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101157
anonymous
2019 Mar 5, 6:04am
The Erasure of the Islamic State's Caliphate Won't Ensure Its Defeat
◾The Islamic State core is losing the final sliver of its self-declared caliphate.
◾State sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum had allowed the Islamic State to flourish.
◾Unless these external factors are addressed, the Islamic State core could re-emerge as a serious threat, especially as the United States turns its attention elsewhere.
The U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an operation March 1 backed by U.S. artillery and air support in an effort to defeat the remnant core fighters of the Islamic State in the last sliver of the militant group's self-declared "caliphate," the term it used to describe the territory in Syria and Iraq it conquered and governed under its austere interpretation of Sharia.
With the destruction of the so-called caliphate imminent, many have begun to wonder if the jihadist group could ever recover.
But this is the wrong question.
Instead of asking whether the Islamic State core can recover as many — including Stratfor — did when the group was on the ropes in Iraq in 2010, the proper question is whether the Islamic State core will be permitted to recover again.
The difference between these two questions is subtle, but vitally important.
History has shown the dangers of underestimating the ability of jihadist groups to rebound from devastating losses. They have done so repeatedly in places like Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Mali and, of course, Iraq. This resilience is not solely due to the jihadist groups' perseverance, willingness to suffer casualties and long-war approach to fighting insurgencies: External factors including state sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum were more important to the Islamic State in Iraq's recovery and dramatic expansion in the group's strategy and tactics. Many of these external factors still work in favor of jihadist insurgents in the Levant, meaning the Islamic State may again rise from the ashes.
The Remain and Expand Strategy
A core tenet of the Islamic State's organizational philosophy is its oft-repeated mantra, baqiya wa tatamaddad, Arabic for "remain and expand." The concept has helped the group withstand a series of significant losses, including the death of its founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike, and deaths of subsequent leaders of the Islamic State in Iraq's Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri. Its persistence is rooted in its firm belief that God favors, although sometimes tests, the group. It is also rooted in writings that influenced its founders, such as Abu Bakr Naji's "The Management of Savagery" and Abu Musab al-Suri's "Call to Global Jihad." This narrative serves the important pragmatic purpose of boosting the group's morale in the face of much more powerful opponents.
The Islamic State has spun past battlefield losses by couching them in apocalyptic terms, claiming its numbers needed to be reduced to demonstrate divine power and that only the purest at heart would survive to fight and win the ultimate battle, to bolster the courage of its dwindling ranks.
But in addition to these apocalyptic pronouncements, the group's leaders have also taken a series of pragmatic steps to disperse some of their fighters, arms and riches, positioning the Islamic State to resume terrorist and insurgent operations after the caliphate's collapse. This campaign has been on display in Iraq, where the group continues to conduct operations despite having lost control of vast territories.
The Islamic State is again conducting assassinations, bombings and other operations in Iraq designed to shape the battlefield to its advantage, much as it did from 2010 to 2014. Brian Fishman's book "The Master Plan: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory" does a great job outlining the group's efforts during this time. But these efforts to shape the battlefield did not occur in a vacuum: A number of external factors greatly aided the revival of the Islamic State in Iraq and facilitated its expansion into the larger and more expansive Islamic State.
State Sponsorship Was a Key
Support from the government of Saddam Hussein in the form of weapons, money and training was one of the biggest factors fueling the jihadist insurgency in Iraq. Hussein's military planners understood from the experience of Operation Desert Storm and the example of the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that they stood no chance if they stood toe-to-toe with the superior U.S. forces. So in the prelude to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, his military planners decided a prolonged guerrilla struggle was the better course. To this end, they cached quantities of weapons and materiel throughout the country for use during an insurgent campaign against U.S. forces. Highly trained Iraqi troops became the backbone of the insurgency, and former Iraqi intelligence officers its brains, eyes and ears. Without weapons from government caches and without the Iraqi military and intelligence personnel that flocked to the insurgency, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Monotheism and Jihad) group would never have grown so large and powerful so rapidly.
Syria also greatly aided al Qaeda in Iraq/the Islamic State in Iraq by facilitating the flow of fighters, money and logistics through Syria to support the jihadist insurgency fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Later, the Syrian government released large numbers of jihadists from prison in 2011 to bolster President Bashar al Assad's claims that the rebels were terrorists and to sow confusion and dissension in rebel ranks. Certainly, the emergence of the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, and the Islamic State's later entrance as a combatant in the Syrian civil war, helped accomplish both goals.
Taking Advantage of Sectarian Tensions
Jihadists managed to gain so much traction among Iraq's Sunni population in part because the process of debaathification significantly disenfranchised Iraqi Sunnis. Progress to reverse Sunni marginalization during the Anbar Awakening occurred but was promptly squandered by the government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Many Sunni leaders came to believe that with the United States gone and their Awakening gains eroded, the jihadists were the only clout they still held with the central government. But this proved a dangerous calculation, and like Frankenstein's monster, the jihadists quickly turned on their Sunni master.
