Sunday, September 24, 2017

72nd United Nations General Assembly: Neocons gone wild, Rocket Man vs. the Dotard




“It is of first importance that the military be subordinate to civilian government”
― John Rawls

The 72nd meeting of the United Nations was destined to be an absolute fiasco with Trump’s foreign policy abducted by the same war mongering lunatics that populated the George W. Bush and Barack Obama Administrations.   The agenda for Trump’s debut as Leader of the Free World, was laid out in advance by U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Trump National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster. 

With absolute zeal and elated excitement of kids on Christmas Eve knowing they are about to get everything they ever wanted, Haley and McMaster laid the groundwork for what would be an unmitigated disaster at the U.N., “Neocons gone wild, Rocket Man vs. the Dotard.”

In a televised press conference, McMaster and Haley teased out the neocon’s highlights of what could be expected at the UN with neocons in complete control over American foreign policy.  According to McMaster, Trump’s neocon written speech will lecture the attendees on 1) promoting peace, 2) promoting prosperity and 3) upholding the sovereignty and accountability of all nations. 


These 3 pillars are in direct contradiction to every action taken by the neocons since they seized control over the American government in 2000.  The speech should have been entitled “Do as I say, not as I do.”  From Paul Craig Roberts:

Excerpt:

Trump’s UN Speech

I listened to part of Trump’s UN speech this morning. I was so embarrassed for him and for my country that I had to turn it off.  I wonder if whoever wrote the deplorable speech intended to embarrass Trump and inadvertently embarrassed America as well, or whether the speechwriter(s) is so imbued with the neoconservative arrogance and hubris of our time that the speechwriter was simply blind to the extraordinary contradictions that stood out like sore thumbs all through the speech…

Trump went on at great length about how America respects the sovereignty of every country and the people’s will of every country, and how the US, despite its overwhelming military power, never tries to impose its will on any country…

What about Yugoslavia/Serbia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Crimea, Ukraine, Venezuela, Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, just to mention countries in the 21st century that have been subjected to US military attacks, government overthrows, and removals of political leaders who did not conform to US interests..?

I heard Trump complain that the UN Human Rights commission had as members countries with the worst human rights records of our time, and I wondered if he was talking about the United States.

Clearly, Trump, the speechwriter(s), the State Department, the National Security Council, the US Ambassador to the UN, indeed the entire administration, do not think that the endless slaughter, maiming, orphaning, widowing, and dispossessing of millions of peoples in many countries, producing waves of refugees, comprise human rights violations.

The arrogance conveyed by Trump’s speech is unprecedented. 

The Trump of today is sounding a lot like George W. Bush and Barack Obama, advocating for more war, extended war in Afghanistan, expanded war in Syria, urging war with North Korea, demanding war with Iran.  So what happened?  Trump is being held hostage by the generals who have successfully conducted a military coup in America.  The Military Industrial Complex’s handmaidens, the generals have now taken over the American Government.  From Mint Press:

Excerpt:

Let’s Call “Trump’s Generals” What They Are: A Military Junta

Trump is fond of boasting about “his” generals. But over the short course of his presidency’s first months, the possession and control have reversed themselves. Mattis, McMaster, and Kelly have banished all opposition and now pour the neo-con agenda straight into Trump’s ear.

WASHINGTON – The U.S., long known for its meddling in the affairs of other nations, also has a long and sordid history of supporting military juntas abroad, many of which it forced into power through bloody coups or behind-the-scenes power grabs…

Finally in 2017, karma appears to have come back to roost, as the current presidential administration has now effectively morphed into what is, by definition, a military junta.  …in the administration of President Donald Trump a group of military officers has gathered unprecedented power and, for all intents and purposes, rules the country.

Three generals at the center of power

In a recent article in The Washington Post, titled “Military Leaders Consolidate Power In Trump Administration,” Post reporters Robert Costa and Philip Rucker noted that “At the core of Trump’s circle is a seasoned trio of generals with experience as battlefield commanders: White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

“This is the only time in modern presidential history when we’ve had a small number of people from the uniformed world hold this much influence over the chief executive,” John E. McLaughlin, a former acting director of the CIA…

Although Trump is fond of calling them “my generals,” they now… “manage Trump’s hour-by-hour interactions and whisper in his ear – and those whispers, as with the decision this week to expand U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, often become policy…” “The Generals Have Trump Surrounded.”

Also notable is the fact that this trio of generals has overseen the firing of more independent, “outsider” voices, notably Derek Harvey and Steve Bannon. Bannon, in particular, was a thorn in the side of the generals, in light primarily of his staunch opposition to the American “empire project” and new wars abroad… The New York Times referred to McMaster as Bannon’s “nemesis in the West Wing,” precisely due to McMaster’s commitment to American empire building.

With Bannon’s relatively recent departure… the Trump administration – now unequivocally ruled by “the generals…” as illustrated by Trump’s decision to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, a measure both Bannon and Trump himself once opposed…  Politico published a report detailing the control exercised by Kelly over the president, as he personally vets “everything” that comes across Trump’s desk.

Politico referenced two memos that laid out a system “designed to ensure that the president won’t see any external policy documents, internal policy memos, agency reports and even news articles that haven’t been vetted…”

H.R. McMaster, who took control of the National Security Council (NSC) following Flynn’s ouster in February, has been… personally controlling the flow of national security information that makes it to the president…  McMaster has drawn more ire than any other of “Trump’s generals… and has actively pushed for a ground war in Syria and a massive 50,000-troop surge in Afghanistan. 

