John Bolton's Blunt Diplomacy

John Bolton, who served as one of President George W. Bush's ambassador to the United Nations, has been named as President Donald Trump's new National Security Adviser to replace General H.R. McMaster. There had been chatter in the District of Calamity that McMaster was on the outs this week, but this personnel change followed a leak of details of President Trump's telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 



  Bolton has been known as a no-nonsense diplomat who strongly believes in US national interests.  Bolton is seen as a being hawkish towards nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea  This would seem to align with the desired approach in the Trump Administration. 

Denouncing the Nerve of Russia Poisoning

Trump Administration UN Ambassador Nikki Haley denounced the assassination attempt on  a Russian double agent living in England at the UN Security Council.  Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found slumped over in Salsibury city center on March 4th and they remain in critical condition.  Haley noted that this episode was a defining moment and "The credibility of this [Security] Council will not survive if we fail to hold Russia accountable." 



 
The March 4th attack in Salsibury used Novichok ("Newcomer" in Russian), a military grade nerve agent which was manufactured in secret in the Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s.  A-230, one of the chemicals in Novichok, is five to eight times more lethal than VX gas. This toxic assassination attempt on foreign soil exposed dozens of citizens and 200 first responders to deadly chemicals.  Still, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin deflects from responsibility for the attack. 



British Prime Minister Teresa May opined: "Either this was a direct action by the Russian State against our country or the Russian government lost control of a potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get in the hands of others."   The British Government expelled 23 Russian diplomats and suspended high level contacts.  In addition, there is talk that the UK may organize an official boycott of the Sochi World Cup competition this June.  Putin is mulling over retaliatory actions against the UK. 

Although the British have not invoked the "All For One, One For All" Article V Clause of NATO, there has been a rare joint statement between President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Teresa May which concluded that there was no plausible alternative explanation explanation to Russian responsibility to the Salsibury attack and Russia's non response to the British legitimate request for an explanation further underlines the responsibility.  The communique noted that the use of chemical weapons is a breach of international law and an assault on UK sovereignty.


During one of the 2012 Presidential debates, President Barack Obama mocked Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) for thinking that Russia was the premiere world threat and joked "The 1980s are now calling to get their their foreign policy back." The Salisbury chemical attack impeaches Obama's caustic quip.  Sadly, the mainstream media today is more focused on over-exposing Stormy Daniels strip tease of her truth of a Trump affair a dozen years ago than covering a serious international incident which actually involves Vladimir Putin. 

Washington Capitals Captain Alexandr Ovechkin on Team Putin

Washington Capitals hockey superstar Alexandr Ovechkin has long thought that Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin was "a nice guy." Thus, it is not surprising that he speaks highly of being on "Team Putin". 







How that goes in an American media environment which has taken a frosty stance on Russian collusion allegations, the Uranium One scandal concerning the Clintons as well as geopolitical tensions amongst Asian powers remains to be seen.  

On Domestic Spying

Bromance Revisited?

Bush Advance Man Brian Montgomery Reflects on 9/11

As America commemorates the 15th anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks by Islamic terrorists, the sting of the memory may have grown faint in some circles. Whether it is due to the passage of time or the widespread reluctance to show the terrible videos about planes hitting the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville PA, killing nearly 3,000 souls that day. So the producers of a commercial showing the collapse of twin towers of mattresses might not have struck them as being offensive humor.

However, Bush White House Director of Advance Brian Montgomery had a slightly sardonic memory of that dark day preparing for an impromptu stop at Barksdale AFB on September 11, 2001, as it seemed like Dr. Strangelove surrealism. 

The Secret Service was very protective of the President and were chary about returning to the White House to avoid the possibility of a decapitation strike. This sensibility was reinforced especially after hearing chatter that "Angel" (code name for Air Force One) was "next".  So the Presidential entourage was diverted to Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, Louisiana.

It so happened that on that very day, the 8th Air Force based at Barksdale AFB was in the midst of their annual big exercise Global Guardian, including having loaded bombers at the ready.   So Barksdale AFB was already proceeding in a THREATCON Delta mode.  So when Advance Director Montgomery disembarked from Air Force One, he could see the B-52 Stratsfortress bombers lined up wing-to-wing it seemed surreal.

Adding to the surreal scene was being met by a military man who looked like ready to roll General Buck Turgidson telling him that the squadron of B-52s were loaded with nukes, no wonder Montgomery thought of Dr. Strangelove.

Better to work with a guy looking like General Buck Turgidson than guy acting like General Ripper. However, to all reports, once the second plane hit the World Trade Center everyone in the military was on war footing.  

