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Hey, Who’s that American? Probably a Special Forces Guy
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, foreigners would point at awkward people in brightly colored shorts, and socks with sandals, and know they were American tourists visiting their country. Goofy, then-rich and usually benign, they were the face of America abroad.These days, if a foreigner encounters an American, he is mostly likely a special forces guy.
A Quick Recap on LibyaToday’s case in point, Libya. But first a quick recap. In August 2011 (just a little more than two years ago), then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the country:
The events in Libya this week have heartened the world. The situation remains fluid, but it is clear that the Qadhafi era is coming to an end, opening the way for a new era in Libya—one of liberty, justice, and peace. We join the Libyan people in celebrating the courageous individuals who have stood up to a tyrant and defended their homes and communities against Qadhafi’s violence. The United States and the international community have stood by the Libyan people during many difficult days in the last six months. Together, we prevented a massacre, and we supported the people’s efforts to gain their freedom.
In October 2011, Clinton herself traveled to Libya, bringing along $46 million in U.S. aid, after freeing up over $1.5 billion in frozen Libyan assets. Hopefully some opposition researcher is collecting these choice moments ahead of the 2016 elections.
Good times, yes, good times.
Two Years Later…So here we are, two years later and the news out of Libya is about other Americans visiting. A few days ago, a convoy of Americans “from the embassy” raced through a checkpoint in Libya. One car had no license plates. Another shot past guards and caused an accident, after which the vehicle “suddenly caught fire which authorities could not explain,” said al-Taher al-Gharbali, an army colonel in the local military council. Eventually four armed Americans with U.S. embassy ID cards were arrested by some form of the Libyan authorities (i.e., a couple of guys with AK-74 on loose slings.)
After a lot of initial silence, the Department of Defense confirmed that the travelers were U.S. military personnel. While their unit identification was not made public, one can probably surmise they were not clerk typists on shore leave. DOD said they were scouting evacuation routes for embassy personnel. The embassy said they were part of security preparedness. A State Department spokesperson said “the United States valued its relationship with ‘the new Libya'”.
More FreedomElsewhere, we have learned that the four Americans wounded in South Sudan as part of the humanitarian evacuation process were Navy SEALS.
And who can forget American Citizen Raymond Davis, who, while touring Pakistan, killed a couple of local guys. Davis wasn’t Special Forces; he worked for the CIA, perhaps as their actual employee, perhaps as a mercenary for the private security contractor Xe, formerly known as Blackwater.
While it is kinda hard to find a list of all the places U.S. Special Forces are currently deployed abroad, it is comforting to know that the U.S. military as a whole has armed personnel in more than 150 nations worldwide. The U.S. Special Operations Command has over 67,000 acknowledged personnel and a known budget of $7.483 billion for Operations and Maintenance; $373 million for Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation; $1.6 billion for Procurement; and $441 million for Military Construction funding.
BONUS: An excellent list of U.S. military interventions abroad, 1890-2011.
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pitchfork said...
1quote:”The U.S. Special Operations Command has over 67,000 acknowledged personnel and a known budget of $7.483 billion for Operations and Maintenance; $373 million for Research, Development, Test, & Evaluation; $1.6 billion for Procurement; and $441 million for Military Construction funding.”unquote
Sick. Just fucking sick.
Ya know Peter, Chomsky was dead on…
quote:”Every government pleads security for almost anything it’s doing, so since the plea is predictable it essentially carries no information. If after the event the power system claims security, that doesn’t mean it’s actually a functioning principle. And if you look at the record, you discover that security is generally a pretext and security is not a high priority of governments. If by that I mean the security of the population — security of the power system itself and the domestic interests it represents, yes, that’s a concern. But security of the population is not.”unquote
And therein lies the essence of Empire. Security of the power system. Today, the living proof of the extent they have gone to keep it secure was revealed for the first time…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0w36GAyZIA
Even Orwell couldn’t have comprehended the the depths to which the NSA have sunk. The last two screenshots are living testimony we are dealing with psychopaths.
12/31/13 1:40 AM | Comment Link
Sgt America said...
2Who’s that American, probably an agent. Move along, they know what they’re doing:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ny-lawyer-agent-goofed-in-india-diplomats-arrest/2013/12/24/fb779586-6cc4-11e3-a5d0-6f31cd74f760_story.html
” A lawyer for an Indian diplomat whose arrest and strip search in New York City drew angry responses from officials in India accused U.S. authorities Tuesday of bungling the investigation.
