I woke up early this morning and could not get back to sleep.
That happens on very rare occasion when something bothers me deeply. What was reverberating through my brain and not willing to simply go away and allow me to sleep? Something over which I have no control and which would not even register with the majority of our ill-informed and mis-informed population. Something that most people would likely have missed or about which they would not care—-the contention by Pu…tin that President Obama has lied to the American people about ISIS. Nonsense. But that contention would simply not go away. Are we somehow to believe the word of a brutal dictator over that of our very own President? The last few days would seem to answer that question.
We were assured in unequivocal terms by President Obama that we would degrade, defeat, and destroy ISIS. We were also assured that we would attack their financing sources to hit them where it really hurt. I am still stunned from learning that during the intervening 14 months we have allowed ISIS to continue their massive funding for butchery by not interfering in any substantial way with their illicit sale of oil. That oil is useless to them unless it can be refined and transported. We don’t take out the tankers because they could be driven by a civilian?????? And our investigative journalists did not uncover that fact until after Russia and then France entered the fray and actually began taking out significant targets? Targets like oil infrastructure and command and control centers. At that point we dropped leaflets and then buzzed the tankers to let the drivers know that we were serious, at least serious until we ran out of ammunition and didn’t finish the job. Nearly unbelievable. Truly pathetic. I have no problem with warning the drivers. But after 14 months of inaction and a half billion or so of additional revenue to ISIS?
Even the liberal/progressive news sources appear to be moving slowly from an ideological coma into a deep slumber. Perhaps this story emerged so as to begin transferring the blame for the disastrous non-prosecution of the war against ISIS on the intelligence agencies rather than the President. How could he possibly be making the right decisions if he does not get accurate intelligence reports? A valid question, other than that those who wish to keep their jobs or advance their careers know the impact of a report that is not consistent with the approved Presidential spin. And the Commander-in-Chief makes the rules, rules that have allowed tankers to deliver oil without interference. Even retired generals seem unwilling to speak on the record concerning what to me is a travesty almost beyond belief. We appear to have a media so truly pathetic that they can devote hours to the latest outrageous comment by Trump and ignore, suppress, or fail to investigate stories that might somehow be deemed critical of an administration to which they apparently owe allegiance.
It’s being called a ‘revolt’ by intelligence pros who are paid to give their honest assessment of the ISIS war—but are seeing their reports turned into happy talk.
thedailybeast.com
***Gary A. Howie MSc, PhD*** is a business owner/rancher and a Life & Liberty News contributor
