Month: September 2019

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Quick Analysis

Foreign Affairs in 2020 Campaign

President Trump has had a tough and realistic set of foreign policies towards Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Those nations, more accustomed to administrations that sacrifice U.S. national security in return for the ability to portray a rosy but false picture of global relations, would like nothing more than to see him lose the next election. They can be expected to do all they can to achieve that goal.

Russia will continue its drive to stay ahead of the U.S. in nuclear arms, a position it achieved thanks to negotiations with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the New Start talks. 

North Korea will veer away from compromising on its nuclear program any further in the hope of a getting a new occupant in the White House who will be less militant on sanctions and less willing to fund a U.S. military that will be sufficiently capable of a kinetic solution.

Iran and the terrorists it sponsors had the benefit of eight years of the Obama presidency which, bizarrely and still inexplicably, did all that it could to strengthen and enrich the Mullah-led,  deeply anti-U.S. and anti-Israel regime. After suffering through Trump’s stringent sanctions, it will vigorously do everything possible to get another Democrat back in office.

China will do all that it can to increase tensions in Asia and the Pacific. 

More importantly, from a domestic American perspective, it will refuse to compromise in trade talks, and will engage in actions that cause pain to U.S. consumers, farmers, and others. This is a particularly frustrating problem for Washington. Beijing’s outrageous practices of intellectual property theft, technological espionage, marketplace dumping, and barriers to U.S. goods seriously damage America’s economy. 

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But the temporary pain this may cause In the U.S. will be seized upon by Democrats and their media allies as a reason to vote against the GOP.  The internal fight will be particularly tough. Far more than Moscow ever did, Beijing has mastered internal U.S. politics.

A Foreign Affairs review noted that “In the last decade, the Chinese government has committed to boosting its appeal abroad. Beijing has been developing an international media network and establishing cultural study centers around the world. While debate abounds over whether promoting China’s traditions, values, language, and culture can win it more friends, vast funds are backing programs to enhance the country’s image.”

A Diplomat article notes that “in 2014, President Xi Jinping said,’We should increase China’s soft power, give a good Chinese narrative, and better communicate China’s message to the world.’ One of Xi’s signature policies, the ‘Chinese Dream,’ has been proposed as a kind of corollary or alternative to the American Dream. This is all part of a ‘charm offensive’ that will only accelerate in years to come, especially in light of the events at the recent 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.”

Beijing built great sway on university campuses through it’s “Confucius Institutes,” in Hollywood through its purchases of media companies, and in both parties through quiet deals which enrich individual politicians. Joe Biden’s vigorous attempts to downplay China’s danger following his son’s billion dollar deal with that nation is a prime example.

Moscow, Beijing, Tehran and Pyongyang clearly understand that any of the candidates currently seeking the Democrat nomination to oppose Trump would return to the Obama Administration’s practice of sharply cutting the Pentagon’s budget, an outcome they are only too eager to have occur.

It’s going to be a bumpy ride until November of 2020.

Photo: Pixabay

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A U.S. Israel Mutual Defense Pact?

President Donald Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)  are advocating a “Mutual Defense” pact with Israel. The President tweeted earlier this month that he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the concept, stating that the move would “further anchor the tremendous alliance between our two countries.”  Senator Graham has stated that “This would be a game-changer for Israel’s security and would be sending the right message to Iran and other bad actors… I stand ready to lead efforts in the Senate if necessary.”

The idea has been broached in the past.  Following the 1967 Six Day War, numerous U.S. officials and academicians called for the treaty as a way of bolstering the Jewish State and allowing its government to move more confidently in peace negotiations. The concept again came into vogue in discussions during both the 1970’s and 80’s, eventually producing Washington’s recognition of Israel as a key “Non-NATO Ally.” Israel brought up the formal treaty idea again in 1996, without results. 

While confidence in American support for Israel is currently high during the Trump Administration, which has been more pro-Israel than any of its predecessors, memories of President Obama’s sharp tilt away from the Jewish State and, still inexplicably, towards Iran remain sharp. A treaty would cement the good relations between the two countries.

