Related: The Power of Hypocrisy
It's overwhelming everywhere you look when it comes to U.S. foreign policy.
"John Kerry seeks to ease S. China Sea tension" by Matthew Lee | Associated Press August 09, 2014
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State John Kerry is in Myanmar seeking to calm tensions in the South China Sea between China and its smaller neighbors.
Well, he can't do anything to help palestinians and he is impotent in Iraq. Syria is lost, and Ukraine looks as bad as Israel now so that's out. Where else can he go but go harangue China?
Amid concerns about recent provocative steps taken by China and others regarding several disputed territories in the sea, Kerry arrived in Myanmar early Saturday for a Southeast Asian regional security forum. The conflicting claims are expected to be high on the agenda.
But he's trying to do peace. The whole place has calmed down before he arrived for the meeting, but whatever.
US officials with Kerry said he would be urging the Chinese and others to take voluntary steps to ease the mounting discord, while they continue to work on a binding code of conduct for activity around disputed areas.
EUSrael will be exempt from those, of course.
The United States and others fear that an escalation in tension could hamper international shipping and lead to conflict.
They fear it or are praying for it? They are the only ones making noise over there.
Washington has said for years that maintaining calm in the South China Sea is a US national security interest, to the annoyance of China.
Yeah, they are annoyed with us. Now imagine what the propaganda pre$$ would be saying where the Chinese of the coast of California saying we need to know what the shipping rules are around here and never you mind that military force in the background.
Sorry I'm so annoyed with my war-fomenting propaganda these days.
The United States is calling for a freeze on actions that change the status quo, such as seizing unoccupied islands and land reclamation.
Unless it is our allies asserting their rights; then "we" back 'em all the way and let the missiles fly!!
Washington says it is neutral in the disputes, and one US official said Kerry ‘‘is not looking for a showdown’’ with the Chinese, arguing that the issue ‘‘is not a superpower battle.’’ The official was not authorized to be identified discussing the issue.
Please don't dump those treasury bonds you are holding.
Yet Beijing has reacted negatively in the past to any American involvement. Chinese officials have already made clear they do not support the proposal.
But it is hard to tell with the pokerfaced bastards.
China says it has a historical right to most of the South China Sea and resents what it sees as US meddling, viewing it as an attempt to contain its growing power.
I didn't want to say it, but the ownership seems self-explanatory, doesn't it? It's WHAT SEA?
As for the second issue, that is exactly what this and decades of policy have been -- and if you look at a map you can pretty quickly see attempted US encirclement of China. Did the same to the Soviets. Problem is Russia is on their side this time.
Kerry’s participation in the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum comes after China angered Vietnam by deploying a deep-sea oil rig for two months near islands claimed by both countries.
But it's hard to tell.
The top US diplomat for East Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, told reporters earlier this week that China’s withdrawal of the rig in mid-July had removed an irritant but left a legacy of anger and strained relations with Vietnam and likely raised serious questions among China’s other neighbors about its long-term strategy.
How much anger did Agent Orange defoliants and millions of Vietnamese dead bring? Based on a lie, too. China withdrew, huh? Paper didn't even mention it after fomenting up the crisis. Talk about f***ed-up focus.
Anyway, on to the next piece of war-promoting propaganda or banal bulls***.
‘‘China as a large and powerful nation has a special responsibility to show restraint,’’ he said. ‘‘There is a big footprint that comes with military strength and it warrants setting your foot very, very carefully and treading very gingerly when you are in a sensitive area.’’
They used to say such people think their own shit don't stink.
--more--"
The complaints Kerry is bringing with him:
"Rohingya children in Myanmar camps are going hungry; Violence traps minority group" by Esther Htusan | Associated Press August 09, 2014
OHN TAW GYI CAMP, Myanmar — Born just over a year ago, Dosmeda Bibi has spent her entire short life confined to a camp for one of the world’s most persecuted religious minorities. And like a growing number of other Muslim Rohingya children who are going hungry, she’s showing the first signs of severe malnutrition.
It's a worldwide epidemic, but this is the first I've seen about it in a while. I know the U.N. is there, but.... barren's they making chemical weapons in Myanmar?
Her stomach is bloated and her skin clings tightly to the bones of her tiny arms and legs. While others her age are sitting or standing, the baby girl cannot flip from her back to her stomach without a gentle nudge from her mom.
Ghastly Holocaust™ imagery!
