Masopher's Mind

The Central intelligence agency (CIA) has become less about intelligence and more about clandestine intimidation and assassination. Ever since its hesitation and subsequent failures in the late 90’s to kill suspected masterminds behind al-qaeda, namely Osama bin Laden, I don’t think they have let a single turbaned man in the Pak-Afgan-istan area go by without a Predator drone air strike. President Obama too has followed Bush’s precedent of giving the automatic go order to missile strikes. President Clinton’s worries about the possibility of getting it wrong was not shared by his two successors. By not acting it may be speculated that the 42^nd did indeed get it wrong and neither the 43^rd or 44^th can risk having another September 11^th. Obama, with fewer Texas Oil strings attached is indeed scaling up both covert and overt action in Afghanistan and covert action in Pakistan’s SWAT and Balochistan areas. France and the rest of NATO have started ramping up operations as well, as the Atlantic nations have started to flex their (feeble?)military muscles. This President has made his intentions clear that the true war on terror has finally begun. Just in time too because the fight is getting tougher for those already there.

So ex-Mossad Tzipora Livni didn’t win the recent elections after all. It’s funny that an assassin was the “moderate centrist choice”. The blood from the Gaza battle has been cleared away and Hamas is back onto the road to rearmament and the tit for tat status quo of Israeli Palestinian aggression has resumed. It was all political after all. Hamas is still there, gaining political points. Likud and the hard right gained victory in the following elections and Egypt gets to serve as the official mediator of inter-Palestine-Palestinian/Israeli relations. There is no desire for peace, death is what strengthens these politicians positions. Even aid agencies and the demonstrators have gained recognition and notoriety. The only people that lost were the people of Gaza, losing lives, homes and freedom. Masopher recognizes that in this brutal part of the world, the lives in Gaza are worthless. What actually happens to them is meaningless in comparison to the political capital gained from them losing their lives. By protesting, filming them, making statements, killing them or fighting for them, people gain so much more than what their actual lives cost. Death is good business, death is good policy.

Russia is squeezing the USA by bribing Kyrgyzstan to end the lease on a military base being used to supply the Afghan war effort. The USA will not be allowed to station military personnel or equipment there anymore. This means CIA drones, air force bombers and long range artillery cannot strike from this position. Additionally supplies and reinforcements will not be able to get to troops easily. Except the treacherous Kyber pass through Pakistan or by creating an alliance with Iran troops in Afghanistan can’t get ammunition, spare parts replacement vehicles or reinforcements. The other option is to start supplying Afghanistan over the historic Amu-Daria crossing and through Russian territory. This would be a PR suicide for the USA to be seen to be using the same entrance into Afghanistan as the Soviets did in the 1980’s.