If only the majority of Americans that managed to drag their fat asses to the polls weren’t so completely retarded, we could have had this guy as President. Greek tragedy at its finest.
http://lewrockwell.com/paul/paul843.html
US Action in Mali Is Another Undeclared War
by Ron Paul
President Obama last week began his second term by promising that “a decade of war is now ending.” As he spoke, the US military was rapidly working its way into another war, this time in the impoverished African country of Mali. As far as we know, the US is only providing transport and intelligence assistance to France, which initiated the intervention then immediately called Washington for back-up and funding. However, even if US involvement is limited, and, as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, US boots on the ground are not being considered “at this time,” this clearly is developing into another war. As usual, the mission is creeping.
Within the first week of French military action in Mali, the promise that it would be a quick operation to put down an Islamic rebel advance toward the capitol was broken. France announced that it would be forced to send in thousands of troops and would need to remain far longer than the few weeks it initially claimed would be necessary.
Media questions as to whether the US has Special Operations forces, drones, or CIA paramilitary units active in Mali are unanswered by the Administration. Congress has asked few questions and demanded few answers from the president. As usual, it was not even consulted. But where does the president get the authority to become a co-combatant in French operations in Mali, even if US troops are not yet overtly involved in the attack?
How did we get to Mali? Blowback and unintended consequences played key roles. When the president decided to use the US military to attack Libya in 2011, Congress was not consulted. The president claimed that UN and NATO authority for the use of US military force were sufficient and even superior to any kind of Congressional declaration. Congress once again relinquished its authority, but also its oversight power, by remaining silent. That meant the difficult questions such as why is the action necessary, what would it entail, and what kind of unintended consequences might we see if the operation does not go exactly as planned, were neither asked nor answered.
When Gaddafi was overthrown in Libya, many fighters from Mali who had lived in Libya and been trained by Gaddafi’s military returned to their home country with sophisticated weapons and a new determination to continue their fight for independence for northern Mali. Thus the France-initiated action against Libya in 2011 led to new violence and instability in Mali that France decided it must also address. Shortly after the French attack on Mali, rebels in Algeria attacked a BP gas facility in retaliation for their government’s decision to allow foreign military to fly over Algerian territory en route to Mali. Thus the action in Mali to solve the crisis created by the prior action in Libya is turning into a new crisis in Algeria. This is the danger of interventionism and, as we saw in Vietnam more than four decades ago, it threatens to drag the US further into the conflict. And Congress is AWOL.
There is a reason why the framers of our Constitution placed the authority to declare war strictly with the Legislative Branch of government. They knew well that kings were all too willing to go to war without the consent of those who would do the killing and dying – and funding. By placing that authority in Congress, the people’s branch of government, they intended to blunt the executive branch’s enthusiasm toward overseas adventurism. The consequences of this steady erosion of our system toward the unitary executive are dire.
Eddie says:
Niger is the new drone base.
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29th January 2013 at 8:32 am
sangell says:
And the Brits are sending 300 soldiers to help the French. UK government says mission will be a long one.
This is small scale stuff. I mean we are talking Mali here but its symptomatic of the law of unintended consequences. That the predicate for all this seems to have been nothing more than the former French president Sarkozy’s worry that Khadafy would release some embarrassing info about Libyan campaign contributions to Sarkozy is simply appalling. Khadafy had ‘reformed’, done a 180 on terrorism, going from being a sponsor to a fighter of terrorist groups. Opened his country to western investment and even tourism. He was Silvio Berlusconi’s playboy pal. He called Barack Obama his ‘son’. The former ‘mercurial Colonel’ was no longer a revolutionary but a decadent old man who wanted to be treated as a head of state and turn the leadership of Libya over to his Anglophile son. For this we had to kill him and arm a bunch of Islamo crazies?