And despite less than ideal communications on Air Force One, President George W. Bush was able to reach out to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fletcher recalled: "Putin was fantastic that day.  He was a very different Vladimir Putin in 2001.America could have had no better ally on September 11th than Russia and Putin. Putin  accepted the President Bush's reassurances that America was under attack and hostilities were not directed towards Russia. 

President Bush exiting Air Force One on September 11,2001 with "Doomsday Plane" in the background

So despite "Angel" landing next to a fully loaded nuclear squadron of B-52's and being met on the tarmac by a guy who was a doppelganger for General Buck Turgidson, there was little chance on 9/11 that life would imitate art in Dr. Strangelove's (1964) climactic ending.

H/T Politico

Evan McMullin Questions Trump's Russia Ties

Recently, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump (R-NY) has again voiced kind words towards Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin while being interviewed by Larry King on RT, a Kremlin based cable news channel.  

Trump has a history of admiring strong leadership, even if it is authoritarian.  During the 2016 Republican primaries, Trump created a controversy by re-tweeting a quote echoing Italian dictator Mussilini. Just after the brutal suppression of the Tianamen Square protests in Beijing in 1989, Trump had words admiring the strong leadership shown by the Chinese Communists in regaining control .

Trump surrogates, including Trump's Vice Presidential choice Governor Mike Pence (R-IN), reaffirmed Trump's bias towards strong leadership.  Gary Kasparov, the former Chess Grand Master turned Russian dissident, had some strong words about liking Putin with strong leadership.

However, some Trump opponents believe that it goes much deeper than Trump's admiration for authoritarian impluses.  Independent Presidential candidate Evan McMullin (I-UT), a former CIA officer, drew upon his intelligence contacts to question Trump's Russian ties. 

This does not seem like idle speculation from an election opponent.  Former high level Trump staffer Paul Manafort was forced to depart from the Trump campaign as shady Russian business ties were severely scrutinized,  including  helping route $12.7 million to lobby for pro Russian Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych .  The 2016 Republican Party platform removed references to arming Ukraine against pro-Russian forces was facilitated by Frank Memourd , a longtime Manafort man who worked Black Sea energy issues at the State Department.

Gary Kasparov on Strong Leaders

From Russia with Loathe?

The second half of July featured early conventions from the Republicans, who nominated Donald Trump (R-NY) for President while Democrats finally elevated former First Lady, Senator and Obama Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-NY) to the top of their ticket.

Traditionally, when the other party holds their convention, you let them have their time in the spotlight.  But this is not the usual election cycle.  Donald Trump's vault to success was using earned media and trolling his opponents.  So as the Democrats were warming up their propaganda machine in Philadelphia, Trump offered some attention grabbing counter-programming.

In the wake of the DNC Leaks disclosure by Wikileaks, Donald Trump raised a compelling question against candidate Clinton during an extended,press conference at Trump Doral in Florida-- will Hillary Clinton's 30,000 missing emails become public? Trump suggested that Russians captured that cache of deleted emails from Clinton's unsecured homebrew server while serving as Secretary of State and ought to release them.

This modest proposal inspired a backlash from many circles, with some going so far as claiming that Trump committed treason.  Others alleged that Trump invited foreign intelligence services to hack at America.  Still other observers considered the cozy relations which Trump associates and campaign staff have with Russian interests.

It is dubious if Trump was petitioning Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin to hack into American servers.  This is foreign intelligence agency's modus operandi.  Wikileaks has shown itself to be a Russian cat's paw and the DNC Leaks seem to be "From Russia with Loathe" for Hillary.  But what may work on reality television for ratings  hardly seems leader-like for a prospective President of the United States to sarcastically suggest espionage against America.  It implies weakness of America's intelligence infrastructure, being sympatico with an aggressive autocrat, and invites chaos of having foreigners influence American elections.

While Trump certainly did steal some limelights, he raised more questions with his stunt.  Brilliant idea to have a no bars held presser during the Democrats convention week as it underlined how Hillary has not done one in over 250 days.  Much of Trump's appeal is going to be anti-Hillary, so pursuing the perspective that Hillary is an unindicted National Security criminal plays to that strategy.  However, when you asked a hostile foreign government to help take down an opponent, you besmirch yourself and lose the critical focus on your opponent. 

Wikileaks has intimated that there is another cache that will put Hillary away. That might please the Donald, but surely his focus will have moved on to the next series of insults and insinuations.

Why the Red Card on the F.I.F.A. World Cup of Corruption?