Ironically, one of the key side-effects of a mutual defense treaty would be improved relations between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors.  Despite lingering animosity, the reality of Middle Eastern politics is that Iran presents a real national security threat to the interests of nations such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.  Israel’s existence had, in the past, presented internal political problems for Islamic states, but no real military challenge unless those states attacked Israel. 

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Yossi Beilin, writing in Al-Monitor, notes that “From the US side, this would not be a commitment to protect a small, weak state with whom relations are essentially one-sided. Israel is a Western, democratic bastion in the Middle East with a rare level of technological innovation that it puts at the disposal of the United States. It could further boost the technological intimacy with the United States within the framework of a defense treaty. Potential opposition by Arab states is very different now from what it was decades ago, not only because oil no longer offers the leverage it once did but also because the anti-Iranian coalition has been a game-changer in the Middle East. The United States can also promise pro-Western Arab states that once regional peace is achieved, they too would be candidates for such a treaty.”

The United States would gain a technologically sophisticated and militarily capable ally in a portion of the world that continues, and indeed increases, to be threatening.

While the Jewish State is diminutive both in population and geography compared to its neighbors, its military is considered one of the world’s most effective.  Additionally, the Israeli Defense Forces are said to possess approximately a hundred nuclear weapons, which could prove a vital counterweight to Iran, which seeks to possess atomic bombs.  Turkey, which was once pro-Israel, has become increasingly distant both to the United States and Israel as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan moves his state away from democracy and non-sectarianism and closer to both Islamic fundamentalism and Russia.

Russia has a major naval base in the Syrian city of Tartus, and has propped up the genocidal regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.  Writing in Foreign Policy, Laura Seligman reports that “ Kathryn Wheelbarger, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, warned of Russia and Iran’s creeping influence in the Middle East, saying both have ‘revisionist ambitions’ in the region.

The Council on Foreign Relations notes that “Since 1992, Russia has sold Iran hundreds of major weapons systems” to Iran.”  In June, Moscow offered its sophisticated S-400 air defense system to Iran.  It has already sold that system to Turkey.

As Turkey drifts further away from the United States and NATO, Israel could provide some measure of strategic replacement, at least until (and if) Erdoğan’s government is replaced with a more pro-Western version.

Map: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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America’s Military Challenges

On September 6, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, addressing the Royal United Services Institute in London, provided an outline of the major military threats facing the United States.  The New York Analysis of Policy and Government provides the key excerpts:

Our strategic competitors, namely Russia and China, [are]  learning lessons from studying U.S. military operations over the years. To counter our traditional advantages they are investing heavily into military modernization, while expanding their capabilities in the space and cyber domains. And while the cumulative power of the NATO alliance remains unmatched, some of our comparative advantages have been diminished.

As we look out across the global security environment today, we see a landscape that continues to grow in complexity. It is increasingly clear that Russia and China want to disrupt the international order by gaining a veto over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions. And as was the case 45 years ago, we cannot stand idly by while authoritarian nations attempt to reshape the global security environment to their favor at the expense of others. Doing so would invite continued aggression and diminish our ability to deter future conflicts. As such, America’s National Defense strategy makes it clear that great power competition is once again the primary concern of U.S. national security.

The United States is facing this challenge head-on, but if we are to preserve the world all of us have created together through decades of shared sacrifice, we must all rise to the occasion. It is imperative that freedom-loving nations recognize the threats to our security, and commit to doing their part to keep the world safe.

So, let’s start by talking about Russia, since that’s the greatest concern of most European nations. Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, its annexation of Crimea in 2014, its continued aggression in Ukraine, and its efforts to serve as a spoiler to peace in Syria demonstrate Moscow’s unwillingness to be a responsible international actor.  Even as far away as Venezuela, we see Russia making allegiances with discredited and failing regimes in an attempt to promote instability. For many years, Russia violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty as it continued to build-up its inventory of strategic arms. And right here in the United Kingdom, you know well of the lethal poisonings that occurred in 2006 and 2018.