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29th January 2013 at 9:28 am
Dr. McCoy says:
Ron Paul never had a chance, which of course is an accepted fact. This country is broke in so many ways it is prohibitive to try and list them here. So long a big business, wall street, the MSM are all calling the shots, there is no way the fat ass retards (free shit army) are ever going to actually consider a candidate on his morals, standards and beliefs. So. All this being said, we now are all on the boat set sail and navigated by the PTB to a common destination. Binder and Binder… the top disability advocates. Got a hang nail… you can collect. I retire to bedlam.
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29th January 2013 at 10:27 am
Welshman says:
Blowback as Dr. Paul reminds us. Iraq, Afganistan, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Egypt, Mali, and on and on. I’m so glad to hear we are a peace loving nation, just think of the messy shit we would be in IF we were warlike.
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29th January 2013 at 10:34 am
SSS says:
sangell
Excellent analysis of Muammar Qadaffi. That’s EXACTLY what happened with that man. And we had to jump in and help kill someone who no longer presented any threat to the West. Absolutely crazy shit that bit us in the ass big time.
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29th January 2013 at 11:28 am
Frenchie says:
several reasons why there’s a small US military involvement in Mali:
1 – the US were about to sell a bunch of reapers drone to both GB and France. the Brits finally gave the middle finger because they were out of cash, but the Frenchs are still interrested in this purchase. the US are just showing what can be done with this kind of equipment, now that the islamomonkeys are defeated and run in the desert.
2 – the US were already running a CIA infiltration OP through an anti-drug program in Mali.
3 – there is ALWAYS US investments everywhere in Africa, in order to short-circuit the Chinese everywhere it’s possible.
4 – no destabilisation allowed in the area: there’s oil in Mali and Uranium in Niger. I think it’s clear.
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29th January 2013 at 2:18 pm
Frenchie says:
Muammar Qadaffi has been removed for many several reason.
he was playing nice with the western countries for years, but was only freshly introduced in the uber-oligarchy, read anti-democratic think-tanks like trilateral com, or bilderbergs.
he has promised an incredible bunch of contracts, and others have been gullible given the huge cash reserves of Lybia. but when it has been time to talk about big money, it appears that he was kidding. he was even making fun of it and clearly stated that him alive, Russia and China would share the bounty. just a fact if you doubt that he was involved in high level corruption, it appears that he was sending money to sarkosy for his campaign, and even better a DCRI agent iced him when he was captured.
another point is that he ended several US and France monopoly in Africa. he was the one that gave the funds for the first African communication satellite few years ago. he was financialy involved in many projects including agricultural ones (bye monsanto).
the central bank in Lybia was one of the last in the world with Iran and North korea that did not see a former Rothshild at its head…problem solved, check.
if you add two airplanes he bombed…he should have duck.
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29th January 2013 at 2:53 pm
Frenchie says:
I will end on Dr Paul.
R.Paul is easily the best politician America has seen for decades, if not generations.
he’s a guy that would have worked for the American citizen, and not the nazi corporations.
but he has failed to take power because he’s too honest to fuck with the jew mafia.
now there’s nothing he can do anymore, the system will collapse the harder way possible and will allow the rise of a dictatorship.
I think he reacts here on a non-event. there’s more US rotations in a shithole like Yemen, than it will ever be in Mali. his text is taylor-made for the american sweetheart, but no need to worry for GI joe here, only ROI.
the few that can be found in Mali drive forklifts on airfields.
the 300 incoming brits are training the Malian army. as for the financial support, it’s mainly to pay the African troops that are almost never paid in time by their governments (that rely on frenchs to pay, lol).
US troops aren’t wanted on the ground. they aren’t really in their element in this area of africa. too much risks of undesired reactions from the population would complicate a quick ending. counter-productive.
so far the Frenchs did a great job in wiping islamo-scumbags from the face of earth. the last 4 major towns taken in 3 days. great job from the 21th marine infantry reg (Diabaly,Konna,Gao) and from the Legion’s 2nd REP that surrounded Timbuktu at night in an airborne operation (just like they did in Kolweisi in the 70′s). well done guys.
now the remaining fuckers hide in the desert where they belong, that’s where the drones are useful to get them.
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29th January 2013 at 4:11 pm