In the wake of Attorney General Loretta Lynch pulling out a red card on 14 F.I.F.A officials for an alleged World Cup of Corruption, Russian President Vladimir Putin opined that the Americans were offsides. 

It is bizarre that Putin purports that the United States is culminating a three year investigation in order to interfere with the F.I.F.A. election of Joseph Sepp  Blatter, but that sort of agiprop distracts from the Russians continuing to mass heavy firepower on the Ukrainian border. But then again, Putin's Russia used the Sochi Winter Olympics as cover for initially invading Crimea in 2014.

To answer why the Department of Justice issued a 47 count indictment over F.I.F.A. corruption, it is worth noting that the plots were hatched in the United States and utilized the U.S. banking system.  It is wrong to think that the F.I.F.A. case does not affect American politics either.  The United States missed out on winning the 2018 World Cup to the Russian Federation's Sochi bid and the out of the box award to Qatar in 2022.  The U.S. would be a natural backup in case either the Russian or Qatari bids fall through.

Moreover,  the Clinton Foundation received between  $50,000 and $100,000 and partnered with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association.  President Bill Clinton was said to have been so upset at the US losing the 2022 World Cup bid to Qatar that he smashed a mirror.  But the Qatar 2022 tried to make it up by giving the Clinton Foundation  $250,000 and $500,000 as well as the Qatari government pitching in between $1 million and $5 million.

This may only be the beginning of the F.I.F.A. fallout. Suddenly the business of soccer has become very exiting.  Goooooooooooool!

h/t: Steve Bell

Boris Yeltsin on Forceful Conquest

The first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin had a rough time transitioning the Soviet command and control economy into a free market economy as privatization had a good deal of the nation's wealth fall into the hands of a handful of oligarchs. When Yeltsin suddenly resigned the office on December 31, 1999 and left the office to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Yeltsin had an approval rating of 2%. Still an American rock group named itself "Somebody Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin".

 

World Class Gymnast Gives Up Gold to Aid Ukrainian Army

[L] Natalia Godunko performing Rhythmic Gymnastics  [R] Gold Medal being auctioned for Ukrainian Army

Natalia Godunka, a 29 year old world class Rhythmic Gymnast from Ukraine, decided to auction her team Gold Medal from the 2001 World Championships in Madrid to support the Ukrainian army in the War of the Donbass (Eastern Ukraine).

To get an idea of the caliber of athlete Godonko is, witness her frenetic but flawless ribbon performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.



Godunka boyfriend, musician Sasha Polozhynsky, announced the auction of the medal on Facebook.  Plozhynsky regrets that Godunka put the medal up for auction but since it has been bid upon, he hopes that it will raise more money and inspire others to also help fund the cause. 

In one day, the auction had garnered bids had garnered bids up to $843 US.   The auction runs until August 10th, 2014.

During the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia  a couple of Ukrainian athletes protested violence at the Euromaiden protests in Kiev by Russian backed paramilitaries  by not showing up to their events.

Godunko sacrificing her gold medal  to support her country's army to inspire shared sacrifice to forestall Finlandization of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin's expansionistic incursions using  non-linear warfare.

Many celebrities will spout off about causes about which they know little or that lending their support comes at no cost.  It is admirable that Ukrainian athletes like Natalia Godunko as well as Olg and Bohdana Matsohski are willing to personally sacrifice for their country and their freedom. 

h/t: Ukrainian Pravda 

David Boreanaz Has Some Bones to Pick About Obama's Foreign Policy (sic)

During a recent publicity interview during Comic Con 2014, Bone's star David Boreanaz insisted that he was not obsessed about how many seasons the Fox TV drama could last.  

But based upon his challenging tweet to POTUS' pussinillious foreign policy positions, Boreanaz either feels quite secure with his place in Hollywood or is comfortable with the current run of the show.  Or maybe the Season 10 story-line has prepared him to face an overbearing government which jails perceived political enemies. 

Putin's POTUS Peril

Illustrating Obama's Lack of Leadership

There is a maxim that a picture can tell a thousand words.  To illustrate President Barack Obama's lack of leadership, one need not waste so many words.

A day in the life-- July 17, 2014

Top Left- A Malaysian Passenger Airliner with 298 people (including 23 Americans and 80 children) was shot down at 31,000 feet over Ukrainian airspace near the Russian border with a sophisticated Surface to Air Missile.  Pro Russian "rebels" against Ukraine trumpeted a shootdown on Twitter and then retracted it once the civilian debris was spread over a path of 10 miles. These rebels also claimed to take the plane's black box.    Russia wildly claims that Ukraine was responsible, claiming that the shot was intended for Russian President Putin and declaring that Ukraine was responsible for their own territory.

