Biden’s foreign policy: Worst in my lifetime?

 Biden’s foreign policy: Worst in my lifetime?

Joe Biden is the 15thpresident in my 79 years. I’ve followed the foreign policy of all but FDR. Only missed his presidential exploits because I was just 33 days old when he died.

I still remember mom and pop explaining to me that President Truman fired Gen. Douglas McArthur during the Korean War in ’51. Why would the president fire such a revered war hero? Must be a bad president, I thought. Years later I found out how right he was to do so. McArthur was hell bent on fomenting war with China over Korea. But Truman blundered badly on Korea as well, launching an unnecessary and undeclared war there that killed millions of Koreans for no valid reason and no permanent resolution 73 years on. War with North Korea is still possible today. Even worse, Truman’s ditching Congress’ Constitutional duty to declare war inaugurated dozens of interventions, large and small that have killed millions since 1950.

Truman’s overall foreign policy was dreadful. He blew our chance for rapprochement with Russia after WWII, being rolled by the neocons of the day, especially his Secretary of State Jimmy Burns. That helped ignite the Cold War which lasted 45 years till the Soviet Union dissolved.

None of the succeeding 13 presidents I’ve experienced had a decent, peace oriented foreign policy. Eisenhower bashed the Military Industrial Complex pushing perpetual war when he left office after 8 years. But he helped create it and inaugurated regime change near (Cuba, Guatemala) and far (Iran) which became the ‘go to’ US policy for foreign leaders presidents hate.

JFK snuck into office in 1960 using a phony ‘missile gap’ canard. His obsession with overthrowing Cuba’s Castro was both criminal and nearly blew up the world by creating the totally avoidable Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

And so it continued thru 10 more presidents till Joe Biden assumed office 59 years later. His foreign policy has been warlike on steroids. He even managed to tarnish his signature peace accomplishment of ending our 20 yearlong Afghan war. Humiliated by being tossed from Afghanistan by the rag tag Taliban, Biden continued to cruelly punish the Afghan people by withholding billions in Afghan treasure we stolen from them during the war. He’s also maintained crippling sanctions leading to starvation and diminished health care for millions. Regarding the desperately poor Afghans, his cruelty knows no bounds.

Biden reneged on his promise to end America’s 63 year isolation of Cuba. He further reneged on re-instating the Iran nuclear deal, the signature Obama accomplishment Biden championed as his VP. He not only maintained America’s ghoulish war in Yemen that has killed nearly 400,000, he’s interfering with the ongoing Saudi, Yemen Houthi peace process that could end this 8 yearlong killing field there.

While suffering ‘Stop The Steal’ from his predecessor, he maintained his own ‘Stop The Steal’ in Venezuela, endlessly trying to overturn the election of socialist Nicholas Maduro, to install US puppet Juan Guido, so unpopular he’s been kicked out of Venezuela.

Biden is totally in tune with the US national security state which refuses to end America’s merciless War Of Terror against any person or group we deem ‘kill worthy’ in the Middle East and Africa. Just ask the 10 kids of the innocent sheepherder whom Biden’s bombers blew to bits in Syria, May 18. The US response was sickening…’We still think we whacked an al-Qaeda dude.’

But as horrendous as these policies are, they’re small potatoes compared to Biden’s ratcheting up Cold War II with both Russia and China. He has maneuvered them into their closest political and economic ties in generations. Biden is fueling and perpetuating the Russo Ukraine with nearly $40 billion in weapons. He’s greenlighting ever increasingly more dangerous weapons including F-16’s, depleted uranium artillery, long range missiles among others that have already zoomed over Russia’s red lines. Just one mistake, miscalculation or renegade combatant could ignite WWIII.

At the other end of the world, Biden has completely jettisoned the five decade long One China policy over its ironclad defense declaration for Taiwan, whose history with China goes back thousands of years. One would think Biden would have more sense than provoking all-out war against its two biggest imagined enemies simultaneously. Alas, he doesn’t.

Like me, Biden was a teen during the ’62 Missile Crisis, the closest we’ve come to nuclear war in our lifetime. It still haunts this 17 year old down to this day; one reason I work in the peace movement. Apparently, it made no dent on 19 year old Joe Biden. He’s spent most of his half century in public service championing American exceptualism and US world dominance, regardless of the risks of it descending into the madness of nuclear war.