‘‘I’m scared she won’t live much longer,’’ whispers Hameda Begum as she gazes into her daughter’s dark, sunken eyes. ‘‘We barely have any food. On some days I can only scrape together a few bites of rice for her to eat.’’
Myanmar’s child malnutrition rate was already among the region’s highest, but it’s an increasingly familiar sight in the country’s westernmost state of Rakhine, which is home to almost all of the country’s 1.3 million Rohingya Muslims.
More than 140,000 have been trapped in crowded, dirty camps since extremist Buddhist mobs began chasing them from their homes two years ago, killing up to 280 people. The others are stuck in villages isolated by systematic discrimination, with restrictions on their movement and limited access to food, clean water, education, and health care.
I find it strange that Buddhists of all people would behave like Nazis (Cambodia excepted, of course).
Even before the violence, the European Community Humanitarian Office reported parts of the country’s second-poorest state had acute malnutrition rates hitting 23 percent — far beyond the 15 percent emergency level set by the World Health Organization.
With seasonal rains now beating down on the plastic tents and bamboo shacks inside Rohingya camps, the situation has become even more miserable and dangerous for kids like Dosmeda.
Naked boys and girls run barefoot on the muddy, narrow pathways, or play in pools of raw sewage, exposing them to potential waterborne diseases that kill. Some have black hair tinged with patches of red or blond, a tell-tale sign of nutrient deficiency commonly seen in places experiencing famine.
One could ask why this isn't front-and-center in the war paper, and why has it not been mentioned in months?
After a 10-day visit to the area last month, Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, summed up what she saw.
‘‘The situation is deplorable,’’ she said.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation, only recently emerged from a half-century of repressive military rule and self-imposed isolation. Despite occasional expressions of concern, the United States, Britain, and others in the international community have largely stood by as conditions for the Rohingya deteriorated.
It's geopolitics. Peeling away Myanmar was a major victory in World War III, although now the NATO powers seemed to be losing control.
Some ambassadors and donor countries say privately that coming down too hard on the new, nominally civilian government will undermine efforts to implement sweeping reforms and note there has already been a dramatic backslide. Others don’t want to jeopardize much-needed multibillion dollar development projects in the country.
Ever notice when it is Muslim suffering all of a sudden the excu$es start flowing with the blood?
But their hesitancy to act has emboldened Buddhist extremists, now dictating the terms of aid distribution in Rakhine.
We got just the man coming to fix that.
The government claims ethnic Rohingya are illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship, even though many of their families arrived generations ago.
Aaaaaaaaaah!
--more--"
Myanmar must be backsliding back into China's orbit. That's the only reason a Jewish War Daily that cares little for so many Muslim lives would be making a big deal of it.
"Rights activists seek stiffer line on Myanmar; Kerry set to visit as persecution on Muslims rises" by Jessica Meyers | Globe Staff August 07, 2014
WASHINGTON — Muzafar Jalil connects to his Burmese past through blurry photos of a son he never saw grow up and a granddaughter he may never meet. He calls to bridge the distance — and to ensure they’re still alive.
Welcome to the West Bank.
The 63-year-old Nashua resident imagined a reunion with his family when Myanmar embarked on democratic reforms in 2011 and opened its doors to the outside world for the first time in half a century.
Jalil, since then, has all but abandoned that hope.
He and his family are among the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in the Southeast Asian nation that faces increased persecution by Buddhist extremists. The United Nations estimates more than 86,000 Rohingya have fled the country since violent attacks began two years ago and about 140,000 remain trapped in squalid internment camps. The situation has clouded the country’s democratic efforts and spurred comparisons to genocide. It also has become a point of contention ahead of a visit this weekend by Secretary of State John F. Kerry.
The unaddressed genocide was addressed above, and this is looking like a cudgel to use against the Myanmar government so they can threaten sanctions. Some new friend, huh?
The debate pits advocates who demand a stronger response to human rights concerns — including Representative Jim McGovern of Worcester — against analysts who urge a more delicate dance of diplomacy.
“The administration can do more on this issue,” McGovern said. “As we tie a nice bow on what we call a success story, we need to make sure we aren’t a cheap date when it comes to human rights.”
He's mine, I'm not proud of it. Where are you on Gaza, Jim? Or Ukraine.
