. Bush, “Note on Iraq,” letter, July 28, 2002 Page 3 (Quote not in book but similar theme) "When TB (Tony Blair) came back in, GWB (George W Bush) said he’d decided to go to the UN and put down a new UNSCR, challenge the UN to deal with the problems for its own sake. He could not stand by. He would say OK, what will you do? Earlier, not too convincingly, Karen had claimed GWB was always going to go down the UN route. Cheney looked very sour throughout, and after dinner, when TB and Bush walked alone to the chopper, Bush was open with him that Cheney was in a different position. Earlier, when we had said that the international community was pressing for some direction but that in the US there would be people saying ‘Why are you going to the UN, why aren’t you doing it now?’ Cheney smiled across the table, making it pretty clear that was where he was. The mood was good. As we left, Bush joked to me ‘I suppose you can tell the story of how Tony flew in and pulled the crazed unilateralist back from the brink.’ He said he was going to make clear that if the UN didn’t deal with it — no hesitation. He said he didn’t commit troops lightly, nobody would. Said TB totally understands link between WMD/Iraq and terrorism. Condi said the Cold War was about our values winning and we should push that. I said it was important they didn’t come over as ideologues. DM said the TB/GWB/Cheney meeting was quite extraordinary, a US president using a UK prime minister to persuade an American vice president. Cheney had not looked happy but it was clear Bush had made his mind up. He was very clear on the threat, and the need of the UN to deal with it." The Alastair Campbell diaries. Volume 4, The burden of power : countdown to Iraq Page 296 "In the middle of these preparations we learned that Abu Musab al- Zarqawi, a terrorist affiliated with al Qaeda, was operating a lab in the Zagros Mountains in northern Iraq. Zarqawi and his affiliates joined ranks with Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish terrorist organization seeking to produce WMD. The briefing read, “Al-Zarqawi has been directing efforts to smuggle an unspecified chemical material originating in northern Iraq into the United States.” There was some concern that Zarqawi and Ansar al-Islam were conducting unconventional weapons work, testing cyanide gas and toxic poisons on animals and even their own associates. The President’s advisors were split on what to do. The Vice President and Don favored military action, perhaps air strikes followed by “ex- ploitation,” meaning gathering up evidence at the site after the strike. Colin believed that military action would destroy any chance of build- ing an international coalition to confront Saddam. After one key meet- ing in mid-June, I followed the President into the Oval Office and told him that I agreed with Colin. I also asked him if he was comfortable with the military option that had been presented to him. Were we really going to put “boots on the ground” after.a strike to “exploit” territory inside Iraq—even Kurdish-controlled territory? What would the Turks think? I was relieved to learn that the President had the same reserva- tions. He decided to wait and let the larger Iraq strategy play out over the following months" Condoleezza Rice, No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington Page 177-178 "Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold of the Marine Corps, who retired in late 2002, has said he regarded the American invasion of Iraq unnecessary. He issued his call for replacing Mr. Rumsfeld in an essay in the current edition of Time magazine. General Newbold said he regretted not opposing the invasion of Iraq more vigorously, and called the invasion peripheral to the job of defeating Al Qaeda." More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation By David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt April 14, 2006 NYT (Not in book but similar theme) "In his memoir, CIA Director George Tenet writes that, as early as the fall of 2002, CIA officers suggested to Defense officials that they “scrap the idea of a fighting force of Iraqi exiles.” Some CIA personnel objected in general to a training program that would be overt and run by the military —rather than covert and run by them. But the main argument that State and CIA officials made against the program was simply that it was a mistake to work so closely with the externals. But then came the news stories, citing State and CIA sources, that depicted the training program as a stalking horse for Chalabi—echoing the widely touted allegations that Rumsfeld and his team were intent on anointing Chalabi as Iraq’s leader after Saddam. Rumsfeld resented those allegations, which were untrue and came with no supporting evidence. But the criticism may have made him reluctant to push Franks on the issue of opposition training: Rumsfeld went out of his way to avoid even appearing to help Chalabi, much less favoring him over other externals. In the fall, Rumsfeld asked me to update Franks on the training program, which I did at one of the war plan review sessions in Rumsfeld’s office. Luti was with me. Franks listened and appeared to accept our analy-sis. Then, when the meeting broke up and Rumsfeld had walked away from the conference table, Franks walked around to where Luti and I were standing. He leaned over me LBJ-style and delivered into my face the unforgettable remark: “Doug, I don’t have time for this fucking bullshit.” I answered that it would have been better if Franks had shared his thoughts with the Secretary." Douglas Feith, War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism Page 383 "The meeting on Saturday morning, September 7, sparked considerable debate about the wisdom of trying to revive a UN inspection regime. Colin Powell was firmly on the side of going the extra mile with the UN, while the vice president argued just as forcefully that doing so would only get us mired in a bureaucratic tangle with nothing to show for it other than time lost off a ticking clock. The president let Powell and Cheney pretty much duke it out. To me, the president still appeared less inclined to go to war than many of his senior aides. A week later, on Saturday, September 14, Steve Hadley convened another meeting in the White House Situation Room, attended by second-echelon officials from the NSC, State Department, DOD, and CIA. The agenda was titled, “Why Iraq Now?” Bob Walpole, the national intelligence officer for strategic programs, was among those present. He recalls telling Hadley that he would not use WMD to justify a war with Iraq. Someone, whom he did not know at the time but now recognizes as Scooter Libby, leaned over to another participant in the meeting and asked, “Who is this guy?” Walpole explained to Hadley that the North Koreans were ahead of Iraq in virtually every category of WMD. Bob knew that we had recently discovered Pyongyang’s covert program to produce highly enriched uranium, and he correctly assumed this would become public knowledge soon. “When that gets out, you guys will have a devil of a time explaining why you are more worried about a country that might be working on nuclear weapons rather than one that probably already has them and the wherewithal to deliver them to the U.S.,” he told the group. Someone suggested that the confluence with terrorism made Iraq a bigger threat. Two other CIA analysts present spoke up, saying that a much stronger case could be made for Iran’s backing of international terrrorism than could be made for Iraq’s. They recall Doug Feith saying that their objections were just “persnickety" At the center of the storm : my years at the CIA by George Tenet Page 485-486 (Extended Quote from book) "TO: Gen. Myers FROM: Donald Rumsfeld SUBJECT: WMD Please take a look at this material as to what we don’t know about WMD. It is big." Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 1 "* We assess Iraq is making significant progress in WMD programs * Our assessments rely heavily on analytic assumptions and judgment rather than hard evidence * The evidentiary base is particularly sparse for Iraqi nuclear programs * Concerted Iraqi CCD&D have effectively negated our view into large parts of their WMD program We don’t know with any precision how much we don’t know" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 4 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build a nuclear weapon without external expertise * We are certain many of the processes required to produce a weapon are in place — We think they possess a viable weapon design — We do not know the status of enrichment capabilities — We think a centrifuge enrichment program is under development but not yet operational * We do not know if they have purchased, or attempted to purchase, a nuclear weapon * We do not know with confidence the location of any nuclear weapon-related facilities Our knowledge of the Iraqi nuclear weapons program is based largely — perhaps 90% -- on analysis of imprecise intelligence" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 5 We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build biological weapons without external expertise We are certain all of the processes required to produce biological weapons are in place — We know they have produced anthrax, ricin toxin, botulinum toxin and gas gangrene * We cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi facilities that produce, test, fill, or store biological weapons — A large number of suspect facilities have been identified that could support R&D/production — We believe Iraq has 7 mobile BW agent production plants but cannot locate them Our knowledge of what biological weapons the Iraqis are able to produce is nearly complete...our knowledge of how and where they are produced is probably up to 90% incomplete" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 6 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build chemical weapons without external expertise * We do not know if all the processes required to produce a weapon are in place — Demonstrated capability to produce mustard & nerve agents — Lack the precursors for sustained nerve agent production We can confirm the identity of facilities producing feedstock chemicals suitable for CW precursors We cannot confirm the identity of any Iraqi sites that produce final chemical agent Our overall knowledge of the Iraqi CW [program is primarily limited to infrastructure & doctrine. The specific agent and facility knowledge is 60-70 percent incomplete." Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 7 "* We know Iraq has the knowledge needed to build ballistic missiles without external expertise * We are certain many of the processes required to produce ballistic missiles are in place — We know they can produce short range ballistic missiles (Al Samoud and Ababil-100) — We doubt all processes are in place to produce longer range missiles We can confirm the identity of most facilities that contribute to ballistic missile production or RDT&E We have good information on general storage at production/assembly sites, but little missile-specific data Our knowledge of the Iraqi ballistic missile program is about half complete for the production process but significantly lacking — less than 25 percent — for staging and storage sites" Glen Shaffer to Donald Rumsfeld, “Iraq: Status of WMD Programs,” DOD memo, September 5, 2002 Page 8 “They have an appetite for weapons of mass destruction. They have been, every period since they’ve been able to get the inspectors out of there, working diligently to increase their capabilities in every aspect of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology. And as they get somewhat stronger, the problem gets somewhat greater" Donald Rumsfeld, interview, Fox News Sunday, September 9, 2001 Page 1722 (2002?) THREATS AND RESPONSES: THE ADMINISTRATION; BUSH OFFICIALS SAY THE TIME HAS COME FOR ACTION ON IRAQ By Todd S. Purdum Sept. 9, 2002 NYT "Speaking on BBC One's Fern Britton Meets programme, Tony Blair was asked whether he would still have gone on with plans to join the US-led invasion had he known at the time that there were no WMD. He said: "I would still have thought it right to remove him. I mean obviously you would have had to use and deploy different arguments, about the nature of the threat." “Removing Saddam Was Right, Even Without WMD—Blair,” BBC News, December 12, 2009 It is within the power of the Director of the CIA, George Tenet, to order a national intelligence estimate, known as an NIE. National intelligence estimates bring together all the agencies of the Federal Government involved in intelligence, sits them down, and collects and coordinate all of their information to reach the best possible conclusion he can come up with. I was stunned to learn last week that we have not produced a national intelligence estimate showing the current state of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. What is incredible, with all of the statements made by members of this administration about those weapons, is the fact that the intelligence community has not been brought together… It is time for the administration to rise to the occasion, to produce this evidence, as has been asked for and been produced so many times in the past when America’s national security was at risk. We cannot accept anything less than that before any member of the House or the Senate is asked to vote on this critical question of going to war" Senator Dick Durbin Senate, Congressional Record, September 10 Pages S8428-9 (Worth reading his whole statement) "Although we have little specific information on Iraq’s CW stockpile, Saddam probably has stocked at least 100 metric tons (MT) and possibly as much as 500 MT of CW agents—much of it added in the last year" Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 10 "Baghdad has mobile facilities for producing bacterial and toxin BW agents; these facilities can evade detection and are highly survivable. Within three to six months these units probably could produce an amount of agent equal to the total that Iraq produced in the years prior to the Gulf war." Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 2 "CHENEY: What we said, Wolf, if you go back and look at the record is, the issue's not inspectors. The issue is that he has chemical weapons and he's used them. The issue is that he's developing and has biological weapons. The issue is that he's pursuing nuclear weapons." Richard Cheney, interview with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, March 24, 2002 In the foreword to the dossier the Prime Minister said:  “What I believe the assessed intelligence has established beyond doubt is that Saddam… continues in his efforts to develop nuclear weapons.” The executive summary states that: “As a result of the intelligence, we judge that Iraq has…. sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa, despite having no active civil nuclear programme that could require it,” while the main body of the text stated that: “… there is intelligence that Iraq has sought the supply of significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Intelligence and Security Committee Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction – Intelligence and Assessments September 2003 Page 27-28 Reference Niger Uranium The 24 September 2002 Dossier Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community’s PrewarIntelligence on Iraq Page 49 "A foreign government service reported that as of early 2001, Niger planned to  send several tons of “pure uranium” (probably yellowcake) to Iraq. As of early 2001, Niger and Iraq reportedly were still working out arrangements for this deal, which could be for up to 500 tons of yellowcake. We do not know the status of this arrangement." Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Judgments,” Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Estimate, October 2002 Page 29 "By its past and present actions, by its technological capabilities, by the merciless nature of its regime, Iraq is unique. As a former chief weapons inspector of the U.N. has said, "The fundamental problem with Iraq remains the nature of the regime, itself. Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction… Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem… Knowing these realities, America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud" White House, “President Bush Outlines Iraqi Threat,” news release transcript, October 7, 2002 Henry Kissinger, “Our Intervention in Iraq,” Washington Post, August 12, 2002 James A. Baker III, “The Right Way to Change a Regime,” New York Times, August 25, 2002 "We need to step back," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). "We're grieving. We need to step back and think about this so that it doesn't spiral out of control. We have to make sure we don't make any mistakes." She was walking down a hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. A plainclothes police officer hovered a few steps away, looking very serious. The Capitol Police began guarding Lee on Saturday because of death threats she received after voting against a resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force against anyone associated with last week's terrorist attacks. The resolution passed 98-0 in the Senate and 420-1 in the House. Lee's was the sole dissenting vote. "In times like this," she said, "you have to have some members saying, 'Let's show some restraint.' " Peter Carlson, “The Solitary Vote of Barbara Lee,” Washington Post, September 19, 2001 "there is still a group of people out there, nothing but a bunch of cold-blooded killers, by the way, that hate America. And they hate us because we love freedom. I want you to tell your kids that the reason there is an enemy that wants to strike America is because this great country, this great land loves freedom. We love the fact that people can worship freely in America. We love the fact that people can speak their mind. We love a free press, we love everything that freedom offers, and we're willing to defend it at all costs. The more we love freedom, the more the enemy hates us. And that's why we've got to protect the homeland" George W. Bush, “Remarks by the President at Chris Chocola for Congress, and Indiana Victory Finance Dinner 2002,” South Bend, Indiana, September 5, 2002 Michael Kranish, “Hillary Clinton Regrets Her Iraq Vote. But Opting for Intervention Was a Pattern,” Washington Post, September 15, 2016 “One Year Later: Diplomacy and Tracking Terrorists,” “Live Online” chat with Richard Holbrooke, Washington Post, September 10, 2002 "Were we to pick up where we left off a decade ago and head to Baghdad, the tormented people of Iraq would be sure to erupt in joy. If we liberate them, they may (if only for a while) forgive America the multitude of its sins. They may take our gift and do the easiest of things: construct a better Iraq than the one that the Tikriti killers have put in place" Fouad Ajami, “Iraq and the Thief of Baghdad,” New York Times, May 19, 2002 “Iraq Agrees to Weapons Inspections,” CNN, September 17, 2002 “Saddam Hussein’s Deception and Defiance,” Office of the Press Secretary, White House, September 17, 2002 "Overemphasis on and underperformance in daily intelligence products. As problematic as the October 2002 NIE was, it was not the Community’s biggest analytic failure on Iraq. Even more misleading was the river of intelligence that flowed from the CIA to top policymakers over long periods of time—in the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) and in its more widely distributed companion, the Senior Executive Intelligence Brief (SEIB). These daily reports were, if anything, more alarmist and less nuanced than the NIE. It was not that the intelligence was markedly different. Rather, it was that the PDBs and SEIBs, with their attention-grabbing headlines and drumbeat of repetition, left an impression of many corroborating reports where in fact there were very few sources. And in other instances, intelligence suggesting the existence of weapons programs was conveyed to senior policymakers, but later information casting doubt upon the validity of that intelligence was not. In ways both subtle and not so subtle, the daily reports seemed to be “selling” intelligence—in order to keep its customers, or at least the First Customer, interested." Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, Report to the President of the United States (“The WMD Commission Report”), March 31, 2005 Page 14 "I wasn't so sure about the al Qaeda connection. But I had heard enough to know that Saddam Hussein, with his stockpiles of nerve gas and death-dealing chemicals, is more of a menace than I had thought. I'm not ready for war yet. But Colin Powell has convinced me that it might be the only way to stop a fiend, and that if we do go, there is reason." Mary McGrory, “I’m Persuaded,” Washington Post, February 6, 2003 "Having identified and articulated those enormous stakes, can Bush and Blair leave the decision about Iraq's fate solely in the hands of Hans Blix, a studious, by-the-book Swedish treaty lawyer who failed to detect Saddam Hussein's nuclear program the first time around? Did George W. Bush become president to have that happen? The prospect boggles the mind and chills the blood." Jim Hoagi Hurdles in the Hunt for Weapons,” Washington Post, November 28, 2002 Lally Weymouth, “Same Old Saddam,” Washington Post, November 14, 1997 "Mr Russert: There's an article in The New Yorker magazine by Jeffrey Goldberg which connects Iraq and Saddam Hussein with al-Qaida. What can you tell me about it? VICE PRES. CHENEY: I've read the article. It's a devastating article I thought. Specifically, its description of what happened in 1988 when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the Kurds in northern Iraq, against some his own people… With respect to the connections to al-Qaida, we haven't been able to pin down any connection there. I read this report with interest after our interview last fall. We discovered, and it's since been public, the allegation that one of the lead hijackers, Mohamed Atta, had, in fact, met with Iraqi intelligence in Prague, but we've not been able yet from our perspective to nail down a close tie between the al-Qaida organization and Saddam Hussein. We'll continue to look for it." Dick Cheney, Meet the Press, NBC, March 24, 2002 "Iraqi dissidents agree that Iraq’s programs to build weapons of mass destruction are focussed on Israel. “Israel is the whole game,” Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress, told me. “Saddam is always saying publicly, ‘Who is going to fire the fortieth missile?’ “—a reference to the thirty-nine Scud missiles he fired at Israel during the Gulf War. “He thinks he can kill one hundred thousand Israelis in a day with biological weapons.” Chalabi added" The Great Terror,” New Yorker, March 17, 2002 Jason Burke, “The Missing Link?,” Guardian, February 8, 2003 "Bush has failed to present the current war and its impending new Iraqi front in terms of a democratic struggle against totalitarianism. He has failed to discuss in any serious way the moral aspect of the war, has failed to present the war as an act of solidarity with horribly oppressed Iraqis and other victims of Muslim fascism, has failed to show the humanitarian aspect of the war, has failed to present the war in the light of the long history of anti-totalitarianism." Paul Berman, “Why Germany Isn’t Convinced,” Slate, February 14, 2003 Judith Miller and Michael Gordon, “Threats and Responses: The Iraqis; U.S. Says Hussein Intensifies Quest for A-Bomb Parts,” New York Times, September 8, 2002 Elisabeth Bumiller, “Traces of Terror: The Strategy; Bush Aides Set Strategy to Sell Policy on Iraq,” New York Times, September 7, 2002 The Biggest Secret: James Risen on Life as a NY Times Reporter in the Shadow of the War on Terror STORY JANUARY 05, 2018 Democracy Now Charles Duelfer, Iraq Survey Group, “Regime Strategic Intent: Sorting Out Whether Iraq Had WMD Before Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq’s WMD, September 30, 2004 Nick Thorpe, “3,000 Iraqi Exiles to Train at U.S. Base in Hungary for Secret Role in War,” Guardian, January 16, 2003 "Sen. CARL LEVIN (D), Michigan: General Shinseki, could you give us some idea as to the magnitude of the Army's force requirement for an occupation of Iraq, following a successful completion of the war? Gen. ERIC SHINSEKI, Army Chief of Staff, '98-'03: In specific numbers, I would have to rely on combatant commander's exact requirements. But I think-- Sen. CARL LEVIN: How about a range? Gen. ERIC SHINSEKI: I would say that what's been mobilized to this point, something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers, are probably, a-- you know, figure that would be required. We're talking about post-hostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes significant ground force presence" The Invasion of Iraq,” PBS Frontline, May 9, 2004, transcript If I might digress for a moment, Mr. Chairman, from my prepared testimony, because there has been a good deal of comment--some of it quit outlandish--about what our postwar requirements might be in Iraq. That great Yankee catcher and occasional philosopher, Yogi Berra, once observed that it is dangerous to make predictions, especially about the future. That piece of wise advice certainly applies to predictions about wars and their aftermath, and I am reluctant to try to predict anything about what the cost of a possible conflict in Iraq would be--what the possible cost of reconstructing and stabilizing that country afterwards might be. But some of the higher-end predictions that we have been hearing recently, such as the notion that it will take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to provide stability in post-Saddam Iraq, are wildly off the mark." Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "On the other side, we can't be sure that the Iraqi people will welcome us as liberators, although based on what Iraqi-Americans told me in Detroit a week ago, many of them, most of them with families in Iraq, I am reasonably certain that they will greet us as liberators, and that will help us to keep requirements down" Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "You know, in the very week that we negotiated with Turkey, the administration also told the Governors there wasn't any more money for education and health care… So I would recommend to the Governors that they may want to hire the person that has been negotiating for Turkey on their behalf, because he has done a very good job." Paul Wolfowitz, testimony, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, February 27, 2003 "But Saddam Hussein is -- he's treated the demands of the world as a joke up to now, and it was his choice to make. He's the person who gets to decide war and peace." George W. Bush, “President Bush: This Is a Defining Moment for the UN Security Council,” White House, February 7, 2003 "The inspections are not working. Dribbling out of a warhead here, a missile there, may give the appearance of disarmament, but it is not reducing Saddam's capabilities." White House, “Global Message on Iraq,” statement, March 6, 2003 "He's a master at deception. He has no intention of disarming -- otherwise, we would have known. There's a lot of talk about inspectors. It really would have taken a handful of inspectors to determine whether he was disarming -- they could have showed up at a parking lot and he could have brought his weapons and destroyed them. That's not what he chose to do." White House, “President George Bush Discusses Iraq in National Press Conference,” news release transcript, March 6, 2003 George W. Bush, “President Says ‘It is a Moment of Truth’ for UN,” White House, February 9, 2003 Sean Loughlin, “House Cafeterias Change Names for ‘French’ Fries and ‘French’ Toast,” CNN, March 12, 2003 "But the reported remarks of one of his ministers last week comparing President Bush's tactics with those of Hitler turned annoyance to outrage. It is no exaggeration to say that relations between the Germany and the US are at their lowest ebb since the foundation of the federal republic after the second world war. The president, who conceives of diplomacy in a very personal way, is understood to be furious. He pointedly omitted to congratulate Schröder on his victory and his security adviser, Condoleeza Rice, has said that relations between the two countries have been "poisoned"" John Hooper, “U.S.-German Relations Strained over Iraq,” Guardian, September 24, 2002 "The survey results also show that an overwhelming 81% of British voters now agree with the international development secretary, Clare Short, that a fresh United Nations mandate is essential before a military attack is launched on Saddam Hussein." Alan Travis, “Support for War Falls to New Low,” Guardian, January 21, 2003 "The most recently published opinion poll on attitudes to war, by the state's own official pollsters, showed 91% opposition" Giles Tremlett and Sophie Arie, “Aznar Faces 91% Opposition to War,” Guardian, March 28, 2003 Ginger Thompson and Clifford Krauss, “Threats and Responses: Security Council; Antiwar Fever Puts Mexico in Quandary on Iraq Vote,” New York Times, February 28, 2003 "Saddam Hussein can leave the country, if he's interested in peace. You see, the decision is his to make. And it's been his to make all along as to whether or not there's the use of the military. He got to decide whether he was going to disarm, and he didn't. He can decide whether he wants to leave the country. These are his decisions to make. And thus far he has made bad decisions." White House, “President Bush: Monday ‘Moment of Truth’ for World on Iraq,” news release transcript, March 16, 2003 "my fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. (Applause.) And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country." White House, “President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended,” news release transcript, May 1, 2003 Judith Miller, “Aftereffects: The Hunt for Evidence; Trailer Is a Mobile Lab Capable of Turning Out Bioweapons, a Team Says,” New York Times, May 11, 2003 "Q But, still, those countries who didn't support the Iraqi Freedom operation use the same argument, weapons of mass destruction haven't been found. So what argument will you use now to justify this war? THE PRESIDENT: We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories. You remember when Colin Powell stood up in front of the world, and he said, Iraq has got laboratories, mobile labs to build biological weapons. They're illegal. They're against the United Nations resolutions, and we've so far discovered two. And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." White House, “Interview of the President by TVP, Poland,” news release transcript, May 29, 2003 Central Intelligence Agency, Iraqi Mobile Biological Warfare Agent Production Plants, May 28, 2003 James Risen, “The Struggle for Iraq: Intelligence; Ex-Inspector Says CIA Missed Disarray in Iraqi Arms Program,” New York Times, January 26, 2004 "But the orders had a psychological impact I did not foresee. Many Sunnis took them as a signal they would have no place in Iraq's future. This was especially dangerous in the case of the army. Thousands of armed men had just been told they were not wanted. Instead of sign- ing up for the new military, many joined the insurgency. In retrospect, I should have insisted on more debate on Jerry’s orders, especially on what message disbanding the army would send and how many Sunnis the de-Baathification would affect. Overseen by longtime exile Ahmed [sic] Chalabi, the de-Baathification program turned out to cut much deeper than we expected, including mid-level party members like teachers.” George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown, 2010) Page 259 Dexter Filkins and Ian Fisher, “The Struggle for Iraq: Ransacking; Iraqis and G.I.’s Raid the Offices of an Ex-Favorite,” New York Times, May 21, 2004 "Let me begin by saying, we were almost all wrong, and I certainly include myself here. Sen. [Edward] Kennedy knows very directly. Senator Kennedy and I talked on several occasions prior to the war that my view was that the best evidence that I had seen was that Iraq indeed had weapons of mass destruction. I would also point out that many governments that chose not to support this war -- certainly, the French president, [Jacques] Chirac, as I recall in April of last year, referred to Iraq's possession of WMD. The Germans certainly -- the intelligence service believed that there were WMD. It turns out that we were all wrong, probably in my judgment, and that is most disturbing" David Kay, statement at Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, January 28, 2004 CNN Transcript: David Kay at Senate hearing "These assessments were all wrong. This became clear as U.S. forces searched without success for the WMD that the Intelligence Community had predicted. Extensive post-war investigations were carried out by the Iraq Survey Group (ISG). The ISG found no evidence that Iraq had tried to reconstitute its capability to produce nuclear weapons after 1991; no evidence of BW agent stockpiles or of mobile biological weapons production facilities; and no substantial chemical warfare (CW) stockpiles or credible indications that Baghdad had resumed production of CW after 1991. Just about the only thing that the Intelligence Community got right was its pre-war conclusion that Iraq had deployed missiles with ranges exceeding United Nations limitations" REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT, MARCH 31, 2005 (Similar to references in book) "In the summer and fall of 2003, the Iraq Survey Group (ISG) investigated whether Iraq had a mobile biological weapons program as part of its overall investigation into Iraq’s WMD capabilities. The primary focus was investigating sites and individuals identified by CURVE BALL and later, CURVE BALL himself. The ISG located and debriefed over sixty individuals who could have been involved in a mobile program, were linked to suspect sites, or to CURVE BALL. Many of the individuals corroborated some of the reporting on personnel and some legitimate activities CURVE BALL claimed were cover activities, but none provided evidence to substantiate the claim of a mobile BW program. Inspections of the facilities CURVE BALL had described also did not support his story. A CIA assessment dated May 26, 2004 states that “investigations since the war in Iraq and debriefings of the key source indicate he lied about his access to a mobile BW production project. The CIA and DIA jointly issued a congressional notification in June 2004 noting that CURVE BALL was assessed to have fabricated his claimed access to a mobile BW production project and that his reporting had been recalled." Senate Committee on Intelligence, Use by the Intelligence Committee of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress, S. Rep. 109-330, September 8, 2006 Page 106-107 (Similar theme in book) Donald Rumsfeld Known Unknowns Unverified Sources “liberate ourselves, our friends and allies in the region, and the Iraqi people themselves, from the menace of Saddam Hussein." Paul Wolfowitz, statement at House National Security Committee Hearings on Iraq, September 16, 1998 “Why is it that terrorists want to go after Americans? Because we are always dropping bombs on people and telling people what to do; because we are the policemen. We pretend to be the arbitrator of every argument in the world, even those that have existed for 1,000 years. It is a failed, flawed policy" Ron Paul, remarks in the House, Congressional Record, October 5, 1998, H9489 Carl Ford to Richard Armitage,“Niger—Sale of Uranium to Iraq Is Unlikely,” State Department INR memo, March 1, 2002 Nigerian Denial of Uranium Yellowcake Sales to Rogue States,” CIA cable, March 8, 2002 Central Intelligence Agency, “Key Mobile BW Source Deemed Unreliable,” redacted memo, May 26, 2004

