Kerry Playing With Fire In Middle East ~~~ By J. D. Longstreet

Stolen From Faultline USA

In a few days or a few weeks, the Obama Administration will present Israel and the so-called Palestinians with something referred to as a "framework agreement."

The diplomats, (diplomats = People paid to lie for their country) explain that it is called a framework because the eventual peace agreement would be built upon this agreement. In other words, it is the framework for the eventual peace agreement between Israel and the so-called Palestinians.

Uh-huh.

This "agreement" is bad for Israel and bad for the US. Here's why:

Far from bringing peace to Israel and the so-called Palestinians, it could just as likely bring renewed fighting between the two and more trouble for the US.

In its arrogance, the Obama Administration wants this agreement signed before the end of the year (2014). The ridiculousness of this is laughable. Once again, the US has amateurs at work defusing a bomb.

Already, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon, has declared that “it is not going to happen.” SOURCE

Let's take a look at the outlandish terms of the framework agreement.

"Kerry’s agreement mentions a Palestinian state with borders based on the 1949 Armistice lines and with land swaps between Israel and the PA. 75 to 80 percent of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria would remain in their homes even after a permanent agreement." SOURCE

There is said to be a reference to the PA’s "incitement" against Israel and a reference to compensation for Jewish refugees who came from Arab countries. Each side would recognize the other as a nation state. and the two sides would announce the end of the conflict.

From israelnationalnews.com we learn this: "US Secretary of State John Kerry is about to present a plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) that will call for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria based on the 1949 lines, with "unprecedented" security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times – one of the journalists considered most close to the Obama administration.

The Israeli withdrawal will not include certain settlement blocs, but Israel will compensate the Arab side for this with Israeli territory. The deal will call for “Palestine” to have a capital in Arab East Jerusalem and to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. It will not include any right of return for Palestinian refugees into pre-1967 Israel, Friedman says." SOURCE

So, Kerry and Obama want to divide the city of Jerusalem ... AGAIN. It is reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adamantly rejects the division of the city of Jerusalem.

Oh, and Kerry's plan calls for Israeli troops to patrol the Jordan Valley for some years into the future. As you would expect the so-called Palestinians adamantly reject that.

Netanyahu is walking on egg shells in even considering this "agreement." It could easily tear apart his coalition. Already, tension within the Israeli political community has been ratcheting upward for at least a week upon this writing.

On the other hand, if Netanyahu says no to the plan, then European nations could invoke a boycott on Israeli goods to "punish" Israel for not agreeing to the Obama/Kerry plan. Yes. This IS the same Europe where anti-Semitism runs rampant -- even today. There is an excellent article entitled: "White House Is Weeks Away From Imposing Middle East Peace Framework – What You Need To Know" at Prophecy News Watch that explains the "agreement" in much more detail. We urge you to read it. You'll find it here.

Now, it is important that the world understand this ... neither side wants peace now. Somehow, Kerry seems to have missed this tiny detail. Come on, folks. If either side truly wanted peace they could, and would, work it out between themselves without the meddling of the US. They've done it three times in the past: Peace treaty with Egypt, another with Jordan, and a mutual recognition deal between Israel and the PLO. See what I mean?

The so-called Palestinian government is so divided as to be almost useless. There is Hamas ruling in Gaza, and Mahmoud Abbas, in charge of the government on the West Bank -- or what government there is there! As a "non-member observer state," in the UN General Assembly, the so-called Palestinians are reported to be ready to take Israel to the International Criminal Court any day now. Does this sound like a group ready to talk peace? Hardly.

This is a war that has been raging since Abraham and his two sons walked the hills, valleys and seashores of what we call the Holy Land today. It is not about to be settled by April 30th, or even by the end of the year 2014. In fact, we have every reason to believe that it will intensify touching off even more conflicts within, and without, the region leading, eventually, to World War III.

So, at the risk of bruising Mr. Kerry's pride and denting his arrogance, we can comfortable say that the "Framework Agreement" isn't worth the paper it is written upon. But -- don't be surprised if in a few weeks we have another Neville Chamberlain moment with Kerry waving a piece of paper over his head shouting: "Peace in or time!" We never seem to learn, do we?

Saint Paul said: "The way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:17–18) That was about 2,000 years ago. Not much has changed.

Where's Ivan? ~~ By J. D. Longstreet

Hat Tip to Faultline USA

Is This America?

I watched with anger and dismay as the parent tried his best to put a question to a school board of some kind in a public meeting. He vehemently protested to the other parents in the room -- "You are sitting here like cattle.” Then he said, “Is this America?” as he was roughly escorted from the room. Read More

Many decades ago there was a joke circulated the world over that, I think, shows this incident in the light it deserves. I will relate that story as best I remember it for you now:

There was a gathering in Red Square in Moscow. Nikita Khrushchev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was addressing the gathered crowd. He was regaling them in glowing terms about the success of socialism/communism in the USSR when he decided to emphasize the current prosperity of the soviet people. He shouted proudly: "Everyone in Russia has washing machine! If you don't have washing machine ... raise your hand."

