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Cheney's Chief Assassin Is Now Obama's Commander in Afghanistan

By James Petras, Axis of Logic. Posted May 18, 2009.


Obama's appointment of General Stanley McChrystal reflects a grave new military escalation of his Afghanistan war.

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“The Deltas are psychos…You have to be a certified psychopath to join the Delta Force…”, a US Army colonel from Fort Bragg once told me back in the 1980s. Now President Obama has elevated the most notorious of the psychopaths, General Stanley McChrystal, to head the US and NATO military command in Afghanistan. 

McChrystal’s rise to leadership is marked by his central role in directing special operations teams engaged in extrajudicial assassinations, systematic torture, bombing of civilian communities and search and destroy missions. He is the very embodiment of the brutality and gore that accompanies military-driven empire building. Between September 2003 and August 2008, McChrystal directed the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations (JSO) Command which operates special teams in overseas assassinations.

The point of the ‘Special Operations’ teams (SOT) is that they do not distinguish between civilian and military oppositions, between activists and their sympathizers and the armed resistance.  The SOT specialize in establishing death squads and recruiting and training paramilitary forces to terrorize communities, neighborhoods and social movements opposing US client regimes. The SOT’s ‘counter-terrorism’ is terrorism in reverse, focusing on socio-political groups between US proxies and the armed resistance. McChrystal’s SOT targeted local and national insurgent leaders in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan through commando raids and air strikes. During the last 5 years of the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld period the SOT were deeply implicated in the torture of political prisoners and suspects.

McChrystal was a special favorite of Rumsfeld and Cheney because he was in charge of the ‘direct action’ forces of the ‘Special Missions Units.  ‘Direct Action’ operative are the death-squads and torturers and their only engagement with the local population is to terrorize, and not to propagandize. They engage in ‘propaganda of the dead’, assassinating local leaders to ‘teach’ the locals to obey and submit to the occupation. Obama’s appointment of McChrystal as head reflects a grave new military escalation of his Afghanistan war in the face of the advance of the resistance throughout the country.

The deteriorating position of the US is manifest in the tightening circle around all the roads leading in and out of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul as well as the expansion of Taliban control and influence throughout the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Obama’s inability to recruit new NATO reinforcements means that the White House’s only chance to advance its military driven empire is to escalate the number of US troops and to increase the kill ratio among any and all suspected civilians in territories controlled by the Afghan armed resistance.

The White House and the Pentagon claim that the appointment of McChrystal was due to the ‘complexities’ of the situation on the ground and the need for a ‘change in strategy’. ‘Complexity’ is a euphemism for the increased mass opposition to the US, complicating traditional carpet ‘bombing and military sweep’ operations. The new strategy practiced by McChrystal involves large scale, long term ‘special operations’ to devastate and kill the local social networks and community leaders, which provide the support system for the armed resistance.

Obama’s decision to prevent the release of scores of photographs documenting the torture of prisoners by US troops and ‘interrogators’ (especially under command of the ‘Special Forces’), is directly related to his appointment of McChrystal whose ‘SOT’ forces were highly implicated in widespread torture in Iraq. Equally important, under McChrystal’s command the DELTA, SEAL and Special Operations Teams will have a bigger role in the new ‘counter-insurgency strategy’. Obama’s claim that the publication of these photographs will adversely affect the ‘troops’ has a particular meaning: The graphic exposure of McChrystal’s modus operendi for the past 5 years under President Bush will undermine his effectiveness in carrying out the same operations under Obama.


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View:
Cheney's Chief Assassin Is Now Obama's Commander in Afghanistan
Posted by: mmckinl on May 18, 2009 12:15 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We are starting to see the real Obama, the agent of the MIC. And let us not forget his fealty to the banksters and the health care czars ... and his tribute of trillions of dollars of tax payer money to each ...

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In other news Sri Lanka claims to have ended its Tamil Tiger problem.
Posted by: Honky the Nihilist VI on May 18, 2009 12:18 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
They must be better at winning hearts and minds then the US.

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» The war is won when one side no longer exists Posted by: Honky the Nihilist VI
So Much For Change
Posted by: Revolutionary (Direct) Democracy on May 18, 2009 12:37 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
FREE AMERICA

VOCA, NOW !!

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

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This is what progressives want, isn't it?
Posted by: chance garden on May 18, 2009 12:40 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
In Orwell's 1984, society was divided into 3 tiers: The Inner party, The Outer Party, and the Proles.

In our society, Progressives represent the Inner Party. Admit it.

We don't have the luxury of retreating into the slogan "Ignorance is Strength." We know.

