The Warmongering Record of Hillary Clinton "I urged him to bomb..."

[nationalize the fed]

GARY LEUPP | Counterpunch.org | February 11. 2015


Henry Kissinger and Hillary Clinton receive the Germany Freedom Award in 2009. Gero Breloer/AP

...Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State at that time knew that Libya was no threat to the U.S. She knew that Muammar Gadhafi had been closely cooperating with the U.S. in combating Islamist extremism. She probably realized that Gadhafi had a certain social base due in part to what by Middle Eastern standards was the relatively equitable distribution of oil income in Libya.

But she wanted to topple Gadhafi. Over the objections of Secretary of “Defense” Robert Gates but responding to the urgings of British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, she advocated war. Why? Not for the reason advertised at the time. (Does this sound familiar?) Not because Gadhafy was preparing a massacre of the innocents in Benghazi, as had occurred in Rwanda in 1994. (That episode, and the charge that the “international community” had failed to intervene, was repeatedly referenced by Clinton and other top officials, as a shameful precedent that must not be repeated. It had also been deployed by Bill Clinton in 1999, when he waged war on Serbia, grossly exaggerating the extent of carnage in Kosovo and positing the immanent prospect of “genocide” to whip up public support. Such uses of the Rwandan case reflect gross cynicism.).

No, genocide was not the issue, in Libya any more than in Kosovo. According to the Washington Times, high-ranking U.S. officials indeed questioned whether there was evidence for such a scenario in Libya. The Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that a mere 2,000 Libyan troops armed with 12 tanks were heading to Benghazi, and had killed about 400 rebels by the time the U.S. and NATO attacked. It found evidence for troops firing on unarmed protestors but no evidence of mass killing. It did not have a good estimate on the number of civilians in Benghazi but had strong evidence that most had fled. It had intelligence that Gadhafy had ordered that troops not fire on civilians but only on armed rebels.

The Pentagon doubted that Gadhafi would risk world outrage by ordering a massacre. One intelligence officer told the Washington Times that the decision to bomb was made on the basis of “light intelligence.” Which is to say, lies, cherry-picked information such as a single statement by Gadhafi (relentlessly repeated in the corporate press echoing State Department proclamations) that he would “sanitize Libya one inch at a time” to “clear [the country] of these rats.” (Similar language, it was said, had been used by Hutu leaders in Rwanda.) Now that the rats in their innumerable rival militias control practically every square inch of Libya, preventing the emergence of an effective pro-western government, many at the Pentagon must be thinking how stupid Hillary was...

MORE: http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/02/11/the-warmongering-record-of-hillary-clinton/

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

The "Chief Diplomat" of the United States of America:

Hillary Clinton Praises a Guy With Lots of Blood on His Hands
In lauding Henry Kissinger, the possible Democratic presidential nominee goes far beyond her usual hawkish rhetoric.
David Corn | Mother Jones.com | Fri Sep. 5, 2014
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/09/hillary-clinton-henry-kissinger-world-order

[Scuba]

1. If Hillary is the best the Democratic Party can do, we need a new party.

[newfie11]

2. I so agree with you

The world is a disaster right now and much of it was Bush wanting to make a name for himself by Bombing an innocent country.

The last thing we need now is someone quick to bomb!

[G_j]

3. +1000

[Lurks Often]

4. I always viewed Libya as the U.S. supporting England and France

in return for them supporting the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq.

IIRC, it was the British and the French that did most of the air strikes, with the U.S. providing most of the logistical, command, control, communication and other specialized support, along with cruise missile strikes.

[pampango]

14. And supporting the UN which authorized the Libyan intervention.

As you said it was the British and the French who pushed for the UN resolution. Once it was approved the US provided the support for the British and French who conducted the air strikes.

[Lurks Often]

16. Forgot about the UN, I think people are overestimating our role

in Libya, both in deciding to intervene and our actual military participation.

[stonecutter357]

5. .

[CJCRANE]

6. This was the domino that unleashed the FUBAR we see today.

IMO the neocons worked through Cameron and Hollande, knowing that President Obama was reluctant to get involved.

[OKNancy]

7. counterpunch quoting the Washington Times. Isn't that special

[GeorgeGist]

8. Washington Times as a source?

yeah, that's fucked up.

[Octafish]

9. Honduras and Haiti are ripe for picking.

The truth can be hurtful.

Hillary Clinton’s Honduran Disgrace

By Matthew Rothschild
The Progressive, March 5, 2010

Hillary Clinton continues with her hawkish ways, making Obama’s foreign policy less distinguishable from Bush’s every day.

She just met with Honduran President Pepe Lobo, she’s notified Congress that the Obama administration is restoring aid to Honduras, and she’s urging Latin American nations to recognize the Lobo government in Tegucigalpa.