Attorney Daniel Arshack said the agent who drew up charges against his client made a key error in reading a form submitted on behalf of a domestic worker for Devyani Khobragade, India’s deputy consul general in New York. She was arrested two weeks ago and charged with submitting false documents to obtain a work visa for her New York City housekeeper.”
http://nypost.com/2013/12/30/state-dept-whistleblower-has-email-hacked-deleted/
“The personal e-mail account of a State Department whistleblower was hacked, and four years worth of messages — some detailing alleged wrongdoing at the agency — were deleted, The Post has learned.”
http://www.fitsnews.com/2013/12/30/government-hacks-iphone/
“Not only is Big Brother inside your iPhone, he can make it do his bidding.”
(We have to be equal opportunity adherents in our derision of agents who protect US)
12/31/13 4:03 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
3“Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, foreigners would point at awkward people in brightly colored shorts,…”
Peter, half of the Dumbest Country on the Planet won’t get your joke.
According to new survey results from the Pew Research Center one third of U.S. adults do not believe humans have evolved over time and not from a common link to the ape world. The Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project report found that 33% think “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.” The survey also found disagreement across political and religious lines.
Among white evangelical Protestants, 64% say that humans have existed in their present form since the beginning of time. The survey found that half of black Protestants responded the same way.
Republicans are less likely to say humans evolved compared to Democrats or independents, Less than half of conservatives or 43% agreed with evolution compared to 67% of liberals and 65% of independents.
A poll of chimps found 100 percent believed humans have not evolved; humans are the same stupid shits that have been fucking up their world.
Have a happy and prolific 2014.
12/31/13 6:01 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
4quote:”Republicans are less likely to say humans evolved compared to Democrats or independents, Less than half of conservatives or 43% agreed with evolution compared to 67% of liberals and 65% of independents.”unquote
Rumor has it that the DNA of those percentage of both Republicans and Democrats who do not believe in evolution, exactly matches the DNA of chromosomally aberrant pond scum created at the beginning of time.
sheeezushchrist..Dumbest country on the planet indeed.
quote:”A poll of chimps found 100 percent believed humans have not evolved; humans are the same stupid shits that have been fucking up their world.”unquote
Another poll found 100% of those polled believe the entire Congress was spawned by maggots.
btw Rich, I was beginning to hear echos. Glad you showed up.
12/31/13 6:55 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
5Pitch,
Been busy taking down the Christmas lights and wrapping the house in tinfoil.
12/31/13 7:39 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
6quote:”…wrapping the house in tinfoil.”unquote
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! perfect.
I don’t know if you watched the video I linked to(you should) but I’d suggest not ordering any computers or computer parts online anymore. NSA now “interdicts” new computers in transit and mod’s them with spy shit. Even the USB jacks and cables. Nothing is safe from these shitheads anymore. They even insert RF transmitters up to 1kw that can cause cancer, and or lead a Hellfire missile directly to it. Among lots of other shit. Like total takeover of the entire Apple iphone system.
Anybody that doesn’t understand the implications here doesn’t have a clue anyway. Big Brother is here. Even Orwell would be astounded. What’s even worse, is Appelbaum(the speaker) said he went to Congress with all the evidence and not ONE SINGLE Congressional asshole would talk to him. This tells me we no longer have a Democracy, and is LIVING TESTIMONY the United States Government is no longer legitimate. Welcome to 1984 on steroids.
01/1/14 12:04 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
7Pitch,
The problem was never a lack of intelligence. It was revealed in 9-11, Boston, and even the Diaper Bomber they knew more than they knew. The problem was, and always will be, a lack of intelligence to understand what intelligence the Dumbest Country on the Planet has.
01/1/14 1:10 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
8Clapper and Alexander can tell all the lies they want, but George Washington cannot:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/12/big-lie.html
01/1/14 1:41 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
9http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/30/opinion/bergen-nsa-surveillance-september-11/
01/1/14 2:43 PM | Comment Link
pitchfork said...
10Rich said:”Clapper and Alexander can tell all the lies they want,…”
Speaking of lies, notwithstanding the fact Goebbel was a Nazi, he did understand that which Americans do not…
quote:”The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.”unquote
9/11 is living proof.
01/2/14 3:41 PM | Comment Link