With the training and firepower that the Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have amassed in Iraq in the wake of the Islamic State's seizure of Mosul, and the close connections that many of them have to Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sectarian tensions will continue to simmer in Iraq, and Sunnis will continue to be wary of Shiite power. This, in turn, will provide Sunni jihadists some breathing room in Iraq's Sunni triangle. Meanwhile, the survival of the Assad regime in Syria due to ample help from Iranian and Hezbollah ground forces means sectarianism is also primed to continue in Syria.
Thriving in a Power Vacuum
The Syrian civil war created a power vacuum that swelled the power of jihadist militias. They used this strength to take over a large portion of Iraq and sizable chunks of Syria. The Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra (now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) and other jihadist groups stepped in to provide governance, justice, security and services in areas left without them due to the civil war. This was similar to the way that jihadists in Iraq flourished amid the implosion of the Iraqi government, and before that, flourished amid the gray areas created by the autonomous Kurdish region and the no-fly zone in northern Iraq enforced by the U.S.-led coalition. With some ambiguity in who governs in northern Iraq remaining, and given the way Syria is currently partitioned, plenty spaces exist in Iraq and Syria that are not sufficiently goverened, granting Islamic State militants space to set up operations and regroup.
The Lessons of a U.S. Withdrawal
The example of how the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 greatly aided the recovery of the Islamic State of Iraq and allowed its metamorphosis into the powerful Islamic State has fostered speculation that a complete U.S. withdrawal from Syria could produce similar results, in this case via a chain reaction of events such as a Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria that gives rise to chaos and a power vacuum in eastern Syria. A free-for-all that results in battles among the Turkish military, Kurdish forces from the SDF, plus others like the Syrian military, Iranian forces and Shiite militias could well once again push Syrian Sunnis into the arms of jihadists such as the Islamic State.
U.S. military planners appear to be taking this possibility into account and have pushed back on the concept of a complete withdrawal from Syria in favor of allowing a residual force to remain to help stabilize the situation and assist in ensuring that Islamic State is not allowed to swell again. The initiative to maintain a stabilizing force in Syria, however, is under pressure from larger global dynamics causing the U.S. military to shift its focus — and its finite resources — from counterinsurgency efforts to potential conflicts with near-peer powers like Russia and China. This same pressure extends beyond Syria and Iraq to other theaters, driving everything from U.S. peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the scaling back of U.S. engagement in West Africa.
The Islamic State core is just one branch of a global insurgency, a problem the world cannot simply kill its way out of. Combatting a global insurgency requires a global counterinsurgency effort, which means efforts to defeat jihadist groups must persist after the "clear" phase to the "hold" and "build" phases of counterinsurgency. And this must happen in every area where the jihadist insurgency is manifesting itself.
From 2010 to now, state sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum have all persisted to the Islamic State's advantage. Unless these factors are taken out of the equation, the Islamic State will have the opportunity to re-emerge as a formidable challenge to the region and the world.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/erasure-islamic-states-caliphate-wont-ensure-its-defeat
◾The Islamic State core is losing the final sliver of its self-declared caliphate.
◾State sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum had allowed the Islamic State to flourish.
◾Unless these external factors are addressed, the Islamic State core could re-emerge as a serious threat, especially as the United States turns its attention elsewhere.
The U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an operation March 1 backed by U.S. artillery and air support in an effort to defeat the remnant core fighters of the Islamic State in the last sliver of the militant group's self-declared "caliphate," the term it used to describe the territory in Syria and Iraq it conquered and governed under its austere interpretation of Sharia.
With the destruction of the so-called caliphate imminent, many have begun to wonder if the jihadist group could ever recover.
But this is the wrong question.
Instead of asking whether the Islamic State core can recover as many — including Stratfor — did when the group was on the ropes in Iraq in 2010, the proper question is whether the Islamic State core will be permitted to recover again.
The difference between these two questions is subtle, but vitally important.
History has shown the dangers of underestimating the ability of jihadist groups to rebound from devastating losses. They have done so repeatedly in places like Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Mali and, of course, Iraq. This resilience is not solely due to the jihadist groups' perseverance, willingness to suffer casualties and long-war approach to fighting insurgencies: External factors including state sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum were more important to the Islamic State in Iraq's recovery and dramatic expansion in the group's strategy and tactics. Many of these external factors still work in favor of jihadist insurgents in the Levant, meaning the Islamic State may again rise from the ashes.