The congressman helped spearhead a congressional letter to Kerry last week that warned conditions in Myanmar had taken “a sharp turn for the worse” and urged more restrictive measures, such as targeted sanctions. More than 70 lawmakers signed on, including all House members from Massachusetts. The Worcester congressman pushed a separate resolution through the House in May that highlighted the Rohingya’s plight, a move he labeled a “friendly reminder” for the White House.
Or what, impeachment?
Senate signed on something, too.
Florida Republican Marco Rubio, ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee that reviews relations with Myanmar, asked Kerry on Thursday to confront issues thwarting its democratic progress. Rubio, in a letter co-written by Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois, called the government’s failure to stop the violence “unacceptable” and instructed him to meet with just as many people outside leadership.
Kerry heads to Myanmar for the first time this Saturday to attend regional meetings with his Southeast Asian counterparts. He intends to focus on tensions over the South China Sea but also will sit down with senior Burmese officials in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s shiny new capital. His predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, made diplomatic relations with the country a significant goal of her tenure and visited it on several occasions.
This doesn't look good for the campaign ad.
Administration officials have offered broad critiques of anti-Muslim discrimination, even if they have avoided harsh rebuke.
“I can anticipate that Secretary Kerry will press Burma’s leaders as he and the president have done, to protect and to respect the rights of all the people in the country and to put in place greater safeguards for their human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Daniel Russel, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said this week.
Like enhanced interrogation techniques and stuff?
This guy should shut his mouth.
But it remains unclear just how far Kerry will go in his criticism toward a country often framed as one of the administration’s few foreign policy successes.
“We need to be cautious about wanting to speed it up and going out and making very strong and aggressive statements,’’ said Joseph Liow, Southeast Asia studies chair at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies. “Of course it satisfies domestic audiences in the US and lawmakers would be happy. But beyond political points for making such statements, how does that help the problem we are trying to shed light on?”
This from a White House, government, and ma$$ media that is all political imagery and illusion.
Many of the country’s 1.3 million Rohingya now live in makeshift huts on the poor western coast, far from the first indoor shopping malls and luxury condominiums. The Burmese government, which refers to Rohingya as “Bengalis,” classifies the ethnic minority as illegal immigrants and refuses to grant them citizenship.
“If Kerry is going to visit, then he needs to address the fact that the plight of the Rohingya has not gotten better,” said Daniel Sullivan, the policy director for United to End Genocide, a Washington-based organized dedicated to ending mass atrocities. “It’s gotten worse.”
What are they doing about Gaza?
The Myanmar embassy did not respond to requests for comment. But Burmese officials have pointed to tremendous changes, such as press freedoms and democratic elections.
Beginning around 2010, military leaders from Myanmar, once one of the world’s most repressive regimes, started to distance themselves from China and North Korea. Generals freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, released hundreds of political prisoners, and welcomed investment from Western businesses.
Still $ucks for her, even though she was given a heads-up.
Clinton arrived as the first senior US official in 50 years to visit the country — strategically positioned between China and India. President Obama became the first sitting president to step onto Myanmar’s soil.
See: Obama in Myanmar
Photos of his 2012 visit still hang above stalls selling Buddha relics and wooden boxes.
But success has started to fray.
Hate to say I told you so, but I don't. Not this time.
A parliamentary committee in June voted against a change in the constitution that would have allowed Suu Kyi to run for office in next year’s pivotal elections. The government is considering a law that would require permission from authorities to change religions.
Yeah, yeah. Any more grievances?
Change can’t come soon enough for Jalil, who has not returned to Myanmar since he fled three decades ago. Burma Task Force USA, an organization set up last year to assist Burmese Muslims, counts about 600 Rohingya in the Unites States. Jalil, along with 20 other Rohingya families, now calls Nashua his home.
My family “is in homes but they cannot go even to the market,” he said, because they fear attacks. “Like an open prison.”
Jalil considers Kerry’s visit a small window of hope. “If the situation changes,” he said, “then maybe I can go to see them.”
Maybe AmeriKa will invade. That always helps matters along.
--more--"
I didn't see it in the web version, did you?
"John Kerry offers plan to calm S. China Sea tensions" by Matthew Lee | Associated Press August 10, 2014
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday urged China and its neighbors to take new steps to ease tensions over maritime disputes that many fear could spark conflict.
They already did. Your visit is the only thing stirring it up.
Under the proposal he presented, China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have competing claims to territory in the South China Sea would voluntarily halt provocative actions.
Yeah, only the U.S. is allowed to do those.