Unless, of course, you have mastered "Doublethink" in which case, you probably wouldn't understand this blog...

Chance

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You People are Just Amazingly Ignorant
Posted by: KQuark on May 18, 2009 1:48 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The president campaigned on the idea of focusing on Afghanistan and insisting that we send more troops. Now you are calling him the liar and phony for doing exactly what he said he would do in the campaign.

The far left does not deserve to win national elections out of shear stupidity.

Being a student of history the most successful commanders are rarely warm and fuzzy bleeding heart liberals. They are warriors who understand the enemy they are fighting and know how to defeat them. But then of course the far left thinks we have no enemies and would summarily withdraw from the region just so the Taliban and Al Qaeda can take over Afghanistan again and history can repeat itself. I'm sincerely glad the president is in charge of the safety of the American people instead of some far left ideologues.

I'm ashamed that there are so many naive and ignorant people on the far left side of the political spectrum that want to make the progressive wing like the far right and demand orthodoxy instead of pragmatism.

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» You need to study history more Posted by: bonapartist
» RE: You need to study history more Posted by: radicalchic
The Big If
Posted by: Revolutionary (Direct) Democracy on May 18, 2009 3:59 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you can read these accounts and not get upset don't bother looking for the problem.

You ARE the problem.


FREE AMERICA

REVOLUTIONARY (DIRECT) DEMOCRACY

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» RE: The Big If Posted by: madmac10
Op Ed posing as Journalism? Wheres Your Sources?
Posted by: Purple Girl on May 18, 2009 4:06 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Slight problem- not one resource cited or quoted in regards to your claims this man was the head of the assasination squad. Only'evidence' you present is his title and his dates of service. Not even one instance of such criminal activity which he was involved with- not even one he was extraneously attached to. Which villages were slaughtered under his command? who was assassinated?
That read like a 'nobody's' blog comment instead of journalistic reporting. something to bear in mind- We 'nobody's' who are merely expressing our opinions in comments are not held to the standards of journalistic integrity as those who write articles for mass publication and distribution. There is an element of liability,therefore the potential slander and Defamation to your hair raising claims.Your Article Read like something off Rush Limbuaghs show.
Also interesting that you would also enter in to the realm of psychic abilities when claiming what Obama thinks. Obviously YOU may think his stance on Afghanistan is new- but those who actually listened to him during his campaign were well advised he was going to Refocus attentions and efforts on that regional conflict. so claiming he has suddenly begun to show his militarism only proves you were not paying attention.
As for the Photos,since we have no idea what they contain-but most reports state they are nothing new - it is irresponsible to insinuate they are more egregious.Frankly I don't care if they are ever released for public consumption- just available for legal proceedings- domestic and international. There is a degree of morbid curiosity and facination some in the media have, and try to instill in the viewing public. Let's be honest if the MSM could have gotten their hands a Nicole Brown Simpson with her head nearly cut off, they would have had it aired constantly on their 24/7 loop. I, for one, have no need or desire, to go beyond my own imagination and 'See it with my own eyes'.
Your Op Ed Assertions are interesting and certainly something to bear in mind as the operations in Afghnaistan move forward- but no more creditable than any other Claims I read in the 'Comments' made by other 'nobody' Bloggers.
One thing you must admit it appears counter intuitive that Obama and Gates would name an 'Assassin' immediately after such a high profile and controversial bombing on a village killing 147 Civilians- don't ya think?
Interesting Conjecture but absolutely Shotty Reporting...Much like Right Wing Media would publish.
Shame on You Alternet for posing this as a legitimate 'Article'.The Left is far more 'cerebral' than the right- we require proof, evidence, or at least a dose of some logical Deductive reasoning .This Article possessed none- Frankly I'm insulted that you decided to throw this peice of hysterical shit on the Webpage. I thought you had more integrity than that, guess I was wrong. Apparently I will have to take your article selection with a grain of salt from now on. This is the crap you find in Murdocks dime store Rag The Wall Street Journal or Rigth wing Radio Talk shows....Did Rush Write this Article, because it reeks of sensationalism and fanaticism.

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» That needed saying. Posted by: PJAW
» Source right here, for one Posted by: manderson
Dear Ol' War-nostalgia
Posted by: wardropper on May 18, 2009 4:08 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Where would we be without our dear old industrial-military warmongering complex?
All brought up to believe that we are nothing but animals anyway, and the law of the jungle prevails.
Ok, if you're a rat, but these guys are quite oblivious of the fact that "survival of the fittest" has never meant survival of the psychotic and corrupt.