Top Right-  After 10 days of intense indiscriminate bombardment from the Iranian backed Hamas terror forces from Gaza, and a Hamas invasion force into Israel right after a five hour seize fire,  the Israeli Defense Forces launch a sustained air, sea and land campaign in Gaza to take out tunnels used to terrorize 2/3rds of Israel's civilian population.

Bottom Left- A picture of the supposed US border where an alluvia of illegal aliens are overwhelming the US Border Patrol as Other Than Mexicans expect to gain "permisos" from the Obama Administration.  This stream of illegal immigrants are being kept in close quarters in makeshift refuge camps, often on underutilized military bases, without screening for communicable diseases like scabies, whooping cough, tuberculosis, Hand and Foot disease and swine flu.  These illegal aliens are being distributed around the country, being given EBT (food stamp) cards and told to report for a hearing months (or years) into the future.  The Obama Administration's solution was a $3.9 Billion spending bill, which only dedicates $100 million to the Border Patrol.

Bottom Right-  President Obama's schedule included meeting with an unemployed American at the Barbecue Pit in Delaware, a partisan rally for raising National Highway Funds in Wilmington, Delaware and then off to New York City for two political fundraisers which were closed to the press.  During the 30 minute Highway speech, Mr. Obama devoted 36 seconds to the world crises but noting that the downed jet  "may" have been a terrible tragedy and our first priority is to determine whether American citizens were onboard.  Nearly a day later, the Obama Administration's investigation can not confirm if Americans were onboard.  Perhaps it is data lost on an IRS/EPA/FEC hard drive crash.

Putin Knocks

Assuredly, that knock on the door is not a Candygram (nor a friendly Miami Dolphin).

h/t: Martin Rowson 

Obama's Friday Evening "Leadership"

Palin's Prescience on Obama's Ukrainian Ineffectiveness

Progressives may poke fun at the supposed stupidity of Sarah Palin.  But who foresaw the geopolitical consequences of weakness in reacting to the Russians?  Palin intuited the patterns of Comrad Wolf as manifest by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

How much respect have the Russians shown for President Obama's reset of relations and his red lines?  Maybe it's because Hillary Clinton's State Department presented a red button which read "pregruzka" which actually means "overload" instead of reset.  More likely, it is the truth in Mr. Obama's "hot mike" moment when  now Russian Federation Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev  promised to transmit to Comrad Putin that POTUS will have more flexibility after his election. 

Vladimir Putin on Realpolitik

Garry Kasparov Checks Western Fecklessness on Ukraine

Garry Kasparov has evolved from a youthful Soviet Chess Grandmaster and a prospective Russian Presidential candidate in 2008 to an outspoken critic of the Putin regime.  Kasparov has not held his rhetorical fire against the unrest in Ukraine.

Previously peaceful  Euromaidan protesters were attacked by forces supporting of Ukrainian President  Victor Yanukovych.  Kasparov foresees an eventual Aunshlauss of Ukraine with the Russian Federation.  Or at the very least the Crimea and other areas with large ethnic Russian populations in Ukraine being "protected" by Mother Russia.  Kasparov intimates that the attacks in Ukraine were coordinated with Putin to occur during the Sochi Winter Olympics to act as a distraction.  The Kremlin has amassed 50,000 man force to secure the Olympics and Kerch,  Crimea  is only 274 miles away, separated only by narrow strait (alas the 2.8 mile bridge which Yanukovych agreed to in 2010 has yet to be built).

With Kasparov's involvement with the Human Rights Foundation, he is attempting to sound the klaxon to preserve freedom in Ukraine.  Unfortunately, based upon his Twitter feed, Garry Kasparov does not seem optimistic about Western "leaders"  rising to the crisis to preserve freedom in Ukraine.

President Obama made public pronouncements about unrest in Ukraine, which tried to blame both sides but also warned the Ukrainian government not to "cross the line."  

Hugh Hewitt was incredulous that Mr. Obama opted to use the idiom "step over the line", especially after the Red Line he painted in Syria in 2012, and then denied that Mr. Obama ever set a red line  in 2013 as the US was preparing to get involved in the Syrian Civil War.   Kasparov picked up on President Obama's pusillanimous tact about acting on "red lines".

The credibility of the European Union and the Obama presidency are on the line in protecting the liberty of the Ukrainian people and freedom.  If this situation goes unchecked, it will be an invitation for forcing a de jure Russian empire.

h/t: Garry Kasparov
     Chip Bok
     Graeme MacKay