Recent activity by several nations, particularly China, in disputed areas has heightened concerns about confrontation, which would destabilize the Asia Pacific, interfere with international maritime commerce, and roil the global economy.
Yeah, it will be China's fault, not this criminal government and the private banking cartel for which it fronts. Soon. That's why Kerry is there. This dead-in-the-water economy is now sinking. It's time for a World War.
Yeaaaaah!!!
‘‘The United States and ASEAN have a common responsibility to ensure the maritime safety of critical global sea lanes and ports,’’ Kerry told foreign ministers, including those from claimant states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, on the sidelines of an annual regional security forum.
Related: Kerry Bruised by Brunei
I wonder if he will talk about the tanking of Malaysian airlines on the side.
‘‘We need to work together to manage tensions in the South China Sea and manage them peacefully and also to manage them on a basis of international law,’’ he said.
I was with you except for that last bit of hypocrisy coming out your mouth!
China contended that some officials were distorting the level of tension in the region over the sea disputes.
Who would do that?!!??!! Certainly not my mouthpiece media!!
ASEAN generally has backed US suggestions on easing tensions, including endorsing the development of a binding code of conduct to govern activities involving conflicting claims. But China has resisted and progress on that code has been halting, at best, over the past several years.
But(!) is it worth a shooting war!?
Earlier Saturday, the Philippines, a US treaty ally, presented an initiative that incorporated the American concept of a voluntary end to tension-producing activities.
‘‘Tensions in the South China Sea have worsened in the past few months and continue to deteriorate,’’ Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said. ‘‘All of us are seeing an increased pattern of aggressive behavior and provocative actions in the South China Sea, seriously threatening the peace, security, prosperity, and stability in the region.’’
When is the U.S. military presence leaving?
--more--"
"John McCain backs selling arms to Vietnam" Associated Press August 09, 2014
HANOI — Senator John McCain said Friday in Vietnam that it’s time for the United States to ease the ban on selling lethal arms to the communist country, saying it has progressed on human rights.
Did you go back to your old room, John? Were you ever in it, or is that another legendary lie and myth we live with? And who gives a f*** anymore, you war-mongering cretin and servant of Israel.
McCain told reporters in Hanoi that the easing should happen gradually, but he hoped it could begin as early as next month.
‘‘It should be limited at first to those defensive capabilities such as coast guard and maritime systems that are purely for external security,’’ he said.
The Obama administration has not announced any move to ease the ban, although during a visit to Hanoi in December, Secretary of State John Kerry announced up to $18 million in aid to provide Vietnam’s coast guard with five new fast patrol boats — part of a broader US effort to help Southeast Asian nations defend waters they claim as their own.
And we get social service cuts back home. The co$ts of Empire, I gue$$. It can't implode quickly enough.
The Bush administration began allowing nonlethal arms sales to Vietnam in 2007. In June, President Obama’s nominee to become the next US ambassador to Vietnam said it may be time for Washington to consider lifting a ban on the sale and transfer of lethal weapons to the former American enemy. But the nominee, Ted Osius, told his Senate confirmation hearing — in response to a question from McCain — that the United States has made it clear to Vietnam that the ban can’t be lifted without significant progress on human rights.
Rights groups remain deeply critical of Vietnam’s record. It remains a one-party state that squelches dissent.
Like Ukraine?
--more--"
Where is the global-warming greenhouse-gasser Kerry going next?
"Afghan rivals vow unity to speed vote audit; US-backed pact envisions leader in place by Sept." by Anne Gearan and Pamela Constable | Washington Post August 09, 2014
KABUL — The goal is to have a new leader in place by the end of August, an ambitious schedule that few international observers had thought could be met. The United States has been warning that failure to have a new president in place before the summit of NATO leaders in early September would undermine international faith in the fragile government and could dry up vital financial aid, although the agreement was short on details at a news conference with Secretary of State John Kerry....
The similar tone of the candidates’ comments, as well as their bantering exchanges and identical references to finishing the audit and establishing a national unity government as soon as possible, suggested they have reached a more sincere accommodation since Kerry visited Kabul three weeks ago and brokered an agreement between them that soon bogged down in disputes.
BUT NOT FOR PALESTINIANS!
Both conveyed a new sense of urgency Friday, which contrasted sharply with the delaying tactics and objections their camps have been raising recently to the audit process and the power agreement.
That John Kerry is a real crackerjack diplomat, 'eh?