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More Neocon Nonsense
Posted by: DrBrian on May 18, 2009 4:10 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I fail to see how appointing a war criminal is going to benefit the Afghan people as you guys imagine, or how the US-installed government of warlords and drug smugglers is going to create the prosperous, free society you imagine.

The Taliban were never very popular before our invasion, but their support from the population has grown as we slaughter civilians and raze villages. Our torture program hasn't endeared us to very many people, either.

Our NATO allies have already figured out that there is no way to win this war, and even Petraeus says it should only be 20% military and 80% humanitarian, but the ratio is more than reversed.

Your neocon theories are completely illogical and based on failed models.

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US are a foreign invader
Posted by: bonapartist on May 18, 2009 4:31 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Nothing more, and nothing less.

Fro any Afghani Americans are foreingers, hethens, and a bullies. It probably makes no difference if Americans are led by Texan wannabe cowboy or big eared pseudo liberal.

Sending more troops and appointing McCrystal means escalation of war. War that cannot have a clear cut winner due to the region, history, economics, religion etc. For Afghanis it is just yet another interlooper (after Greeks, Mughals, British, Soviets and numerous others) and for Americans it means more body bags, bigger military expenses, more hysteria, less work, and higher taxes. Not to mention the erosion of political and culutral values.

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. But hey, it keeps top 5% Americans wealthy and in power.

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We voted him in and by god we can and will vote him out.
Posted by: That_SOB on May 18, 2009 4:48 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
McChrystal’s rise to leadership is directly related to the bush "SURGE."
The neocon mentality of scorched earth was the basis for the "success" (sic) claimed in Iraq by the US war criminals who have left spores in the present Obama administration.
I wonder if Obama realizes he will be responsible for his own political demise in 4 years. The truth is Obama is a pain in the A** to the all the liberals who put him in the White House.
Obama has shirked/changed much of his pre-election promises.
Not seating Universal Health Care reps at the table is a gross failure of the Obama administration as is the elevation of McChrystal’s a real bush/cheney thug, in Afghanistan.
There will be a "Surge" of disgusted Liberal voters in 4 years. We voted him in and by god we can and will vote him out.

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I was wondering how long
Posted by: LTBROWN on May 18, 2009 5:08 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
it would take before the media would start running the country again. No more donations to alternet.

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White oil and the string theory
Posted by: That_SOB on May 18, 2009 5:16 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Poppies For Medicine In Afghanistan" is the name for the US management of Afghanistan's "White Oil." There was a 17% rise in production of opium (white oil) in 2007.
Turkey's opium was completely taken over by the Brits some 20 years ago, now the US has modeled "Poppies for medicine" after the Brit model. The US refused to turn it's back on Iraqi's oil and we refuse to turn our back on the amount of $$ there is in opium trade.
If you doubt it exists, Google it...Obama's reappointment of bush administration thugs is either
a failed attempt at a seamless change or more likely
Obama has strings that neocons control.
The more we expand this war the more resistance we will find in any of the countries we occupy.
Now will someone tell me again why we are the worlds police force?
I believe the "White Hat" is now in a Dipsy Dumpster
behind the White House.

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William Tecumseh Sherman
Posted by: PJAW on May 18, 2009 5:26 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Look him up in the history books and note the appearance of the man in the pictures. McChrystal's intense visage bears a striking resemblance to his, a fact that may or may not please the general, depending on his view of himself as a historical figure.

Obama campaigned, in part, on the pledge to finish the mission in Afghanistan (whatever that might be) and to do so is going to require the services of people who have the training and personality to prosecute a successful military campaign. Which always involves killing people. Apparently McChrystal is pretty effective in that role, just as Sherman was, and will be hated for it by many, who will also benignly enjoy the profits from his efforts. In this century that equates to warm houses and full gas tanks.

The author doesn't mention much about McChrystal specifically, though he infers much that he objects to. One item I've heard that does not reflect well on him is his alleged participation in the Pat Tillman case. (I say "case" because his death bears a much stronger resemblance to murder than a combat casualty)

I consider myself a peaceful person, but had I been President during 9-11 (and not implicated in it in any way) I would likely have turned the location where bin Laden was known to be, into a rdioactive, smoking hole within 48 hours. Friends and enemies alike would have "understood" and all of the subsequent nonsense that is Iraq and Afghanistan would not be happening. Horrific? Indeed, but far less so than the bullshit we're currently engaged in.

Nothing of the sort happened though, did it. Because we had a President who (at least in my humble opinion) enabled 9-11 through his incompetence and/or benign complicity, and (despite his phony bluster) completely lacked the balls to respond effectively.