Way back in the crowd a hand shot up. Khrushchev saw it and asked: "What's your name?" "Ivan," the man answered. Khrushchev asked: "What's your problem?" Ivan answered, "I don't have a washing machine." Khrushchev replied with "... not to worry, problem WILL be fixed."

The very next week another gathering of the faithful was held in Red Square and Khrushchev was again singing the praises of socialism/communism. Again, he noted proudly how everyone in Russia had a washing machine. A hand shot up way back in the crowd. Khrushchev, somewhat irritated, asked what was his question, whereupon the man asked: "Where's Ivan?"

That story popped into my mind as I watched the Maryland parent being denied his constitutional rights -- right there in public for everyone to see and hear.

THAT, gentle reader, is the "New Normal" in America. The abused citizen's question haunted me all night that evening and still stalks my every waking moment. "Is this America?" he asked in desperate frustration as he was involuntarily "escorted" toward the door of the meeting room.

I submit to you that those words should be the battle cry of the new freedom movement in America. "Is THIS America?" Most assuredly it is NOT America. I don't know what our beloved country has become, but it is not the America our Founders and fore bearers handed off to us.

That father, concerned for his child's education, issued the admonition "You're sitting here like cattle" to the other parents sitting quietly allowing the violation of his, heck -- THEIR, constitutional rights to go unchallenged -- right in front of them.

It hasn't been that long ago in America when a brawl would have ensured. Red-blooded Americans would not have allowed that man to be treated as if he were a citizen in a communist totalitarian country, a banana republic, or some third world socialist dung heap ruled over by a narcissistic tin pot dictator.

But that was THEN -- you know, back when America truly WAS the land of the free and the home of the brave. Today America is neither.

The fearless American government is assaulting America's freedom and liberty in ways that the old leaders of the USSR, of Communist China, and, yes, even the old Third Reich of Adolf Hitler did not have the temerity to try on their own citizens and slaves.

Uncle Sam has gone from "uncle" to "big brother." America is now a "police state." No. We are not BECOMING a police state. We ARE a police state.

The US Constitution is nothing more than a ceremonial artifact locked away in a display case. It is ignored. The Bill of Rights has been so eroded that many of them no longer have any power, at all!

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave ... don't make me laugh! (or cry, actually.)

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action." George Washington, the very first President of the United States (under the constitution) said that, and that was at the very beginning of our existence as a country. But like so much else about the "whys" and "wherefores" of the founding of this nation, it, too, has been either forgotten or -- even worse -- forsaken.

As of the day of this writing over 2/3rds of the country believes the US is on the wrong course. A Bloomberg National Poll reports that "Americans also are pessimistic about the course of the country, with 68 percent saying it’s headed in the wrong direction, the most in two years, according to the poll of 1,000 adults conducted Sept. 20-23." SOURCE

So. What are we going to do about it?

Unfortunately, I can't say that we are going to gather ourselves, clean the house in Washington, and set this country back on course. Because, you see, I am convinced we are too deeply divided now to ever be whole again.

Maybe it is time to consider this: When something is so broken it cannot be repaired, often one is compelled to discard it and replace it with a new one. If America has not yet reached that point, then she is certainly approaching it at a furious pace. Where is Ivan, indeed? When one reflects that Ivan can disappear in America these days, just as he could in the old USSR, the story becomes far less funnier.

Many decades ago Elmer Davis, former CBS journalist, reminded us: “This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”

The fact that America is no longer free indicates our parallel lack of bravery, as well.

The US Military Finally Destroyed

Stolen From Faultline USA

A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It would almost be funny if it were not so serious -- the reports of sexual assaults coming out of the various divisions of the US military today.

I have to ask: What the heck did they expect??? I mean, of course, the so-called experts who insisted that adding women to combat units within the military and then -- to really set the entire experiment up for failure -- adding homosexuals openly serving in the military to the mix.

A complete blithering, slobbering, idiot could see this coming from a league away. (OK -- a league is THREE miles -- 15,840 feet)

Look. I'm a veteran. But today, I am embarrassed to have the Army stickers on my truck! They'll soon come off. I cannot support the organization masquerading today as the US Army.

Since its founding America has taken great pride in it's military. But no longer. The pride is lessening as each day passes and Americans become more aware of what has happened to our military, to our soldiers, to our boys.