--more--"
Greene already forgotten?
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"John Kerry urges Myanmar to keep up reforms" by Michael R. Gordon | New York Times August 11, 2014
I just abut gagged when I saw it.
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Sunday called on Myanmar’s leaders to move ahead with fundamental reforms amid concerns that the nation is stumbling on its path to democracy.
“Is everything hunky dory? No, not yet. Absolutely not,” Kerry said. “There are still things that need to be done.”
He confirms my analysis.
But Kerry, who visited Myanmar as a senator in 1999, sent positive signals about Washington’s once chilly relations with Myanmar. He said that the country had made significant progress over the years and that the Obama administration would continue to work with the government to encourage political and legal reforms.
After I just got flogged with "they mistreat their Muslim minority (from a Zionist-hating, war-promoting pre$$ no le$$!!!)?
The secretary of state, who was on the final day of a two-day visit to the country for regional meetings with his counterparts from Asian nations, met Sunday evening in Yangon with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and opposition leader.
US officials said Suu Kyi noted continuing concerns about the prospects for political reform in a country in which former military rulers are still dominating the system.
I feel like I'm looking at my own nation.
The day before, Kerry met with President U Thein Sein and with Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament who visited Washington last year with other lawmakers.
The White House has been quick to cast the Myanmar’s movement toward democracy in recent years as a foreign policy success. During a May speech at the US Military Academy at West Point, President Obama, who visited the country in 2012, said political reforms in the country were the result of “American leadership.”
This administration is casting about and grasping for anything it can call a success because it has been a colossal failure in just six years.
That is why the LIKELIHOOD of a NUCLEAR 9/11 on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 (some sort of poetic symmetry to the sick individuals in power who cooperate with such schemes) is MORE than NOT -- especially with ALL THE TELEGRAPHING GOING ON in my PAPER LATELY!!
--more--"
I must confess, the false narrative really makes me feel comfortable.
We're winning the wars, hey.
Well, except where we need to go next.
I didn't see it in the web version, did you?
"John Kerry offers plan to calm S. China Sea tensions" by Matthew Lee | Associated Press August 10, 2014
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday urged China and its neighbors to take new steps to ease tensions over maritime disputes that many fear could spark conflict.
They already did. Your visit is the only thing stirring it up.
Under the proposal he presented, China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that have competing claims to territory in the South China Sea would voluntarily halt provocative actions.
Yeah, only the U.S. is allowed to do those.
Recent activity by several nations, particularly China, in disputed areas has heightened concerns about confrontation, which would destabilize the Asia Pacific, interfere with international maritime commerce, and roil the global economy.
Yeah, it will be China's fault, not this criminal government and the private banking cartel for which it fronts. Soon. That's why Kerry is there. This dead-in-the-water economy is now sinking. It's time for a World War.
Yeaaaaah!!!
‘‘The United States and ASEAN have a common responsibility to ensure the maritime safety of critical global sea lanes and ports,’’ Kerry told foreign ministers, including those from claimant states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, on the sidelines of an annual regional security forum.
Related: Kerry Bruised by Brunei
I wonder if he will talk about the tanking of Malaysian airlines on the side.
‘‘We need to work together to manage tensions in the South China Sea and manage them peacefully and also to manage them on a basis of international law,’’ he said.
I was with you except for that last bit of hypocrisy coming out your mouth!
China contended that some officials were distorting the level of tension in the region over the sea disputes.
Who would do that?!!??!! Certainly not my mouthpiece media!!
ASEAN generally has backed US suggestions on easing tensions, including endorsing the development of a binding code of conduct to govern activities involving conflicting claims. But China has resisted and progress on that code has been halting, at best, over the past several years.
But(!) is it worth a shooting war!?
Earlier Saturday, the Philippines, a US treaty ally, presented an initiative that incorporated the American concept of a voluntary end to tension-producing activities.
‘‘Tensions in the South China Sea have worsened in the past few months and continue to deteriorate,’’ Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said. ‘‘All of us are seeing an increased pattern of aggressive behavior and provocative actions in the South China Sea, seriously threatening the peace, security, prosperity, and stability in the region.’’
When is the U.S. military presence leaving?
--more--"
"John McCain backs selling arms to Vietnam" Associated Press August 09, 2014
HANOI — Senator John McCain said Friday in Vietnam that it’s time for the United States to ease the ban on selling lethal arms to the communist country, saying it has progressed on human rights.
