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One thing I’ve learned in my long life: There is a value gained by experience that cannot be gleaned from the writings of others, no matter how intellectually advanced those may be.
Daniel Ellsberg, leaker of The Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, gives in this YouTube clip his experience-produced gems of wisdom about the Afghan War that I hope President Obama takes foremost in consideration in making the critical, history making decision before him now. Must 58,000 of our soldiers die, over 100,000 be wounded, multitudes of Afghans be killed, wounded and made refugees before reality dawns on the decision makers? What does it tell us of those who refuse to learn from history’s lessons?
Please hear Daniel Ellsberg, Mr President Obama.
36 Comments
Rats! I was so busy fighting with the embed tool that I forgot to tip my hat to bluebutterfly for pointing me to this very important video message. Thanks, blue!
..you’re welcome.. It tells us that we need more truth tellers like Ellsberg. They are out there and they will stay silent until a decent whistle blower protection act is passed to protect them.
I agree. I think that’s one reason they’re leaving Thomas Tamm to hang out in purgatory after suffering every invasion of privacy and harrassment they could dream up…as an example of what they can do to leakers. They don’t like their dirty secrets brought out in the light.
Just in case anyone isn’t familiar with who Thomas Tamm is, he’s the FBI man who lived up to his oath to the constitution and rule of law by revealing GWB’s lawbreakers who were wiretapping full-out without warrants. We owe him Big Time.
A reminder of what Ellsberg said about Sibel Edmonds.
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“I’d say what she has is far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers,” Daniel Ellsberg told us in regard to former FBI translator turned whistleblower Sibel Edmonds.
“From what I understand, from what she has to tell, it has a major difference from the Pentagon Papers in that it deals directly with criminal activity and may involve impeachable offenses,” Ellsberg explained. “And I don’t necessarily mean the President or the Vice-President, though I wouldn’t be surprised if the information reached up that high. But other members of the Executive Branch may be impeached as well. And she says similar about Congress.”
Ellsberg seemed hardly surprised that today’s American mainstream broadcast media has so far failed to take Edmonds up on her offer, despite the blockbuster nature of her allegations.
As Edmonds has also noted, Ellsberg pointed to the New York Times, who “sat on the NSA spying story for over a year” when they “could have put it out before the 2004 election, which might have changed the outcome.”
“There will be phone calls going out to the media saying ‘don’t even think of touching it, you will be prosecuted for violating national security,’” he told us. ”
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5260
And those so called liberal media outlets…Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, Ed, Chris Matthews did not even whisper about Edmonds recent testimony.
These same shows did not whisper a damn thing about Goldstone’s Un Report. Nothing…silence. Forget about reporing about the Aipac investigation or 9 time delayed and eventually dismissed trial. Chris Matthew whispered once that the trial had been delayed (must have gotten slapped down, never heard another whisper) Oh Rachel did a 2 minute segment on the dismissed trial but basically spun it as “much ado about nothing”
forget showing Americans any of the dead, injured or displaced in Iraq that was done in our name. They do not go near these issues
Hell Chris Matthews used to at least have a few returning American soldiers on. Went to the Walter Reed hospital in 2005 I believe. O now
SHOW THE PICTURES
Thank you, Leen.
No doubt Psyops advises Gates as to how to control the sheeple, Obama leaves it to Gates. We need a new Director of DOD, one who is truly dedicated to the oath he took, not to a president or body of congress but to defend the Constitution from enemies both domestic and abroad.
If this trend continues, one day there will be no official pronouncements out of DC at all.
You knew ahead of time they would not. Rachael and Keith are never going to touch Sibel’s story unless someone else does first. They are after all, part of the MSM. Keith almost grew a pair when Sibel first offered to risk her freedom by breaking the second gag order put on her by Ashcroft. Emphasis on the ‘almost’. After her under oath testimony in August, they were asked again to cover her story. Without any hesitation I can say that those who will not cover Israel/Palestine with honesty will not cover Sibel’s story, either.
A large number of big bloggers are now reporting her story. Sooner or later a tipping point will come. It is interesting that at least two military sites are now reporting. The comments are mixed; you can see both blind faith in the government and the willingness to question. Bryant Jordan, of military.com, actually managed to get a non-denial denial from Richard Pearle. The first response out of him, ever. Come on, Pearle, charge her with slander/libel/lying..anything you can come up with. It would be the court case of the century.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7478
Prior thread now closed to comments…see you here later.
Such fun while it lasted.