The Remain and Expand Strategy
A core tenet of the Islamic State's organizational philosophy is its oft-repeated mantra, baqiya wa tatamaddad, Arabic for "remain and expand." The concept has helped the group withstand a series of significant losses, including the death of its founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike, and deaths of subsequent leaders of the Islamic State in Iraq's Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayub al-Masri. Its persistence is rooted in its firm belief that God favors, although sometimes tests, the group. It is also rooted in writings that influenced its founders, such as Abu Bakr Naji's "The Management of Savagery" and Abu Musab al-Suri's "Call to Global Jihad." This narrative serves the important pragmatic purpose of boosting the group's morale in the face of much more powerful opponents.
The Islamic State has spun past battlefield losses by couching them in apocalyptic terms, claiming its numbers needed to be reduced to demonstrate divine power and that only the purest at heart would survive to fight and win the ultimate battle, to bolster the courage of its dwindling ranks.
But in addition to these apocalyptic pronouncements, the group's leaders have also taken a series of pragmatic steps to disperse some of their fighters, arms and riches, positioning the Islamic State to resume terrorist and insurgent operations after the caliphate's collapse. This campaign has been on display in Iraq, where the group continues to conduct operations despite having lost control of vast territories.
The Islamic State is again conducting assassinations, bombings and other operations in Iraq designed to shape the battlefield to its advantage, much as it did from 2010 to 2014. Brian Fishman's book "The Master Plan: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory" does a great job outlining the group's efforts during this time. But these efforts to shape the battlefield did not occur in a vacuum: A number of external factors greatly aided the revival of the Islamic State in Iraq and facilitated its expansion into the larger and more expansive Islamic State.
State Sponsorship Was a Key
Support from the government of Saddam Hussein in the form of weapons, money and training was one of the biggest factors fueling the jihadist insurgency in Iraq. Hussein's military planners understood from the experience of Operation Desert Storm and the example of the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that they stood no chance if they stood toe-to-toe with the superior U.S. forces. So in the prelude to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, his military planners decided a prolonged guerrilla struggle was the better course. To this end, they cached quantities of weapons and materiel throughout the country for use during an insurgent campaign against U.S. forces. Highly trained Iraqi troops became the backbone of the insurgency, and former Iraqi intelligence officers its brains, eyes and ears. Without weapons from government caches and without the Iraqi military and intelligence personnel that flocked to the insurgency, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Monotheism and Jihad) group would never have grown so large and powerful so rapidly.
Syria also greatly aided al Qaeda in Iraq/the Islamic State in Iraq by facilitating the flow of fighters, money and logistics through Syria to support the jihadist insurgency fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Later, the Syrian government released large numbers of jihadists from prison in 2011 to bolster President Bashar al Assad's claims that the rebels were terrorists and to sow confusion and dissension in rebel ranks. Certainly, the emergence of the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, and the Islamic State's later entrance as a combatant in the Syrian civil war, helped accomplish both goals.
Taking Advantage of Sectarian Tensions
Jihadists managed to gain so much traction among Iraq's Sunni population in part because the process of debaathification significantly disenfranchised Iraqi Sunnis. Progress to reverse Sunni marginalization during the Anbar Awakening occurred but was promptly squandered by the government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Many Sunni leaders came to believe that with the United States gone and their Awakening gains eroded, the jihadists were the only clout they still held with the central government. But this proved a dangerous calculation, and like Frankenstein's monster, the jihadists quickly turned on their Sunni master.
With the training and firepower that the Shiite Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have amassed in Iraq in the wake of the Islamic State's seizure of Mosul, and the close connections that many of them have to Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sectarian tensions will continue to simmer in Iraq, and Sunnis will continue to be wary of Shiite power. This, in turn, will provide Sunni jihadists some breathing room in Iraq's Sunni triangle. Meanwhile, the survival of the Assad regime in Syria due to ample help from Iranian and Hezbollah ground forces means sectarianism is also primed to continue in Syria.
Thriving in a Power Vacuum
The Syrian civil war created a power vacuum that swelled the power of jihadist militias. They used this strength to take over a large portion of Iraq and sizable chunks of Syria. The Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra (now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) and other jihadist groups stepped in to provide governance, justice, security and services in areas left without them due to the civil war. This was similar to the way that jihadists in Iraq flourished amid the implosion of the Iraqi government, and before that, flourished amid the gray areas created by the autonomous Kurdish region and the no-fly zone in northern Iraq enforced by the U.S.-led coalition. With some ambiguity in who governs in northern Iraq remaining, and given the way Syria is currently partitioned, plenty spaces exist in Iraq and Syria that are not sufficiently goverened, granting Islamic State militants space to set up operations and regroup.
The Lessons of a U.S. Withdrawal
The example of how the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 greatly aided the recovery of the Islamic State of Iraq and allowed its metamorphosis into the powerful Islamic State has fostered speculation that a complete U.S. withdrawal from Syria could produce similar results, in this case via a chain reaction of events such as a Turkish invasion of northeastern Syria that gives rise to chaos and a power vacuum in eastern Syria. A free-for-all that results in battles among the Turkish military, Kurdish forces from the SDF, plus others like the Syrian military, Iranian forces and Shiite militias could well once again push Syrian Sunnis into the arms of jihadists such as the Islamic State.