So the war(s) go on, despite the vote for "change" and some get stinking rich while others die, and we can drive to the liquor store during halftime of our favorite game in our SUV and return to a comfy McMansion complete with a "man cave". tra la la

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» RE: William Tecumseh Sherman Posted by: peacefullaim1
Obama deceived all progressives
Posted by: Daito on May 18, 2009 5:33 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Actually, to be more precise, he lied to you. Congratulations. You voted for a one/quarter term senator with no economic, military or management/business and leadership background, and now you get what you get. Next time, read the label people.

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The history of WAR
Posted by: mtnprivy on May 18, 2009 5:35 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The whole history of War reads like any other history of feuds,revenge, hatred. Screw up in your mind some reason to justify killing and dominating another. Most every war is justified by the last war that happened. My favorite justification for killing is because the OTHER SIDE is so BRUTAL. Thus, you have a perfect rational for us to go after the Taliban, and they have a perfect rational for going after us.
Unfortunately, the "innocents" of one generation become the agressors of the next generation, as they remember the devistation that was visited upon them in the past. The War Machine feeds on this negative energy that is it's own legacy from the past, and this provides the energy to keep it going into the future. The MIC is probably gonna kill our planet. i wanted to believe that Obama was not a part of it, but I guess I was wrong.

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"The very embodiment of brutality and gore . . .?"
Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on May 18, 2009 6:14 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"The most notorious of the psychopaths . . .?"

The author shouts his character, demonstrating thunderously the degree to which his bias and bigotry distort his perspective - to say nothing of his thought.

The inescapable - of course, I speak logically, scientifically, and provably, rather than our of seemingly deep-seated need to somehow do injury with mere rhetoric and verbiage - fact is that any warrior (look if up folks - the special meanings being given to any term being used in a political context here is beginning to tax my own lexicon) must be made by his profession to appear brutal and gory in the eyes of an effeminate, metrosexual, liberal, humanist observer.

Nevertheless, you don't send a lapdog to hunt tigers (or devils).

Delta and special forces soldiers like those I first became, then trained (as I still do), after having written in 1958 the first paper and TO&E on Delta, SEAL-6, and SWAT operatives train to stop killing by killing. Anything else risks without moral right the life of innocent people needing rescue.

Liberal and humanist persons like the author are never around to answer for the lives they risk and destroy once their delay in the inevitable has resulted in tragedy. No tactic of warrior or supposed peacemaker has ever cost so much "collateral damage" - so many lives and inflicted so much misery - as appeasement and/or negotiation with psychotic hostage-takers and murderers.

When you are the hostage - and whether you know it or not, you may be now - it will be one of these "embodiments of brutality and gore" for whose ride to your rescue you will pray.

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» RE: "The very embodiment of STUPIDITY Posted by: Walks-in-Storms
» OK, I dont get you Posted by: kegbot1
P.S.
Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on May 18, 2009 6:20 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
This is little more than a despicable attack on an honorable man, one the author almost certainly has never met, and knows little about other than what he has read in literature which sings to the choir in which he sings.

Come on, AlterNet - this kind of diatribe merely damages your credibility, smacking as it does of tabloid sensationalism, scum-sucking, and appeal to the most base in your readers. Do better.

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Honourable because of the uniform, huh?
Posted by: bonapartist on May 18, 2009 7:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Here you go, nice overview of your "honourable" man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_McChrystal

He did what had to be done and he obeyed orders. So did Jodl and Keitel, unfortunately it didn't help them in Nurnmberg.

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RE: Honourable because of the uniform, huh?
Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on May 18, 2009 4:17 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
To decent men, men of honor - and to fair people everywhere - General McCrystal remains honorable because he has never been convicted of anything dishonorable. All reasonable people respect others until proof of evil has been given.

You give yourself away.

The honor of the U.S. depends upon its adherence to the principle of law, which is nothing more than fairness, justice. I (emphasis) did what I did - and I obeyed legal orders - because I was a soldier sworn to obey orders. I kept my word.

Your false analogy (poisoning the well, and several more fallacies) - allusion to men like Jodl and Keitel - appears to be typical of your ilk, and it impugns not only the honor or literally millions of German soldiers who fought honorably for their country, but of all men and women who fight for their country. Further, the logical fallacy in what you say is that of false division and composition: to prove one member of a group is wrong, evil, or whatever in no way says anything about others of the same group.