In todays video, I spoke to Stephen Zunes about Joe Biden's role in the Iraq war, his rewriting of history and his following years. Stephen opposed the war and wrote many articles against the war at the time. From this experience, Stephen is able to break down just how influential Biden was in making the Iraq war happen. He did not only just vote for the Iraq war, when many democrats did not, he was the Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time. This meant he could of used his position to prevent the war, but instead he strongly supported it. In recent years, Biden has tried to rewrite his position on the Iraq war and Stephen breaks down these lies. Bio Dr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he serves as coordinator of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Recognized as one the country’s leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent action, Professor Zunes serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/dave-decamp-on-nordstream-kakhovka-dam-ukraine-us-korean-tensions-china Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Stephen Zunes Links Website - http://stephenzunes.org/ Books Twitter - https://twitter.com/SZunes?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor - @SZunes Books The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America's Soldiers by by Joseph Hickman 16 Feb. 2016 Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution by Stephen Zunes Show Notes WORTH THE PRICE? Joe Biden and the Launch of the Iraq War The Real News Network - Short Doc (Stephen Features) Joe Biden Was Instrumental in Launching the Iraq War The Real News Network Western Saraha JOINT DECLARATION The Kingdom of Morocco, the United States of America and the State of Israel Proclamation on Recognizing The Sovereignty Of The Kingdom Of Morocco Over The Western Sahara 2020 Gen. Mark Milley in Syria to Support U.S. Troops WSJ Gordon Lubold March 4, 2023 Israel 6 Day War- Occupied Territories Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory illegal: UN rights commission Palestinian women walk by Israel's barrier near Ramallah in the West Bank. IRIN/Shabtai Gold Palestinian women walk by Israel's barrier near Ramallah in the West Bank UN 20 October 2022 Roll Call Vote 102nd Congress - 1st Session 1991 Gulf War Vote Where Biden Is (and Isn’t) Turning Back Trump’s Israel Policies NYT By Giovanni Russonello May 17, 2021 Nuclear weapons at a glance: Israel Research Briefing Published Thursday, 28 July, 2022 UK Parliament Pope condemns any war on Iraq Monday, January 13, 2003 CNN United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Washington, D.C. November 13, 2002 JULY 31, 2002 U.S. Military Action Against Iraq, Day 1 Joe Biden Chairman AUGUST 1, 2002 U.S. Military Action Against Iraq, Day 2 Joe Biden Chairman The Case Against War A rebuttal to eight arguments put forward by proponents of an invasion of Iraq STEPHEN ZUNES The Nation SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 Stephen Zunes Articles Against The Iraq War (At The Time) Roll Call Vote 107th Congress - 2nd Session XMLVote Summary Question: On the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 ) October 11, 2002 Passed the Senate on October 11, 2002 (77–23) To Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq House Passed the House on October 10, 2002 (296–133) Transcript: Obama's Speech Against The Iraq War January 20, 2009 2002 Barack Obama Interview: Against Iraq Obama's 2002 Speech Against the War, Delivered by Supporters Sir Tony Blair knighthood: More than one million sign Change.org petition calling for ex-prime minister to have honour removed There is opposition to Sir Tony Blair's appointment as a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter due to his record while in 10 Downing Street, including the 2003 military invasion of Iraq By Greg Heffer, political reporter Saturday 8 January 2022 Sky H.J.Res.114 - Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 107th Congress (2001-2002) Fact check: Biden again dishonestly suggests he opposed the Iraq War from the beginning By Daniel Dale January 6, 2020 CNN 15 FEBRUARY 2003 On 15 February 2003, anti-war rallies took place across the globe – the largest occurring in Rome, Italy where a crowd of 3 million gathered to protest the USA’s threat to invade Iraq. Police figures report that millions more demonstrated in nearly 600 cities worldwide - Guiness World Records 22 March, 2003, 20:47 BBC Anti-war protests span the globe France and Germany unite against Iraq war Staff and agencies Wed 22 Jan 2003 The Guardian Biden addresses possible link between son’s fatal brain cancer and toxic military burn pits Health Jan 10, 2018 PBS Biden administration authorizes $2.5 billion in arms sales to Egypt despite human rights concerns Jennifer Hansler By Jennifer Hansler, CNN January 25, 2022 Saudi Crown Prince Is Held Responsible for Khashoggi Killing in U.S. Report But the Biden administration stopped short of directly penalizing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calculating that the risk of damaging American interests was too great By Julian E. Barnes and David E. Sanger Feb. 26, 2021 NYT Cluster bombs: Biden defends decision to send Ukraine controversial weapons BBC 8th July 2023 NOVEMBER 22, 2021 Nearly 3/4 of the World’s Dictators Receive US Weapons and Military Assistance BY MATTHEW HOH Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Addresses Media in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 7, 2023 March 7, 2023 Pentagon chief, on surprise trip, says US troops to stay in Iraq In Baghdad, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledges continued US troop presence in fight against ISIL Al-Jazeera Western Sahara profile Published 31 January 2023 BBC Biden campaign, Blinken orchestrated intel letter to discredit Hunter Biden laptop story, ex-CIA official says April 21, 2023 In The News Brooke Singman House Gov Antony Blinken: ‘Spies who lie’ letter ‘wasn’t my idea, didn’t ask for it’ — still refuses to call Hunter laptop real By Steven Nelson May 1, 2023 NY Post Scott Horton Stephen Zunes Interviews

Dave Decamp returned to the program for the 2nd time, this time to discuss the developments in Ukraine in more detail. We discussed the ongoing reports about the Nordstream story, the Kakhovka Dam, Western escalations and Russia's response. We also spoke about Ukraine's counter-offensive, US-South Korean provocations towards North Korea, ongoing tensions with China and signs the US is isolated in Europe towards China. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/matthew-hoh-talks-about-the-struggles-of-veteran-hood-treatment-of-veterans-common-problems Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Daves Links https://www.youtube.com/@antiwarnews/videos AntiWar.com https://twitter.com/DecampDave https://original.antiwar.com/author/Dave_DeCamp/ Show Notes https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/interview-with-dave-de-camp-syria-the-war-on-terror-and-ukraine Ex-CIA director says Russia is 'most likely suspect' for alleged Nord Stream sabotage Natalie Musumeci Sep 29, 2022 Business Insider European security officials observed Russian Navy ships in vicinity of Nord Stream pipeline leaks Katie Bo Lillis Natasha Bertrand Kylie Atwood By Katie Bo Lillis, Natasha Bertrand and Kylie Atwood, CNN September 29, 2022 How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now SEYMOUR HERSH FEB 8, 2023 THE COVER-UP The Biden Administration continues to conceal its responsibility for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines SEYMOUR HERSH MAR 22, 2023 Intelligence Suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, U.S. Officials Say By Adam Entous, Julian E. Barnes and Adam Goldman March 7, 2023 NYT U.S. had intelligence of detailed Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline THE DISCORD LEAKS | The CIA learned last June, via a European spy agency, that a six-person team of Ukrainian special operations forces intended to sabotage the Russia-to-Germany natural gas project By Shane Harris and Souad Mekhennet June 6, 2023 WAPO Dutch intelligence warned CIA about alleged Ukrainian plot to attack Nord Stream pipelines, Netherlands’ public broadcaster reports Mick Krever Alex Marquardt Sarah Dean Sugam Pokharel By Mick Krever, Alex Marquardt, Sarah Dean and Sugam Pokharel, CNN Tue June 13, 2023 U.S. Warned Ukraine Not to Attack Nord Stream CIA pressed Kyiv weeks before explosions sabotaged the natural-gas pipelines bringing Russian gas to Europe By Bojan Pancevski Follow , Drew Hinshaw Follow , Joe Parkinson Follow and Warren P. Strobel Follow Updated June 14, 2023 WSJ "Europe itself has taken very significant steps to both decrease demand but also look at ways to pursue the transition to renewables at the same time. And ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs. That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come, but meanwhile, we’re determined to do everything we possibly can to make sure that the consequences of all of this are not borne by citizens in our countries or, for that matter, around the world." Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly At a Joint Press Availability REMARKS ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE BENJAMIN FRANKLIN ROOM WASHINGTON, D.C. SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 Nord Stream 1: Gazprom announces indefinite shutdown of pipeline Norway, Poland open new gas pipeline amid Nord Stream leaks France 24 27/09/2022 H.R.4346 - Chips and Science Act 117th Congress (2021-2022) - AUGUST 09, 2022 FACT SHEET: CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains, and Counter China White House JUNE 06, 2023 Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby Why the Evidence Suggests Russia Blew Up the Kakhovka Dam A dam in Ukraine was designed to withstand almost any attack imaginable — from the outside. The evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within. By James Glanz, Marc Santora, Pablo Robles, Haley Willis, Lauren Leatherby, Christoph Koettl and Dmitriy KhavinJune 16, 2023 NYT "Kovalchuk considered flooding the river. The Ukrainians, he said, even conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates at the Nova Kakhovka dam, making three holes in the metal to see if the Dnieper’s water could be raised enough to stymie Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages. The test was a success, Kovalchuk said, but the step remained a last resort. He held off." Inside the Ukrainian counteroffensive that shocked Putin and reshaped the war By Isabelle Khurshudyan, Paul Sonne, Serhiy Morgunov and Kamila Hrabchuk December 29, 2022 WAPO Conflicts of Interest: Ukraine Plotted to Destroy Dam Months Before Its Destruction by Conflicts of Interest Posted onJune 14, 2023 On COI #431, Kyle Anzalone covers the destruction of The Nova Kakhovka Dam U.S. to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, in major reversal The tanks won’t arrive in Ukraine for many months. Biden announces U.S. will send Abrams tanks to Ukraine Politico By LARA SELIGMAN 01/25/2023 US dismisses Polish plan to provide fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine Pentagon says plan for Poles to give Soviet-era jets to US ‘not tenable’ as Ukraine cities await promised Russian ceasefire Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates Julian Borger in Washington and Patrick Wintour in London Wed 9 Mar 2022 The Guardian Slovakia joins fellow NATO member Poland in sending fighter jets to Ukraine Updated March 17, 2023 NPR US signals to allies it won’t block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine Natasha Bertrand Kylie Atwood Oren Liebermann By Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood and Oren Liebermann, CNN May 19, 2023 Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say Natasha Bertrand Zachary Cohen Kylie Atwood By Natasha Bertrand, Zachary Cohen and Kylie Atwood, CNN June 5, 2023 Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on twitter (opens in a new window) Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on facebook (opens in a new window) Militias used US armoured vehicles in attack over Russian border on linkedin (opens in a new window) Save current progress Christopher Miller in Kyiv, Felicia Schwartz in Washington and Polina Ivanova in Berlin MAY 23 2023 FT Minister backs Ukraine carrying out Russia strikes with British weapons Tue 26 Apr 2022 The Guardian U.S. Set to Approve Depleted-Uranium Tank Rounds for Ukraine The armor-piercing ammunition has raised concerns over health and environmental effects By Michael R. GordonFollow and Gordon LuboldFollow June 13, 2023 Nuclear Weapons in Europe: Mapping U.S. and Russian Deployments By Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow March 30, 2023 The CFR U.S. doubts Ukraine counteroffensive will yield big gains, leaked document says It’s a marked departure from the Biden administration’s public pronouncements about the vitality of Ukraine’s army and is likely to embolden critics calling for negotiations to end the war By Alex Horton, John Hudson, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Samuel Oakford April 10, 2023 WAPO Washington Post: Leaked document reveals US doubts about Ukraine's counteroffensive Share Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Share via Email by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 11, 2023 France ‘backs Ukraine’s Nato bid’ to pressure Russia into peace talks Emmanuel Macron, the French president, reportedly hopes the about-turn in policy could help end the war By Henry Samuel IN PARIS 20 June 2023 The Telegraph America Still Leads the World, But Its Allies Are Uneasy In the global struggle between the Eurasian “Heartland” and the US-led "Rimland," there's trouble ahead. Goodbye to all that? Goodbye to all that?Photographer: Stefan Rousseau/Getty Images ByNiall Ferguson June 18, 2023 Bloomberg Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 On 21 to 22 June 2023, the UK and Ukraine jointly hosted the international Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2023) in London. Organisations: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office South Korea and US begin largest war games in years amid North threats Protesters stage a rally to oppose the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 22, 2022. By Euronews with AP • Updated: 22/08/2022 North Korea fired more than 100 artillery rounds - South military Reuters November 2, 2022 Reuters A US nuclear-powered sub arrives in South Korea, a day after North Korea resumes its missile tests BY HYUNG-JIN KIM AND KIM TONG-HYUNG Published 4:51 AM BST, June 16, 2023 AP DOD BASE STRUCTURE REPORT - FISCAL YEAR 2015 BASELINE - 587 admitted overseas bases Page 7 Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron The ‘great risk’ Europe faces is getting ‘caught up in crises that are not ours,’ French president says in interview BY JAMIL ANDERLINI AND CLEA CAULCUTT APRIL 9, 2023 Politico We don’t want to decouple from China, but can’t be overreliant Germany will seek cooperation where it lies in our mutual interest, but we will not ignore controversies either BY OLAF SCHOLZ NOVEMBER 3, 2022 Politico Clips Biden: No Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia invades Victoria Nuland Nordstream FIRESIDE CHAT with Hon. Robert C. O’Brien at the 2023 Global Security Forum Global Security Forum - Min 11 Seth Moulton Milken Institute Clip - Full Video 2023 GLOBAL CONFERENCE The United States and China: Navigating Strategic Competition (Invite only) Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Beverly Hilton - International Ballroom Min 35

Matthew Hoh returned to the show for the 5th time, this time for a conversation about Veteran Hood. We spoke about Matt's own personal struggles, general treatment of Veterans in the US, common reasons and struggles for post war veterans. Matt was of course involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan, so he has personal insight into the subject, which we discuss throughout the episode. I hope this video was helpful if you are a veteran, or if you are close to one. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/syria-foreign-arms-terrorists-syria-today-an-interview-with-vanessa-beeley Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Bio - Matthew has been a Senior Fellow with the Center for International Policy since 2010. In 2009, Matthew resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan with the State Department over the American escalation of the war. Prior to his assignment in Afghanistan, Matthew took part in the American occupation of Iraq; first in 2004-5 in Salah ad Din Province with a State Department reconstruction and governance team and then in 2006-7 in Anbar Province as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Matthew worked on Afghanistan and Iraq war policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department from 2002-8. - Center for International Policy | Matthew Hoh Matt's Links Eisenhower Media Network - https://eisenhowermedianetwork.org/experts/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/MatthewPHoh Substack - https://matthewhoh.substack.com/ Matt's Recommended Articles NOVEMBER 8, 2019 And the Armies That Remained Suffer’d: Veterans, Moral Injury and Suicide BY MATTHEW HOH JULY 9, 2021 Was it Just? America and Her Suicidal Combat Veterans BY MATTHEW HOH Show Notes The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World Eisenhower Media Network NYT Ukraine JUNE 9, 2023 A War Long Wanted: Diplomatic Malpractice in Ukraine BY MATTHEW HOH Counter Punch "A new partnership of nations has begun, and we stand today at a unique and extraordinary moment. The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times, our fifth objective -- a new world order -- can emerge: A new era -- freer from the threat of terror, stronger in the pursuit of justice and more secure in the quest for peace. An era in which the nations of the world, east and west, north and south, can prosper and live in harmony." Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit 1990-09-11 speech, Toward A New World Order - CSPAN Clip "It was also interesting to confirm that President Carter gave the Iraqis a green light to launch the war against Iran through Fahd.” Talking Points, State Department, "Talking Points" [for Alexander Haig meeting with Ronald Reagan], Top Secret/Sensitive, circa April 1981 "Mr Kelly: We have no defense treaty relationship with any Gulf country. That is clear. We support the security and independence of friendly states in the region. Ever since the Truman administration, we have maintained Naval forces in the Gulf because of our interest in stability in that region. We are calling for a peaceful resolution of any differences in that area and we hope and trust and believe that the sovereignty of every state in the Gulf ought to be respected. Mr. HAMILTION: Do we have a commitment to our friends in the Gulf in the event that they are engaged in oil or territorial disputes with their neighbors ? Mr. KELLY: As I said, Mr. Chairman, we have no defense treaty relationships with any of the countries. We have historically avoided taking a position on border disputes or on internal OPEC deliberations, but we have certainly, as have all administrations, resoundingly called for the peaceful settlement of disputes and differences in the area. Mr. HAMILTON: If Iraq, for example, charged across the border into Kuwait, for whatever reason, what would be our position with regard to the use of U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That, Mr. Chairman, is a hypothetical or a contingency, the kind of which I can't get into. Suffice it to say we would be extremely concerned, but I cannot get into the realm of '' what if answers. Mr. HAMILTON: In that circumstance, it is correct to say, however, that we do not have a treaty commitment which would obligate us to engage U.S. forces ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct. Mr. HAMILTON: That is correct, is it not ? Mr. KELLY: That is correct , sir ..” Developments in the Middle East, July 1990: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred First Congress, Second Session, July 31, 1990, Volume 4 Page 14 Monroe Doctrine Nayirah testimony Russel Company Opium Forbes Family Opium Wars "Warhorse" Soldiers participate in Military Salute to Service; attend Denver Bronco game By (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Andrew Porch, 2nd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.) Army Mill November 20, 2012 President Obama claims rise of Isis is 'unintended consequence' of George W. Bush’s invasion in Iraq Mr Obama says rise is an example of 'why we should aim before we shoot' Heather Saul Wednesday 18 March 2015 The Independent President Barack Obama Speaks With VICE News VICE News 16 March 2015 Min 12 Unethical human experimentation in the United States More Retired Generals Call for Rumsfeld's Resignation Give this article By David S. Cloud and Eric Schmitt April 14, 2006 NYT Eric Shinseki Veteran Affairs Budget NATIONAL VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION ANNUAL REPORT VA Suicide Prevention 2022 Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention September 2022 Page 5 ‘A Poison in the System’: The Epidemic of Military Sexual Assault Nearly one in four U.S. servicewomen reports being sexually assaulted in the military. Why has it been so difficult to change the culture? NYT By Melinda Wenner Moyer Published Aug. 3, 2021 A review of post-traumatic stress disorder. Part I: Historical development and classification NIH Survey: Veterans say Afghanistan, Iraq wars not worth it Moni Basu, CNN October 5, 2011 JULY 10, 2019 Majorities of U.S. veterans, public say the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not worth fighting BY RUTH IGIELNIK AND KIM PARKER AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it, an exclusive Post investigation found. By Craig Whitlock Dec. 9, 2019