U.S. military planners appear to be taking this possibility into account and have pushed back on the concept of a complete withdrawal from Syria in favor of allowing a residual force to remain to help stabilize the situation and assist in ensuring that Islamic State is not allowed to swell again. The initiative to maintain a stabilizing force in Syria, however, is under pressure from larger global dynamics causing the U.S. military to shift its focus — and its finite resources — from counterinsurgency efforts to potential conflicts with near-peer powers like Russia and China. This same pressure extends beyond Syria and Iraq to other theaters, driving everything from U.S. peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the scaling back of U.S. engagement in West Africa.
The Islamic State core is just one branch of a global insurgency, a problem the world cannot simply kill its way out of. Combatting a global insurgency requires a global counterinsurgency effort, which means efforts to defeat jihadist groups must persist after the "clear" phase to the "hold" and "build" phases of counterinsurgency. And this must happen in every area where the jihadist insurgency is manifesting itself.
From 2010 to now, state sponsorship, sectarian violence and a power vacuum have all persisted to the Islamic State's advantage. Unless these factors are taken out of the equation, the Islamic State will have the opportunity to re-emerge as a formidable challenge to the region and the world.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/erasure-islamic-states-caliphate-wont-ensure-its-defeat
101158
anonymous
2019 Mar 5, 6:08am
The Big Picture - Part 1
The Jihadist Wars
Since 2001, the U.S. government has spent trillions of dollars in the jihadist wars and has deployed thousands of conventional and special operations forces to dozens of countries to counter jihadist insurgencies. Despite the massive commitment of resources, the jihadist threat persists, and there is no end in sight.
Like communism, jihadism is a global phenomenon, and it is manifesting itself in a number of local insurgencies stretching from West Africa to the Philippines. (Moi has been telling everyone this for sometime now, has covered it on numerous threads and comments however the "base" continues to believe otherwise).
Combatting these insurgencies requires a global counterinsurgency effort, but with global dynamics drawing U.S. attention to the threats posed by near-peer competitors such as Russia and China, the focus of the U.S. military is being shifted elsewhere — meaning the Islamic State core might well be able to recover.
It’s tempting the think of jihadism as monolithic, but nothing could be further from the truth. The movement may be dominated by just two groups, al Qaeda and the Islamic State, but they have ideological differences that cannot be reconciled. Each of these groups, moreover, comprise a core organization, franchise groups and grassroots supporters, all of which present a distinct threat to their enemies. And though the coalition this threat has galvanized against it has had its fair share of victories, it has struggled to defeat jihadism as an ideology. And until it does, jihadists will be able to recruit and train new adherents to their cause. But the persistence of jihadism cuts both ways: The longer it lasts, the more the movement will crack under the weight of personal disputes, doctrinal differences and conflicting objectives.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/themes/jihadist-wars
The Jihadist Wars
Since 2001, the U.S. government has spent trillions of dollars in the jihadist wars and has deployed thousands of conventional and special operations forces to dozens of countries to counter jihadist insurgencies. Despite the massive commitment of resources, the jihadist threat persists, and there is no end in sight.
Like communism, jihadism is a global phenomenon, and it is manifesting itself in a number of local insurgencies stretching from West Africa to the Philippines. (Moi has been telling everyone this for sometime now, has covered it on numerous threads and comments however the "base" continues to believe otherwise).
Combatting these insurgencies requires a global counterinsurgency effort, but with global dynamics drawing U.S. attention to the threats posed by near-peer competitors such as Russia and China, the focus of the U.S. military is being shifted elsewhere — meaning the Islamic State core might well be able to recover.
It’s tempting the think of jihadism as monolithic, but nothing could be further from the truth. The movement may be dominated by just two groups, al Qaeda and the Islamic State, but they have ideological differences that cannot be reconciled. Each of these groups, moreover, comprise a core organization, franchise groups and grassroots supporters, all of which present a distinct threat to their enemies. And though the coalition this threat has galvanized against it has had its fair share of victories, it has struggled to defeat jihadism as an ideology. And until it does, jihadists will be able to recruit and train new adherents to their cause. But the persistence of jihadism cuts both ways: The longer it lasts, the more the movement will crack under the weight of personal disputes, doctrinal differences and conflicting objectives.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/themes/jihadist-wars
101159
anonymous
2019 Mar 5, 6:10am
The Big Picture - Part 2
The Fight Against the Islamic State
The Islamic State is in decline. Under pressure from all the enemies it has made in its rise to power, the group continues to lose territory in Iraq and Syria — and thus its claim as a legitimate caliphate. But for all its losses on the battlefield, it has lost none of its potency as a terrorist group, one that will continue to attack its foes in the Middle East and beyond. The Islamic State’s degradation, meanwhile, is fueling a competition for the lands it used to control, pitting the Iranians, Turks and Kurds against one another for influence in the absence of another authority.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/topic/fight-against-islamic-state
The Fight Against the Islamic State
The Islamic State is in decline. Under pressure from all the enemies it has made in its rise to power, the group continues to lose territory in Iraq and Syria — and thus its claim as a legitimate caliphate. But for all its losses on the battlefield, it has lost none of its potency as a terrorist group, one that will continue to attack its foes in the Middle East and beyond. The Islamic State’s degradation, meanwhile, is fueling a competition for the lands it used to control, pitting the Iranians, Turks and Kurds against one another for influence in the absence of another authority.