The new model of command that arose involved “pre-delegating authority to Mattis… Since the great “war power giveaway,” Mattis has overseen the expansion of every theater of war Trump inherited from his predecessor

This likely owes to both Mattis’ and McMaster’s allegiance to notorious neo-cons and war hawks…  Though the generals are in control and their junta established, they are not the ones calling the shots…  The military-industrial complex and the ever-hawkish neoconservatives have taken over, refusing to let the anti-interventionism the American people voted for make itself heard…


By dehumanizing others, among many other things, these people are also aiding the neocons and other forces of darkness to justify more war, more suffering, and more destruction. ~

Mohammad Marandi

The extent of the lunacy of “The military-industrial complex and the ever-hawkish neoconservatives” was on full display at the United Nations meeting.  The sophomoric peppering of President Trump’s speech with the pejorative “Rocket Man” insults hurled at North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, exemplified the disdain the neocon’s hold, not only for other world leaders but for peace itself.  From Aljazeera:

Excerpt:

'Tensions to rise' after Trump's North Korea comments

Analysts say US president's fiery language against North Korea and its leader distances the prospect of negotiations…  Using what was described as "unprecedented" language, Trump made his debut address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday.

In a wide-ranging 45-minute speech, the most anticipated foreign policy address of his tenure, Trump vowed that the US would "totally destroy" North Korea if it is forced to defend itself or its allies.

He also mocked Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, saying: "Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully, this will not be necessary."

"I expected him to talk tough and strong - but I did not expect him to talk quite that tough and quite that strongly," said Donald Kirk, a journalist and author of several books on Korea.

He said Trump's remarks made the prospect of negotiations extremely unlikely.  "North Koreans are not going to back down - if anything they are going to increase the tempo of their programme," Kirk told Al Jazeera from South Korea's capital, Seoul. "I think we can forget about North Korea saying, 'let's go to negotiations.'"

Kirk also said he expected that Trump's fiery approach would not be adopted by other leaders who are otherwise highly critical of North Korea's actions…

'Neoconservative line'

Mark Farha, assistant professor of international relations at the Doha Institute, said that Trump had - once again - embraced an interventionist foreign policy...  he adopted squarely a neoconservative line of regime change and war in fact," Farha told Al Jazeera.  "He is trying to square the circle, because ... IF YOU HAD A POLL [IN THE US] 75 PERCENT OF PEOPLE WOULD BE AGAINST ESCALATION against Iran and North Korea, but here is Trump harking back to the neoconservatives…"

"North Korea now has the script and the excuse to why they need the [nuclear] programme," he told Al Jazeera. "If they haven't got one they need to work very quickly to develop one if they have that direct threat."

As was perfectly predictable, Kim Jong-Un responded in like.  From Slate:

Excerpt:

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un Responds to Trump, Calling Him a “Mentally Deranged Dotard”

On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un responded to President Trump’s United Nations address in the pair’s escalating nuclear rhetoric, saying in a statement that Trump would “pay dearly” for his speech where the president referred to Kim as “Rocket Man” and threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea.

“I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire,” Kim continued in a statement released by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The neocons and the generals used the 72nd meeting of the United Nations to spit in the face of the world, who was awaiting President Trump’s debut on the world stage.  Much was anticipated from the President who was elected on a platform in direct contrast to the warmongering globalist agenda of Bush/Obama.  Trump promised to “Make America Great Again” by putting America and the American people first.  But Trump’s agenda has been trashed by the generals and neocons who desire stealing trillions from the American treasury to wage wars of aggression. 

One could say that the current crisis in North Korea was created by Bush and Obama’s fealty to the neocon agenda.  Just look at the fate of countries who agreed to give up their nuclear ambitions.  From The Intercept:

Excerpt:

TRUMP INTEL CHIEF: NORTH KOREA LEARNED FROM LIBYA WAR TO “NEVER” GIVE UP NUKES

THE MEDIA IS NOW filled with headlines about North Korea’s missile test on Friday, which demonstrated that its ICBMs may be able to reach the continental U.S. What isn’t mentioned in any of these stories is how we got to this point — in particular, what Dan Coats, President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence, explained last week at the Aspen Security Forum.

North Korea’s 33-year-old dictator Kim Jong-un is not crazy, said Coats. In fact, he has “some rationale backing his actions” regarding the country’s nuclear weapons. That rationale is the way the U.S. has demonstrated that North Korea must keep them to ensure “survival for his regime, survival for his country…”

In particular, The lessons that we learned out of Libya giving up its nukes …  is, unfortunately: If you had nukes, never give them up. If you don’t have them, get them.”

This is, of course, blindingly obvious and has been since the U.S. helped oust longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. But U.S. officials have rarely if ever acknowledged this reality. Here’s the timeline:

In December 2003, Libya announced that it would surrender its biological and chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as its rudimentary nuclear weapons program.

In celebrating Libya’s decision, President George W. Bush declared that the rest of the world should take away the message that “leaders who abandon the pursuit of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, and the means to deliver them, will find an open path to better relations with the United States and other free nations…”

In 2011, the U.S. and NATO conducted a bombing campaign to assist Libyan rebels in overthrowing the Gaddafi government. Gaddafi himself was captured by one rebel faction, who apparently sodomized him with a bayonet and then killed him…

And, indeed, North Korea said this explicitly at the time. Its foreign ministry stated, “The Libyan crisis is teaching the international community a grave lesson,” which was that the deal to rid Libya of weapons of mass destruction had been “an invasion tactic to disarm the country.”

The neocon’s presentation at the 72nd meeting of the United Nations was a disgusting, belligerent, ignorant neocon view of a subservient world, cowering before an imperialist master, America.  What the world hoped for at the UN Meeting from President Trump was a vision of a new world of peace, cooperation and rebuilding but what they got was “Neocons gone wild, Rocket Man vs. the Dotard.” 



By Patricia Baeten

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