Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

~~~

~~~

Saturday, December 22, 2018

The Malignancy in the White House



I'd like to be posting pictures of Christmas decorations, trees, scenes, cookies, etc., but the reckless person the far right TrumpCultists put in the White House makes that impossible.

Here's an eye-popping opinion piece from Bret Stephens, a Conservative columnist at the NYTimes. He's addressing the "Anonymous" of the op-ed piece written in September, explaining to the American people that he or she is working inside the Trump administration to keep the brakes on the heedless, reckless buffoon in the Oval Office::


Mattis is the highest-ranking cabinet member to resign over differences of policy and principle since Cyrus Vance quit the State Department in 1980 after Jimmy Carter’s Desert One fiasco. He is the only defense secretary to leave this way since the position was created in 1947.

 Mattis resigned because he no longer shares your analysis. He no longer believes he can be a steadying or blocking force in the councils of government because it isn’t clear there are “councils of government.” Donald Trump made a snap decision to remove U.S. troops from Syria following a phone call with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He did so over the unanimous objections of his national-security team. He did so after leading members of that team had said publicly and recently that the U.S. would not withdraw.

 A president who sticks it to his own team while sticking with a foreign strongman is not worth sticking by.

Mattis also resigned because he has concluded that the problem with Trump isn’t that he’s an empty vessel. It’s that he’s a malignant one.

 [skip]

 [Trump] is sympathetic to Erdogan, as he is to other tyrants, because he is indifferent to considerations of human rights and civil liberties. Above all, he’s against “meddling,” whether it’s meddling in the affairs of others — or having others meddle in his. 

The Trump Doctrine is the doctrine of unaccountability. It’s also the doctrine of dishonor. And this is what should most concern you and whatever is left of your in-house resistance. 

The United States is about to abandon our allies to the tender mercies of thugs. We are breaking our word to those who helped us decimate the Islamic State. 

We are standing aside so that Erdogan, Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, and the Taliban can roll in, and ISIS can fight on.

25 comments:

Infidel753 said...

Trump is also backstabbing the Kurds, who did more than anyone else to defeat Dâ'ish (ISIL). It will be a long time before anyone in the Middle East, other than ruthless authoritarians like Erdoğan and Prince Bone Sawman, puts trust in the US again.

skudrunner said...

Everyone is in a outrage that trump is pulling out of Syria. Where was the leftist outrage when the former nobel prize winning president turned Syria over to russia and disgraced the US with his veiled threat of drawing a line in the sand. Guess it was the same reaction when he was against guns so sold them to the mexican cartel so they could murder some border guards. We should have taken out the dictator in Syria just like we took out the dictator in Iraq.

Les Carpenter said...

Apparently Limbaugh and Coulter have far more weight with El Presbo than folks who actually have a clue.

Time to simply drop out... We're no longer the nation I loved and respected.

Ray Cranston said...

The righties all have their panties in a twist because John Roberts didn't vote with the Conservatives on the court:

"And John Roberts aligned with the Left on this."

Wrong. John Roberts aligned with THE LAW. It tends to have a liberal bias.

But don't tell the deaf, dumb, and blind Trumpers. Also, tRump is a p.o.s. TRAITOR.

Infidel753 said...

The US envoy to the anti-Dâ'ish coalition has also quit in disgust over Trump's decision.

Obama never abandoned Syria to Dâ'ish or Russia. He recognized that a major US military presence in an Arab state would be politically explosive and might even become a target of terrorist attacks. He intelligently opted to leave most of the actual fighting to local Kurdish and Arab forces who have the most at stake, limiting the US to a supporting role providing training, supplies, air support, and the like. It was a successful strategy that drove Dâ'ish out of most of the territory they formerly held. As for Russia, they and Iran had always been the main backers of the Asad regime. Short of overthrowing Asad, there's no way of completely eliminating Russian influence in Syria. And for all his brutality, Asad has protected religious minorities, including Christians. Overthrowing him could lead to Taliban-like Sunni militant elements gaining power and launching religious persecution. Syria is a very complex situation and there are no really good options.

Trump of course has no head for such subtleties. He's withdrawing a major check on Russian and Iranian power in Syria, probably at Putin's behest. He's giving Erdoğan a free hand to attack the Kurds who fought against Dâ'ish and put their trust in the US. Israel is very unhappy about this as well. The last thing they want is a strengthened Iranian presence in Syria, ideally positioned to help Hezbullah in Lebanon. Trump is throwing away everything accomplished in Obama's time and creating potentially a horrific mess. But he's too dumb to understand all these complexities. He just knows what Putin wants him to do.

Les Carpenter said...

And that's just the way it is in the Good Ole USA today Ray.

possumlady said...

I wish I had a dollar for all the “whataboutisms”, I could retire. “Crossing a red line” and murdering border guards are two if my favorites - LOL!

Ducky's here said...

skud, the issue is tRump. Whether you agree with Obama's withdrawal or not, it took place on consultation with military and intelligence advisors. It's pretty clear tRump took no such advice.