https://worldview.stratfor.com/topic/fight-against-islamic-state
101162
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 5, 3:11pm
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 5, 3:11pm
Fuck those Baby Killer Commie Bastards. Not worth the Shit on the Stick they use to stoke the flames of hate, if you ask me.
101163
LastMan
2019 Mar 5, 6:13pm
If the USOccasionalCortex says
You assume Russia and China will be acting militarily, not politically and economically. While the US is fighting itself, Russia and China will be aggressively expanding their influence.
Either way, an unstable nuclear power like America will not be something the Russians and Chinese will be 'glad' about, in the net analysis.
You assume Russia and China will be acting militarily, not politically and economically. While the US is fighting itself, Russia and China will be aggressively expanding their influence.
101164
MrMagic
2019 Mar 5, 7:40pm
MrMagic
2019 Mar 5, 7:40pm
Elgatouno says
Wow, Liberals really aren't that smart, are they?
OccasionalCortex saysyet another Trump lie?
Wow, Liberals really aren't that smart, are they?
101165
Patrick
2019 Mar 6, 8:01am
Patrick
2019 Mar 6, 8:01am
@Elgatouno Did I ever support Trump "blindly"? Please do not exaggerate. Trump has made a few mistakes, like bowing to Saudi Arabia.
But overall, Trump is objectively one of the best US presidents ever. He has focused on the core issue of resisting globalism because of what it has done to the country. And it's working. Wages for the poorest US citizens are rising, stock market has done extremely well, the issue of dissolving the border with Mexico has been given prominence.
We are also safer than we were under Obama. There have been no new wars, and in fact a reduction in foreign US military presence, for example in Syria and Korea. Tensions with Korea have been greatly reduced thanks to Trump.
We are living in an time of peace and prosperity thanks to Trump. So why the blind hatred for him? Sure, he has the air of a small-time con artist, but the reality on the ground is accomplishment after accomplishment by Trump, to the utter dismay of the elitist establishment.
Give the guy a chance. He's actually doing a fantastic job and bringing some much-needed disruption to the ossified corruption in DC.
But overall, Trump is objectively one of the best US presidents ever. He has focused on the core issue of resisting globalism because of what it has done to the country. And it's working. Wages for the poorest US citizens are rising, stock market has done extremely well, the issue of dissolving the border with Mexico has been given prominence.
We are also safer than we were under Obama. There have been no new wars, and in fact a reduction in foreign US military presence, for example in Syria and Korea. Tensions with Korea have been greatly reduced thanks to Trump.
We are living in an time of peace and prosperity thanks to Trump. So why the blind hatred for him? Sure, he has the air of a small-time con artist, but the reality on the ground is accomplishment after accomplishment by Trump, to the utter dismay of the elitist establishment.
Give the guy a chance. He's actually doing a fantastic job and bringing some much-needed disruption to the ossified corruption in DC.
101166
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 8:45am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 8:45am
From the OP:
"Oh"
Sohae has been North Korea's main satellite launch facility since 2012. It has also been used for testing engines for missiles capable of reaching the US.
But it has never been used for testing the ballistic missiles which have been considered so provocative.
"This distinction is important," Jenny Town, managing editor of monitoring group 38 North, told the BBC.
"The North Koreans likely see the rebuilding not as an active part of their missile programme, but of their civilian space programme - a distinction they have made repeatedly in the past," said Ms Town.
"Oh"
101167
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 8:50am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 8:50am
The last President of Paraguay was accused of selling fraudulent Marlboros and a Drug Dealer.
He finally built some highways, fixed some schools, and eased business regulations. He also began to set standards for buses (more on this later), requiring full fare buses to conform to certain standards.
