William Kristol resigns as editor of The Weekly Standard-He won't be missed, if only because he won't be going anywhere

After twenty-one years as editor of The Weekly Standard, William Kristol is moving on, but not to far.  His new posisiton, "I'm thoroughly looking forward to the welcome opportunity to work on longer pieces while continuing to write weekly editorials and contribute to the website."

The Neutralist does not mean him ill, but his career is one of successful failure.  He was completely wrong about Iraq, then and now, and yet there were no cries to cast him out into the exterior darkness.

On Libya, he was equally mistaken, maybe worse, and yet there was no outcry to banish him.  This was probably because he was not without company.

Of course, he covered himself in glory as one of the chief nevertrumpers.  How a guy can keep smiling with egg all over his face for a whole presidential campaign will never cease to amaze me.

So as he continues to be seen on Fox and other venues pontificating away, we at the Neutralist have a rule, if Bill states there is someplace we need to invade or free, we don't.

John Kerry-sinecure watch

At the Hill is the headline that Kerry will return to Boston, work in privatesector.

Is this not a great country or what?  A man with no ability who ran a failed foreign policy can come back to his hometown and get a job.

His prospects are great.

Annie Machon at Consortium News is more right than she knows, there is no reason for NATO

The historical record of NATO post Soviet Union is one of aggression.  Maybe in Putin's heart there is a desire to roll the tanks to Normandy and embark an army on a fleet, but that cannot happen and we have been the troublemakers as Former Brit intel officer, Annie Machon makes clear in an article at Consortium News, Dreaming Up a Reason for NATO's Relevance.

The woman writes with clarity about the continued expansion of the alliance eastward in spite of our undertaking at the time of the demise of the "Evil Empire,"

I refer you back to an article I wrote two years ago after the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Referencing the work of former senior CIA officer and fellow Sam Adams Associate, Ray McGovern, it made clear that a deal was made between the Soviet Union of the time and the U.S. – and that, in return for the withdrawal of 260,000 Soviet troops from East Germany and the reunification of Germany, NATO would not move one inch further east than the German border.

This is the beginning of all our troubles with Russia.

Please read the article.  The Neutralist does object to her using the word "isolationist."  After all, who wants to be North Korea, thats isolationism.

The Neutralist does not know if Southfront is independent, but State's John Kirby is a song and dance man and they caught him

The "Russia is always bad crew" at State were caught by Southfront and have to obfuscate and do it poorly.

Come on people, just answer the questions, even if your answer sucks.

Vaudeville will never die while John Kirby lives.

Chris Buskirk is the clearest voice we've heard all season

The Neutralist views NPR as little more than a shill for the elite viewpoint.  It is usually a ministry of information by which the inner party tells the outer party what to feel and believe, but not what to think.  They do not really want thinking.

The other day, if I wore a pacemaker, it would have shorted.  I am shocked that Chris Buskirk of the website American Greatness was interviewed and defended his support of Donald Trump admirably.

David Greene was the interviewer and was adversarial, but not unfair.  Chris was calm and reasonable and one would almost think someone in NPR has gone rogue and snuck a thinking person on the air.  If so, I hope they never find him.

Chris Buskirk is superior to anyone commenting on air.  One should not be surprised if someone notices him and gives him a job.  That is if there is a place for a rational man in the American media.

He did a better job advocating for his candidate than guys like Christie or Rudy.

Anyway, you should go to American Greatness and listen to his interview, link here. 

Please note, the Neutralist does not support candidates.  If we did, Jill Stein's policy of bringing all the troops home would be our cup of tea.  Of course, her financial policies can be characterized as "Make America Venezuela."

The Dutch Republic looks into to the soul of Wilders - Exactly what was there problem with Hitler?

Actually, the Netherlanders did not have all that much of a problem with Hitler and would have happily watched  from the sidelines had Dolph not felt that the run through the lowlands to around Maginot's line was a good idea.

The stout hearted Dutch have learned their lesson.  One of their politicians

at a March 2014 election rally in The Hague, when Wilders asked supporters whether they wanted "fewer or more Moroccans in your city and in the Netherlands?"
When the crowd shouted back "Fewer! Fewer!" a smiling Wilders answered: "We're going to organise that."

Well the Dutchies are not going to put up with that.

Wilders's remarks triggered 6,400 complaints, and criticism from within his own party.
Some 56 people and five organisations have registered as victims of the comments and at least 34 witnesses have come forward, judges have said.
Although judges on Friday allowed 40 claims to go ahead, they capped the amount sought as damages at 500 euros, dismissing the 21 other claims.