While Russia lacks the capacity to compete with NATO in conventional terms on a broad regional scale, the threat of a Russian incursion against a neighboring state is one we take very seriously.  To put it simply, Russia’s foreign policy continues to disregard international norms. This is why the United States, in consultation with our NATO Allies, is expanding our presence in Poland, and continuing our close collaboration with the Baltic States.  The NATO alliance remains vigilant and continues to adapt, to improve unit readiness, to build a more credible deterrence, and to fight and win if necessary. 

At the same time, we must contend with a rising China. Decades of robust economic growth – enabled by market reforms – have provided Beijing the financial resources to expand its influence well beyond the shores of the mainland. This alone is not a problem, however, what is concerning is how China is using this new-found economic power.

I saw first-hand how China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative is manifesting itself throughout the region. What are initially presented as reasonable investments by the PRC to build ports, facilities, and other infrastructure, end up coming with some significant strings attached. The more dependent a country becomes on Chinese investment and trade, the more susceptible they are to coercion and retribution when they act outside of Beijing’s wishes. The political and economic leverage China is gaining by carrying out this strategy has begun eroding the sovereignty of many nations. Ultimately, this influence trickles down to the security arena, and leads countries to make sub-optimal defense decisions for fear of upsetting the Chinese Communist Party and being punished through economic measures or political backlash.

Additionally, China’s technology theft for military gain is Sexual health can be affected by physically or psychologically in both men and 5mg cialis price women. Again, 100mg viagra effects taking the medication according to the extent or gravity of the injury. Earlier, the condition was considered as aging effect that attacked only older low cost viagra http://www.slovak-republic.org/video/ people. order cialis online One of the greatest benefits of taking Kamagra- Apart from the low cost of ponds fifty. staggering. Indeed, every Chinese company has the potential to be an accomplice in Beijing’s state-sponsored theft of other nations’ military and civilian technology. Those companies also pose a risk to the secure and resilient telecommunications infrastructure on which our allies and partners depend for interoperability, intelligence sharing, and mobilization. To quote China’s own cybersecurity law, private companies are required to ”provide technical support and assistance to public security organs and national security organs,” whether they want to or not. Governments and businesses around the world should be concerned by Chinese influence that opens them to costly deals, future coercion, loss of technical advantage, or other malicious activity.

I would caution my friends in Europe – this is not a problem in some distant land that does not affect you. The PRC’s influence is expanding rapidly as it seeks to pursue new partners, or what have historically been known as Chinese tributes, well beyond Asia. But for anyone who wonders what a world dominated by Beijing might look like, I would argue all you need to do is look at how they treat their own people, within their borders. Over a million ethnic minority Uighurs are in re-education camps in Xinjiang Province. Basic civil liberties such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press are routinely denied. And we all see what’s happening to those who continue to speak out against the party’s influence in Hong Kong. I was there for the handover in 1997 when the ”one country, two systems” designation was affirmed – I would ask you: given what we see in Hong Kong today, has China kept those promises?

The United States National Defense Strategy accounts for the realities of today’s environment, with a particular focus on this new era of great power competition. This is not because we are naïve about other threats or seek to rekindle another Cold War. Rather, we are aligned in this focus because of the magnitude of the threats Russia and China pose to U.S. national security and prosperity today, and the potential for those threats to increase in the future. 

Deterring potential aggression in the first place, prior to the onset of conflict, is paramount to our Strategy. This is why we are working with our allies and partners to improve our capabilities, capacity, and defense posture throughout our priority regions. With regard to NATO, our top priorities are burden sharing and unit readiness. While we have made great improvements in recent years, we still have a number of allies not meeting the two-percent defense commitment as agreed to under the 2014 Wales Declaration. President Trump has been very clear – and I will continue to push my counterparts – that all NATO members must live up to this obligation. The strength of our collective response requires that all alliance members be ready to do their part when called. Building this readiness demands greater investments so that NATO forces remain the most highly trained and best-equipped in the world.