With profound sadness and fear for our future, Joe Biden gets my nod as conducting the most dangerous US foreign policy in my lifetime.

Pentagon keeping America safe…blowing up Syrian sheepherder father of 10

 Pentagon keeping America safe…blowing up Syrian sheepherder father of 10

Lotifi Hassan Misto was going about his business herding sheep in Syria’s Idlib province May 18 when a US drone strike blew him to smithereens.

Pentagon officials immediately trumpeted ‘We murdered an al-Qaeda leader bent on terrorizing the homeland’. That could well have been a recorded response that has been played hundreds, maybe thousands of times since the War of Terror began 22 years ago this September.

But the Pentagon fable quickly fell apart when family members came forward to defend Misto and were backed up by terrorism experts. They told the Washington Post Misto was likely not affiliated with al-Qaeda.

A Pentagon official offered an ‘oops’ stating “We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official. But another official claimed the person they killed was al-Qaeda without offering an iota of evidence. “Though we believe the strike did not kill the original Target, we believe the person to be al-Qaeda” With that the Pentagon has gone silent, refusing to release any details of the sheepherder killing attack.

That’s what we get folks for our trillion dollar annual military and intelligence budget. Murder and mayhem around the world. And less sheepherders to threaten the Homeland.

Pronouns for Houghton University administrators

 Pronouns for Houghton University administrators

Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot may be the first persons in history to be fired for get this, using pronouns after their names in work emails. Their firings may also be among the bizarre reasons ever for termination.

Zelaya and Wilmot worked as resident hall directors at Houghton University in upstate New York. Houghton is a Christian university owned by a conservative denomination that branched off from the Methodist Church. When the two refused to remove the words “she/her” and “he/him” from their email signatures, they were booted for violating new school policy against such usage.

They argued they were simply in tune with an emerging professional standard and promoting inclusivity at their Christian university. Neither are transgender. Their third reason was to clarify their gender due to their gender neutral names of Raegan and Shua.  

Houghton follows the teachings of the Wesleyan Church which claim “gender confusion and dysphoria are ultimately the biological, psychological, social and spiritual consequences of the human race’s fallen condition.” Furthermore, “adult gender nonconformity is a violation of the sanctity of human life.”

Houghton University should make one exception to the prohibition of using pronouns after one’s name. Every administrator involved in the firings should be ordered to add these pronouns after their names on work emails…..”idiot/jerk”.

tim Bradburn

West Suburban Peace Coalition deconstructs America’s 835 overseas military bases at May 16 Educational Forum

 West Suburban Peace Coalition deconstructs America’s 835 overseas military bases at May 16 Educational Forum

World Beyond War’s Technical Directory Marc Eliot Stein gave a stunning presentation on America’s massive web of worldwide military bases last night via Zoom. Eliot displayed his amazing digital presentation showing these installations on every continent. The map zoomed in to show the actual base, while providing information regarding its size, number of staff and year created.

His talk discussed why we have so many bases, how we accumulated such a massive reach just about everywhere except within our imagined enemies, and the devastating danger that ringing those so called enemies with offensive resources may easily spiral into nuclear war.

Besides used for potential and current US military operations, our bases contribute to local unrest by nearby residents, pollution and criminal activity which is endemic wherever military personnel are stationed.

One could say the US bases are overseas are like a worldwide Roach Motel. Anywhere the US intervenes, it’s likely they will never leave. That is why so many bases display the origin year of 1945. Just ask the folks in Okinawa, South Korea, Germany, and Austria among others.

I’s interesting that while the locals near these bases periodically protest their presence, the home governments love the money America lavishes on their economy. When Trump, in a fit of pique against Germany, decided to pull 30,000 troops from our 78 year old bases there, German pols howled in protest. Congress followed suit and those soldiers stayed put in their German Roach Motel.

Then there is Finland, who joined NATO last month. It was not to protect against a Russian invasion. In their best Jerry McGuire imitation, Finland’s leaders screamed ‘Show me the (US defense) money.’ Yep. US and Finnish officials already in talks to plant US bases there.

