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Clinton VP tapped pro-terror Muslim leader for immigration seat

July 25, 2016

Clinton VP tapped pro-terror Muslim leader for immigration seat, Israel National News, David Rosenberg, July 25, 2016

(Please see also, Clinton VP Pick Tim Kaine’s Islamist Ties. — DM)

Kaine and his administration initially brushed off the criticism as mere Islamophobia.

Yet Omeish’s ties to terror and explicit support for violent Jihad quickly became apparent, ultimately leading Kaine to pressure Omeish to step down.

**************************

Virginia Senator and former Governor Tim Kaine has been the Democratic Party’s presumptive Vice Presidential nominee for just three days, yet the pick has already drawn fire from the pro-Israel community due in part to Kaine’s robust support for the Iran nuclear deal, his boycott of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in 2015, and his ties to a left-wing NGO.

Now, a controversial appointment made during his tenure as Governor of Virginia has raised new questions about Kaine’s bona fides as a self-described “strongly pro-Israel Democrat”.

In 2007, then-Governor Kaine appointed Esam Omeish, a Libyan-born physician and then-president of the Muslim American Society, to Virginia’s Immigration Commission. This came despite Omeish’s history of ties and expressions of support for radical Islam and Jihadist terrorism.

Omeish is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Dar Al Hijrah mosque, which two of the 19 terrorists responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks attended, as friends of the mosque’s imam.

That imam was Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical Salafist cleric who later fled the United States and joined Al-Qaeda, after settling in Yemen.

In 2010, President Obama placed al-Awlaki on the CIA “kill list”, citing his orchestration of deadly terror attacks against Americans. In 2011 a US drone strike killed al-Awlaki in southeast Yemen.

But Omeish was not merely a congregant at the Dar Al Hijrah mosque where al-Awlaki preached; in 2000, he was vice president of the mosque and was responsible for vetting and hiring the radical cleric as the mosque’s imam.

The Muslim American Society, then headed by Omeish, had close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Chicago Tribune reported in 2004, a description later validated by a federal report describing the group as “the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.”

In addition to Omeish’s ties to radical Islam, his recorded comments prior to the 2007 appointment by Governor Kaine made his support for Jihadist terror even more explicit.

During a December 22, 2000 speech at a Jerusalem Day Rally in Lafayette Park, in Washington D.C., Omeish praised “the Jihad way” to “liberate your land”.

“We, the Muslims of the Washington metropolitan area, are here today in subfreezing temperatures to tell our brothers and sisters in Filastine [Palestine], that you have learned the way, that you have known that the Jihad way is the way to liberate your land. And we, by standing here today, despite the weather, and despite anything else, we are telling them that we are with you, we are supporting you, and we will do everything we can inshallah [Allah willing] to help your cause.”

In 2004, Omeish explicitly praised Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

Governor Kaine’s selection of Omeish was criticized by state Republicans, who said the governor had failed to properly vet the appointee.

C. Todd Gilbert, a Republican delegate from Shenandoah County, wrote to the governor, noting the Muslim American Society’s “questionable origins”.

“I don’t know how a problem of this magnitude could have slipped through the Governor’s screening process,” Gilbert later said in a statement. “Even a cursory internet search about the appointee in question would have also easily identified him as a leader of a potentially radical northern Virginia mosque.”

Kaine and his administration initially brushed off the criticism as mere Islamophobia.

Yet Omeish’s ties to terror and explicit support for violent Jihad quickly became apparent, ultimately leading Kaine to pressure Omeish to step down.

 

 

Categories: 2016 elections, Democrats, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Islamic terrorism, Islamists in America, Israel, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestinian terrorists, Tim Kaine
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The Real Implications of Deborah Wasserman Schultz’s Resignation

July 25, 2016

The Real Implications of Deborah Wasserman Schultz’s Resignation, PJ Media, Roger L Simon, July 24, 2016

deb computer

The most fascinating aspect of the controversy over the Democratic National Committee’s hacked emails that has resulted in Deborah Wasserman Schultz’s resignation—a quasi firing—is that everything was fine with Wasserman-Schultz until… she got caught.

While some Democrats, particularly Bernie supporters, were annoyed with Debbie before” Guccifer 2.0″ exposed the DNC emails, those same emails demonstrating favoritism to Hillary Rodham Clinton by the supposedly even-handed committee were readily available to a whole stream of people who never said word one.

It would be interesting to compile an annotated list of who they are, who was on the various rounds. Do they include those, like David Axelrod, who suddenly and eagerly called for Wasserman Schultz to bow out? I’d bet on some surprises. Whatever the case, were I a Sanders supporter, which I am not, I would obviously be furious.

It is quite possible that Bernie Sanders would currently be the Democratic Party nominee for president were it not for this conspiracy against him. We will never know. He came remarkably close even while enduring it. (I would imagine if a conspiracy surfaces on email, out of digital form in cloakroom whispers, it is even more pervasive.)

What is astonishing is that Sanders himself has turned into a eunuch, rolling over for this on the morning shows by making light of the situation. One can only wonder what his supporters think now that their hero is a sellout. (Perhaps they will learn the value of the missing Eleventh Commandment—”Never trust your leaders.”)

That the DNC server was so easily hacked is also quite astonishing since the break-in occurred after the Hillary Clinton email server story became front-page news. Don’t these people learn anything?

I am far from an expert in cybersecurity, but having run an online media company for seven years, I forced myself to learn enough to see the obvious—that those who hacked into the DNC server and other email accounts such as Sidney Blumenthal’s to Hillary Clinton, as was done by the original Guccifer, were simply clever amateurs, patient enough to guess their way in with simple-minded passwords.  For the highly-trained sophisticated intelligence services of China, Russia, Germany, Israel, the UK, France, Pakistan and Iran (to name just a few) with access to super computers, such break-ins would be so routine they might be done in ten minutes. Our own NSA might have done in it three minutes. Maybe they did.

How did this outright cyber stupidity on the part of the DNC and Clinton come to pass? Two words: arrogance and corruption. They work together brilliantly.

How could you possibly trust these people to manage the war against radical Islam where cybersecurity is increasingly paramount? ISIS has certainly mastered YouTube. Who knows what else they can do?  Sooner or later, they or their progeny will know plenty.