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» What a crock of shit Posted by: kegbot1
» In conclusion Posted by: bonapartist
Americans can JUSTIFY ANYTHING they want to get what they want
Posted by: BlueBerry PickN on May 18, 2009 7:07 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
as long as they get to say the right words, in the right sequence:

"we'd rather do something that isn't evil"
"oops, extenuating circumstances: MOVE, BITCH! get out of the way!"
you made us do that!
see! we're better than they are, because we took care of business for The American Way & the American Dream!! they had it coming!
We're NUMBER ONE! & aren't we glad we did that? made us BETTER!
they were BAD PEOPLE who tried to stop us from fulfilling our DESTINY!! ...they were psychic vampires terrorists & they were lazy...


The idea that Americans were going to stop killing, raping & pillaging other nations was only a wetdream...

it was too much inconvenience to stop.

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The end of reason
Posted by: Douglas_Wilson on May 18, 2009 7:59 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I have concluded that this nation will cease to exist if the public doesn't get rid of it's blind adherence to political rhetoric. It must (1) stop believing in the party idea (2) become intimately familiar with the constitution (3) look at evidence and historical trends and ignore personal emotional attachments to politicians...That would be a good start. If not we'll continue in this fanatical war against each other...which is really a ideologically manufactured war against ourselves.

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I had no illusions about Obama
Posted by: JackieGiles on May 18, 2009 9:30 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I supported and voted for Obama because he is intelligent, articulate, was for ending the war in Iraq and healthcare, although I liked Hillary's health plan better. She would probably be following the same foreign policy if she had won. I knew Obama planned to leave a "residual force" in Iraq because he said so on his campaign website. I felt sure he could not have become Jr. Senator from Illinois if he was truly "progressive". The naive adoration of the Obama-worshipers, many of whom never read his stated issued positions, was off-putting to me, and most of them have not become active supporting local Democratic candidates. For me the bottom line was that as imperfect as Obama might be, McCain/Palin would have meant disaster in foreign policy, no progress toward Health Care, and certainly no discussion of accountability for Bush/Cheney, let alone any action. We would have Bush/Cheney III. We need to pressure Obama to get us out of Iraq, get out of the quicksand that is Afghanistan, realize that the corporate greedsters will not sacrifice their healthcare money machine willingly, and and be the great president that his intellect, education and life experience have equipped him to be. He was not the best of all choices--he was the only choice.

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So the US has...
Posted by: Pirate1 on May 18, 2009 9:54 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Another rabid general in charge of destruction out there... what is new about that? Obama is and always was a CENTRIST! He's wedded to the status quo... Smart as he may be intellectually, his eyes roll at the suggestion that we can do anything but try to get the economy back the the way it was! That idea is lame from the get go! That system crashed for good reason and he wants to get it back? He thinks sending more of our kids over to Afganistan to die trying to put down a people who have lived there since biblical times is sane policy. Think, people! I don't understand all these progressives actually thinking he was going to do what a Dennis Kucinich would REALLY have done had he been a little more charismatic and photogenic on their damned TVs.

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Scientists Find Unignited Explosive Residues in WTC Dust - Apr 22, 2009
Posted by: llucero on May 18, 2009 9:55 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Conclusive science-based forensic evidence disproving the official 9/11 conspiracy story and evidence that WTC 1, 2 and 3 were destroyed with Advanced Thermitic Material created by Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore Labs.

OMNI TV Interview

Richard Gage, AIA, of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth lays out all the evidence for the controlled demolition of the 3 WTC high-rises on 9/11.

Go here for OMNI TV Interview: http://www.ae911truth.org/omnitv_interview.htm

Go here for full report "Scientists Find Unignited Explosive Residues in WTC Dust:" http://www.ae911truth.org/info/57

Red/Gray Chips Match Advanced Thermitic Materials Developed in US Government Labs

Berkeley, CA, April 23, 2009— A team of scientists that includes 9/11 luminaries Steven Jones, Kevin Ryan, and seven other authors from three countries announced this month the long-awaited publication of their 25-page article "Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe."

The team analyzed dust samples that were collected from four locations near Ground Zero. One sample was collected ten minutes after the North Tower exploded, so it could not have been contaminated with particles from the cleanup efforts. All four samples contained the same unusual, tiny red/gray chips, which turned out to consist not only of the ingredients of conventional thermite but also carbon, silicon, and other elements.

The ingredients are all found in an ultra-fine-grained form that speeds the chemical reaction when the mixture is ignited. While conventional thermite is considered an incendiary, burning hot and fast at steel-melting 4500-degree temperatures, so-called "nano-thermite" or "super-thermite" mixtures can be explosive — as proudly noted in the Los Alamos announcement

According to lead author Niels Harrit, a professor of chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, "These new findings confirm and extend the earlier finding of previously molten, iron-rich microspheres in the World Trade Center dust. They provide strong forensic evidence that the official explanation of the WTC's destruction is wrong. Office fires and jet fuel cannot produce these highly engineered, dangerous particles."