Two thoughts about Afghanistan:
(1) Why was McChrystal picked to command in Afghanistan? That was such a puzzle for me due to his Camp Nama reputation openly discussed. Finally I realized that is exactly why; the Afghanis were supposed to be terrorized by his reputation alone (psyops). Could be why the Taliban’s ranks have grown so much, as Ellsberg points out.
(2) What can be expected from the Generals, their profession is war; they can’t gain those promotions and stars if there is peace – and besides, their cronies in the military industrial complex wouldn’t like it if there is a drawdown. Could even mean the end of some careers.
They get away with all these wars, and the expense and death they cause, because we have been sold that our military is wonderful, and can save the world.
Mostly told to us by Government and the military. Their propaganda is so good they actually have our troops convinced they are fighting to protect us. In both these wars while their buddies hats are on the butt of their guns stuck in the ground, our troops tell people they are doing the right thing and proud to be doing it.
While all our guys are dying. Ask the American people and they will tell you they support the wars and our troops. There has been more controversy over healthcare, than both wars put together.
If we are fighting a war on terror we are losing big time, because they have killed about five of our guys to one of theirs, and that’s not considering the civians killed. Fifty billion a terrorist is a high price to pay.
Neither of these Countries are worth one Americans life, let alone the treasure of our Country being expended. Neither will end up bright and shining societies, and great ally’s as we are told they will be. We can’t kill all the terrorists, or keep them from these countries, or any other country.
They barely listened to this man back then, and we haven’t learned anything from the past, and few will listen to him now, or believe he knows what he talking about. They in some way will continue these wars. Even now because of the recent bombings the military is making talk of not being able to leave Iraq. We see that they want to stay for another ten or twenty years in Afghanistan, and commit more of America to trying to make a country out of it.
We will never learn that the best use of our military is the job it is charged to do, and that is to protect the United States of America.
iremember54, who are the salesmen who are selling the propaganda to both the soldiers and the US citizens and the panicky congress critters? They’re pros. It’s the military industrial complex. Here is a 07/17/2008 clip of ex-CIA analyst, Ray McGovern in which he tells of a conversation he had with Congressman McDermott back during the GWB administration.
McDermott had caused a stipulation to be included in several pieces of legislation that there could be no military action taken again Iran without specific authorization of congress. Each time that stipulation was removed before passage. McGovern asked the congressman why that happened.
McDermott: You know about the MIC?
McGovern: Well, yeah.
McDermott: Well, they’re real. [Ray pondered, wondering what is he trying to tell me...]
McDermott: They’re REAL!
So, there’s the answer, the master salesmen. The weapons manufacturers, armament salesmen, banksters that finance and get rich with them. They know how to market war very well, even to the soldiers who die in them.
You Know old lady Bushes is heavily into the munitions manufacturing business.
I agree with you wholeheartedly.
We are so stupid that the people still haven’t figured out that the cold war and everything since has been to support those people and the money it all creates.
Peace is not profitable.
They are the Military Industrial Complex personified
Samuel Prescott Bush even looks like Snidely Whiplash
Lotsa stuff here
http://www.boomantribune.com/comments/2005/12/22/18747/479/1
Thank you, john in sacramento, that’s awesome info. Will go to your link next.
Let’s dust that tag off, John. Maybe start a list on the net naming every CEO, board member and death dealer we can discover. With pictures would be good. Let the whole world know who they are.
Give us some more of that ‘good stuff’, John.
You’re right, iremember54, “old lady Bush’s” father, Prescott Bush (as Leen states) was brought up on war crimes for dealing with the enemy (those same weapons) – brought into the business no doubt by his wife’s father, George Walker (big steel man said to have furnished much of Hitler’s steel).
Another crime of old Prescott was to mentor Richard Nixon. Yeah, brought him up in the Repub party, taught him lots of dirty tricks. Prescott was Ike’s golfing buddy. Ike was not a politician and was unaware of the manipulations going on behind “the old man’s” back, even those in his cabinet that he should have been able to trust – like those dirty Dulles brothers and his VP.
Prescott Bush mentored Nixon and then Nixon mentored Bush 1.
http://s941.photobucket.com/albums/ad257/snow__crash/?action=view¤t=425686973_65f8799e95_b1.jpg
Who are the Cheshire Cat and Eager Puppy standing behind Nixon and Prescott Bush in that pic, you know?