I want to thank the United Kingdom in particular for your continued strong investments in defense. You are one of the 8 out of 29 NATO members who are meeting this target. Aside from the United States, the U.K. has the largest defense budget within NATO. I would encourage the U.K., regardless of the outcome of Brexit, to maintain this level of defense spending, and to continue demonstrating your commitment to security and the rule of law around the world. I look forward to meeting with my defense counterpart, Secretary Ben Wallace, later today as we talk about ways to continue strengthening the alliance in light of the threats I have spoken about this morning.

In closing – during that same speech from 1946 where Churchill warned us of the ”Iron Curtain” that had descended across the continent, he also spoke of the ”special relationship” that bonded our two nations – one that would serve to prevent war and to preserve the newly created international order. That ”special relationship” remains just as vital today as it was when Churchill first coined the phrase. If we are to preserve the peace and order that our nations sacrificed so much for in the past, we must remain vigilant, committed, and prepared to respond to aggression where it threatens our interests. I am confident that we will continue to work closely together to maintain the freedoms we worked so hard to achieve.

Photo: The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returns to its homeport of Norfolk, Va. (DoD)

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Foreign Policy Update

IRAQ

Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, in a talk at the 40th anniversary luncheon of Concerned women for America, announced that the US is providing $340 million to support Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians. He pointed out: “When religious freedom is denied, a host of other freedoms are often denied alongside it.  This is especially true for women and girls.  We’ve seen this with the enslavement of Yazidi women by ISIS in the Middle East and with the assault and kidnapping of Nigerian girls by Boko Haram.”

Today, 83% of the world in living in nations that threaten, restrict or totally deny religious freedom.  

AFGHANISTAN

The President reiterated recently his goal was achieving peace in Afghanistan and bringing our troops home. According to the State Department Spokesperson, this remains the objective although it will not be easy. Protecting the homeland continues to remain at the center of discussions for the President’s entire security team. Secretary Pompeo on Monday said he hopes “we can get them back to the negotiating table; we hope we can get the Taliban to make a commitment to break from al-Qaida and to reduce violence in the country.  If we can get those three commitments, we’ll reduce the need for America’s young men and women to put their lives at risk by going and serving in this faraway place.”

Secretary Pompeo, in a recent interview, pointed out that he believed that the President was absolutely right to cancel the talks as they are, and that this “is the direction that the President has given us for now.”  

How we get there, he added, “obviously is going to diverge from how we thought we were going to get there two weeks ago.” Pompeo noted that the Administration will “work on a path forward in Afghanistan that continues to be inclusive of the Afghan Government, of women, of civil society, of all elements in Afghanistan.”  

IRAN

The Iranian regime recently delivered oil to Syria, according to the State Department. That “fuel goes straight into the tanks of troops that are slaughtering innocent Syrians, and that’s something – again, the Iranians lied about this,” according to the State Spokesperson. She added that it should be no surprise as Iran also lied to the EU and the international community. 

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The State Department has been calling out the Iranian regime for a while on oil deliveries. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified Adrian Darya as “blocked property” on August 30th and has filed a civil complaint against the vessel. The illicit oil again goes to the Assad regime. The Spokesperson said that: “…the thing that is incredibly troubling about that is we know exactly what the Assad regime is using that for. They’re using it to slaughter Syrians.

NORTH KOREA

The North Korean foreign ministry recently asked the  United States for the new conditions of negotiations. The State Department Spokesperson said the Administration’s goal “has not changed and will not change for North Korea.” A denuclearized North Korea remains the end objective. The regime has continued to fire test missiles in an attempt to draw the US to the negotiating table on its terms without success.

TERRORISM

On Tuesday the President signed an Executive Order modernizing and expanding sanctions to combat terrorism.  According to the State Department, this Executive Order – the most significant update of terrorism designation authorities since the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks – enhances the United States’ ability to target and deprive terrorists and their enablers of financial, material, and logistical support worldwide.  

The goal it to expand the government’s counterterrorism authorities to enable it to more effectively sanction the leaders of terrorist organizations, as well as those who participate in training to commit acts of terrorism.  This Order also puts foreign financial institutions on notice that they risk sanctions if they knowingly conduct or facilitate any significant transactions on behalf of designated terrorists. 

