What If They Called an Election and Nothing Changed in the War State?
This election season, neither Democrats nor Republicans challenged the cultural components justifying the great game, which is evidence of one thing: empires come home, folks, even if the troops never seem to.
Related:
Despite Vow to End ‘Endless Wars,’ Here’s Where About 200,000 Troops Remain
How Biden’s Foreign-Policy Team Got Rich
Tasked by Obama to end the Iraq War, Biden supported Nouri El-Maliki, the leader he knew, and rescued the Iraqi prime minister’s career even though it ended up fracturing the country. When Maliki narrowly lost in 2010, Biden didn’t give Iraqi political parties time to broker a new coalition. With Biden’s endorsement, Maliki gained a second term; he grew more authoritarian, which is now widely believed to have led to the rise of ISIS. Biden ignored experts who were skeptical of Maliki and preferred to glad-hand. “He came to deal with Iraqi politicians like local political kingpins in Delaware or Pennsylvania,” said Robert Ford, who was deputy ambassador in Baghdad from 2008 to 2010.
The Women Activists Rejecting Biden’s Pro-War “Feminism”
“To think about feminism as a movement that secures the rights of women, but then disregard the rights of women who shouldn’t be bombed, shouldn’t be living under the consequences of U.S. interventionism, to negate their experiences — it isn’t really feminism,” she says.
There has been a spate of reports in the American media that the US president-elect Joe Biden is assembling his cabinet of ministers. Most reports mention that Biden’s secretary of state will be Susan Rice, former US ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor in the Barack Obama administration. Reportedly, Biden’s choice for US defence secretary is likely to be Michele Flournoy, who had previously served as a senior defence adviser in Bill Clinton and Barack Obama’s administrations.
Biden’s “normalcy” means return of “ancien régime”
National Security Adviser Declares Huawei the ‘Number One Concern’
On their way out the door, the Trump Administration has been imposing measures trying to solidify their diplomatic stances such that when Biden takes over he will struggle to reverse course. This has mostly involved anti-Iran measures, but increasingly also moves against the Chinese.
I don’t think Biden needs any help:
Biden likely to remain tough on Chinese tech like Huawei, but with more help from allies
A harder US line? Potential Pentagon chief floated idea to sink China fleet in 72 hours
Reminder of who really utilizes back doors for surveillance:
NSA Hacked and Spied on Huawei, Snowden Documents Say
The NSA’s elite hacker team, the Tailored Access Operations unit, was able to plant backdoors — best described as hidden vulnerabilities — into Huawei’s nework, and even steal its source code. This was part of a plan by the spy agency to monitor computers and networks equipped with Huawei’s hardware, which are now used by “high priority targets — Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Cuba,” according to a document quoted by The Times
House Democrats Warn Biden Against Hiring SecDef With Arms Industry Ties
Related:
Progressive House Democrats urge Biden against Defense chief with contractor ties
“The transition from President Trump’s administration to yours promises to be the end of what you have called ‘the dark era,’ ” they added. “The legacy of Trump’s presidency will undoubtedly linger, but one way we can quickly distance the nation from the stain of his tenure is to immediately remove the profiteering ethos Donald Trump fostered throughout government.”
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 