Add Syria to laudable U.S. withdrawals from Afghanistan, Iraq

Trump entered office with 3 hot U.S. wars: Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

He escalated Iraq and Syria with bombings and refusal to withdraw U.S. troops.

But Trump sensibly negotiated a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban in January, 2020, promising to fully withdraw from that U.S. devastated country by May, 2021. The Taliban, an inexorable force that no country could defeat, responded by ending attacks on U.S. forces. Not one U.S. soldier has died there since.

But forces including the military, weapons contractors, pro war pundits, even many Democrats, opposed the withdrawal. Their opposition, combined with Trump’s governing incompetence, kicked the can of criminal war to Trump’s successor.

Biden took up the challenge, and, adding just 4 months to Trump’s timeline, will complete U.S. withdrawal next month.

Biden has also signaled likely end to U.S. forces in Iraq. The Iraqi Prime Minister and Parliament kicked us out in January, 2020, after our dastardly assassination of top ranking Iran and Iraqi leaders at the Bagdad Airport.

But since we refused to leave, Iraqi militias have continued to target the 2,500 U.S. troops there. With nothing left to accomplish, and U.S. lives to lose, we may see Biden declare an end to that criminal war as well.

But sadly, Biden displays no plans to withdraw our 900 troops from civil war torn Syria. In ten years since its March, 2011 start, over a half million have died, six million have become refugees and 12 million face starvation.

Much of that death and degraded life stems from U.S. involvement early on to overthrow Syrian leader Bashar-al-Assad. Just a year in, Assad was on the cusp of victory. Then the U.S. poured in billions to arm and train Syrian rebels, many of the terrorist variety, to achieve their long sought dream of Syrian regime change. All those billions were squandered on a failed mission adding enormously to the death toll.

While Trump did withdraw a majority of U.S. troops, he left that residual force of 900 to keep Syrian oil resources from their rightful owner. That theft, combined with senseless bombings and life crippling sanctions constitutes illegal, immoral and criminal warfare against the Syrian people.

Assuming Biden achieves the Afghan and Iraqi troop withdrawals, he needs to complete the peace initiative trifecta by withdrawing all U.S. forces from Syria and ceasing all bombings and sanctions which do nothing but degrade and destroy life for the Syrian people.

Trib editorial on Cuba essentially calls for end to 61 year old embargo

The Trib’s editorial ‘How Joe Biden and Illinois deal with post-Castro Cuba spent 923 words saying nothing of value till the last sentence: “…sometimes the best way for America to help Cuba is to get out of the way as much as possible and help Cubans help themselves.”

But even that was inadequate to describe the legally and morally right action to aid Cubans: End America’s 61 yearlong crushing economic embargo today.

Maintaining the embargo, condemned for decades by the UN and only supported by the U.S. and Israel, only serves a petty political agenda. Neither party today is willing to follow Obama’s 2013 détente with Cuba which expanded trade and tourism; indeed, even restoring diplomatic relations. Both are petrified about possibly losing Florida’s 29 electoral votes. That is reprehensible.

Ending the embargo will help boost the U.S. economy, including that of Illinois. More importantly it will uplift the Cuban people America has been grinding into the depths of poverty and despair for seven decades.

Perpetual war promoter Petraeus wrong choice as Judson U. speaker

Once again Elgin based Judson University has turned to a perpetual war promoter to headline its “World Leaders Forum”. This November 5th, retired General David Petraeus will be keynote speaker at the Judson Forum designed to offer Judson students and Chicagoland the opportunity to be inspired by significant thought leaders.

That purpose most certainly disqualifies Petraeus who spent eight years between 2003 and 2011 helping wage, promote and prolong our illegal and immoral wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became the darling of the US war party with his utterly false charisma that maintained these wars should and could be won against all evidence to the contrary.

After retiring in 2011, Petraeus became CIA Director and appeared headed for higher office, possibly even president. His career was upended and he was nearly jailed for having an affair with his fawning paramour biographer to whom he illegally gave classified documents to burnish the upcoming Petraeus bio. After a proverbial slap on the wrist involving probation and a fine, Petraeus embarked on a lesser career as corporate spokesman, educator, public speaker, among other endeavors, which brought about the Judson invitation.

As a military leader Petraeus was a fraud, never succeeding in any endeavor other than putting lipstick on the ugly face of America’s immoral Middle East wars. But the U.S. war establishment latched on to his superficial charisma and promoted Petraeus endlessly till his revolting moral and legal crime derailed his pathway to governmental superstardom.

Promoting and waging senseless perpetual wars squandering trillions getting millions killed, injured or displaced should automatically disqualify Petraeus from addressing Judson’s Christians. For some inexplicable reason Judson University has a penchant for inviting perpetual war promoters to discuss leadership. Petraeus will follow fellow such warriors George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Condoleezza Rice to keynote Judson’s World Leaders Forum.

Judson alum Mark Vargas will lead the Q & A after Petraeus speaks. His first question should be: “How can you sleep at night after helping get all those Iraqis, Afghans and Americans killed for nothing?”