How the media plays this story will be revelatory. They treated Melania Trump’s cribbing a few lines of the most banal boilerplate from a Michelle Obama speech as a catastrophe that could upend a campaign.  This is a hydrogen bomb by comparison. The governing committee of one of our two principal political parties attempted to steal an election—and was supremely incompetent in the process!

If the media does not meet its responsibility with this story and pursue it to the end, they will be exposing the bias we all know to such a degree they are endangering their own survival. The public, as Trump’s candidacy indicates, not to mention the polls, already despises the media. That same media may seem invincible, but they are vulnerable in their bottom line. Everybody is.

Still no confidence in the MSM? If you’re interested in searching the DNC email database yourself, you can do so here.

AND THIS UPDATE:  People say they’re confused by the latest revelation that after having “resigned” from the DNC, Wasserman Schutlz has just been hired by Hillary’s campaign. I’m not. Washerman Schultz knows a great deal. Clinton would never want her angry and running off the reservation talking to people. As the man said, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”

MOST AMUSING BS IN THE STORY SO FAR:  Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook claiming that the email leak was a Russian plot to get Donald Trump elected. WikiLeaks made fun of that one quickly enough. It’s sort of the equivalent of Hillary blaming her husband’s adulteries on “the great rightwing conspiracy.” It’s such a boldfaced lie you have to admire the person for having the guts to tell it. I rather doubt Putin is shivering in his boots over a President Hillary “Reset Button” Clinton.

Categories: 2016 elections, Bernie Sanders, Corruption, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Democrat National Committee, Democrat National Convention, Democrat Party, Hillary Clinton, Media, Russia
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Wasserman Schultz Out as DNC Leader After Convention

July 24, 2016

Wasserman Schultz Out as DNC Leader After Convention, PJ Media, Bridget Johnson, July 24, 2016

(How unified will the Democrat unity festival be? Clinton has made Wasserman-Schultz “honorary chair of my campaign’s 50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country, and [she] will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally, in Florida, and in other key states.” — DM)

fire debA supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) holds up a sign calling for Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, to be fired on, July 24, 2016, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) pulled out as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee the day before the party’s convention gets underway in Philadelphia — but her resignation isn’t effective immediately.

Wasserman Schultz appeared in public Saturday with presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton at the candidate’s first rally with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in Miami.

“Friends, we made history when we nominated President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden eight years ago.  Now we’re ready for Hillary! And we’re ready to make history once more when she accepts our party’s nomination to become the 45th president of the United States!” Wasserman Schultz told the crowd.

“And starting today, she’s got a new ally in her corner, a new fighter on her team. He’s a man that I have had the privilege of fighting alongside both at our Democratic headquarters and under the Capitol dome… From now until Election Day, we have to keep saying it loud and proud: I’m with her.”

At the same time, Wikileaks was flooding the internet with DNC correspondence showing the party trying to stop Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from getting the nomination and mocking the senator’s campaign.

Sanders speaks at the convention Monday. His spokesman Michael Briggs said the senator plans to “make it clear that Hillary Clinton is by far superior to Donald Trump on every major issue from economics and health care to education and the environment.”

Wasserman Schultz’s resignation won’t be effective until the end of the week.

“As party chair, this week I will open and close the convention and I will address our delegates about the stakes involved in this election not only for Democrats, but for all Americans,” she said in a statement. “We have planned a great and unified convention this week and I hope and expect that the DNC team that has worked so hard to get us to this point will have the strong support of all Democrats in making sure this is the best convention we have ever had.”

She had reportedly been under intense pressure from leading Dems to step down.

Clinton issued a statement thanking “longtime friend” Wasserman Schultz for “her leadership of the Democratic National Committee over the past five years.”

“I am grateful to Debbie for getting the Democratic Party to this year’s historic convention in Philadelphia, and I know that this week’s events will be a success thanks to her hard work and leadership,” Clinton said. “There’s simply no one better at taking the fight to the Republicans than Debbie — which is why I am glad that she has agreed to serve as honorary chair of my campaign’s 50-state program to gain ground and elect Democrats in every part of the country, and will continue to serve as a surrogate for my campaign nationally, in Florida, and in other key states.”

“I look forward to campaigning with Debbie in Florida and helping her in her re-election bid — because as president, I will need fighters like Debbie in Congress who are ready on day one to get to work for the American people.”

Wasserman Schultz was co-chairwoman of Clinton’s 2008 White House run.

President Obama issued a statement stressing that “for the last eight years, Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has had my back.”

“This afternoon, I called her to let her know that I am grateful,” Obama said. “Her leadership of the DNC has meant that we had someone who brought Democrats together not just for my re-election campaign, but for accomplishing the shared goals we have had for our country.”

The president added that her “fundraising and organizing skills were matched only by her passion, her commitment and her warmth.”

“And no one works harder for her constituents in Congress than Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” he said. “Michelle and I are grateful for her efforts, we know she will continue to serve our country as a member of Congress from Florida and she will always be our dear friend.”

A Sanders backer, professor Tim Canova, is challenging Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s Aug. 30 Democratic primary. Canova was initially denied access to the voter database by the state party.

Sanders has endorsed Canova.

Categories: 2016 elections, Bernie Sanders, Bernie Sanders' supporters, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Democrat National Committee, Democrat National Convention, Hillary Clinton, Obama
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DNC CFO Marshall Apologizes For Email Pushing Religious-Based Attack On Sanders

July 24, 2016

DNC CFO Marshall Apologizes For Email Pushing Religious-Based Attack On Sanders, Jonathan Turley’s Blog, Jonathan Turley, July 24, 2016

Little Debbie

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is still attempting to spin out of the scandal over the recently leaked emails showing that, as long claimed by critics, it was undermining Bernie Sanders and rigging the process for Hillary Clinton during the primaries. It would seem obvious to most of us that not only should Debbie Wasserman Schultz resign, but a number of DNC officials fired for the emails, particularly DNC CFO Brad Marshall. Yet, the DNC is been largely quiet and clearly hoping that Democrats simply do not care if they have been directly misled by the DNC, which sought to engineer the win for Clinton.  It may be right.  Many Democratic voters (like many Republican voters) seem to have simply accepted that politicians lie to them and that people who are demanding honesty from leaders are naive (or do not see “the bigger picture”).  The DNC is clearly hunkering down to see with “this too shall pass” with voters.  While Wasserman Schultz has given up her speaking role at the convention, she is clinging on to the chairmanship of the party.