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

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If Democrats Win…

In most elections, voters worry about candidates lying to them.  In the 2020 presidential campaign, they should worry about what would happen if some of the Democrat candidates win, and actually fulfill their promises. Some of those candidates are astute enough to realize that the last Democrat administration made a mess of things, and seek to distance themselves from Obama’s record.

A number of those candidates rather openly tout their socialist inclinations.  It’s an odd choice, considering the history of economic disaster, mass murder, and human rights violations that characterizes socialist regimes. Despite that, some of twenty or so candidates seeking the Democratic nomination can hardly hide their enthusiasm for the extreme left. 

Bernie Sanders is the godfather of the acceptance of socialism in mainstream politics.  Many feel sympathetic because he was, to a significant extent, robbed of the 2016 nomination thanks to what can accurately be called the usual dirty tricks of the Clinton machine. A taste of the end result of his policies can be seen in his own campaign:  he couldn’t afford to give his workers the minimum wage he wants the nation to adopt, without cutting their hours.

Some flamboyantly endorse extremism. NYC mayor Bill De Blasio has quoted the Cuban Communist revolutionary, Che Guevara. Nigel Jones, writing in The Telegraph notes:

“Guevara was jailer and executioner-in-chief of Castro’s dictatorship. As boss of the notorious La Cabaña prison in Havana, he supervised the detention, interrogation, summary trials and execution of hundreds of “class enemies”…There have been some 16,000 such executions since the Castro brothers, Guevara and their merry men swept into Havana in January 1959. About 100,000 Cubans who have fallen foul of the regime have been jailed. Two million others have succeeded in escaping Castro’s socialist paradise, while an estimated 30,000 have died in the attempt.”

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De Blasio cheered on the Communists in Nicaragua even as the USSR sought to turn that nation into an armed base for its military.

The Middle East is still paying the price for the foreign policies of the last Democrat Administration.  President Obama prematurely pulled all U.S. troops out of Iraq, creating the power vacuum that allowed ISIS to become a significant power.  He followed that up with, for reasons that have yet to be explained, a policy of appeasement and open tilting towards Iran, a mistake of epic proportions for which the world continues to pay. Added to the disastrous weakening of U.S. armed forces, and a failure to adequately respond to Russian and Chinese aggression, his foreign policies, largely supported by the current crop of Democrat candidates, made the planet far more perilous.

One doesn’t have to look to world politics to understand how detrimental an impact some of those candidates could have.

The Competitive Enterprise institute analyzed the cost of the environmental policies Democrat candidates espouse on American households: “American households can expect tens of thousands of dollars in higher costs for energy, housing, transportation, and shipping if the Green New Deal is implemented…each household in five model states – Alaska, Florida, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania – will be on the hook for more than $70,000 in increased costs for electricity, upgrading vehicles and housing, and shipping in just the first year under the Green New Deal.”

A sample of what to expect if the Democrat candidates win can be seen in Democrat-run cities. Baltimore, the focal point of a rather heated and ongoing exchange between President Trump and Rep. Elijah Cummings.  was recently described by Tammy Bruce in the Washington Times / as a city that has been  “kneecapped by 20th- and 21st century liberal policies reducing it to a hopeless, poverty-stricken, rat-infested, murderous town. But this is not a unique story; this is the trajectory we’ve seen in every liberal-run city in this country. The people of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit and New York, among others, all know what the people of Baltimore are going through.”

An Investors Business Daily review notes that “America is awash with troubled, dysfunctional cities that have been electing Democratic mayors for decades… When Democrats are in control, cities tend to go soft on crime, reward… establish hostile business environments, heavily tax the most productive citizens and set up fat pensions for their union friends. Simply put, theirs is a Blue State blueprint for disaster.”

It’s a scenario that would be writ large for the nation as a whole if the Democrats recapture the White House in 2020.

