Italy is worried about ISIS invasion.

~History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

Whether this little nugget comes to fruition or not it is mind-boggling that in the 21st century, Italy is worried about a mainland invasion from ISIS. This is not exactly a historically correct statement but its seems the Moors might be knocking on Italy's door once again. 

From the Daily Beast,

ROME — Last weekend in Italy, as the threat of ISIS in Libya hit home with a new video addressed to “the nation signed with the blood of the cross” and the warning, “we are south of Rome,” Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi shuttered the Italian embassy in Tripoli and raised his fist with the threat of impending military action. Never mind that Italy has only 5,000 troops available that are even close to deployable, according to the defense ministry. Or that the military budget was cut by 40 percent two years ago, which has kept the acquisition of 90 F-35 fighter jets hanging in the balance and left the country combat-challenged to lead any mission—especially one against an enemy like the Islamic State. 

In fact, Renzi didn’t specify exactly who would wield that military might, and, two days later, when no one volunteered to lead the charge, he backtracked. “It’s not the time for a military intervention,” Renzi told an Italian television station Monday night and said the United Nations had to lead the way. “Our proposal is to wait for the U.N. Security Council. The strength of the U.N. is decidedly superior to that of the radical militias....

Continue reading ...

Hillary Clinton's 'empathize' versus King Abdullah's 'Third-World War' statements.

Two contrasting opinions on foreign policy expressed, one quite astute and succinct while the other is naive and pandering. You decide which one is which. 

The second video...

I am sure most people would be on the same page as to which video fit which category.

However...there are a few things to add.

First is that while Abdullah speaks truth about the threat ISIS poses and the actions which should be taken in regards to their aggression, he is speaking in the context of the Middle East and specifically Jordan. ISIS in its present form poses no existential threat towards the United States. Of course this fact is no reason not to be pro-active, nor turn a blind eye to ISIS.

Hug Offensive

On Hillary Clinton...well, what can you really say??? This is one of the more inane statements expressed in the foreign policy realm I have heard in some time. Vicariously feel and envisage the enemies' emotional state so we can understand their point of view and reach out to them? Sigh...

It's wondering that with the amount of history and the huge number of tyrants and oppressive regimes known to the human consciousness, to hear our potential leaders and intellectuals utter such nonsense is mind-blowing. Subsequently when dealing with organizations such as ISIS et al extreme violence and unadulterated savagery--in the Maori sense--seems an appropriate course of strategy. Not making our center of gravity some neo-Freudian Einfühlung based hug-fest with a bunch of murderous, depraived, psychopaths. This isn't policy or "smart power" it's disaster.

Now we know that the average Occupier might buy into this frayed end of reasoning. After all, who knows more about foreign policy than a recent unemployed graduate from Skidmore with a gender studies degree under their belt? But...Hillary Clinton? No, HRC doesn't buy into this poppycock, but she is politically savvy enough to know that the average Progressive is naive enough to believe it. Consequently she is fully invested in trying to prove her Proggie bona fides by engaging in the most ridiculous of statements to gain the Democratic base's support for 2016.

Whichever political camp you might fall into or whatever your view on foreign policy we all must agree projecting this naive viewpoint, even just to score political points with your base, is dangerous. The precedent it sets vocalizes our potential leaders' willingness to seemingly capitulate to our worst enemies' perspectives. And that no matter how you slice it is alarming.

Continue reading ...