The sheer mendacity of the Democratic leadership in these emails is breathtaking.  At the very time that these officials were denying allegations that they were undermining Sanders at every turn, Marshall and his colleagues were secretly doing exactly what they were publicly denying.  However, Marshall was particularly disgraceful in his effort to use Sanders’ faith against him.  He pushed for an attack on Sanders as an agnostic.  That should not sit well with the millions of agnostics and atheists in this country — one of the fastest going segments of the population.

Marshall wrote that “for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.” This went to various DNS communications directors who were also busy denying that any secret effort against Sanders.DNC CEO Amy Dacey responded “Amen”  Both Dacey and Marshall have been denying such efforts and both should have been fired with other officials involved in these exchanges.

Marshall’s apology only magnifies the problem.  He wrote

“I deeply regret that my insensitive, emotional emails would cause embarrassment to the DNC, the Chairwoman, and all of the staffers who worked hard to make the primary a fair and open process. The comments expressed do not reflect my beliefs nor do they reflect the beliefs of the DNC and its employees. I apologize to those I offended.”

Really?  You send an email to other DNC officials suggesting an attack on a Democratic candidate’s religion and, after being caught, you say that it does not “reflect my beliefs”?  This was not some aside at a party but an email sent to other party functionaries.  Moreover, Marshall makes no mention of the fact that he, Dacey, and Wasserman Schultz were denying such a secret campaign against Sanders at the very time that these emails were sent.  The very fact that the DNC did not immediately dump Marshall, Dacey and others is telling.  Indeed, they should have been let go when these emails were sent, let alone after they were forced to acknowledge their dishonest and disgraceful conduct.

What do you think?

Categories: Bernie Sanders, Democrat National Committee, e-mails, Hillary Clinton, Lies
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Wrong and rude on Iran and Israel

July 24, 2016

Wrong and rude on Iran and Israel, Israel Hayom Richard Baehr, July 24, 2016

(Please see also, Clinton VP Pick Tim Kaine’s Islamist Ties. — DM)

The Democrats are out selling Tim Kaine as a solid citizen, experienced politician, and a great choice for vice president on the Hillary Clinton ticket — someone who could step in quickly as president if needed. The traditional pro-Israel community, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, are undoubtedly preparing to signal their comfort with him as a Clinton running mate, much as they did with the supposedly pro-Israel Barack Obama, twice. Kaine has voted in favor of foreign aid; he has traveled to Israel; he voted in favor of funding some weapons systems for Israel; he has raised a lot of money from liberal Jews (running for governor, senator, and head of the Democratic National Committee). Therefore, he must be a great supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship. So great in fact, that he was happy to take money from the J Street political action committee and accept its endorsement when he ran for Senate. AIPAC, J Street, Kaine, all one big happy family in the pro-Israel club.

Of course, on the Iran nuclear deal, the single most important foreign policy decision since the vote on the Iraq war in 2002, Kaine was not only wrong, but extraordinarily disrespectful to Israel’s prime minister. He chose to boycott Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before a joint session of Congress on the issue in early 2015, saying that he thought Netanyahu’s aim was mainly to help himself with his own domestic politics in the Israeli elections, held two weeks later.

“There is no reason to schedule this speech [on March 3] before Israeli voters go to the polls on March 17 and choose their own leadership,” Kaine said in a statement, after describing how he’d worked to delay the event. “I am disappointed that, as of now, the speech has not been postponed. For this reason, I will not attend the speech.”

Let us assume for a moment that Netanyahu had two goals in mind for his speech — to make the case for healthy skepticism and opposition within Congress toward the Iran nuclear deal, which was near completion at the time, and help himself politically. This must have come as a shock to Kaine. Imagine a leader concerned both about the security of his country and his own political future. Good thing such considerations never entered the mind of any American president. Certainly Obama must never have allowed domestic political considerations to influence his policymaking or the timing of his decisions. The attempt to bury the Benghazi attack on September 11, 2012, presenting it as an event caused by some anti-Muslim message by some obscure American filmmaker was quickly adopted by all the administration spinners — from Susan Rice to then-Secretary of State Clinton. This spin was necessary for Obama to continue running for re-election on the campaign theme he had developed — the fact that he killed Osama bin Laden and saved General Motors. Blaming the filmmaker was of course complete and total nonsense.

And of course, Obama’s recent warning that Britain would be at “the back of the queue” to negotiate a trade agreement with the U.S. if it voted to leave the European Union, was not in any way an act of interference in another country’s politics — the kind of interference that might have drawn Kaine’s ire.

Kaine was one of only eight senators who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech. The others included both Vermont senators, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, two of the least supportive members of Congress when it comes to Israel. Sanders of course pushed for a new policy on Israel during his campaign for the Democratic nomination this year, and brought up the need for balance in terms of support for Israel and the Palestinians in the Brooklyn debate with Clinton, where his enthusiastic supporters went wild when he chastised Israel and its prime minister. At the moment, this sentiment is where the heart of the Democratic Party lies — on the hard left and hostile toward Israel. Two others who boycotted were Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island — two of the most passionate leftists in Congress.

One would not expect to find Kaine siding with Vermont’s two near Marxist senators and the most left-wing members of the House in boycotting Netanyahu. But then again, two Democratic senators who happen to be Jewish — Al Franken and Brian Schatz — also boycotted.

There must have been conversations between the administration and Democratic congressional leaders to ensure a decent sized boycott (in total about 20% of congressional Democrats boycotted the speech), and to provide enough names on the boycott list to protect possible future Democratic national figures, meaning, of course, Kaine.

Kaine is the very definition of a career politician. He served on the city council, then as mayor of Richmond, then as governor of Virginia, then as head of the Democratic National Committee and finally as senator. In 2008, he was on Obama’s short list for vice president. If he were to move up to the only positions he has not yet held — vice president and ultimately president, then his actions on Iran in 2015 might well be seen as a signal to movement Democrats — party activists — that he is not a predictable centrist but is capable of turning leftward on Israel.