Two 1960 quotes reveal U.S. mendacity toward Cuba still today

“The U.S. Ambassador to Cuba is the second most powerful, if not the most powerful person in Cuba, next to the Cuban President."

- Earl T. Smith, last U.S. Ambassador to Batista ruled Cuba,

1957-59

“The U.S. must make life so miserable for the Cuban people, they will overthrow the new Castro regime. This includes a line of action, which while adroit and inconspicuous as possible, makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of the government.”

- U.S. State Department memo, 1960

Sixty-two years on, the U.S. still wants to pull the strings of Cuba’s leaders to benefit America at the expense of the Cuban people.

Sixty-two years on, U.S. policy degrading life for the Cuban people is neither adroit nor inconspicuous. It is heavy handed and obvious.

U.S. to Venezuelan cancer patients: “No cancer treatment for you”

No country on earth has the capability and the will to inflict harm on the less fortunate than America.

That is of course, if those suffering unfortunates reside in a country designated for American regime change.

UN human rights and health care experts have issued a report stating U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, as well as sanctions or threats of sanctions on companies doing business with Venezuela, put many Venezuelans suffering from cancer and other ailments at risk of being deprived of necessary medicines and medical equipment.

The report states "While the right to health and the right to life are fundamental for all people around the world, we call on states, banks, and private companies to take full responsibility for the effects of their actions on people and withdraw sanctions, zero risks, and over-compliance policies that affect fundamental human rights"

The U.S. has been punishing Venezuelans for nearly 20 years since deciding socialist president Hugo Chavez had to go. His successor Nicholas Maduro, also a socialist, so enraged the U.S. it simply declared his 2018 re-election illegal. When his locally hated opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself president, President Trump was the first world leader to recognize his attempted coup.

But Maduro has both the popularity and the muscle to thwart America’s senseless interference there. So as long as Maduro retains power, U.S. sanctions will continue to degrade, even end life, for innocent Venezuelans.

61 years later, Biden says Cuban sanctions “just the beginning”

Covid, plus a continuing boost from America’s 61 year long embargo of goods, services and money to Cuba caused the Cuban economy shrink 11% last year.

Massive protests have broken out in Cuba protesting the scarcity of basic goods and services.

Biden campaigned to reverse Trump administration measures rolling back Obama’s Cuban détente. Instead Biden has not only kept them in place, he’s increased them in response to Cuban unrest against worsening conditions. The new sanctions he stated were "just the beginning."

With a straight face Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reported “The Cuban people are protesting for the fundamental and universal rights they deserve from their government. Treasury will continue to enforce its Cuba-related sanctions, including those imposed today, to support the people of Cuba in their quest for democracy and relief from the Cuban regime.”

The truth is Cubans are protesting for the basic necessities of life being denied them from cruel and heartless U.S. regimes spanning 61 years and 13 presidents.

For Cubans, Uncle Sam is akin to the boss who tells his employees, "The floggings will continue...till morale improves."

Delta variant deadly…but may save GOP lives

Yesterday 51,939 Americans tested positive for covid. 261 died. The 14 day average is up 170% for infections and 20% for deaths.  In its 18 months covid has infected 35,199,465 and killed 626,762 Americans.

Experts attribute the increases to the highly infectious and deadly Delta variant being spread by the 40% of Americans not fully vaccinated. Most new infections and deaths are unvaccinated adults.

As bad as the Delta variant is, what’s worse in the year and a half of pandemic is the Republican Party’s continued use of pandemic for political purposes. Trump’s GOP politicized it from Day One, creating a false and deadly re-election meme that failed to re-elect him but sentenced tens, possibly hundreds of thousands to unnecessary deaths.

Mocking candidate Biden for wearing masks and refusing to wear one himself may have been the single shocking example of this meme. But the litany of denial, obstruction, false hopes and falsehoods are too numerous to explain away as simple, one off malfeasance. They were the roadmap to re-election.

With infections, death and closings winding down, the GOP saw no need to reverse course on the most disease and death causing electoral strategy in history.

But with Delta variant exploding, over the weekend an extraordinary event. Top Republican officials and pundits came out foursquare for vaccination. My reaction? “Where were you folks 18 months ago?” The most outrageous was top rated Sean Hannity who said with a straight face “Take covid seriously. I can’t say this enough.” That was after 18 months of Hannity saying nothing helpful on pandemic.  

But not all Republican dead-enders jumped on board. Former Trump National Security Adviser (National Covid Death Advisor would be more appropriate) Michael Flynn called out Hannity and other Republicans for cowering to the new GOP political correctness.

It’s too early to determine how this GOP pivot on vaccinations will move the needle of fully vaccinated adults from 60% to the needed 70%. But possibly believing their re-election meme was killing off the true believers in their base, this new GOP strategy may simply reflect the reality that it needs fully vaccinated supporters still healthy enough to vote in the November ’22 election.