Taken together with all the other anomalies and contradictions in what we have been told, these new findings further support the international movement demanding a new, legitimate investigation of the 9/11 disaster. They also shed new light on statements by officials with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) denying that there is any evidence of explosives at the WTC. The findings underscore the absence from their reports of any mention of the molten metal caught on video flowing out of the South Tower before it came down, seen in the rubble by dozens of people, and corroborated by hot spots in NASA thermal images of Ground Zero.

What many 9/11 activists are not aware of is that some of the same NIST engineers who wrote those reports and issued that disingenuous denial actually worked on nanothermite. Even before the dust evidence came to light, the obvious speed, symmetry, explosiveness, and completeness of the destruction strongly pointed to explosives. How can these NIST engineers have ruled out explosive controlled demolition without even discussing it in their more than 10,000 pages of reports? Perhaps for the same reasons they ruled out consideration of key evidence from the very beginning.

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Defining moment
Posted by: willymack on May 18, 2009 10:02 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Remember the Texas Turd in the schoolhouse when he was informed of 911? He was frozen into seven minutes of immobility. Now, what could've done that to him? In my opinion, it was the realization that he really wasn't the Decider at all, and that he was merely along for the ride, while cheney and his gang of thugs and murderers worked their evil upon us. This was junior's defining moment. Obama is swimming with the same sharks as bush was. Some are out in the public eye, but most are in the shadows. His justice department seems paralyzed and unwilling to perform its sworn duties to protect us from evil and go after the bushies and their masters in the shadows. Has Obama had his defining moment, already?

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Obama's Pscho Warriors in Afghanistan & Pakistan
Posted by: Jaffe on May 18, 2009 10:10 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bush could not locate Iraq or Afghanistan on a map, but he knew what he had to do: Root out Al Qaida (or were they Taliban?) while defeating the Iran-backed Shias (or were they Sunnis?) in Iraq.

With Obama putting former CIA and Bush Defense chief Gates, along with mad dog General McChrystal, in charge and amping up the Afghanistan-Pakistan opp despite the skepticism of other G20 countries, our current prez seems intent on out-Bushing Bush.

Who knew Obama would move so rapidly in precisely the wrong direction? Both offline and on, progressives (not the democratic congress) have to move even more rapidly to stop the US's violent incursion in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But "move" how?

That is what needs to be discussed.

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counter-insurgency
Posted by: solrev on May 18, 2009 10:22 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you are fighting on foreign soil you are the insurgent. I do not know but I would bet that turning the Afghanistan operations over to the Special Forces, is an attempt to ratchet down the visibility. The regular military gets too much publicity killing people because they can not tell the good guys from the bad guys. So, send in the night people and knock off all the Afghanistan tribal leaders you can find while keeping a low profile. Then try and create a new group of US backed tribal leaders. Get some people in charge at the local level you can negotiate with. At least the war can be reduced to a war between the terrorists. American terrorists and Taliban or Al-qaeda terrorists will be fighting for local control. A reasonable plan except too much blood letting has already occurred. Retaliation is a duty to these people, an order from God that’s why we will eventually lose.

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BulldogRedemer
Posted by: BulldogRedeemer on May 18, 2009 10:38 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It is interesting to see the far left, much like the far right, eat their own young when the object of their scorn does not bow down to all their extreme beliefs.
The forces of extreme evil, whom we are confronting, have amply validated that status with 9/11 and subsequent atrocities.
I, too, wish for less collateral harm to civilians, but if they are supporting this evil, they are not totally "innocent". I wish we had a weapon that could read minds and select only those who are fostering this evil. Of course that is nonsense as we are not God, so we use the best we have, "Smart Weapons" that minimize the collateral damage. It would be nice that after they commit some act of terrorism, the terrorist would have the moral substance not to hid behind women and childern. But they do not. In WWII, we destroyed the supporting structure of the Japanese and German military. That is part of not allowing your enemy to destroy you, and you winning the war.
We are not confronting "choir boys", and we must not send choir boys to subdue or defeat them. And to do nothing, would be a pre-9/11 mentality that just got us attack after attack. They do not respect weakness, like that proposed by the far left. The left would be the first eliminated by the Muslim extremists should they ever control an area or populous.
But I guess now Obama will be labeled a "war criminal" for attempting to contain this evil. In the eyes of the far left, any appropriate military response to attacks and atrocities brings on the moniker "war criminal". Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Bush and now, Obama.