This meant diverging from AIPAC, which at this point is a low-risk move since the organization seems never to lose the love regardless of members’ behavior or votes. Has AIPAC punished any Democrat for leading the charge, or applying pressure on other Democrats in the House or Senate, on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action?

In fact, for someone who started his political career as something of a social conservative on abortion and gay marriage, Kaine seems to have understood that he needed move leftward on these issues to have a chance at a national future. Republicans are attacked for their disunity, which is real. Democrats enforce their orthodoxy. Kaine’s voting record is 100% liberal on most scorecards, and despite this, some progressives consider him too moderate.

When the JCPOA came up for a vote in Congress, Kaine made up his mind quickly — in the first two weeks . One would have to be pretty gullible to think the senator had carefully weighed the pros and cons of the agreement before deciding.

Kaine’s announced support for the JCPOA likely made it easier for others to also buck AIPAC and support the president. Most remarkably, Kaine voted twice to support a filibuster in the Senate, so that a vote could not even be recorded on the JCPOA. It turns out that 58 senators opposed the agreement (all 54 Republicans, and 4 Democrats), but 60 votes were needed to force a vote in the Senate.

Obama did not want a vote, since he then would have been forced to veto the formal congressional opposition to the agreement since the House had already passed its opposition resolution. Kaine had been a co-sponsor of the Corker bill, therefore it is remarkable cynicism that he was not even willing to allow fellow senators to vote to formally express their opposition to the bill he co-sponsored.

If Kaine becomes vice president, he can be expected to do what is necessary to ensure he has a shot at the final step up the political ladder. Being pro-Israel won’t have much to do with it.

Categories: 2016 elections, AIPAC, Democrat Party, Hillary Clinton, Iran scam, Israel, Leftists, Tim Kaine
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Emails Show Democratic National Committee Officials Actively Undermined Sanders And Sought To Guarantee Clinton’s Nomination

July 23, 2016

Emails Show Democratic National Committee Officials Actively Undermined Sanders And Sought To Guarantee Clinton’s Nomination, Jonathan Turley’s Blog, Jonathan Turley, July 23, 2016

(It must be just another vast right-wing conspiracy. — DM)

Wasserwoman

For months, critics and candidates have been publicly denouncing what they view as open favoritism of the Democratic National Committee (and particularly DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz) toward Hillary Clinton. Even DNC members have objected to the role of the DNC and the view that it is trying to guarantee that Clinton is the nominee. Despite fairly universal criticism of the favoritism showed Clinton (and opposition showed Sanders), Wasserman Shultz and DNC officials publicly denounced any such suggestions of working against Sanders. Now, with the Wikileaks postings, various emails prove that the DNC has been actively working to undermine Sanders and advance their chosen candidate of Hillary Clinton.

WikiLeaks posted an email from Mark Paustenbach, the Democratic Party’s national press secretary & deputy communications director, to other staffers discussing how they could create an anti-Sanders narrative that portrays his campaign in disarray and not an acceptable option for voters.

 

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“Wondering if there’s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was a mess. . .

“Specifically, DWS had to call Bernie directly in order to get the campaign to do things because they’d either ignored or forgotten to something critical. She had to call Bernie after the data breach to make his staff to respond to our concerns. Even then they didn’t get back to us, which is why we had to shut off their access in order to get them to finally let us know exactly how they snooped around HFA’s data.

“It’s not a DNC conspiracy, it’s because they never had their act together,” Paustenbach continued.

Other emails shows collusion with the Clinton campaign and even an effort to start an attack against Sanders on the basis of his religious beliefs.  For example, a May 2016 message from DNC CFO Brad Marshall suggested that the party should “get someone to ask” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders about his religious beliefs.

From:MARSHALL@dnc.org
To: MirandaL@dnc.org, PaustenbachM@dnc.org, DaceyA@dnc.org
Date: 2016-05-05 03:31
Subject: No shit
It might may no difference, but for KY and WVA can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.
The email was sent to DNC Communications Director Luis Miranda and Deputy Communications Director Mark Paustenbach. It’s unclear who the “someone” in this message could be — though a member of the press seems like a safe bet. A request for comment sent to Marshall was not immediately returned.

So here you have not only a high ranking DNC official actively working to discredit Sanders (while the DNC is expressing shock over suggestions of favoritism) but suggesting a despicable attack based on religious beliefs.  The emails show both an campaign against Sanders and the falsity of statements made to the public.

A reply to Marshall’s email from DNC CEO Amy Dacey read only “AMEN.”

So it appears that religion runs deep among the DNC staff . . .at least when it comes to destroying Sanders and rigging the election for Clinton.

At a minimum, in my opinion, Wasserman Schultz should resign in light of these emails and the now reaffirmed allegations of bias at the DNC.  Furthermore, these officials should be held accountable if the DNC wishes to regain any semblance of being an honest broker for democratic voters.

What do you think?

Categories: 2016 elections, Bernie Sanders, Democrat National Committee, Hillary Clinton
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Trump Promises American Greatness

July 22, 2016

Trump Promises American Greatness, Front Page Magazine, Matthew Vadum, July 22, 2016

(Please see also, FULL SPEECH: Donald Trump Accepts Republican Nomination for President. — DM)

trump flag

CLEVELAND — Republican presidential candidate Donald John Trump gave a masterful acceptance speech last night as he savaged Hillary Clinton for her seemingly congenital corruption, assailed Barack Obama’s failed policies and the civil unrest he has fomented, and optimistically laid out an ambitious roadmap to the future.

Trump did an admirable job staying on-message.

“Together, we will lead our party back to the White House, and we will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace,” he said. “We will be a country of generosity and warmth. But we will also be a country of law and order.”

America is being overrun by “violence in our streets and the chaos in our communities,” he said. “Decades of progress made in bringing down crime are now being reversed by this administration’s rollback of criminal enforcement.”

The number of police officers killed in the line of duty is up nearly 50 percent compared to this point last year, he said. Although 180,000 illegal aliens with criminal records have been ordered deported, they “are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens.”

Border crossings by illegals are out of control and these aliens “are being released by the tens of thousands into our communities with no regard for the impact on public safety or resources.”