Did you go back to your old room, John? Were you ever in it, or is that another legendary lie and myth we live with? And who gives a f*** anymore, you war-mongering cretin and servant of Israel.
McCain told reporters in Hanoi that the easing should happen gradually, but he hoped it could begin as early as next month.
‘‘It should be limited at first to those defensive capabilities such as coast guard and maritime systems that are purely for external security,’’ he said.
The Obama administration has not announced any move to ease the ban, although during a visit to Hanoi in December, Secretary of State John Kerry announced up to $18 million in aid to provide Vietnam’s coast guard with five new fast patrol boats — part of a broader US effort to help Southeast Asian nations defend waters they claim as their own.
And we get social service cuts back home. The co$ts of Empire, I gue$$. It can't implode quickly enough.
The Bush administration began allowing nonlethal arms sales to Vietnam in 2007. In June, President Obama’s nominee to become the next US ambassador to Vietnam said it may be time for Washington to consider lifting a ban on the sale and transfer of lethal weapons to the former American enemy. But the nominee, Ted Osius, told his Senate confirmation hearing — in response to a question from McCain — that the United States has made it clear to Vietnam that the ban can’t be lifted without significant progress on human rights.
Rights groups remain deeply critical of Vietnam’s record. It remains a one-party state that squelches dissent.
Like Ukraine?
--more--"
Where is the global-warming greenhouse-gasser Kerry going next?
"Afghan rivals vow unity to speed vote audit; US-backed pact envisions leader in place by Sept." by Anne Gearan and Pamela Constable | Washington Post August 09, 2014
KABUL — The goal is to have a new leader in place by the end of August, an ambitious schedule that few international observers had thought could be met. The United States has been warning that failure to have a new president in place before the summit of NATO leaders in early September would undermine international faith in the fragile government and could dry up vital financial aid, although the agreement was short on details at a news conference with Secretary of State John Kerry....
The similar tone of the candidates’ comments, as well as their bantering exchanges and identical references to finishing the audit and establishing a national unity government as soon as possible, suggested they have reached a more sincere accommodation since Kerry visited Kabul three weeks ago and brokered an agreement between them that soon bogged down in disputes.
BUT NOT FOR PALESTINIANS!
Both conveyed a new sense of urgency Friday, which contrasted sharply with the delaying tactics and objections their camps have been raising recently to the audit process and the power agreement.
That John Kerry is a real crackerjack diplomat, 'eh?
--more--"
Greene already forgotten?
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"John Kerry urges Myanmar to keep up reforms" by Michael R. Gordon | New York Times August 11, 2014
I just abut gagged when I saw it.
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar — Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Sunday called on Myanmar’s leaders to move ahead with fundamental reforms amid concerns that the nation is stumbling on its path to democracy.
“Is everything hunky dory? No, not yet. Absolutely not,” Kerry said. “There are still things that need to be done.”
He confirms my analysis.
But Kerry, who visited Myanmar as a senator in 1999, sent positive signals about Washington’s once chilly relations with Myanmar. He said that the country had made significant progress over the years and that the Obama administration would continue to work with the government to encourage political and legal reforms.
After I just got flogged with "they mistreat their Muslim minority (from a Zionist-hating, war-promoting pre$$ no le$$!!!)?
The secretary of state, who was on the final day of a two-day visit to the country for regional meetings with his counterparts from Asian nations, met Sunday evening in Yangon with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and opposition leader.
US officials said Suu Kyi noted continuing concerns about the prospects for political reform in a country in which former military rulers are still dominating the system.
I feel like I'm looking at my own nation.
The day before, Kerry met with President U Thein Sein and with Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament who visited Washington last year with other lawmakers.
The White House has been quick to cast the Myanmar’s movement toward democracy in recent years as a foreign policy success. During a May speech at the US Military Academy at West Point, President Obama, who visited the country in 2012, said political reforms in the country were the result of “American leadership.”
This administration is casting about and grasping for anything it can call a success because it has been a colossal failure in just six years.
That is why the LIKELIHOOD of a NUCLEAR 9/11 on the 13th anniversary of 9/11 (some sort of poetic symmetry to the sick individuals in power who cooperate with such schemes) is MORE than NOT -- especially with ALL THE TELEGRAPHING GOING ON in my PAPER LATELY!!
--more--"
I must confess, the false narrative really makes me feel comfortable.
We're winning the wars, hey.
Well, except where we need to go next.
