Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 2, 1917, US President Woodrow Wilson asking Congress for a declaration of war before entering World War I on April 6, 1917

Trump’s dangerous theatre of the absurd: He had Russia notified (or notified them) before air strikes against Syria on the 100th anniversity of US entry into World War I: “Russian forces were notified in advance of the strike using the established deconfliction line. U.S. military planners took precautions to minimize risk to Russian or Syrian personnel located at the airfield“(See entire DoD Statement at the bottom of this blog post.)

Unlike Trump, Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for permission on April 2nd before entering World War I on April 6th. Trump, on the other hand, waited until the US House went home for Easter to attack Syria!

The US had had its ships sunk without warning many times prior to entry into World War I, including 5 Merchant Ships in March alone. Trump attacked for unknown reasons. Syria’s problems do not pose a US threat.

One can only examine possibile Trump motives such as an attempt to divert attention from concerns regarding his Russian ties; a wish to increase the price of oil and gas, to increase military and petroleum stock prices; and a $9 billion loan guarantee to Israel, first approved under Bush and a Republican Congress in 2003: https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg917.aspx There is also Genie Oil and Gas in the Golan Heights and major eastern Mediterranean offshore oil and gas interests. Not only is there Noble, but Exxon just got a stake offshore of Cyprus in December and Italy’s Eni recently sold part of its Egyptian offshore stake to Russian state-owned Rosneft. Israel currently has offshore competitive bids out until July. It is unknown if Russia is still interested in Israeli offshore stakes – Putin and Israeli PM Netanyahu had, and maybe still have, a Bromance going when Obama was President. It is unclear if these oil and gas interests in the eastern Mediterranean will bring about a desire for stability in the region by the US and Russia or more conflict. Russia bought the Egyptian stake in December, which may, or may not, have changed dynamics.

Both Wilson and Trump ran as anti-overseas war candidates. Unlike Wilson, Trump actually waited until the more representative US House went on break to do the attack; Trump had Russian forces notified and then the Department of Defense presented the US public with a fait accompli. Perhaps Trump notified Putin. Who knows? The Mar-a-Lago waiters? The leader of China?

And, who in the Department of Defense notified the public? A man with the same name as the President of the US Confederate States of America, Jeff Davis! WTF? Is this symbolic? Of what? And, was this man named by his parents, and chosen to do the announcement, by ignorance or intent? Is he Jeffrey or Jefferson? If Jeffrey why didn’t the DoD write it out?


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis

And, by the way, if Trump attacked Syria to protect an Israeli loan guarantee, will he attack Georgia, South Carolina and Japan over the $8.3 billion federal loan guarantee for new nuclear power stations, which probably will never be completed, as the reactors’ builder Toshiba-Westinghouse has asked for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection? Perhaps Louisiana since some of the parts were made there? The Netherlands, since Chicago Bridge and Iron has its headquarters there? How about Canada, since some of the defective parts were made there? Weren’t some parts made in Washington State? Some speculated that the US entered World War I to ensure that it got its loans back.

Notice how very different the situation was 100 years ago. Imagine the uproar today if five airplanes or ships had gone down: “In early 1917 Berlin forced the issue. Its declared decision on 31 January 1917 to target neutral shipping in a designated war-zone became the immediate cause of the entry of the United States into the war. Five American merchant ships went down in March. Outraged public opinion now overwhelmingly supported Wilson when he asked Congress for a declaration of war on April 2, 1917. ” Justus D. Doenecke, “Nothing Less Than War: A New History of America’s Entry into World War I” (2011), as cited in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I

In many ways World War I was a squabble between cousins for the world, as opposed to the family homestead. Syria is an internecine squabble within Syria stoked by mostly foreign oil, gas, pipeline and geo-strategic interests (e.g. Russia’s naval base in Tartus).