So complaints against Geert have been "triggered."

One supposes the indigenous population is never considered to have a trigger.

So suppressing the people is what the Dutch do.  Another reason for the US not to be there, or in any of the other Euro countries that are anti-speech.  Let Europe be Europe and say au revoir to NATO.

Oh not, not another of those Hitler won comments.

Bear Baiting with thanks to Malcolm Pollack

The Neutralist periodically meanders over to Malcolm Pollack's Waka Waka Waka blog because it is usually a pleasure.  A few days ago, he wrote a post titled Bear Baiting.  it was not a pleasure to read, but it was a fine bit of work.

It was not a pleasure because it accurately described the state of our foreign policy as regards Syria and a headlong rush to confrontation with a nuclear power.

This is a piece that clearly the Neutralist can endorse and wishes he wrote.  Please read, it is short and to the point.

Bear-Baiting

OCTOBER 7, 2016 – 4:35 PM

From this morning’s NightWatch:

Russia-US-Syria: Russian relations with the US over Syria continue to worsen.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on 6 October, “Let me remind the so-called US strategists that the air cover for the Russian military bases in Hmeimim and Tartus is provided by S-400 and S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, whose range may come as a surprise to any unidentified flying objects.”

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West of protecting the al-Nusra Front. She said at a briefing, “So far we see in the actions of Western countries, first of all, not a concern about the humanitarian situation in Syria but a desire to protect Al-Nusra fighters and the forces and groups of fighters affiliated to them. To be even franker, not just to protect them but directly get them away from harm’s way.”

Comment: The statement by General Konashenkov apparently is a pre-emptive response to press reports that the US is considering approving air attacks against Syrian government forces. His response is a dare. The message is that the Russians will shoot first at long distance.

We are playing a very dangerous game here. There is no realistic path that ends in ousting Assad that does not pass through direct combat with Russia. Moreover, even the goal is a foolish one. What do we imagine would take his place?

I must also note the shameful hypocrisy of weeping for Syria’s people (and using it as a pretext for importing millions of them to the West) while having done everything possible to maintain a rough balance of power in this civil war, thereby prolonging it for years — during which time that miserable nation, and the innocent lives of millions of its people, have been blasted to rubble. Had we not stepped in to “help”, the thing would have been over in weeks or months, cities and antiquities now completely destroyed would still be standing, and the chaos of tribalism and jihad would not have had this vacuum to occupy. Whatever you may say about Bashar Assad, it should be obvious to even the most causal observer that life under his rule was better for most people — incomparably so — than life in Syria now. His regime may have been an affliction, but our efforts to cure it have killed the patient. Chaos is death.

A more enlightened worldview would see Russia — a great Christian nation, and one that has made priceless contributions to the treasure-store of Western civilization — as a natural ally in these perilous times. We have much in common, including ancient, existential enemies who gloat to see us fighting with with each other rather than uniting against them. Yet our stance toward Russia has been relentlessly bellicose, with our support of the Ukrainian revolution, and our actions in Syria, being only the most obvious examples.

One might imagine that, standing as we do upon the crumbling lip of a very dark abyss, and with such enlightened statesmen in charge, we would now move cautiously. One would be mistaken.

POSTED BY MALCOLM ON AT 4:35 PM, FILED UNDER FOREIGN AFFAIRS

USA, a day late country and many dollars short

Martin van Creveld, The Israeli military historian has an article at his As I Please website by guest writer, Karsten Riise.  Van Creveld is an intellectual of note.  There is not much biographical information about Mr. Riise on the web, but that Professor van Creveld hosts him is an affirmation,

The article, The US Position is Untenable our current geopolitical situation.  An American who cares for his homeland can only come to one conclusion.  Our country needs to bring all it's troops, planes and ships home...yesterday.

Neutralists who have watched our country over the last several decades would have long come to the conclusion that our huge overseas footprint is a waste.  Whether if it was “all the dominos will domino if we leave Vietnam,” to “we must fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here,” it's all been silly sloganeering.

Mr. Riise, probably either Dutch or Dane, has not been subject to the propaganda that we Americanos have.  His piece is thoughtful and discusses what's wrong from different angles.

He begins with a graph and then explains that the Federal Debt as a percentage of GDP is set to go from 75% to 146%.  We neutralists are not all great economists, and I think his date is off, but such a number in the future is disturbing as the government usually underestimates the bad.

