ANDREI MARTYANOV—Neither Napoleon, nor Hitler dealt with the issues of nuclear deterrents, nor did they live in the world of an instant propagation of information. Judging by hysterical reaction of these very same neocons and their military “experts”, be it in 2015 to the events in Syria, or Putin’s March 1, 2018 speech to Federal Assembly–the message was heard. Hysteria is a first sign of weakness. Those neocons might be irrational, at least some of them, but even those understand that there is a price to be paid and there are reasons, to be discussed separately, to believe that there is an understanding of the severe limitations of America’s power. After all, Napoleon and Hitler marched into Russia after putting Europe to its knees. They had highly deserved reputations behind both the Grande Armee and Wehrmacht. The United States cannot win a single war against subpar opponents since 1950, once one discounts a turkey shoot against Saddam’s grossly inferior army.
branford perry
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CJ HOPKINS—Anthony DiMaggio’s recent essay in CounterPunch is a prime example of the effect the Putin-Nazi paranoia is having on leftists. According to DiMaggio, Donald Trump, by tweeting mean things about Attorney General Sessions and bombastically threatening The New York Times, is no longer just a normal fascist. He is now officially a “full-on fascist,” or a “real world fascist,” or a super duper fascist! DiMaggio doesn’t have any qualms about the deep state, or rather, the steady state, sabotaging an elected president (or at least pretending to be doing do so in print), because, well, you know, “the stakes are far higher” than mere democracy, what with Hitler in the White House. William Kristol would agree wholeheartedly.
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JIM KAVANAUGH—There’s no discussion like this about defense appropriations. An $80 billion increase in military spending, and nary a “how are you going to pay for it” peep from the all the Serious People. You won’t find any purportedly earmarked taxes in a defense bill. All you’ll find is: “the following sums are appropriated.” That’s how it’s “paid for,” no questions asked.
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CAITLIN JOHNSTONE—Destroying the war machine fixes everything from climate change to living standards, terrorism, famine, homelessness, mental health, slavery, plus all the horrors that war always necessarily births into the world such as rape, black markets, human trafficking, refugee crises and so on. Not to mention the butchery of humans for profit which is what war is. Putting up resistance by breaking the hypnotic effect of war propaganda works. No one actually wants war apart from a handful of powerful elites who fund these think tanks to weave lies and manipulate truth into stories that will manufacture consent for endless military bloodbaths. Simply using the truth to run interference on these lies and spin is enough.
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William Blum takes on the Washington Post again, in the person of columnist Max Boot, formerly of the Wall Street Journal
28 minutes readBILL BLUM—Keep in mind that a statement from the CIA that Russia interfered in the election does not count as evidence. It’s merely a statement. Keep in mind that a statement from the FBI that Russia interfered in the election does not count as evidence. It’s merely a statement. Keep in mind that a statement from the NSA that Russia interfered in the election does not count as evidence. It’s merely a statement. Keep in mind that a statement from a dozen other US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election does not count as evidence. It’s merely a statement.