His replacement is a complete servant of the Oligarchs, a former paratrooper from the Stroessner Regime. He's mostly interested in prohibiting competition and guarding the land interests of the old Wealthy Families. He does everything to help the Bus Monopoly (private and controlled by a couple of powerful families) and their 50 year old buses that were taken out of service by Bolivia and Brazil - few have A/C, and many have Plywood Floors because the original metal has rusted away. He literally shut down all online shopping imports by refusing to process shipments, while allowing the Elites to continue stocking electronics, clothes, etc. in their retail brick and mortars from abroad. Amazon/Alibaba was beating the shit out of the overpriced, minimal quality of imported goods at Oligarch's Stores. I'm talking about things the dollar store would reject for poor quality. But he presents himself, unlike secular Cortes, as being Mr. Straightlace.
Sometimes, a mildly Corrupt Drug Smuggler is the best choice.
He finally built some highways, fixed some schools, and eased business regulations. He also began to set standards for buses (more on this later), requiring full fare buses to conform to certain standards.
His replacement is a complete servant of the Oligarchs, a former paratrooper from the Stroessner Regime. He's mostly interested in prohibiting competition and guarding the land interests of the old Wealthy Families. He does everything to help the Bus Monopoly (private and controlled by a couple of powerful families) and their 50 year old buses that were taken out of service by Bolivia and Brazil - few have A/C, and many have Plywood Floors because the original metal has rusted away. He literally shut down all online shopping imports by refusing to process shipments, while allowing the Elites to continue stocking electronics, clothes, etc. in their retail brick and mortars from abroad. Amazon/Alibaba was beating the shit out of the overpriced, minimal quality of imported goods at Oligarch's Stores. I'm talking about things the dollar store would reject for poor quality. But he presents himself, unlike secular Cortes, as being Mr. Straightlace.
Sometimes, a mildly Corrupt Drug Smuggler is the best choice.
101168
Shaman
2019 Mar 6, 8:59am
Shaman
2019 Mar 6, 8:59am
I feel certain that NK is a puppet regime of China, used as their mad dog on a leash against the West. Right now, we are locked in a trade war with China, conducted almost solely by our POTUS. China knows that if it can damage Trump, it can weaken US resolve against it and win the trade war. Consequently, it’s making Rocket Man pull some shit to thwart the peace process.
What we are seeing therefore, is a negotiation process between the USA and China, not NK.
What we are seeing therefore, is a negotiation process between the USA and China, not NK.
101169
Shaman
2019 Mar 6, 9:12am
Shaman
2019 Mar 6, 9:12am
Flawed people do great and wonderful things every single day. If you’re looking for all our leaders to be replaced by perfectly virtuous bureaucrats, you’re asking for mismanagement, oppression, and a lack of vision.
I think the leader’s goals are more important than their personal virtue. Trump has made his goals crystal clear: Make America Great Again.
For some reason, this goal alone is enough to send Leftists into a tooth gnashing frenzy. I wonder if that’s because they have an entirely OPPOSITE goal? It would seem to be the case.
Therefore, we may safely discount all Leftist opinion and thought as it’s designed to promote an agenda that tears down America rather than builds it up.
I think the leader’s goals are more important than their personal virtue. Trump has made his goals crystal clear: Make America Great Again.
For some reason, this goal alone is enough to send Leftists into a tooth gnashing frenzy. I wonder if that’s because they have an entirely OPPOSITE goal? It would seem to be the case.
Therefore, we may safely discount all Leftist opinion and thought as it’s designed to promote an agenda that tears down America rather than builds it up.
101170
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 6, 9:13am
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 6, 9:13am
MisterLearnToCode says
Look at the merging markets boom in most every South American country from 2002 to 2015. I saw first hand my MIL Lima Peru outskirt neighborhood go from something straight out of District 9(the scifi movie) to something that could be a borough in Queens in that time. They went from sheer destitution to a somewhat middle class society in just 10 short years. Fast forward to Trump and the rise of Nationalism, those Conservative pols in all of the SA countries that saw positive growth and development. Are all wrapped up in legal troubles now, and the Socialists in those countries are trying to put them all in prison for life, even their whole families. Say they took pay offs and bribes.
The last President of Paraguay was accused of selling fraudulent Marlboros and a Drug Dealer.
He finally built some highways, fixed some schools, and eased business regulations. He also began to set standards for buses (more on this later), requiring full fare buses to conform to certain standards.
Look at the merging markets boom in most every South American country from 2002 to 2015. I saw first hand my MIL Lima Peru outskirt neighborhood go from something straight out of District 9(the scifi movie) to something that could be a borough in Queens in that time. They went from sheer destitution to a somewhat middle class society in just 10 short years. Fast forward to Trump and the rise of Nationalism, those Conservative pols in all of the SA countries that saw positive growth and development. Are all wrapped up in legal troubles now, and the Socialists in those countries are trying to put them all in prison for life, even their whole families. Say they took pay offs and bribes.
101171
CBOEtrader
2019 Mar 6, 9:49am
CBOEtrader
2019 Mar 6, 9:49am
$195k? Obama spent more on his date night w michael.