In todays video, I spoke to Vanessa Beeley, an independent journalist who has covered the Middle East for the last decade and most specifically Syria. We spoke about the foreign interference in the so called "Syrian civil war", the Western/Gulf armed foreign terrorists and the constant rebranding of these groups in the media. We also discussed the current state of Syria, the occupations, sanctions and the reemergence of Syria on the international stage, with the normalising of relations in the Arab League. Vanessa is the daughter of former British diplomat Harold Beeley and has lived in Syria for the last 4 years and reported on the ground in Syria, during the conflict. Bio Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist and photographer who has worked extensively in the Middle East - on the ground in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine, while also covering the conflict in Yemen since 2015. In 2017 Vanessa was a finalist for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism which was won by the much-acclaimed Robert Parry that year. In 2018 Vanessa was named one of the 238 most respected journalists in the UK by the British National Council for the Training of Journalists. In 2019, Vanessa was among recipients of the Serena Shim Award for uncompromised integrity in journalism. Vanessa contributes regularly to Mint Press News, Russia Today, UK Column, The Last American Vagabond, and many other independent media outlets. Please support her work at her Patreon account. https://www.patreon.com/vanessabeeley Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-example-of-a-politicians-hypocrisy-public-deceivery-bilderberg-mi6-bp-david-lammy-sunak Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/bilderberg-the-elitist-3-day-secret-trans-atlantic-meeting-an-interview-with-charlie-skelton https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Vanessa Beeley's Links Twitter - https://twitter.com/VanessaBeeley Substack - https://beeley.substack.com/ Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@vanessabeeley1268 Show Notes Network of Syria conspiracy theorists identified – study This article is more than 11 months old Campaign disseminating disinformation sent thousands of tweets, often targeting the White Helmets, research finds Mark Townsend The Guardian Sun 19 Jun 2022 75 Years & Counting: A History of Western Regime Change in Syria Part Off Guardian Vanessa Beeley First Syrian Republic SYRIA: 40 LINKS THAT PROVE REGIME CHANGE PLANS U.S. secretly backed Syrian opposition groups, cables released by WikiLeaks show Syrian anti-government protesters march in Banias, Syria on Sunday. The Arabic banner at center reads: "All of us would die for our country.” The Washington Post By Craig Whitlock April 17, 2011 "AQI supported the Syrian opposition from the beginning, ideologically and through the media.. AQI conducted a number of operations in several Syrian cities under the name Al Nusra, one of its affiliates… If the situation unravels there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria. And this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want in order to isolate the Syrian regime" Department of Defense, ‘Information Report 14-L-0552/DIA), August 2012 Judicial Watch Page 3 "former DIA chief Michael Flynn – who had been in the post at the time the report was circulated in 2012 and remained there until 2014 – quite remarkably not only confirmed in a July 2015 Al-Jazeera interview that the report had crossed his desk but also explained that he ‘paid very close attention... the intelligence was very clear.’ When asked if the US government’s decision to ignore the intelligence was deliberate or accidental he then stated: ‘I don’t know that they turned a blind eye, I think it was a decision. I think it was a wilful decision.’ As if this was not enough, when the incredulous interviewer asked Flynn to clarify whether he meant there was a decision in the US government knowingly to support such extremist groups, the former DIA chief doubled down by confirming ‘it was a wilful decision to do what they’re doing.’ Moreover, when he was then asked why he did not try to stop arms transfers to the Salafist principality while in office he replied: ‘I hate to say this... but it’s not my job" Al-Jazeera, ‘Head to Head: Who is to blame for the rise of ISIL?’, 29 July 2015 Michael T Flynn, the former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIL and Iran (interview minute 11-13) Syria intervention plan fueled by oil interests, not chemical weapon concern This article is more than 9 years old Nafeez Ahmed Massacres of civilians are being exploited for narrow geopolitical competition to control Mideast oil, gas pipelines Fri 30 Aug 2013 The Guardian News World August 09 2013 11:07:05 Moscow rejects Saudi offer to drop Assad for arms deal BEIRUT - Agence France-Presse The Revolution Business by Journeyman - Documentary Comparing Assad To Hitler, Turkey's Prime Minister Calls On Him To Resign November 22, 2011 NPR 'Assad has now joined Hitler and Hussein': AP REPORTER PUBLISHED: 15:30, 1 September 2013 The Daily Mail MARCH 17, 2015 Reuters Turkish PM says negotiating with Assad like shaking hands with Hitler By Reuters Staff Assad, like Hitler, would manipulate elections The Obama administration’s Syria policy has gone from farce to tragedy and now back to farce. By RAFAEL MEDOFF The Jeruselem Post OCTOBER 5, 2016 Sean Spicer Raises Outcry With Talk of Hitler, Assad and Poison Gas NYT By Nicholas Fandos and Mark Landler April 11, 2017 The VETO Documentary Vanessa Beeley Leaked telephone call between Nuland and Pyatt, the then U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John McCain tells Ukraine protesters: 'We are here to support your just cause' The Guardian Sun 15 Dec 2013 NPR 'World Is Watching,' U.S. Diplomat Tells Ukraine December 11, 2013 US used Nazis as Cold War spies Published 28 October 2014 REVEALED: TONY BLAIR’S EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO COURT SYRIA’S DICTATORS Declassified obtains briefing notes for prime minister Tony Blair’s visit to meet president Bashar al-Assad in October 2001, the first trip by a British premier to Syria in history, as the UK sought to woo the Assad regime. MATT KENNARD 29 OCTOBER 2021 Declassified UK Assad close to being knighted under Blair Dipesh Gadher Sunday July 01 2012 The Times "He said Americans ″are held in direct contravention of international law. Many of them reportedly staked out as human shields near possible military targets, brutality that I don’t believe Adolf Hitler ever participated in anything of that nature."" Bush Says Saddam Even Worse Than Hitler TOM RAUM AP News November 1, 1990 CFA Franc Americans, Need Help in Syria? Call the Czechs. Prague parlays its unique position in Syria into being America's protecting power. By Emily Tamkin AUGUST 4, 2017 Foreign Policy Magazine Who's Funding ISIS? Wealthy Gulf 'Angel Investors,' Officials Say 'Angel investors' from the Gulf continue to provide money to the terror group, say officials. Image: ISIL militants driving in vehicles near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit An image from a propaganda video uploaded on June 8 by the jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, AKA ISIL or ISIS, allegedly shows militants driving in vehicles near the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. AFP - Sept. 21, 2014 by Robert Windrem NBC News Qatar ‘funnelled millions of dollars to Nusra Front terrorists in Syria’ Andrew Norfolk, Chief Investigative Reporter Friday June 04 2021, 12.01am, The Times The Real Reason to Intervene in Syria Cutting Iran's link to the Mediterranean Sea is a strategic prize worth the risk By James P. Rubin June 4th 2012 Foreign Policy (Bill Clintons Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs) "We asked Lord Richards whether he knew that Abdelhakim Belhadj and other members of the al-Qaeda affiliated Libyan Islamic Fighting Group were participating in the rebellion in March 2011. He replied that that “was a grey area”. He added that “a quorum of respectable Libyans were assuring the Foreign Office” that militant Islamist militias would not benefit from the rebellion. He acknowledged that “with the benefit of hindsight, that was wishful thinking at best.”. The possibility that militant extremist groups would attempt to benefit from the rebellion should not have been the preserve of hindsight. Libyan connections with transnational militant extremist groups were known before 2011, because many Libyans had participated in the Iraq insurgency and in Afghanistan with al-Qaeda." House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK’s future policy options Third Report of Session 2016–17 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 6 September 2016 Page 13 "Instead, Mr. Obama decided to make the rebel training program a “covert action” run by the C.I.A. He signed a secret finding allowing the agency to begin preparing to train and arm small groups of rebels in Jordan, a move that circumvented the legal issues and allowed the White House to officially deny it was giving the lethal aid. Besides the legal worries, there were other concerns driving the decision to make the program a secret. As one former senior administration official put it, “We needed plausible deniability in case the arms got into the hands of Al Nusra.” Obama’s Uncertain Path Amid Syria Bloodshed October 22nd 2013 NYT "Abu Kumayt, a fighter with the Syrian Revolutionaries Front who said he fought in the battle under cover, gave a slightly different version. He said that groups with the antitank missiles fought alongside Nusra fighters and under their command — but that only Nusra and its Islamist ally Ahrar al-Sham were allowed to enter the base when it fell. Nusra, he said, lets groups vetted by the United States keep the appearance of independence, so that they will continue to receive American supplies. His group’s commander, Jamal Maarouf, has been unable to enter Syria since his fighters were driven from their base in Idlib Province this fall. In his house in Reyhanli, near Antakya, he blamed anemic Western support and a mistake that he and other fighters made: They initially welcomed Nusra’s foreign jihadists, believing that they would help bring victory. No F.S.A. faction in the north can operate without Nusra’s approval,” Mr. Maarouf said, adding that the front had either bought or terrorized F.S.A. fighters into compliance. “Nusra cannot cover every area so they still need them. But once they take control, they will confiscate all weapons or oblige those factions to pledge allegiance.”As Syria’s Revolution Sputters, a Chaotic Stalemate December 27th 2014 NYT "From: Jake Sullivan To: Hillary Clinton Date: 2012-02-12 09:01 Subject: SPOT REPORT 02/12/II See last item - AQ is on our side in Syria" UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05789138 Date: 10/30/2015 - Wiki Leaks "The Moderate Face of Al Qaeda” Foreign Affairs How the Group Has Rebranded Itself By Colin P. Clarke October 