"They Pulled Me Back In"
By Eric Margolis

August 16, 2014 "ICH" - [s][/s]Armed humanitarianism 2.0. That’s our new western version of old-fashioned 19th century imperialism, now feminized by President Barack Obama’s lady advisors, painted
pink and accompanied by the kind of soft piano music you hear in ads for women’s products. Last week, the Obama administration latched onto the plight of Iraq’s Yazidis who were being persecuted by those awful ISIS folks – just in jolly good time to divert attention from the massacre in Gaza.

How handy. All three US networks and the
increasingly shackled BBC were ordered to drop Gaza reporting and refocus their camera teams on the suffering Yazidis and, all of a sudden, Iraq’s fleeing Christians.

This was a brilliant media ploy. The world, which was furious at the US for enabling Israel’s savaging of Gaza and killing of almost 2,000 Palestinians, switched its attention to the hitherto unknown Yazidis, and to Iraqi Christians. No one in the US had ever heard of Yazidis but that was ok. Uncle Sam to the rescue.

No mention was made that Iraq’s Christians had been safe and sound under President Saddam Hussein – even privileged – until President George Bush invaded and destroyed Iraq. We can expect the same fate for Syria’s Christians if the protection of the Assad regime is torn away by the US- engineered uprising. We will then shed crocodile tears for Syria’s Christians.

The US and Europe suddenly cheered the ostensible US-French-British `rescue mission.’ Interestingly, those old colonialists, the French and British, were so quick to get involved in oil-rich Iraq: the Brits sent in some of Her Majesty’s Killers, the renowned Special Air Service, or SAS. France and Britain are
sending arms to the Kurdish militia known as `peshmerga.’ Australia, now under a hard right government, may follow suit.

Around 1900, Imperial Britain, France and Russia all claimed the right to intervene in the Levant to supposedly protect its Christians. Such a useful excuse.

America thrilled to see the US Air Force dropped food and water to Yazidi refugees. Even this cynical writer was cheered to see US military power helping the oppressed.

But what of the 1.8 million oppressed Palestinians in Gaza, cut off by Israel and Egypt from food, water, medical supplies and power? What about the millions of refugees in Syria created by western attempts to overthrow its Assad dynasty for backing
Iran? What of millions of internal refugees from the Afghan and Iraq Wars?

Well, Washington did just announced a temporary halt in resupplying deadly US-made Hellfire air to ground missiles to Israel, which has used up its once large supply blowing apart Palestinians in Gaza. Like the fake arms-delivery suspension by the US to Egypt’s brutish regime, it will soon be lifted when
public attention has turned elsewhere.

There are 5.5 million Palestinian refugees. What are a handful of Yazidis compared to this sea of homeless? The number and plight of those Yazidi refugees were wildly exaggerated by the western powers to justify their re-intervention in Iraq. Lurid reports of ISIS cruelty may well be true, but this old cynic suspects they are being used and exaggerated to justify intervention. After all, we saw
the similar untruths about Saddam’s regime and al- Qaida’s “threat to the entire globe.”

This kind of stuff, much loved by the British, goes back to bogus stories from 1914 of German soldiers
spiking Belgian babies on their bayonets. Or,
remember the baloney about Kuwaiti babies thrown from their incubators by beastly Iraqis?

Now, the biggest dolts in the US Republican Party like John McCain, Lindsey Graham and my hometown’s own Peter King, claim the US homeland is threatened by pipsqueak ISIS while they try to provoke a real war with Russia over Ukraine. To show just how bizarre US Mideast policy has become: US warplanes are dropping aid to Iraq’s Yazidis (considered devil worshippers by many Iraqi), while they bomb Zaidi tribesmen in northern Yemen who are battling its US-installed military junta in Sa’ana. Yazidis, Zaidis, it’s all very confusing, like those pesky Slovaks and Slovenes. Meanwhile, the White House has ousted its Shia sock puppet in Baghdad, Nuri al-Maliki, in favor of a newer, even more obedient satrap. Maliki was foolish enough to actually believe he was prime minister of Iraq and refused to allow US troops to stay there indefinitely.

Big mistake, Nuri. But shed no tears for him: his vicious death squads murdered and tortured large numbers of Sunni. One of their favorite interrogation tools was an electric drill applied to the kneecap. US generals in Iraq used Shia death squads (patterned on those of El Salvador, a war I covered) to crush Sunni resistance. Now, it’s payback for the Sunnis.

Iraq’s next leader is another CIA-blessed politician who will be expected to make his nation safe for western oil companies. We see the same process in Afghanistan where CIA central casting has produced two ‘candidates’ for president.

As for de facto autonomous Kurds, they have been a western protectorate since 2003 and would be fully independent today were not for fear of a violent reaction by the irritable Turks. Israel has supplied the Kurds with arms since 1970.