The democratic opposition in Honduras boycotted lobo’s election, since he’s allied with the forces that overthrew Manuel Zelaya last June.

But for the longest time, Hillary Clinton stubbornly refused to call the June takeover a “coup,” even though her boss, the president of the United States, immediately denounced it as such.

SNIP..

“Other countries of the region say that they want to wait a while,” she said on her Latin American trip. “I don’t know what they’re waiting for.”

CONTINUED...

http://progressive.org/wx030510.html

...very painful...

Bill and Hillary Clinton: “Friends of Haiti?”

Marty Goodman
Black Agenda Report, Wed, 12/05/2012

Bill Clinton and Obama’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are called “the Friends of Haiti.” Oh, really?

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, President Obama appointed Bill Clinton as US envoy, partnering with the Katrina and Iraq criminal George Bush, Jr., a supporter of the 2004 CIA-backed military coup which overthrew the elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After the earthquake, Bill headed relief agencies, while excluding Haitians themselves. The stated theme of the Clinton-Bush effort was to “build back better.” Today, Bill is the UN envoy and acknowledged guiding hand behind international relief efforts.

Both Bill and Hillary are promoters of the U.S. dominated World Bank low-wage sweatshop plan for Haiti, angrily dubbed “the American Plan” by Haitians. Last year, Hillary signed an agreement committing $124 million tax dollars to the building of the Caracol sweatshop assembly park in the north of Haiti. The agreement includes massive tax breaks for sweatshop bosses. Workers there are making the starvation wage of about $3.50 a day.

On Oct 22, 2012 Bill and Hillary were on hand for the inaugural ceremony in Caracol. Also there was Haitian President Michael Martelly, a pro-coup right-winger linked to Duvalier era thugs. Hillary praised Martelly as Haiti’s “chief dreamer and believer.” Martelly, once again, declared Haiti “open for business.”

The sweatshop park was launched with $3 million from the “Clinton Bush Haiti Fund,” set up by the two Obama appointees to spearhead so-called earthquake relief fundraising. One park occupant, Sae-A Trading, is a large textile company cited by the AFL-CIO for “acts of violence and intimidation” against workers in Guatemala.

“Last year, Hillary signed an agreement committing $124 million tax dollars to the building of the Caracol sweatshop assembly park in the north of Haiti.”

In 1993, during Bill Clinton’s administration, he appointed his close friend Ron Brown as Secretary of Commerce. In the early 1980s, Brown was a partner in the powerful Washington law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow. Brown was a paid attorney and a lobbyist for Haitian dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and his family. Brown was also personally linked to wealthy Haitian pro-Duvalier figures.

CONTINUED...

http://blackagendareport.com/content/bill-and-hillary-clinton-%E2%80%9Cfriends-haiti%E2%80%9D

...but, not as hurtful as ignorance.

[snooper2]

10. did you know the fed is national?

really isn't a regional thing LOL

[Octafish]

11. Held in private hands.

Who owns the Federal Reserve?

The Federal Reserve System fulfills its public mission as an independent entity within government. It is not "owned" by anyone and is not a private, profit-making institution.

As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the Congress of the United States. It is considered an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by the Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.

However, the Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by the Congress, which often reviews the Federal Reserve's activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. Therefore, the Federal Reserve can be more accurately described as "independent within the government" rather than "independent of government."

The 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, which were established by the Congress as the operating arms of the nation's central banking system, are organized similarly to private corporations--possibly leading to some confusion about "ownership." For example, the Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the System. The stock may not be sold, traded, or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, 6 percent per year.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_14986.htm

Maybe the Fed should be nationalized where the profits are distributed to the American people instead of the cronies and friends of the Bankster class.

[snooper2]

12. you are pretty amazing, you must have an excellent electronic filing system/process

You ever think about going into technical writing? With those skills you could piece together random engineering emails and documents into masterpieces!

[Octafish]

15. GOOGLE shows where the bodies are buried.

Knowing what to ask comes from the Tao:

Fifty-six

Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Keep your mouth closed.
Guard your senses.
Temper your sharpness.
Simplify your problems.
Mask your brightness.
Be at one with the dust of the Earth.
This is primal union.

-- Lao Tze, translated by Gia Fu-Feng and Jane English

Connecting dots for tech writing is what drove Robert Pirsig to ride.

[FSogol]

17. His next user name could be: Keep_the_Govt_out_of_my_Medicad

[SidDithers]

13. Green for victory!!...nt

Sid

[Man from Pickens]

18. Just found this article

Absolutely nausea-inducing to think that such a relentless hypermilitarist could be the Democratic nominee.