24, 2017 The Good and Bad of Ahrar Al-Sham: An Al Qaeda-Linked Group Worth Befriending By Michael Doran, William McCants, and Clint Watts January 23, 2014 Accepting Al Qaeda The Enemy of the United States’ Enemy By Barak Mendelsohn March 9th 2015 (CFR Magazine) Hillary Clinton speaks out about US creating the Mujahedeen "Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahideen in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. Is this period, you were the national security advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct? Brzezinski: Yes. According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahiddin began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on December 24, 1979. But the reality, closely guarded until now, is completely otherwise: Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the president in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention [emphasis added throughout]. Q: Despite this risk, you were an advocate of this covert action. But perhaps you yourself desired this Soviet entry into the war and looked for a way to provoke it? B: It wasn’t quite like that. We didn’t push the Russians to intervene, but we knowingly increased the probability that they would. Q : When the Soviets justified their intervention by asserting that they intended to fight against secret US involvement in Afghanistan , nobody believed them . However, there was an element of truth in this. You don’t regret any of this today? B: Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, essentially: “We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war that was unsustainable for the regime , a conflict that bought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire. Q: And neither do you regret having supported Islamic fundamentalism, which has given arms and advice to future terrorists? B : What is more important in world history? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some agitated Moslems or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the cold war? Q : “Some agitated Moslems”? But it has been said and repeated: Islamic fundamentalism represents a world menace today... B: Nonsense! It is said that the West has a global policy in regard to Islam. That is stupid: There isn’t a global Islam. Look at Islam in a rational manner, without demagoguery or emotionalism. It is the leading religion of the world with 1.5 billion followers. But what is t h ere in com m on among fundamentalist Saudi Arabia , moderate Morocco, militarist Pakistan, pro-Western Egypt, or secularist Central Asia? Nothing more than what unites the Christian countries…" The Brzezinski Interview with Le Nouvel Observateur (1998), University Of Arizona The strange case of Moazzam Begg Richard Norton-Taylor Tue 7 Oct 2014 The Guardian Terror trial collapses after fears of deep embarrassment to security services Swedish national Bherlin Gildo’s lawyers argued British intelligence agencies were supporting the same Syrian opposition groups as he was Richard Norton-Taylor Mon 1 Jun 2015 The Guardian Kerry in leaked audio: ‘I lost the argument’ for use of force in Syria Elise Labott Ryan Browne By Elise Labott and Ryan Browne, CNN Tue October 4, 2016 "The initial message about the Syrian issue was that we always wanted [President] Bashar Assad to go, we always preferred the bad guys who weren’t backed by Iran to the bad guys who were backed by Iran,” he said. This was the case, he said, even if the other “bad guys” were affiliated to al-Qaida. “We understand that they are pretty bad guys,” he said, adding that this designation did not apply to everyone in the Syrian opposition. “Still, the greatest danger to Israel is by the strategic arc that extends from Tehran, to Damascus to Beirut. And we saw the Assad regime as the keystone in that arc. That is a position we had well before the outbreak of hostilities in Syria. With the outbreak of hostilities we continued to want Assad to go.” 'Israel wanted Assad gone since start of Syria civil war' SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the US Michael Oren told The Jerusalem Post in a parting interview "For Jerusalem, the status quo, horrific as it may be from a humanitarian perspective, seems preferable to either a victory by Mr. Assad’s government and his Iranian backers or a strengthening of rebel groups, increasingly dominated by Sunni jihadis. "This is a playoff situation in which you need both teams to lose, but at least you don’t want one to win — we’ll settle for a tie,” said Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. “Let them both bleed, hemorrhage to death: that’s the strategic thinking here. As long as this lingers, there’s no real threat from Syria.” Israel Backs Limited Strike Against Syria September 5th 2013 NYT "Nusra Front, however, hasn’t bothered Israel since seizing the border area last summer—and some of its severely wounded fighters are regularly taken across the frontier fence to receive treatment in Israeli hospitals… Only about one-third of the Syrians treated in Israel, however, were women and children. An Israeli military official acknowledged that most of the rebels on the other side of the fence belong to Nusra but said that Israel offered medical help to anyone in need, without checking their identity. “We don’t ask who they are, we don’t do any screening…Once the treatment is done, we take them back to the border and they go on their way,” he said." Al Qaeda a Lesser Evil? Syria War Pulls U.S., Israel Apart Mountaintop on edge of Golan Heights illustrates complexities. WSJ March 12th 2015 Nayirah testimony UK military operations in Syria and Iraq - Defence Committee UK Parliament 16 Sept 2016 "Ah yes of course, that must have been why the US initiated *in 2013* its biggest rebel/proxy assistance effort in decades— a program that lasted until mid-2017. The covert program was worth $billions, coordinated with 14+ countries & worked with 80+ FSA groups across #Syria."Charles Lister Tweet James Le Mesurier: White Helmets co-founder died from fall, Turkey says Published 16 December 2019 White Helmets Middle East round-up: Syria rejoins the Arab League Here’s a round-up of Al Jazeera’s By Abubakr Al-Shamahi Published On 11 May 2023 11 May 2023 Turkish occupation of Syria Golan Heights Water H.R.3202 - Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act of 2023 118th Congress (2023-2024 US needs to ‘wake up’ about the threat from China: Marco Rubio Fox News March 30th 2023 Min 2:14 - Marco Rubio Fox De-Dollarization "What my constant cry was that our biggest problem was our allies. Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends, and I’ve a great relationship with [Turkish President Recep] Erdoğan, who I’ve just spent a lot of time with, the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni-Shia war, what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were al-Nusra, and al Qaeda, and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden, everybody is awakened because this outfit called ISIL, which was al Qaeda in Iraq, which when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space and territory in eastern Syria, work with al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on, and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them. So, what happened? Now, all of a sudden [now that ISIS has taken over western Iraq]—I don’t want to be too facetious—but they have seen the lord. Now we have—the president’s been able to put together a coalition of our Sunni neighbors, because America can’t once again go into a [Sunni] Muslim nation and be the aggressor. It has to be led by Sunnis. To go and attack a Sunni organization. And so, what do we have for the first time? Now Saudi Arabia has stopped the funding from going in. Saudi Arabia is allowing training on its soil of American forces under Title 10, open training. The Qataris have cut off their support for the most extreme elements of the terrorist organizations. And the Turks, President Erdoğan told me—he is an old friend—said, “You were right; we let too many people through. Now we are trying to seal the border.” VP Joe Biden 2014 talk to Harvard University Delivers remarks on foreign policy min 53:10 Books Documentaries The Revolution Business by Journeyman The VETO Documentary Vanessa Beeley

In todays video, I discuss an example of a politicians hypocrisy and public deceivery. It is the perfect example of how they say one thing in public and do the complete opposite in private, or in this case, the exact thing David Lammy accused Rishi Sunak of. I am not a party politics man or partisan, this is purely a show of the sham of our political and media system. The video discusses David Lammy, a young Rishi Sunak clip, a paid for Bilderberg attendance, MI6, BP and an utter, brazen David Lammy hypocritical tweet at Sunak, about his younger self "Aristocrats" comment, 1 month after being with literal Aristocrats, paid for by Aristocratic types. This video does not go in detail about Sunak or Lammy's political career, just a specific recent example. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/bilderberg-the-elitist-3-day-secret-trans-atlantic-meeting-an-interview-with-charlie-skelton https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://rumble.com/user/TruthOverComfort https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Tik Tok @truthovercomfort https://www.tiktok.com/@truthovercomfort Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Show Notes David Lammy Mp UK's Rishi Sunak becomes richest ever occupant of Number 10 By Alistair Smout October 25, 2022 Reuters Boris Johnson DAVID LAMMY: WASHINGTON’S MAN IN LABOUR The likely future foreign secretary has been attending elite gatherings in the US while courting MI6 and displaying his establishment credentials on Labour’s foreign and military policy, which is likely to be near-identical to the current government. MARK CURTIS 12 MAY 2023 Declassified UK Interview with Charlie Skelton about Bilderberg Charlies Links Charlie Skelton is a comedy writer, journalist and olive farmer. He is script editor of Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live and writes on various similar sorts of things for television and radio. He has covered the Bilderberg meeting every year since 2009 for the Guardian. Twitter The Guardian David Lammy Tweet about Sunak Bilderberg 2022 meeting - Participants List of Bilderberg participants over the years "Name of donor: (1) Newbridge Advisory; (2) Bilderberg Association Address of donor: (1) Mermaid House, 2 Puddle Dock, London EC4V 3DS (2) 2 St. James’ Place, London SW1A 1NP Estimate of the probable value (or amount of any donation): (1) Reimbursed £5,669.57 for flights and accommodation on 8 June 2022; (2) Airport transfers at £160 and meals approximately £376.58; total value £536.58 Destination of visit: Washington DC, United States Dates of visit: 2-5 June 2022 Purpose of visit: To partake in the Bilderberg Meeting 2022. (Registered 19 July 2022; updated 22 July 2022) This is a late entry to which the rectification procedure was applied on 11 August 2022. Paragraph 15 of chapter 4 of the Guide to the Rules refers." David Lammy Registered Interests John Sawers BP Newbridge Advisory Chatham House John Sawers Chatham House BP's Iraq Oil Drilling Contract Mr. Gill Sharethis specific contribution To ask the Prime Minister which members of his Government have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group. [34298] The Prime Minister [holding answer 16 March 1998]: None. Written Answers Volume 309: debated on Monday 30 March 1998 We Are Change Tony Blair Clip Deutsche Bank Global Advisory Board REVEALED: DOZENS OF UK FORMER SENIOR OFFICIALS PROFIT FROM FOSSIL FUEL CORPORATIONS, RUBBER-STAMPED BY WHITEHALL COMMITTEE MARK CURTIS 4 FEBRUARY 2021 Declassified UK