Interestingly, the Kurds are now exporting oil
directly to Israel though a Turkish pipeline and
tanker while the regime in Baghdad, cut out of
payments, fumes. There’s long been talk of an
Israeli air base in Kurdistan.

“Just when I though I was out, they pulled me back in.” Michael Corleone’s plaintive line from the “Godfather” is Obama’s tune today. He’s only returning to Iraq for purely humanitarian reasons, a story that markets well to female (mainly Democratic) voters. And because the ISIS Saracens will overrun the Bible Belt soon unless Obama acts. Never mind that the US armed and trained ISIS in Jordan to overthrow Syria’s regime. Now they have gone rogue and must be stopped by a new humanitarian crusade.

So back go American troops into the hellhole of Iraq, an act that defies both military and political logic. But US elections are on the horizon and Hillary Clinton is out there blasting Obama for having left Iraq in the first place. Hillary has just fully aligned herself with Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu and asserts US troops should have stayed in Iraq…..she who is married to a notorious wartime draft dodger. Republicans are beating the same drum.

Remember the ‘tar baby’ from Uncle Remus’s slave stories of the Deep South. All who touch him get stuck. Well, that’s Iraq for you – in spades. Instead of tar, it’s sticky oil. Obama should have stayed out of Iraq. But politics forced him back in.

"the hegemon" sponsored al-Qaida in Pakistan against the Russians in Afghanistan, but the group went rogue, took over Afghanistan and brought ruins on the people. "they" had to bomb them in 2001 to stop them.

"the hegemon" trained ISIS jihad bunch in Jordan to overthrow the government in Syria. They went rogue... took over a stretch from Raqqa to Mosul(Iraq). Now "the hegemon" is back bombing to stop ISIS the created with the help of Saudi Arabia.

"the hegemon" with their lil' minion -the Brits trained the Islamist-jihadee bunch in Libya to overthrow Gaddafi. Now the Bel-hajj boys have gone rogue killing the hegemon's ambassador in Bengazi, thrashing the whole country called Libya. "the hegemon" is attempting to claw back control of the rogues by using a former Libyan general (a CIA man in Libya).

When will "the hegemon" ever learn lessons?
Stop creating the dogs of war that you cant control.The rest of the world is feed up with endless wars.

i can't just wait to see the downfall of america!
They armed rebels to fight assad, they cudnt win, and now they're after christains. The same US is now trying to tame the monster they created.
As a result of america's action in that region, christain minorities are without peace. Sadam hussein fell and, bashar alassad is being put on the edge by the american-sponsored revolution-these are arab leaders that hold christain minority in their countries 'dear'.
As for palestine, we pray and hope that victory shall come one day; this is the position of every muslims.
The world is unjust!
May God break america for their injustice and atrocities against humanity.
i love Russia and Vladmir putin!

phucking ragheads!! I was about putting up a lengthy reply when i discovered u were not d original author. Am not surprised, many of u are intellectually challenged.

Dats why u follow a devilish and demonic religion dat is currently holding d world to ransom.

Sorry, but not everyone fell for Hamas propaganda. Using women and children as human shield to wage a war is sickening and at best d height of cowardice.

The difference between d Yazidis and Gaza is that d Yazidis are peace loving ppl who are on d verge of be wiped out by muslim terrorists just because they are defenceless. They are forced to convert or be killed and no one in d region gives a hoot. Gaza on the other hand is held hostage by an organization that is willing to sacrifice as many as possible so they can boost their reputation. They are already declaring victory as am typing this. 2000 of ur pple killed and victory over Israel is more important!. Hw many times did Israel offer a ceasefire only to get rocket-fire in response. The idiotic tin abt d palestinians is that they hate Israel more than they love themselves.

Muslims are angry that Israel (unlike the Yazidis) can defend itself. If Israel is as defenceless as d Yazidis, by now they would be given the option of convert or be massacred. Muslims like u dont care abt atrocities of ISIS, their obsession is with Israel defending itself. Am sure u have never for once written sumtin condemning ISIS. Muslims killing Muslims and other defenseless non-Muslims = Okay, but Israel kills one muslim= riot and idiotic write-ups.

Get ur head out of ur azz, not everybody lacks d common sense u obviously dont have.

Some people don't even sit down and look at things from the right view.

America went to iraq because they had nuclear weapon. Did they find any weapon? no, but they found oil.

American overthrow sadam, why? Just for their own selfish interest.

Now it is ukraine again. America only helps where they will gain. Tit for Tat that is american policy.

Very soon Nigeria will be next, why? You have crude oil, all they have to do is sign agreement with the Nigerian government to help conquere biafra and boom, they will have right to our oil and who will lose? Not niger delta, not Igbos, not Yorubas, but all of Nigeria because our country will never remain the same.