Nope. I tried to follow up on the information on the Republican luncheon on May 6/53 as captioned in the photo. The list of attendees is at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, but is not accessible. Eisenhower had many appointments on May 7/53, one of which was J. Dulles. I wonder if he is one of the men pictured? Lacking a printer, I can’t do a side by side comparison of the this photo and ones of Dulles. He did wear those round glasses, so he might be the one in the back.
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“Senator Prescott Bush, representing Connecticut, known then as the Hat State, adjusts a straw Panama he gave to Vice President Richard Nixon on May 6, 1953, after a weekly lunch of freshman Republicans in the U.S. Senate. Bush, who favored jaunty brown-and-white spectator shoes and plaid double-breasted blazers, was known as one of the best-dressed men in the Senate. ”
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/thefamily/photo.php?i=8#
http://www.eisenhowermemorial.org/presidential-papers/first-term/chronology/1953-05.htm
Your a little off, not to be critical but thats old man Bushes Father Prescott. Mama Bushes father was in the munitions business, and she inherited it all, she is richer than Daddy Bush and that’s Why they all kiss her butt. Daddy makes guns but Mama makes bullets and bombs.
LOL, iremember54, I thought you were referring to GHW’s wimpy ways…and calling him an old lady. (hee,hee – jokes on me)
I didn’t know that about old Daddy Pierce. Makes me wonder about those stories Barb tells of living in that small apartment when they moved to Odessa, TX…just the average young couple struggling to get ahead, doncha know.
Yeah..struggling..just like her mother did? Her mother was very lovely. Barbara must resemble her father..’g’. The one on the left in that photo might be Marvin Pierce.
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“W magazine once described Pauline Robinson as “beautiful, fabulous, critical, and meddling” and “a former beauty from Ohio with extravagant tastes”. On 23 September 1949, Pauline was killed in an automobile accident in Harrison County, New York, when Marvin, who was driving the car, lost control as he reached over to stop a cup of hot coffee from sliding across the seat onto his wife. The car crashed into a stone wall, killing Pauline instantly. She was 53 years old. ”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Pierce
“Pauline Robinson Pierce (1896-1949), mother of Barbara Bush, married Marvin Pierce following their graduation from Miami University in Ohio. A great beauty, she lived above her means, which forced her husband to go into debt to support her lifestyle. She died in a car accident. Her husband remarried. Barbara Bush, who did not attend her mother’s funeral, named her first daughter Robin, after Pauline Robinson.”
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/thefamily/photo.php?i=1
Thanks for this, acquarius74.
re; your (4) –
1) No idea why McC was picked for Afghanistan, although I suspect Obama tried to be hands off and allow Gates to call the shots out of deference to his tenure.
2) I think there’s still plenty for the military to do, but just not in the way of traditional wars. There’s the shipping lanes off Horn of Africa which are problematic, a need for better monitoring of nuclear precursors and existing weapons, development of the next military (thinking DARPA here)…I’d be less worried about capacity if I were a general than one’s personal ability to change and grow. Ditto for the military-industrial complex; they should be focusing more on the technology which would free us from oil-based energy and ensure greater national security. (That’s the aim of the military, isn’t it, to assure our national security?)
Rayne, I wrote a sensible reply to you, hit preview and all H… broke loose; ate my comment; flipped me over to some FDL with LOGIN on it (I stay logged in); then login link broke, couldn’t go anywhere on the Lake. I’ll try to post this and make a comment not badly effected by the disgust I’m feeling right now. This has been going on for days!
Wouldn’t it be better if our military was stationed here protecting us for a change? That’s their sworn job, what their paid for, and about the only thing they don’t do. If as an example someone wanted to invade us, they could just do it, because most of our forces are everyplace else but here.
The best way to keep terrorists out is to have all those guys here to prevent them from getting in and commiting an attack. That bullshit of fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here was asinine bullshit from the start. It’s like they all had to be there, and none could come over here while we were fighting them there.
The republicans who used this to the hilt, should all be exicuted for stupidity, along with the people who believed it.
Interesting perspectives, Rayne.
1) Re McChrystal: If, as you say, Obama left it totally up to Gates, then it’s Gates we must seek to understand. As you probably know, Gates was CIA in the Iran-Contra era. Here is Ray McGovern’s oped on the Senate confirmation of Gates as Dir. DOD. According to Ray, Gates lied to congress during those hearings. McGovern was CIA anaylst during the Reagan years, therefore knew Gates very well, I’m sure. In all the clips of McGovern he is a very cool-headed, analytical gentleman with a wonderful sense of humor, but the venom nearly drips from his speech when Gates is the subject. It is said of Gates that he shapeshifts into the mirror image of his immediate boss; now that’s Obama.