Consider this from the Daily Beast: " ... male-on-male sexual assault. In the staunchly traditional military culture, it’s an ugly secret, kept hidden by layers of personal shame and official denial. Last year nearly 50,000 male veterans screened positive for “military sexual trauma” at the Department of Veterans Affairs, up from just over 30,000 in 2003. For the victims, the experience is a special kind of hell—a soldier can’t just quit his job to get away from his abusers. But now, as the Pentagon has begun to acknowledge the rampant problem of sexual violence for both genders, men are coming forward in unprecedented numbers, telling their stories and hoping that speaking up will help them, and others, put their lives back together. “We don’t like to think that our men can be victims,” says Kathleen Chard, chief of the post traumatic-stress unit at the Cincinnati VA. “We don’t want to think that it could happen to us. If a man standing in front of me who is my size, my skill level, who has been raped—what does that mean about me? I can be raped, too.” SOURCE

The article in the Daily Beast goes on: "In fact, it is the high victimization rate of female soldiers—women in the armed forces are now more likely to be assaulted by a fellow soldier than killed in combat—that has helped cast light on men assaulting other men. For most of military history, there was neither a system nor language in place to deal with incidents of soldier-on-soldier sexual assault. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Defense Department even acknowledged such incidents as an offense, and initially only female victims were recognized. But last year more than 110 men made confidential reports of sexual assault by other men, nearly three times as many as in 2007." SOURCE

My friend, Alan Caruba, said in an article published in January of this year: "In recent times, two Presidents, Clinton—a draft dodger—and Obama have had no military experience to draw upon. Over the objections of their generals, both introduced policies to include and protect homosexuals in the U.S. military services. Now the doors have been opened to permit women to fight beside men. The military is not a place where one conducts social experiments. It’s a place where men go in harm’s way to protect the nation." SOURCE

In an article entitled: "Destroying The U.S. Military From Within," at cnsnews.com, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. writes: "The Obama administration's announcement that it is going to put women in front-line ground combat positions is but the latest example of a deliberate and systematic wrecking operation it has conducted against the armed forces since 2009." SOURCE

Gaffney goes on: "It is impossible as a practical matter to provide for separation of the sexes in frontline positions. That guarantees a loss of privacy and greatly increases the chances of pregnancies and harassment that: profoundly affects the personnel immediately involved; causes degrading of their units' warfighting capabilities; and traumatizes their families or, at a minimum, erodes the essential support for uniformed service that those loved ones provide." SOURCE

Gaffney continues: "The disastrous effect on the U.S. military of such wholly avoidable wounds is compounded by such other Obama administration-directed measures as: The imposition of the radical homosexual agenda on an institution that has, until 2010, by culture as well as by law, prohibited openly gay individuals from serving in its ranks." SOURCE

Now take all this and add to it the loss of two wars (The War in Iraq and soon the war in Afghanistan) and there can be no question that the American military is coming undone -- is coming apart.

The loss of moral support by the civilian public at home, alone, will gut the US military of, perhaps, it's greatest source of strength.

Heretofore, young men were encouraged to join the US Military. It was famously said: "It will make a man of you!" That can no longer be said, except in jest. I suspect that "... looking for a few good men." will be dropped as well.

As the deterioration of the US military continues, I believe the US will, in years to come, be better served by an army of mercenaries than by our regular forces.

It will take a while, but eventually the ranks will be purged of moral, God-fearing troops from the officer corp down through the lowliest Private. Already, they are being told they are not welcome into today's military.

Consider this: On September 16, 2010, Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Bostick, Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of personnel matters made a speech regarding the pending repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell". He was reported as saying, "Those serving who oppose the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) agenda are no longer welcome." SOURCE

It is not much of a stretch to believe that as God-fearing troops are driven from the military, America will eventually have a military made up of godless, mind-numbed robots of the political left who will, without thinking, carry out the orders given them -- including orders to act against the American civilian population. America will be left with a military that will have no qualms about acting against the American people.

It should be clear now why our Founding Fathers did not support a standing army for this new country. Nearly two and a half centuries ago they could see the danger we are about to face with our modern standing army.

I have heard the protestation that the US doesn't need as strong an army as we have had in the past. We have all the new electronic gadgets, drones, missiles, satellite guided weapons, even computerized artillery to fight our wars. They go on to say that even the weakest of women can push a button taking out hundreds of the enemy's soldiers at one shot.

That is true, as far as it goes. But aren't we forgetting that a single EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) artillery shell, or missile, or bomb will instantly throw us back to the time of the American Civil War and have our troops struggling on the battle field, man to man, hand to hand, with nothing but small arms and bayonets, or as sometimes happened during the Civil War, with bare fists, sticks, and clubs.

The danger has always been with the new advanced weapons of war that we would become far too reliant upon them.

I could go on and on with scenario after scenario but the simple truth is this: We have compromised our military and, by extension, the defense of the country. And there is no acceptable excuse for it.

We have already begun to pay the price in lost souls, lost lives, lost wars, lost treasure, lost pride, and --- if we aren't very careful -- a lost country.