Tsar Nicolas of Russia and George V of England went to war with their cousin Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany

If one looks at a few of Trump’s relationships – such as the Cordish family, the Clintons, and Arnold Schwarzenegger- one wonders how much of the world is run by sheer pettiness. Trump sued Cordish over casino interests and later because friends. One of the Cordish sons – Reed – is a friend of Ivanka and White House assistant. He was friends with the Clintons and Arnold Schwarzenegger and is apparently now enemies. One is left with the impression that both he and Putin play friendly to get what they want. If they don’t get what they want, then they get mean. If they finally get what they want, sometimes they are friends again. This is the problem with authoritarian regimes. Who will keep the pettiness in check?

Here is an excerpt from Trump’s letter to Congress, formally announcing the Syria attack (see entire letter further below). Trump falsely writes that it had to do with national security. Furthermore, he is effectively saying that the attack was “foreign relations”: “I acted in the vital national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive. The United States will take additional action, as necessary and appropriate, to further its important national interests. I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148). I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.“. He says “I appreciate the support of Congress” but he didn’t get their support, instead choosing to launch the attack right after the US House had gone on break. He was supposed to get their permission under the War Powers Resolution.

About the three cousins at war:

link “Royal Cousins at War” (BBC) http://youtu.be/G5QmtuOZmsY

Jack Reed wrote that it was an imperialist war between commercial rivals (the rival leaders were also cousins).

“On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress declared war upon the German Empire; on April 2, President Woodrow Wilson had asked a special joint session of Congress for this declaration.

On August 14, 1914, shortly after Germany declared war on France, he [Reed] set sail for neutral Italy, having been sent by the Metropolitan… Reed saw the war as having emerged from imperialist commercial rivalries and showed little sympathy for any of the participants. In an unsigned piece entitled “The Traders’ War,” published in the September 1914 issue of The Masses, Reed passionately wrote:

“The real War, of which this sudden outburst of death and destruction is only an incident, began long ago. It has been raging for tens of years, but its battles have been so little advertised that they have been hardly noted. It is a clash of Traders…


“What has democracy to do in alliance with Nicholas, the Tsar? Is it Liberalism which is marching from the Petersburg of Father Gapon, from the Odessa of the pogroms?…


“No. There is a falling out among commercial rivals….


“But we must not be duped by this editorial buncombe about Liberalism going forth to Holy War against Tyranny.


“This is not Our War.“[24]
24 John Reed, “The Trader’s War,” The Masses, v. 5, no. 12, whole no. 40 (Sept. 1914), pp. 16–17. The article appears without a byline, attributed to “a well-known American author and war correspondent who is compelled by arrangements with another publication to withhold his name.” Wikipedia text plus Reed quote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Reed_(journalist)

One twitter comment:
“GinaMarie‏ ‪@ginamsv‬
‪@TracyAnnPhilips‬ ‪@RepAdamSchiff‬ Funny how he bombs week before Tillerson heads to Russia-it is all a coordinated effort to lift sanctions for Russia’s “aid” – ‪#FakeElection‬” https://twitter.com/ginamsv/status/851112110155333633‬

Someone was inane enough to suggest that it was the fault of those calling for the Russian investigation. No, it is the fault of US intelligence services and the US Congress for being too slow, incompetent, and possibly corrupt – the last almost certain for members of Congress, such as Nunes, who attempted to slow-scuttle the investigation. Trump should have been removed pending impeachment. They could probably put him under oath one day and have him perjure himself. But, if the FBI hadn’t been so damned slow and incompetent, then Trump wouldn’t be president. That he wasn’t investigated prior to becoming the Republican candidate shows that there is a major problem with the intelligence services. Russia experts should have seen this coming – clues were out there.

Read this nutty letter! This attack is “foreign relations?”! (Letter followed by screenshot of Department of Defense Statement by Jeff Davis)


Of particular interest in the following article are the positions of various (recent) immigrant groups on support or opposition to World War I, showing how choice of immigrants could impact foreign policy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I