Might as well start a thread about Trump being bribed by $20 coupon books.
Might as well start a thread about Trump being bribed by $20 coupon books.
101172
AD
2019 Mar 6, 9:52am
AD
2019 Mar 6, 9:52am
Quigley says
Yes, that is how China uses North Korea to exploit the USA into agreeing to large trade deficits.
NK is a puppet regime of China
Yes, that is how China uses North Korea to exploit the USA into agreeing to large trade deficits.
101173
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:13am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:13am
Elgatouno says
The launch site has NEVER been used to launch ballistic missiles. Only Satellites.
Lol tell that to the Japanese.
The launch site has NEVER been used to launch ballistic missiles. Only Satellites.
101174
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:20am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:20am
Meanwhile, the Libbies are mad that Trump may have disapproved of the AT&T/Time Warner Merger.
They're actually thinking it's an impeachable offense hahaha
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/05/media/reliable-sources-03-04-19/index.html
They're actually thinking it's an impeachable offense hahaha
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/05/media/reliable-sources-03-04-19/index.html
101175
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:22am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 11:22am
Quigley says
They do.
They write articles about how middle America is full of racist, evil xenophobes who deserve to die of meth abuse.
They gaslight like an abuser in a relationship: "Change everything you do, follow my every command or you're a bad person. But I love you."
For some reason, this goal alone is enough to send Leftists into a tooth gnashing frenzy. I wonder if that’s because they have an entirely OPPOSITE goal? It would seem to be the case.
They do.
They write articles about how middle America is full of racist, evil xenophobes who deserve to die of meth abuse.
They gaslight like an abuser in a relationship: "Change everything you do, follow my every command or you're a bad person. But I love you."
101176
🎂
CaltRightCrazy
2019 Mar 6, 12:10pm
CaltRightCrazy
2019 Mar 6, 12:10pm
Quigley says
Your cohort will do anything to get a laugh.
Even to the extent of praising the criminal Trump cartel.
Still! Anything is possible!
Your cohort will do anything to get a laugh.
Even to the extent of praising the criminal Trump cartel.
101177
HeadSet
2019 Mar 6, 12:51pm
HeadSet
2019 Mar 6, 12:51pm
Elgatouno says
In 1984, cel phones cost around $4,000. At that time, pay phones were everywhere and cost a quarter per call, in some places a dime. It seems "cel phones for the poor" in 1984 would be like "Rolex watches for the poor."
https://mashable.com/2014/03/13/first-cellphone-on-sale/#ikIzRwaj_sqf
Strategist saysRonald Reagan helped create free cell phones for everyone?
Yes he did, it's called the life line program which gives cellphones to the poor. So next time someone lies to you and tells you Obama created the life line program you can set them straight and say
"the Life line program - the program that gives free cellphones to the poor - was created in 1984 under Ronald Reagan's leadership"
In 1984, cel phones cost around $4,000. At that time, pay phones were everywhere and cost a quarter per call, in some places a dime. It seems "cel phones for the poor" in 1984 would be like "Rolex watches for the poor."
https://mashable.com/2014/03/13/first-cellphone-on-sale/#ikIzRwaj_sqf
101178
HeadSet
2019 Mar 6, 2:28pm
HeadSet
2019 Mar 6, 2:28pm
OK, she has got the child murder down, but what about Reparations and Open Borders?
101179
NDrLoR
2019 Mar 6, 3:18pm
NDrLoR
2019 Mar 6, 3:18pm
HeadSet says
At that time, pay phones were everywhere and cost a quarter per callAnd what was even more wonderful, you didn't see everyone chattering away on pay phones as they drove their cars.
101180
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 6, 3:34pm
Tenpoundbass
2019 Mar 6, 3:34pm
Liberals should stop reproducing.
Conservative women not only they hot, and ten times more beautiful than Liberal Cunts they put out without a big Act of Congress 10 years later.
Fucking Pathetic Baby Killer losers they should chop their dicks off and tie their tubes, do the world a Big Fucking Favor!
Conservative women not only they hot, and ten times more beautiful than Liberal Cunts they put out without a big Act of Congress 10 years later.
Fucking Pathetic Baby Killer losers they should chop their dicks off and tie their tubes, do the world a Big Fucking Favor!
101181
NDrLoR
2019 Mar 6, 3:34pm
NDrLoR
2019 Mar 6, 3:34pm
OccasionalCortex says
At least 60 women have joined the BirthStrike movement,It's not likely these were the kind of women who were going to have children anyway, so it's no real loss.
101182
CBOEtrader
2019 Mar 6, 4:15pm
CBOEtrader
2019 Mar 6, 4:15pm
P N Dr Lo R says
Even so, I'm glad they are removing themselves from the gene pool
OccasionalCortex saysAt least 60 women have joined the BirthStrike movement,It's not likely these were the kind of women who were going to have children anyway, so it's no real loss.