Should we be worried?  Since the demise of the USSR, it has not been the Nirvana we all hoped for.  Adam Smith said “There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”  That was back in 1777.  The Brits have managed to hold on with varying fortune.  Can we?

Most nations muddle through dumb economic policies and then when they have no choice, do something stupider, or by accident, something smart.  We live in hope.

Mr. Riise thinks I'm part of the problem.  I resent that.  Just because I'm not as young as I once was, and there are more like me and less  young people to contribute to our happy and financially secure dotage is not our fault.

“The biggest driver of the US Federal debt is the aging of the US population. Today 15% of Americans are aged 65+. This percentage will increase by two thirds, so that by 2060 about 24% of the US population will be 65+. Until now, the USA has benefited from a young population. The strain on medicare and social spending of an aging population, even with the still limited entitlements in the USA, will be enormous.”

Hey we didn't ask to get old even if we haven't grown up, and anyway, my government can kick a can down the road like nobody's business.

Mr. Riise claims our infrastructure is third world level and thus we are becoming un-competitive.  China is building high speed trains like crazy and we don't have any.  We do have Acela, but that is limited in service, so we can give in on this one.  Worse, Les Chinois will probably build our high speeders when we finally get them.

Substandard education also makes us fall behind as our kids are not going to have the skills in worldwide competition.  At least, thanks to the current administration, they will know the right bathroom to use.

As people are less and less middle class and the the tax base shrinks, we can always make the rich pay their fair share and then some.  How will that work out?  According to the article, “Any attempts to heavily taxate (fiscate) the upper 10% (or 0.1% !) of the US tax base will lead to US dollar capital-flight, and acute economic crisis.” 

Embarrassing to us here in the Exceptional Nation, is that “The risk of starvation amongst the poorest in the USA remains high: In Obama’s presidency, one in seven Americans (14%) face the risk of not having enough to eat.”  The store shelves are not empty.  Could somebody be cooking the books on employment stats?

Well, there is an answer.  According to Paul Krugman and to paraphrase Edwin Starr's song, “War what is it good for, the economy.”

So there's not been a real recovery, the kids are dumb, the middle class is gone, the rich could leave, let's motivate the people with a crusade.  What could go wrong?

Putting aside that we have been on the warpath near a decade and a half, much could go awry.  Again, look to Mr. Riise again as he has detailed the problem with the war for prosperity plan.

The armament is in decline and shrinking. “The number of US ships and combat aircraft is declining, their average service-age goes up and their operativeness goes down.”  New equipment is often white elephant stuff.

“In absolute strength levels, the American military is standing still or going backwards.  The US military now delays military purchases in order to keep overall military expenditures flat the next 5 years.”

That is the most ominous aspect.  One hopes the poor GI in an outpost in Afghanistan doesn't get asked to wait a couple of days into the next month for his pay to stretch the budget.  Will we be able to afford the fuel for the last helicopter to pull him out when the dénouement becomes obvious to even the most obtuse neocon?

Mr. Riise goes on to discuss how the Russian and Chinese arms industries are out-competing us. 

His comment that “China is gaining the upper-hand in the Straight of Taiwan.” should give us all pause.  Since the 50s the US Navy has made sure that remnant of Chiang Kai Shek's regime would be safe and have an economic miracle.  More than six and a half decades after the rump of China became our ward, it's coming a cropper.

Has it all been for naught?  Does anyone believe we have a real chance to pacify Afghanistan, and other than resources to exploit, why would we want to?  Iraq to become a Denmark style paradise?  Nah, ask any Iraqi if that is possible, and he'll ask you how he can get to Denmark.

It ain't working and the king's horses and men can't put it back together as there are going to be less and less of them as we go forward.

So what is to be done?

A great conservative of the last century said it best, “Come home America.”   Actually, George McGovern would be rolling in his grave at being labelled in any sense a conservative, but the people who claim the label wouldn't know what it meant if it bit them on the nose.  The only true conservative or libertarian military policy is defense of hearth and home.

We all know how it is going to end, we just don't know the day or hour.

If you don't like George, there's always Freda.

“Bring 'em back alive.”

There has since been a rebuttal to Mr. Riise.  I shall get around to reading it eventually.  I have to say, however, in this century, life here in nowheresville has only gotten worse for my fellow lumpen countrymen, and without a change of direction, I don't expect it to get better.