Some of these illegals have been murdering Americans and that’s fine with Hillary Clinton, he implied. Clinton supports lawless sanctuary cities and favors open borders, he said.

“I have a message for all of you: the crime and violence that today afflicts our nation will soon, and I mean very soon, come to an end. Beginning on January 20th, 2017, safety will be restored. The most basic duty of government is to defend the lives of its own citizens. Any government that fails to do so is a government unworthy to lead.”

He said he would be “the law and order candidate.”

Americans need a straightforward assessment of the state of the nation, he said. “I will present the facts plainly and honestly. We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore.”

Black unemployment rates are sky-high and Latino poverty rates are higher than when President Obama took the oath of office in 2009, he said, adding that “another 14 million people have left the workforce entirely.”

Household incomes have fallen and bad trade policies are hurting Americans, he said.

“President Obama has doubled our national debt to more than $19 trillion and growing. Yet, what do we have to show for it? Our roads and bridges are falling apart, our airports are in Third World conditions, and 43 million Americans are on food stamps.”

America is humiliated abroad all the time, he said. “We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint.”

And the nuclear nonproliferation pact with Iran gave the mullahs $150 billion “and gave us nothing.” The agreement “will go down in history as one of the worst deals ever negotiated.”

When Trump referenced the Muslim terrorist attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012, the crowd went wild. “America is far less safe — and the world is far less stable — than when Obama made the decision to put Hillary Clinton in charge of America’s foreign policy.”

As the crowd chanted “lock her up,” Trump responded, “let’s defeat her in November.”

Clinton set the Arab world on fire, he said. “This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism, and weakness.”

Trump said he will “defeat the barbarians of ISIS and we’re going to defeat them fast.” He mourned the victims of Islamic terrorism in the U.S., saying the people murdered by a jihadist at a gay club in Orlando, Fla., were “49 wonderful Americans.” The terrorist targeted the “LGBTQ community … and we’re going to stop it.”

Trump said he would “protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” and delegates applauded him. He then said, “as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said. Thank you.”

America should not be importing refugees from Syria who cannot be properly screened, he said. “I only want to admit individuals into our country who will support our values and love our people.”

Clinton, Trump said, refuses to put America first. But if he becomes president “Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.” Those politicians who will not put America first ensure “that other nations will not treat America with respect, the respect that we deserve.”

Powerful special interests have rigged the system, he said. Clinton is the “puppet” of big business, elite media, and major donors, he said.

Clinton doesn’t want change, he said. “My message is that things have to change — and they have to change right now.”

Trump said he is determined to make life better for those who “have been ignored, neglected, and abandoned.” Laid-off factory workers hurt by bad trade deals “are the forgotten men and women of our country,” but “they’re not going to be forgotten long.”

“I am your voice,” Trump said to loud applause.

“When innocent people suffer because our political system lacks the will, or the courage, or the basic decency to enforce our laws — or still worse, has sold out to some corporate lobbyist for cash — I am not able to look the other way.”

When Clinton illegally operates private Internet servers, lies about it over and over again, and destroys 33,000 emails “so the authorities can’t see her crime,” and she gets away with it, “I know that corruption has reached a level like never ever before in our country.”

Trump modified his signature line, promising to make America “strong again,” “proud again,” “safe again,” and “great again.”

He ended his oration with “God bless you! I love you!”

Trump’s 76-minute speech was followed by the traditional dropping of thousands of balloons from the ceiling to the tune of “Alright Now” by the British band Free.

Before that Ivanka Trump introduced her father to delegates in a powerful speech. Her eloquence, intelligence, and charisma were impossible to ignore.

She said her father is the kind of leader who can transcend politics. He is “a political outsider” and “a fighter,” she said, adding “I have seen him fight for his employees. Now, I am seeing him fight for his country.”

“For more than a year Donald Trump has been the people’s champion,” she said. The fact he’s not a career politician is a great strength, she said. “Real change is only going to come from outside of the system.”

Trump is “famous but not well-known,” she said. The “hard-working men and women of this country identify with my father.”

He has spent his whole life doing what others have said could not be done, she said. “When my father says he will make America great again, he will deliver … he is incapable of thinking small.”

Other speakers earlier in the evening pumped up the crowd.

Silicon Valley entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who is worth about $3 billion, said America needs a businessman like Trump. In his view, the country no longer leads the world in technology.

“Our nuclear bases still use floppy disks. Our newest fighter jets can’t even fly in the rain. And it would be kind to say the government’s software works poorly, because much of the time it doesn’t even work at all. That is a staggering decline for the country that completed the Manhattan Project. We don’t accept such incompetence in Silicon Valley and we must not accept it from our government.”

Thiel attacked the financial sector. “Wall Street bankers inflate bubbles in everything from government bonds to Hillary Clinton’s speaking fees,” he said caustically.

He criticized current foreign policy.

“Instead of going to Mars, we have invaded the Middle East. We don’t need to see Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails: her incompetence is in plain sight. She pushed for a war in Libya and today it’s a training ground for ISIS. On this most important issue, Donald Trump is right. It’s time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country.”

Thiel then made history on the convention stage. “I am proud to be gay,” Thiel said to delegates who applauded him. Some even gave him a standing ovation, something unimaginable at a GOP convention 20 or even 10 years ago.

“I am proud to be a Republican,” he continued. “But most of all I am proud to be an American.”

“I don’t pretend to agree with every plank in our party’s platform,” he said. “But fake culture wars only distract us from economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”

Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio railed against current immigration policies.

“We are the only country in the world whose immigration system puts the needs of other nations ahead of ours,” he said. “We are more concerned about the rights of illegal aliens and criminals than we are with protecting our own country. That must change.”

Arpaio said the long-delayed wall along the Mexican border has to be constructed to secure America’s borders. “Donald Trump will build the wall,” he said to applause and chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “build that wall!”

NFL great Fran Tarkenton, who said he has known the nominee for years, said “Donald Trump knows how to get the best out of people.”

Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Reince Priebus assailed Hillary Clinton saying that during the investigation into her illegal, hacker-friendly email servers “she lied over and over and over.” Clinton “reads ethics rules as carefully as Americans read their junk mail.”