What plan does tRump have in the M.E., get cozy with Saudi Arabia and try to isolate Iran? Good luck, Obama had a more even handed strategy and that's why you didn't hear the outrage from the left.

I wonder what has been gained by the Mattis firing. Mattis' confrontational strategy was a throw back that hadn't worked well but what hope do we have for a sound policy with tRump on his own.

Who would have replaced Assad? There's your first foreign policy question. Hint: ISIS was not acceptable.

Ducky's here said...

Off topic. This just in from the queen bee herself:

STOP WITH THE “FOR HIS BASE”, it sounds ridiculous, it makes his base sound like morons because most who say that on the news don’t like the wall, etc.

-----------
They're catching on.

Dave Miller said...

Ray... "aligned with the LAW..."

That is so hard for the right to understand. Remember, they stood against the LAW regarding segregation too. As I'm sure, Trump did too.

Dandy Lion said...

As far as the “Wall” is concerned, it’s not a perfect solution but unarguably it would reduce crossings.
However, last year 40%. Of illegals came in legally and overstay. Te “Wall” does nothing to deal with that situation.
But when you think about the expense of it. The most expensive component of defending the border is manpower, and the wall reduces the amount of manpower required. So I have no issue with the cost as I feel it would be good use of my tax paying dollars.
Then again the Trumpanzees seem to forget about boats. So, the bottom line is that they will come here as long as employers WANT them to come and will hire them.
And they do. And NO ONE mows their own lawns anymore.
The bottom line is that we can't have open borders. That is a no-brainer. And the ones we do allow into the nation officially need to have a much more stringent screening process. But the fallacy that all these folks do is take and give nothing back is flat out wrong.

skudrunner said...

Since when does the law matter. It is against the law to enter the country illegally and that doesn't matter. Obeying the law should be all laws but now only the ones you agree with should be followed.
There is a law for illegals to be reported to ICE but several cities have formed sanctuary cities. It is against the law to use marijuana but several states say to hell with federal law, we will do what we want. The law matters but is not enforced so why have laws.

skudrunner said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Looking forward to a brighter 2019

Ray Cranston said...

Shaw, that "Ray Cranston" @9:51 AM 12/23 is NOT me. It's an impostor from WYD's blog. The morons at Lisa's blog copy other people's names and comment under them. They've done it to every liberal who posts anything anti-Trump at their nuthouse.

Check out my name link and the one above. They're not the same. Whoeve did it is a cheat, just like the president they like.

Anyway, here's a thought:

"Jim Mattis’s life has been shaped by the Marine motto: semper fidelis, always faithful. Against the odds, he remained faithful to his beliefs, to his subordinates, to the mission, to the country. The president who appointed him to the office might have as the motto on his phony coat of arms "nunquam fidelis," never loyal. His career has been one of betrayal—of business partners, of customers, of subordinates, of his wives, and as we may very possibly learn from Robert Mueller, of his country. The two codes of conduct could never really coexist, and so they have not." --Eliot Cohen

All Trump is left with are cheats, liars, and frauds, just like him. And that poster from WYD blog who pretends to be me.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Hi Ray, thanks for the heads-up. That impostor who used your name also posted under the names "Doris," and "Anita Says It Right." Lying fraud, just like Trump, the lying fraud they support.

Thanks for the Cohen quote. I don't believe #45 has anyone of honor serving him anymore. He's turned the presidency into one of his failing businesses that used fraud and scamming to get people to support them. He's got his base and that's all. Did you see the number of Goopers who've left the party?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shaw Kenawe said...

skudrunner, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Ducky, yes, they're catching on. But they'll still stick with Lord Dampnut. It's now a matter of their personal pride. They don't want to face the fact that they've been loyal to a disloyal American.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Infidel753 thanks for helping enlighten us on the complicated politics in Syria. Some people look for simple answers to these difficult M.E. messes and they also find it easier to blame than to understand.


Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you.

Shaw Kenawe said...

possumlady, "Whataboutism" is like breathing to the TrumpCultists. Hope your holidays are happy and safe. Best wishes to you and your furry friends!

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dave, the only thing we can count on from the Mother Ship is their continued blindness to Trump's mendacity and incompetence.

Best wishes and blessings for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Ducky Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Take a peek at St. Leonard's if you're in the North End over the holidays. It's all been renovated and looks gorgeous.

Buon Natale!

Shaw Kenawe said...

RN, Best wishes to you and your family for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Michael K. said...

Why doesn't Trump just hire a contractor to build the wall and then stiff them when its done? That's how he operated in his "businesses."

Clearwater, Florida said...

Happy Christmas to you, Shaw.

And maybe the New Year will see Trump impeached and found guilty or he resigns.

Rusty Schnickelfritz said...

Merry Christmas, Shaw. The best to you in the new year.

I have always admired you and your blog.

PS. Mr. Mackey sez Hello!