I heard McChrystal’s speech to the troops upon his arrival in Afghanistan in which he delivered the “hearts and minds” intent. According to John Pilger, on page 86 of the Pacification Handbook used by the Marines in Vietnam, the shortened version of that program is WHAM.
John Pilger is an Australian by birth who now lives in London. As a young reporter he was on the scene in Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1970s. The title of his speech at the link is “Obama and Empire”.
2) As to your suggestion that generals would have a career in the more honorable pursuits you mention, I don’t know if their mind-sets could be redirected away from the advantages of hot wars, both promotional and in honorary ‘hero’ awards. We would benefit from some comments by some real Vets whose experience would help us to know how to think about that.
I might as well go all-out and give this link to another John Pilger clip; this one as a very young reporter first on the scene in Cambodia after our shameful conduct there. We were lied to about that, too.
Sorry for my motor-mouth. I get really disturbed about all this – we all should be.
It’s 1:30 a.m. here, folks. Thanks for your comments. See ya’ll tomorrow.
Blood for oil. Imperialistic hubris for the game of war. the military machine, inertia, the tendency to stay in motion once in motion …
America as one big death squad. Murder and torture.
And the invisible enemy that sets up the traps, how crazymaking and confusing for the burning out, traumatized soldiers. All those revolving door deployments creating more desensitization and burn out and psychological wounds.
We are not fighting global terrorists, we are fighting the “resistance” to occupiers who are there not for their welfare but for a corporate agenda.
Thanks acquarius. Nice to see and hear Ellsberg again. Expected him to look the same. Much lighter hair. Glad he is going after the media. Diff in field reporting. You know the corporations and political cronies are working on stifling the net.
Thank you, Libby. I was in 6th grade when WWII ended; then the whole world viewed America as bearing the standard of Honor. Now, 64 years later, the word associated with us is Terror and the word honor is seldom read or heard.
During that war nearly everything was rationed in order to provide the needs of our soldiers. After the war ended manufacturing swung into high gear to provide all those ‘things’ we had gone without. This brought in the 50s generation (mine), the Age of Affluence. I’m thinking that is when our ideals were drawn away from the inner strengths of character to the acquisition of more and more things as signs of a ‘successful’ life. We yearned for whatever new gadget the wonderous TeeVee showed us; now it shows us only pretty pictures and feeds us propaganda so smooth that most watchers are hypnotized by it and do not realize they are not in control of their own mind.
Yet, I am encouraged by the appearance and election to congress of such men as Rep. Alan Grayson, who cuts through the crap with facts and laughs in the faces of those who try their flim-flam double-speak on him. Let us hope for more like him.
What brilliant programmer is removing all the paragraph spacing? I tried to edit putting my paras back in twice. Seminal needs a better bunch of techies. My comments have been eaten (as have Johninsacramento’s). Disgusting!!
These software “upgrades” are killing me. Our local DFA/PDA website is offline for at least another few days so I can’t post any blogs there and the replies here are an adventure
PS Working on replies to the great comments on my Tom Joad diary
PPS Thanks to Rayne I was able to change my profile to my other blog so that’s the one that’ll now come up when you click my name
Half past midnight here again, blue. Thanks for searching. I don’t recall seeing as many pics of John Foster as of Allan Dulles, can’t recall what he looks like. I’ve got another diary up.
Time for sleep. ~~~
John Foster Dulles photos. The one on the left in that photo might be Marvin Pierce. Barbara’s sister, Martha, sure resembled their mother. Barbara moved her daughter in 2000; this is a great site for locating graves.
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http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/John_Foster_Dulles.aspx
http://www.randomhouse.com/doubleday/thefamily/photo.php?i=2#
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21590
Further to #34..here is John Dulles. Buried at Arlington by special permission.
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http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=dulles&GSfn=john&GSmn=foster&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=306&
Thanks, Blue. That pic surely looks like Mr. Magoo to me — even the ‘peering’ expression. I study faces, right and left sides and balance, etc.. Ever notice the faces of the Evil Ones are fuller and eyes more rounded on the right side (overdevelopment of male influences) and the left side diminished, eye squinched, sometimes almost without movement as the right side dominates? The paradox for me is that Cheney speaks almost totally out of the left side of his mouth – right side almost unmoving. That must have something to do with the side of the brain that controls speech. I’ll look that up some day….