She used her post as secretary of state and her family foundation for her own enrichment, he said. For Clinton, the Oval Office is just another “cash cow.” Americans, he said, “have had enough.”

Also speaking were Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., televangelist Mark Burns, paralysis survivor Brock Mealer, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, Colony Capital chairman Tom Barrack, and Korean Americans for Trump founder optometrist Lisa Shin, and actor Jon Voight appeared as narrator in a video about Trump’s business accomplishments that featured commentator Larry Kudlow, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Looking back over the four days of the convention, it was calmer outside the Quicken Loans Arena than many had expected.

The riots and massive protests expected at the convention never materialized. There were relatively few arrests. At most demonstrations near the convention site the angry masses could be measured in hundreds, if that. The massive police presence, drawn from law enforcement agencies across the country, may have deterred some of the would-be troublemakers.

Well-armed bystanders may have also helped to scare the bad guys away.

Throughout the convention there were plenty of citizens with rifles wandering around Public Square and elsewhere in downtown Cleveland, exercising the open-carry rights people enjoy in the Buckeye State. Most, but not all, were pro-Trump. Some showed up to show their support for the nation’s embattled police officers. Firearms were not allowed in the relatively small security zone around the convention site, which was controlled by the U.S. Secret Service.

On Tuesday there was a shouting match and some pushing and shoving between anti-Trump demonstrators and radical libertarian radio host Alex Jones of Infowars.

Police broke up clashes between various activist groups. Members of Black Lives Matter, Ku Klux Klan, and Westboro Baptist Church reportedly threw urine at each other.

The anti-American so-called peace group Code Pink tried to swarm Sheriff Arpaio at one point and chanted “shame.” The Revolutionary Communist Party was also on-site.

On Wednesday a protester inadvertently set himself and others on fire while trying to burn an American flag. Firefighters promptly extinguished the flames. There were no serious injuries, according to Cleveland Police.

Leftist groups built a fake wall to protest Trump’s plans to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. Among the organizations participating in the “Wall Off Trump” action were the Ruckus Society, Mijente, Iraq Veterans Against the War, The Other 98 Percent, and the ACORN-affiliated Working Families Party, according to Democracy Now.

The New Black Panther Party and other radical groups took part in demonstrations.

Meanwhile, presumptive Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton has reportedly selected Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her running mate. Kaine is a Harvard-educated lawyer. He previously served as governor and lieutenant governor of Virginia and as mayor of Richmond. He is also a previous Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman.

Also rans reportedly included Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

The four-day Democratic National Convention gets underway Monday in Philadelphia.

Trump said in his speech that some people really ought to attend the Democrats’ confab.

“If you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths the Democrats are holding their convention next week.”

“Go there,” Trump said.

Categories: 2016 elections, Democrats, Domestic policy, Donald Trump, Donald Trump acceptance speech, Foreign policy, Hillary Clinton, Obama and Middle East, Obama's America, Republican National Convention
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Critics of “Gays for Trump” Party Miss the Point

July 21, 2016

Critics of “Gays for Trump” Party Miss the Point, Clarion Project, Elliot Friedland, July 21, 2016

Trump-Milo-Geller-640-320The advert for the “WAKE UP” event, featuring Donald J. Trump as a superhero with Milo Yiannopoulus and Pamela Geller as sidekicks. (Photo: Screenshot from Twitter)

Rather than mocking and dismissing this event, those who oppose such rhetoric would do well to start addressing the issue at hand in a serious and committed way, beginning with naming it — Islamist extremism — and ending with destroying it.

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Gay rights activists have not traditionally found a political home on the right. Yet gay activist and alternative-right icon Milo Yiannopoulus wants to change that, arguing that while the Republican party may not love homosexuality, Islam wants gays dead, and therefore gay people should support Trump (who Milo calls “Daddy”).

This was the theme of “WAKE UP,” billed as “the most fab party at the RNC,” which brought Milo together with controversial activist Pamela Geller who has gained notoriety for her “Draw Mohammed”cartoon competition as well as billboards in New York which read: “In the war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”

The event was panned by media outlets such as Salon in a piece which shrugged off the event as a “virulently anti-Islam party at the RNC” and The Nation, which slammed it as “Islamophobes, White Supremacists, and Gays for Trump—the Alt-Right Arrives at the RNC.”

Teen Vogue said the event “perpetuates Islamophobia.” The Nation’s piece revealed the alarmingly open presence of white nationalists at the event and the seemingly small numbers of gay people who showed up.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who spoke at the event, referred to Europe as “Eurabia” and said, “Islam is the problem.”

But critics who were aghast at this flagrantly un-PC stance, completely missed why sections of the LGBT community are turning to Trump.

If they would have looked to France, they would have seen that gay support for the far right has already happened there. In 2015 a national scandal occurred when it emerged that the winner of France’s largest gay magazine’s beauty contest was an outspoken supporter of France’s right wing Front Nationale.

As early as 2012, 26% of the gay community in Paris supported the Front Nationale, as opposed to 16% of straight people.

The rationale is startlingly simple. Milo’s cult status as an online provocateur has been generated by making controversial statements and pushing the accepted boundaries of discussion. He has been able to tap into the large and growing alt-right movement — a disparate collection of mostly young white males who support socially liberal policies but who hold the left in contempt for their perceived abandonment of liberal values when it comes to human rights abuses committed in the name of Islam.

Because of this, Milo and others make the argument that only the right will stand up to defend gay people against Islamist extremism.

The movement also partially consists of white nationalists and racists, who are able to maintain their foothold because they have consistently spoken out against radical Islam (and indeed Islam in general.)

Put simply, people would rather be racist than dead.

“If you’re like us, the massacre in Orlando last month was a giant wake-up call,” the flier for the event read. “As gay Americans, we could no longer stay silent about a barbaric ideology that wants us dead and that actively threatens the freedoms of all Americans.”

So far, so good.

However the ideology in question is not Islam, as Geert Wilders would argue, but is Islamism, the theocratic political project which seeks to impose the religion of Islam over everyone in the world and implement sharia governance, complete with hudud punishments. This ideology does threaten the freedoms of all Americans.

Tarring all Muslims with the same brush is not only morally wrong, but also facilitates the very thinking propagated by the Islamic State and other Islamist groups –- by dividing the world into two camps, Muslims and non-Muslims.