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PS...
Posted by: manderson on May 18, 2009 10:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
"Perfect Masculinity Is Sociopathic" ---Stan Goff---

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I DID NOT THINK'CHANGE' MEANT MORE LIES (THERE HAS TO BE AN EXPLANATION)
Posted by: joeocho88 on May 18, 2009 11:18 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hitler and Stalin had to have psychopaths to murder dissidents.

I find it very difficult to believe that Obama whom I thought was the complete polar opposite of the evil and very corrupt Cheney-Bush consortium would do anything like this.

Maybe it is just until he can find someone else?

There has to be an explanation for this.

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Afghanistan
Posted by: badkitty on May 18, 2009 12:00 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Afghanistan--this generation's Vietnam...

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3party
Posted by: 3party on May 18, 2009 12:39 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The main flaw of this article is that nowhere does the author so much as hint at a preferable course of action. I hold no brief for McChrystal or his ilk, but we need to remember the situation Obama inherited. The Bush régime, having kept the country unsafe on 9/11, went after the originators of that attack and their hosts in Afghanistan. Cheney's obsession with Iraqi oil, and the concern of others about Israel's security, propelled U S policy inexorably toward invading and occupying Iraq, instead of finishing the job in Afghanistan.

In comes Obama and, as he suspected, there is s**t in every toilet in the house -- and there are many of them. It seems that the Bushies didn't even flush the toilets when they left.

The military is broken and dispirited. The Iraq war has proved to be either an unmitigated disaster, or a mitigated disaster, depending on one's point of view. More important, because more threatening, is the situation in Afghanistan, where the old enemy is back up and running, and next door in Pakistan, where the central government is slowly ceding territory, and control, to the Taliban.

I do not know what Obama ought to do; I don't even know what his options are. But I do think that this article is way over the top. Obama may, in time, prove to be all the things you say he is, but he is not there yet. Give the man six months more to get his bearings before you condemn him in these terms.

On the non-release of those pix: Obama got it right the second time around, and there is no shame in changing his mind. He is right because, to borrow from the law of evidence, the release of those pictures would be more prejudicial than probative. They would undoubtedly inflame anti-American sentiments and endanger American lives. That is the sense in which their release would be prejudicial (to the general welfare, to U S interests). They have no probative value because the relevant facts are well established. Pictures would add nothing the our knowledge.

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» RE: 3party Posted by: jenko
This comment has been removed from the site due to non-compliance with AlterNet's community policies.
So everyone is upset at DELTA
Posted by: Daito on May 18, 2009 2:05 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
because...they do to terrorists, what terrorists try to do to us?

Where's the beef? You libs need to grow up.

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We are an empire fueled by oil.
Posted by: jenko on May 18, 2009 2:43 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...So of course we use our unmatched military strength to safeguard the life-blood of the empire. Afghanistan is strategically located near a number of the most oil-rich countries in the world. See: http://tinyurl.com/4rnh

We're not there because of "terrorists", we're not there for women's rights, we're not there for any reason but to make sure he have first dibs on all the oil.

God, the myths Americans love to stroke themselves with... truly amazing. History will judge us for being the ignorant, self-indulgent, brutal empire-lovers that we are -- despite our best efforts to deny it.

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Obam Oh nothing!
Posted by: brian boru on May 18, 2009 2:54 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
People in the USA are sheeplike.
I despised George Bush & Cheney but I knew Obama was going to do this and that is why I abstained from voting for him.
Too good a politician and too well regarded by the powers that be to be any thing other than a political hack. It is easy to take a stance on reproductive rights but to honestly face the horrors of American wars is a bridge too far. Obama just wanted power.

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ride captain ride
Posted by: wagnerrocks@gmail.com on May 18, 2009 3:16 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The election is over and we must live with Obama as our president. I believe, when it's all said and done, his political prowess will prove to be the factor that leads this country back to greatness. My trust in him continues to live on...My love for this country lives on...and Republican traitorous rhetoric lives on. Hang on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

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Maple Leaf
Posted by: rws on May 18, 2009 4:05 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Read the book "Boots on the ground by Dusk" from page 215 onward.
The White House ordered
Ranger Patrick Tillman's murder and
General Stan McCrystal ordered his subordinates to carry it out according to
4 star General Wesley Clark who said
"if Ranger Patrick Tillman was deliberaltely killed, that would have happened only
on orders from the White House"
When you read the book you will understand all.