In todays video I interviewed Charlie Skelton who since 2009 has covered the Bilderberg group for the Guardian. We discuss some of the massive names, countries, corporations and governments represented at the last two meetings. The 2022 meeting in Washington saw a complete media blackout, except for Charlies article for the Guardian. There was also little attention to the 2023 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. We also discuss a brief history of the group, the potential influence and Charlies personal experiences being on the ground, outside the meeting locations. He tells a comedic story of his first ever experience covering the group in Greece, where he was chased by secret police and almost arrested for simply taking photos. The Bilderberg meetings are often attended by heavy hitters from North America and Europe, in royalty, heads of western intelligence, NATO, the EU, Governments, banks, corporations, investors, media and big tech. These people sit on multiple boards and are industry leaders. They meet once a year, for 3 days in secret, with no press oversight and Chatham house rules, so nothing said can be discussed outside the meeting. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/an-interview-with-joseph-solis-mullis-historical-sino-western-relations-the-new-cold-war https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Charlies Links Charlie Skelton is a comedy writer, journalist and olive farmer. He is script editor of Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live and writes on various similar sorts of things for television and radio. He has covered the Bilderberg meeting every year since 2009 for the Guardian. Twitter The Guardian Show Notes Bilderberg wiki page Bilderberg Website The diversity crisis at the world’s most influential think tank If the Bilderberg Group refuses to change, it has no business playing any part in 21st-century politics and decision-making, writes Charlie Skelton Wednesday 29 July 2020 The Independent Bilderberg Ahoy! Pompeo and Kushner join the billionaire boat club From a Swiss shore, the rich and mighty – and select, discreet reporters – could be seen enjoying the annual secretive summit Charlie Skelton in Montreux Sun 2 Jun 2019 The Guardian Alex Jones Charlie Skelton - Another https://bilderbergmeetings.org/meetings/meeting-2023/participants-2023 https://bilderbergmeetings.org/background/steering-committee/former-steering-committee-members Queen Beatrix of The Nethlands Kings of The Netherlands Our man at Bilderberg: Six days to lost innocence Charlie Skelton At the end of the annual secret meeting of the global elite, a call of nature feeds Charlie Skelton's worst fears Read all of Charlie Skelton's Bilderberg files Mon 18 May 2009 The Guardian (Greece) https://bilderbergmeetings.org/meetings/meeting-2023/participants-2023 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies at Senate artificial intelligence hearing | full video CBS News Sam Altman Tweet Jason Bermas Interview with Charlie - Guardian Sleuth Dares To Demystify Bilderberg Media Blackout ChatGPT and Microsoft chiefs join US and European elites flocking to Lisbon for secretive, behind-closed-doors Bilderberg meetings on AI, China, Russia-Ukraine and the future of banking The 69th Bilderberg meeting is currently underway May 18-21 in Lisbon, Portugal Secretive meeting assembles top US and European businessmen and politicians The elite crew share behind-closed-door discussions around major global issues By DAVID AVERRE 19 May 2023 Daily Mail Jens Stoltenberg Tweet Mr. Gill Sharethis specific contribution To ask the Prime Minister which members of his Government have attended meetings of the Bilderberg Group. [34298] The Prime Minister [holding answer 16 March 1998]: None. Written Answers Volume 309: debated on Monday 30 March 1998 We Are Change Tony Blair Clip Deutsche Bank Global Advisory Board Obama, Clinton Ditch Press for Secret Meeting Former rivals ditch press for late night rendezvous before Clinton concedes. By KATE SNOW ABC June 6th 2008 Dan Dicks

In todays video I interviewed Joseph Solis-Mullis, we discussed historical Sino-Western relations, the opium wars, WW1, the post WW2 relationship and the new cold war. Please feel free check out our interview and his work. . A graduate of Spring Arbor University and the University of Illinois, Joseph Solis-Mullen is a political scientist and current graduate student in the economics department at the University of Missouri. An independent researcher and journalist, his work can be found at the Ludwig Von Mises and Libertarian Institutes, Antiwar.com, the Journal of the American Revolution, Journal of Libertarian Studies, and the QJAE. Please feel free to comment if I have missed any links in the show notes. Previous Video - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/naftali-bennett-let-s-the-cat-out-of-the-bag-about-the-west-and-ukraine Previous Interview - https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/iraq-an-interview-with-matthew-hoh https://www.youtube.com/@truthovercomfort9162/videos https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jc56qKZUGuFj/ https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/ Twitter @truthovercomfo2 - https://twitter.com/truthovercomfo2 Instagram truthovercomfort30 - https://www.instagram.com/truthovercomfort30/ Josephs Links https://libertarianinstitute.org/author/joseph-solis-mullen/ https://mises.org/profile/joseph-solis-mullen https://twitter.com/solis_mullen?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor Clips FIRESIDE CHAT with Hon. Robert C. O’Brien at the 2023 Global Security Forum Global Security Forum - Min 11 Seth Moulton Milken Institute Clip - Full Video 2023 GLOBAL CONFERENCE The United States and China: Navigating Strategic Competition (Invite only) Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Beverly Hilton - International Ballroom Min 35 Show Notes https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-fake-china-threat-and-its-very-real-danger/ Patrick Macfarlane Interview with Joseph https://www.truthovercomfort.co.uk/post/china-an-interview-with-patrick-macfarlane China Won't Be Taking Over the World China globe TAGS Global Economy 08/09/2021Joseph Solis-Mullen China is spreading fentanyl into america Russel Company Opium Forbes Family Opium Wars List of Skull and Bones members Chinese Civil War Century of Humiliation The Opening to China Part I: the First Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Wangxia, 1839–1844 The Treaty of Wangxia (Wang-hsia) was the first formal treaty signed between the United States and China in 1844. It served as an American counterpart to the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanjing that ended the First Opium War in 1842 The Opening to China Part II: the Second Opium War, the United States, and the Treaty of Tianjin, 1857–1859 Boxer Rebellion Shandong Problem Chinease Laborer's The Danger of the Fake China Threat ft. Joseph Solis-Mullen Ep. 225 By Patrick MacFarlane JUL 27, 2022 Long March Second Sino-Japanese War America Takes Philippines As Colony History of Taiwan US military considered using nuclear weapons against China in 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis, leaked documents show Ben Westcott By Ben Westcott, CNN May 24, 2021 - NYT Documents Risk of Nuclear War Over Taiwan in 1958 Said to Be Greater Than Publicly Known The famed source of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, has made another unauthorized disclosure — and wants to be prosecuted for it. Give this article Soldiers in 1958 on Kinmen Island, also called Quemoy. According to an apparently still-classified document, American officials doubted they could defend Taiwan with only conventional weapons. Soldiers in 1958 on Kinmen Island, also called Quemoy. According to an apparently still-classified document, American officials doubted they could defend Taiwan with only conventional weapons By Charlie Savage Published May 22, 2021 NYT USSR planned nuclear attack on China in 1969 The Soviet Union was on the brink of launching a nuclear attack against China in 1969 and only backed down after the US told Moscow such a move would start World War Three, according to a Chinese historian. Andrew Osborn in Moscow and Peter Foster in Beijing 13 May 2010 The Telegraph The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962 History Gov Cuban Missile Crisis 1972 visit by Richard Nixon to China 203. Joint Statement Following Discussions With Leaders of the People’s Republic of China1 Shanghai, February 27, 1972 JOINT COMMUNIQUE ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA JANUARY 1, 1979 The August 17, 1982 U.S.-China Communiqué on Arms Sales to Taiwan Six Assurances H.Con.Res.88 - Reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of United States-Taiwan relations. 114th Congress (2015-2016) H.R.2479 - Taiwan Relations Act 96th Congress (1979-1980) Strategic Ambiguity Trump admin approves new sale of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine The Trump administration first approved the sale of Javelins to Ukraine in 2017. ByLuis Martinez, Conor Finnegan, and Elizabeth McLaughlin October 1, 2019 ABC United States and state-sponsored terrorism How the U.S. Government Amassed $31 Trillion in Debt By Jim Tankersley Jan. 22, 2023 NYT Taiwan is Part of China Ep. 249 By Patrick MacFarlane US, Philippines agree to larger American military presence By JIM GOMEZ February 2, 2023 AP MAY 24, 2022 Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement Aukus deal: US, UK and Australia agree on nuclear submarine project Published 14 March October 7, 2022 U.N. body rejects debate on China's treatment of Uyghur Muslims in blow to West Reuters Wakhan Corridor (Afghan-China) Taiwan president’s meeting with US speaker divides opinion at home Helen Davidson in Taipei While Tsai Ing-wen was visiting the US, her predecessor was in Beijing on a mission to bolster cross-strait relations Fri 7 Apr 2023 The Guardian Japan and the Netherlands Announce Plans for New Export Controls on Semiconductor Equipment Commentary by Gregory C. Allen , Emily Benson and Margot Putnam Published April 10, 2023 CSIS Lord Mayor’s Defence and Security Speech - Thursday 10 June 2021 Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, delivered the 2021 Annual Defence and Security Lecture at the Mansion House 22nd June 2021 -"The notion of strategic resilience and the integrity of our strategic base and critical national infrastructure is on the table again in an uncertain and unpredictable world. One in which Pax Americana finds itself being stretched by no less than three authoritarian states; Russia, Iran and China, each of which is seeking its own independent sphere of influence separate to any American-backed global order or rule book" MI6 regrets helping Vladimir Putin to win power, says ex-spy chief The Times October 1st 2018 China projects bombed ‘Changing global order’: China’s hand in the Iran-Saudi deal China brokering a deal between longtime Gulf rivals is ‘a broader sign of a changing global order’, analysts say. By Mersiha Gadzo Published On 11 Mar 2023 11 Mar 2023 Fox March 1, 2023 FBI director says COVID pandemic 'most likely' originated from Chinese lab