However, the refusal of the elites around the world — with a few notable exceptions such as the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron — to correctly name and challenge the issue has created a vacuum.

People know there is a problem and know that it needs to be tackled.

When the Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups such as the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) object to billboards calling on Muslims to talk to the FBI if they become suspicious of terrorism, when President Obama and Hillary Clinton point blank refuse to name the ideology at fault, people will start to draw their own conclusions about who is to blame and take action accordingly.

Therefore in the absence of leaders who are not afraid to name the problem as one of Islamist extremism,  people will be drawn to someone with a clear message offering simple solutions, like Trump’s proposed ban of Muslims entering the country, which was praised at the “WAKE UP” event.

“After what happened in Orlando, I can’t imagine not being for Donald Trump right now,” the founder of the LGBT group “Twinks4Trump” which was involved in the event said. “This election will not be about bathrooms or who’s going to bake our wedding cakes.”

Milo took to the stage wearing a T-shirt saying, “We shoot back” with a submachine gun in rainbow colors emblazoned on its front. This powerful image will be a sweet and soothing balm to a section of the LGBT community which is looking for answers.

The way in which the argument was put forward at “WAKE UP” was a simplistic misunderstanding, blaming the entire faith of Islam for the actions of a subset of its practitioners.

Rather than mocking and dismissing this event, those who oppose such rhetoric would do well to start addressing the issue at hand in a serious and committed way, beginning with naming it — Islamist extremism — and ending with destroying it.

Because in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Categories: 2016 elections, CAIR, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Homosexuals, Islam and homosexuals, Islamist moral values, Islamists in America, Islamists vs Islam, Media and Islam, Obama and Islam
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Philadelphia Police Union Rips Clinton, DNC for Not Including Families of Slain Police Officers as Convention Speakers

July 21, 2016

Philadelphia Police Union Rips Clinton, DNC for Not Including Families of Slain Police Officers as Convention Speakers, Washington Free Beacon, , July 21, 2016

Philadelphia’s police union is angry with Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention for giving speaking roles to family members of police shooting victims but not to family members of police officers who died in the line of duty.

John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, told Philadelphia’s local CBS affiliate that the speaker choices were “putting salt in the wound” and promoting an “anti-police movement.”

The union also released a statement that it was “insulted” by the exclusion of police widows and family members, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

“It is sad that to win an election Mrs. Clinton must pander to the interests of people who do not know all the facts, while the men and women they seek to destroy are outside protecting the political institutions of this country,” the statement read. “Mrs. Clinton, you should be ashamed of yourself if that is possible.”

The statement came days after the Clinton campaign announced that former President Bill Clinton would speak Tuesday night along with members of Mothers of the Movement, a group that includes Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; and Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown.

Clinton’s campaign responded Wednesday, noting that two members of law enforcement are scheduled to speak at the convention, including former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey.

Categories: 2016 elections, Black Lives Matter, Contempt for America, Democrat National Convention, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Law enforcement
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President Of Pro-Kremlin Think Tank RIAC: Clinton, The Policy Professional, Preferable To Novice Trump

July 21, 2016

President Of Pro-Kremlin Think Tank RIAC: Clinton, The Policy Professional, Preferable To Novice Trump, MEMRI, July 21, 2016

(Please see also, Russian Commentator On U.S. Elections: Clinton Is Better For Russia. — DM)

Igor Ivanov, the President of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), and a former Russian Federation foreign affairs minister (1998–2004) attempted to prepare his readers for Hillary Clinton’s expected victory (the article was obviously written before the polls narrowed Clinton’s margin over Donald Trump). [1] Ivanov realizes that Russian public and elite opinion dislikes Clinton as “obsessed with human rights” and believes that Donald Trump can turn the page on US-Russia relations as he is not bound by Obama’s legacy. Moreover, the Russian elites have bitter memories of former U.S. president Bill Clinton whom they view as the architect of NATO’s eastward expansion into countries that were formerly Warsaw Pact members or Soviet republics. [2] Ivanov paints a rosier picture of Russia-US relations under Bill Clinton. Contrasting the rational and predictable behavior he expects from Hillary Clinton with the inconsistent and unpredictable behavior expected from Trump, Ivanov regards a Clinton victory as the preferable outcome.

In addition to bowing before an “inevitable” Clinton victory the Russian leadership maybe warming to the Democratic candidate due to Secretary of State John  Kerry’s visit to Moscow and his lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on greater US military cooperation with Russia in Syria.[3]

While some commentators take a cynical view of the talks and claim that ramped-up cooperation with Russia is an attempt by the Obama Administration to impress the American voters prior to the elections, or an admission that Washington’s Syria policy is bankrupt, Russia probably regards institutionalized cooperation mechanisms as a step forward. Ivanov claims that such cooperative mechanisms in all spheres and on all levels were missing in the 1990s, and their establishment would put US-Russia relations on a firmer footing.

Ivanov’s article appears below:

‘It Is…Easier To Achieve An Agreement With Experienced Professionals…A ‘Newcomer’ In International Politics Is… Harder To Work With’

29166Twitter.com/sharzhipero, May 23, 2016.

On the table badges: candidate Hillary Clinton, candidate Donald Trump.
Statue of Liberty: Can I see all of them [all candidates for the U.S. presidency]?
U.S. President Barack Obama: That’s all of them
Statue of Liberty: Oh, f**k..

“Less than four months remain before America elects its President; the dramatic struggle has entered its final phase. […] As the polls show, it is widely assumed in Russia that the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House would benefit this country more than victory by Hillary Clinton. A populist and fierce opponent of the Washington establishment, Trump could, they say, turn the page in U.S.-Russia relations, which have seen better times, and open a new chapter without regard to the ‘legacy’ of Democrat Barack Obama.

“Hillary Clinton is known to arouse mixed feelings among Russians. Some know her as a relentless and at times inflexible negotiator. Others view her as a politician obsessed with human rights. And still others say that Moscow has always gotten along better with Republicans than with Democrats.