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lanerd
Posted by: lanerdion on May 18, 2009 5:48 PM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
So what are you saying Obama is no different than Bush ? And all those claims and nothing to back them up ? Stupid , that must be it , you think we are stupid , that we don't know war really is hell and no a moron like this delusional author wouldn't make it off the battle field oh wait there is no way in hell you'd ever get him on one to defend his country .

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Hang on for a rough ride
Posted by: Skeptic10 on May 18, 2009 8:10 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Afghanistan will be Obama's Vietnam. It is not about good intentions or what was said during the campaign. It is about the impossibility of winning a guerrilla war half a world away with no moral authority and with little local support. It is also about the fact that there is bad shit all over the world and we cannot maintain a global imperial presence on borrowed money. The game is up we just don’t know it yet. Trillions in direct investment and backstops (all printed money and IOUs) for failed banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, etc. have created the temporary illusion that we can continue our happy motoring charade and global military superiority forever. Hunker down because Obama is a one term president and we are all royally fucked when the next Palinesque demagogue takes over in 2012.

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DON'T BLAME ANYONE FOR YOUR IGNORANTS
Posted by: master09 on May 19, 2009 3:49 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
you voted for Mr Bush twice. After his first term everyone in this country and the world knew Bush was a moron and he was not running this country but voted for him again;so who is the blame here, was it Mr Bush or was it you? So quit your complainig and give this intelligent man (Obama) time to correct the problem that facing the world.
Oh! General don't make policies they carry them out so those of you that has never serve and I repeat never serve your country in any capacity back off with the bullsh*t you voted for Bush twice so you don't have a clue. As I recall there were some generals that saved our as*es 60 years ago.

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On the contrary....
Posted by: Walks-in-Storms on May 19, 2009 6:03 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
On the contrary where remarks here are concerned, appointment of a Special Forces general signifies a return to reality where moral war is concerned - to end it as soon as possible.

Some here need to research and understand the purpose of Special Forces. As one of the very few - probably the only one (and much to the detriment of my own military career) - who wrote about it in the fifties, I'm much encouraged.

Soldiers and members of the Fifth Profession hate war, you know.

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Same old shit.
Posted by: osd on May 20, 2009 6:49 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Leave men in power why would you expect a different out come. Greed, power, control, its what makes there winky hard, like nothing else can. What a waste of lives, resources and wealth. What's going on in the world and the USA is just plain wrong. The most selfserving/stupid animal on the face of the planet is in control or it should be said, out of control. The sooner this planet shakes free of humans the better off everyother living thing will be.

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I say Go For it and get the job done
Posted by: SackofWoe0 on May 23, 2009 7:33 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If you want Bin Laden, then perhaps the new man in charge can get this done, will all you nay sayers then STFU and give our President a chance, afterall most of you voted for that crazy,no class, drunk as usual Bush and see what he got us!!!!!

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The answer is:
Posted by: Me_myself_and_I on May 24, 2009 2:27 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Just put the Builderburg group together with the trilateral commenion on foriegn affairs, and read the first line on the georgia guidestone. Then you might ask why that? Well then read the 2 books called, lost Paradise and paradise found. You'll understand and get the bigger picture.

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A short as possable.
Posted by: Me_myself_and_I on May 24, 2009 2:45 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The books were written in 1600, in England. The central bank people (members of the builderburg group a.k.a. Illuminati), have been, and are still, trying to re-establish a utopian world with H.A.R.P.P. to control the weather, and kill off people by any means they can (wars are the best and fastest way to achieve this goal.)And tag the last 500,000,000 people left with RFID chips,(a.k.a. V-chip) and place them in quarentine camps, (a.k.a. U.S.-F.E.M.A. camps)
with Marshall Law, and 20,000 U.S. troops backed by the U.N. troops to do this for Homeland security. And thus rebuild Atlantis, or their idea version of it anyway. after they are sterolized with this new latest strain of swine flu, a.k.a. influenza flu strains, mixed with avian and other flus. Recently they have found it will cause the victim to become stairilized, as well as destroy their bodies immune system. Yes! look it up, do not take MY word for it. Please do! The vaccination shots are laced also. Check for yourselves. They have a cure just like the one they have for the aids virus they claim not to have.

THEY LIE! Here, look for your selfs.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser? Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=% 2Fnetahtml%2FPTO% 2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=5676977
.PN.&OS=PN/5676977&RS=PN/5676977

This link is broken to adhear to the 60 character word limit. copy & paste as one line in your browser. It's the U.S. Patient office. the page to the cure for it.

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sdf sdf d sdf
Posted by: ruruben on Jun 15, 2009 7:06 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
ert er VHS to DVD Converter||VHS Converter

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