Even so, I'm glad they are removing themselves from the gene pool
101183
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 4:28pm
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 6, 4:28pm
OccasionalCortex says
I'm not eating brussel sprouts in protest of SJWs.
Yes. It's real easy to virtue signal greatness by not actually doing anything you weren't going to do anyway.
I'm not eating brussel sprouts in protest of SJWs.
101184
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 6, 5:41pm
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 6, 5:41pm
Let’s be fair. Idiots who join that thing never had a chance of getting a husband or child in first place.
Either land whales or mentally ill deranged liberals, whom even bums won’t fuck.
Either land whales or mentally ill deranged liberals, whom even bums won’t fuck.
101186
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 6, 5:48pm
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 6, 5:48pm
Jordan Petersen did point out very well that a lot on the left is anti human. Huge segment of hippies and lgbts think world is better without humans, that we are a parasite for the planet.
Here is clear example of that. Leftists are self castrating. Only problem is they’ll try to force others to join in their equality crusade.
Here is clear example of that. Leftists are self castrating. Only problem is they’ll try to force others to join in their equality crusade.
101188
RWSGFY
2019 Mar 6, 6:26pm
RWSGFY
2019 Mar 6, 6:26pm
They should go on tour to promote this brilliant idea south of the border.
101189
HeadSet
2019 Mar 7, 2:22am
HeadSet
2019 Mar 7, 2:22am
Leftists are self castrating.
When your enemy is castrating himself, hand him the scissors.
When your enemy is castrating himself, hand him the scissors.
101190
Heraclitusstudent
2019 Mar 7, 10:24am
Heraclitusstudent
2019 Mar 7, 10:24am
The "left" is not your enemy. These are your countrymen and women. They are what they are.
There are others out there that would treat you far differently.
There are others out there that would treat you far differently.
101191
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 7, 10:54am
FortWayneAsNancyPelosiHaircut
2019 Mar 7, 10:54am
Heraclitusstudent says
They sure don't treat us like our own "countrymen". Who the fuck sues the baker for not baking them a cake? I'm not saying leftists are like Al Queda, but they aren't exactly friends. They are going fucking crazy from all the over the top leftist propaganda that is being sold to them by assholes on the left. Who runs women marches, where they celebrate their hatred for men, and they really utterly hate men. Only thing that stops them from doing worse is laws. I've seen plenty of hate from the left, and telling, only thing that keeps them at bay is potential jail time (aka risk vs reward).
The "left" is not your enemy. These are your countrymen and women. They are what they are.
There are others out there that would treat you far differently.
They sure don't treat us like our own "countrymen". Who the fuck sues the baker for not baking them a cake? I'm not saying leftists are like Al Queda, but they aren't exactly friends. They are going fucking crazy from all the over the top leftist propaganda that is being sold to them by assholes on the left. Who runs women marches, where they celebrate their hatred for men, and they really utterly hate men. Only thing that stops them from doing worse is laws. I've seen plenty of hate from the left, and telling, only thing that keeps them at bay is potential jail time (aka risk vs reward).
101192
Shaman
2019 Mar 7, 11:04am
Shaman
2019 Mar 7, 11:04am
Heraclitusstudent says
I’d argue that in a world where any soul of any nation or race may choose an ideology to guide their decisions and goals, the only true enemies of humanity ARE toxic ideologies!
Since “the Left” refers more to an ideology than a specific recognizable group of people, and the Left is demonstrably toxic, that makes the Left the true enemy.
I’d regard the people caught up in that ideology as captives or perhaps guilty of wrongheaded thinking. They aren’t the enemy. They can still come to their senses and adopt a more positive ideology.
The "left" is not your enemy.
I’d argue that in a world where any soul of any nation or race may choose an ideology to guide their decisions and goals, the only true enemies of humanity ARE toxic ideologies!
Since “the Left” refers more to an ideology than a specific recognizable group of people, and the Left is demonstrably toxic, that makes the Left the true enemy.
I’d regard the people caught up in that ideology as captives or perhaps guilty of wrongheaded thinking. They aren’t the enemy. They can still come to their senses and adopt a more positive ideology.
101194
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 7, 11:55am
MisdemeanorRebel
2019 Mar 7, 11:55am
The Right is suspicion to high-falultin' "perfect solution" ideas set to replace time tried trial-and-error that may not be "perfect".
The Left is hostility to the tried-and-not-too-bad based on ideological assumptions.
The Left is hostility to the tried-and-not-too-bad based on ideological assumptions.
101195
fdhfoiehfeoi
2019 Mar 7, 12:17pm
fdhfoiehfeoi
2019 Mar 7, 12:17pm
Any woman who agrees to something this ridiculous is doing the earth a favor. Natural selection triumphs again!
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