“My experience over the years – and I have talked face-to-face to the leaders of many countries – is telling me that there are hardly any substantial grounds for such fears or hopes. It is usually easier to achieve an agreement with experienced professionals, even if they are inflexible negotiators and difficult partners. They are predictable, rational, and they are well aware of their limitations. A ‘newcomer’ in international politics is usually harder to work with: the lack of experience often translates into inconsistent and unpredictable behavior; it leads to subjective, emotional and at times erroneous decisions that can be very hard to rectify later on.

“Speaking on June 17 [2016] at the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Putin recalled his positive experience of working with the forty-second President of the United States, Bill Clinton.[4] I was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time and remember those days very well. There was more than enough disagreement and difference between our countries back then too. But, unlike recent years, mutually respectful dialogue was never broken off and there was an understanding of how important U.S.-Russia relations were in terms of international stability. Naturally, Mrs. Clinton has her own view of American foreign policy. However, there is evidence that the ‘family experience’ will to a certain extent influence her actions if she wins the November election.

‘It Would Be Naïve To Believe That The State…Of Our Relations With The U.S Are Defined Exclusively By Who Sits In The Oval Office’

“This is not, however, the most important point. It would be naïve to believe that the state and dynamics of our relations with the United States are defined exclusively by who sits in the Oval Office, and that there is some easy and painless way to overcome the deep crisis in our bilateral relations. Miracles don’t happen in international politics. U.S. foreign policy has always been bipartisan, greatly inert, and the outcome of the presidential race alone cannot overturn the existing state of affairs.

‘It is hardly realistic to hope that the new administration will ‘come to its senses’ and be easy to deal with. No matter who wins the presidency, the strategic goal of preserving global leadership will remain unchanged, [all emphases added] though certain adjustments to the international agenda are, of course, possible.

“U.S.-Russia relations have entered a phase where the negative attitude that has accumulated over recent years has essentially grown into full-blown confrontation. This runs counter to our national interests and those of the United States as well. So it is important to take steps that would help reverse this dangerous trend. If we decide to wait and see what the new U.S. President and his or her team do, we lose time, and with it we lose the initiative.

“Frankly speaking, we failed to create a solid foundation for U.S.-Russia relations after the end of the Cold War. We did not try hard enough, engrossed in solving current international problems. This, in my view, makes the launch of a new negotiation process between Washington and Moscow the key goal, a process that would help develop common principles for our relations and jointly developed mutual commitments reflecting the interests of both sides.”

‘To Meet Just To Look Into Each Other’s Eyes Is Not Enough Anymore’

“What should we do first? This is the hardest part.

“In my mind, we first need to start working on arranging a bilateral summit. The longer it takes for such a meeting to happen, the more negative feelings will pile up. The meeting must be thoroughly worked through and it must have a strategic and future-oriented outcome. In today’s situation, to meet just to ‘look into each other’s eyes’ is not enough anymore.[5]

“Clearly, such a meeting will not solve all the numerous controversies we have at once. But this should not be the goal either. The meeting must set the course for the development of bilateral relations and form the necessary mechanisms for cooperation, which would help gradually overcome the present situation where cooperation in matters of strategic importance is held hostage by existing differences.

“Interaction at the presidential level will of course continue to remain the key element of the U.S.-Russia dialogue. But such interaction has to be complemented with a wide range of bilateral mechanisms, each devoted to a key area of cooperation. We need to breathe new life into the Strategic Stability Group,[6] where our two countries are represented by the leaders of the foreign and defense ministries. Dialogue between intelligence agencies has to be institutionalized as well. This would enhance mutual trust and create an atmosphere conducive to cooperation in fighting terrorism and in other fields. Particular attention needs to be paid to economic cooperation. Business-to-business cooperation has not become the shock-absorber that would limit or at least reduce the negative impact of differences in other areas. There is need for a mechanism that would stimulate economic cooperation at the governmental level, which would in turn promote better relations between our two countries in general.

“Another consultation mechanism should be created at the level of civil society. It should involve political and public figures, representatives of the media, science and culture – all those who influence public opinion in Russia and in the U.S. The proposed streamlining of U.S.-Russia dialogue might seem cumbersome and unrealistic at first. Unfortunately, it is the very lack of such a tight framework for dialogue on a wide range of pressing issues that has brought us to where we are today.

“In his telegram to President Obama on the occasion of Independence Day on July 4 this year, President Putin emphasized that ‘the history of US-Russia relations shows that when we act as equal partners and respect each other’s lawful interests, we are able to successfully resolve the most complex international issues for the benefit of both countries’ peoples and all of humanity.’

“Let us hope that Washington would take this invitation to dialogue seriously.”

 

Endnotes:

 

[1] Russiancouncil.ru, July 16, 2016

[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch no. 6520, Russian Commentator On U.S. Elections: Clinton Is Better For Russia, July 19, 2016.

[3] Wall Street Journal, July 14, 2016.

[4] During the Plenary session of St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin said: “I worked with Bill Clinton, although for a very short time, and we had a very good relationship. I can even say that I am grateful to him for certain moments as I was entering the big stage in politics. On several occasions, he showed signs of attention, respect for me personally, as well as for Russia. I remember this and I am grateful to him. About Ms. Clinton. Perhaps she has her own view on the development of Russian-U.S. relations. You know, there is something I would like to draw [your] attention to, which has nothing to do with Russian-U.S. relations or with national politics. It is related, rather, to personnel policy. In my experience, I have often seen what happens with people before they take on a certain job and afterward. Often, you cannot recognize them, because once they reach a new level of responsibility they begin to talk and think differently, they even look different. We act on the assumption that the sense of responsibility of the U.S. head of state, the head of the country on which a great deal in the world depends today, that this sense of responsibility will encourage the newly elected president to cooperate with Russia and, I would like to repeat, build a more secure world.” Kremlin.ru, June 17, 2016.

[5] Ivanov appears to be referring to the June 2001 summit between Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush at the conclusion of which Bush told the press” “I looked the man in the eye. I found him very straight-forward and trustworthy – I was able to get a sense of his soul.” BBC.co.uk, June 16, 2001.

[6] Russia has established strategic stability groups with other countries and not only with the U.S. For example, in January 2003, the first meeting of the strategic stability group of Russia and Pakistan met to thrash out questions of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. Mid.ru, January 16, 2003.

Categories: 2016 elections, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Russia
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