To see why the US military budget is approaching a trillion bucks a year, check out this digital display that shows how our precious tax dollars are being squandered to promote US worldwide dominance….and possible Armageddon.

Forum attendees were left with the wish we could deconstruct American's gargantuan web of bases literally, not just analytically.

US foreign policy news you’ll never hear on mainstream news

 

US foreign policy news you’ll never hear on mainstream news

1. Biden to greenlight NATO sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. His approval is necessary since nations receiving F-16’s must get US approval to sending them to a third country. Think of his move as US finally backing negotiations in Ukraine…only not to end the war, just escalate the killing.

2. 39 House Democrats have requested Biden end all support Saudi Arabia in their war in Yemen that has killed nearly 400,000. The death toll from the war in Yemen may be double that in Ukraine. But the US is still committed to supporting Saudi Arabia’s 8 year long war there which amounts to another US proxy war, this one against Iran. There is currently a 14 month ceasefire in effect. But with no peace treaty, warfare could resume anytime. Biden has refused to pledge he’ll cease sending more weapons and other resources to Saudi Arabia in that event. With a near total news blackout on US involvement in the Yemen war, most Americans remain unaware of America’s major role in the staggering death toll there.

3. The Biden administration is preparing for the war in Ukraine to turn into a frozen conflict for years or possibly even decades, similar to the situation on the Korean peninsula. That one has been going on for 73 years now. If Russo Ukraine war lasts as long we’ll be still talking about it in 2095. Guess Biden doesn’t want that reported on mainstream news…especially with an election approaching.

Why no Budweiser at the Woodlawn Tap?

 Why no Budweiser at the Woodlawn Tap?

The Woodlawn Tap at 55th and Woodlawn will likely be jammed today as the famous Hyde Park tavern celebrates its 75th anniversary. It’s fondly and more well known as Jimmy’s, after Jimmy Wilson who opened in 1948. Wilson had been a bartender in one of a dozen or more gin mills along 55th Street in Hyde Park before urban renewal gentrified the neighborhood.

If you stop in today, don’t ask the barkeep for a Budweiser. She’ll likely point a finger at the picture over the far end of the bar containing the only existence there of the King of Beers. And that won’t be her forefinger, more likely its neighbor. The pic contains an aging flyer for Bud. In the lower right is a hand shaped prop with the middle finger extended skyward. And it’s not to denote Bud is No. 1.

It’s been there for most of Jimmy’s 75 years. Why? Back in the day before the avalanche of boutique beers, most taverns carried one brand on tap, among the few major beers such as Miller High Life, Hamm’s, Old Style, Meister Brau, Schlitz and of course Bud. Jimmy opened up with Old Style. One day a Bud distributor dropped in and tried to convert Jimmy to Bud. Jimmy politely declined but the Bud brute hinted that Jimmy’s large glass windows might meet an unfortunate accident. Jimmy tossed him out and told his Old Style distributor. He assured Jimmy that his muscle would keep an eye on the joint till the threat was over.

And nearly 75 years on, an aging reminder over the bar still signals that Bud is not on the menu at the Woodlawn Tap

Pentagon keeping America safe…blowing up Syrian sheepherder father of 10

 Pentagon keeping America safe…blowing up Syrian sheepherder father of 10

Lotifi Hassan Misto was going about his business herding sheep in Syria’s Idlib province May 18 when a US drone strike blew him to smithereens.

Pentagon officials immediately trumpeted ‘We murdered an al-Qaeda leader bent on terrorizing the homeland’. That could well have been a recorded response that has been played hundreds, maybe thousands of times since the War of Terror began 22 years ago this September.

But the Pentagon fable quickly fell apart when family members came forward to defend Misto and were backed up by terrorism experts. They told the Washington Post Misto was likely not affiliated with al-Qaeda.

A Pentagon official offered an ‘oops’ stating “We are no longer confident we killed a senior AQ official. But another official claimed the person they killed was al-Qaeda without offering an iota of evidence. “Though we believe the strike did not kill the original Target, we believe the person to be al-Qaeda” With that the Pentagon has gone silent, refusing to release any details of the sheepherder killing attack.

That’s what we get folks for our trillion dollar annual military and intelligence budget. Murder and mayhem around the world. And less sheepherders to threaten the Homeland.