Illustration: Pixabay

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Why Society Declines: One View

Guest columnist LT. Col. Don Zapsic (ret.), an Ohio resident, served as a Chaplain in the U.S. Army.

The Dayton, Ohio mass shooting on Sunday August 4, 2019 was a despicable act perpetrated by a cowardly, hate-filled human being. The violent act itself is indisputably heinous and disgusting. Enter in Ohio Representative Candace Keller who authored a Facebook post providing a laundry list of factors that allegedly played into the mass shooter’s dastardly deed.

 I will not repeat many of the particulars which were collectively categorized as a break from “traditional family values.” This article is not aimed at gauging cultural toxicity or assigning blame to the various population groups cited by Representative Keller. More to the point, it is an effort to flesh out a disturbing trend among public officials that is paramount to tossing verbal grenades and then failing to stand-and-deliver.

I, like Ohio State Representative Keller, am an outspoken conservative and make no apology for it. That being said, I contacted Keller’s office on two separate occasions seeking to understand more about the basis and rationale behind her reported statements regarding the mass-casualty incident. It should come as no surprise that no one from her office called back after five business days had passed, leaving two perfunctory messages. Not to be deterred, and no stranger to being totally ignored by political leaders, I decided to write about what I would have asked if given the opportunity to do so.

The opening question would have focused on why Rep. Keller hastily removed the Facebook post to begin with. If she was compelled by a strong conviction to voice her opinion in the first place, then why rescind the stinging litany in such a rash manner? True conservatives, unlike liberals, are supposed to stand by time-honored values, traditions and truths because of their tried-and-proven track record for promoting the greater public good. Conservatives want to “conserve” the Bill of Rights while liberals want to “change” things often from a deeply-held conviction that America is fundamentally flawed and needs to change while journeying towards that mythical land called “utopia.” 

If Candace Keller felt so strongly about her opinion, then why abandon it at the first sign of public outrage? Or if it was simply a mistake, then why not render an apology and keep moving forward? There is by the way, nothing in the conservative handbook (which to the best of my knowledge does not exist) that forbids making amends for being human and committing a mistake. The second, and final question (because in the real world that would be about all the time allotted) would center on why she did not take full advantage of the opportunity to make a case for a return to traditional family values before a national audience in light of what had just transpired in Dayton?  

Some of the sources that can be referenced when citing cause-and-effect that drives cultural, moral, and family decline are:

  • FBI annual crime statistics regarding criminal behavior and fatherlessness;
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics that highlight the adverse effects of unemployment on America’s poorest, or even
  • the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that provides data linking certain lifestyles to incidents of sexually-transmitted diseases that all-too-often lead to treatment-resistant conditions up to and including death.
  • Then there is the Bible to consult which has a proven track-record linking certain behaviors with very predictable outcomes. I have a hard time believing that man is smarter than God when it comes to figuring out how to find true purpose and meaning in life. (I would be happy if someone simply figured out how to prevent credit cards from getting hacked into oblivion!)
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There is also history to consult as in the case of well-documented conditions leading up to the fall of the Roman Empire including: Excess love of entertainment (games at the coliseum), rampant laziness (free food to Roman citizenry), sexual deviancy (I would be Captain Obvious endeavoring to further explain that concept), and apathy towards military service (the Romans employed large numbers of mercenaries to protect its domain). If I would have had the opportunity in my ideal scenario of presenting a third question regarding the Facebook post, it would surely be how drag-queen and drug-using advocates contribute to murderous rampages. The terrorist according to the autopsy report had cocaine in his system, not marijuana.   

If it appears that I mean to disrespect or belittle the Ohio Representative, it is not my intent. In fact, as a former member of the military serving in a combat zone alongside liberals and conservatives, most of those I had the privilege of serving with fundamentally understand the true cost of freedom. We want our public leaders to make the best of the opportunities entrusted to them to promote life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If they fail to do so, we all have a duty to better inform those that aspire to lead us in a respectful, knowledgeable manner. The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise.     

Illustration: Pixabay

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Progressive Extremism Tolerated

Extremism, with its absolutism, penchant for violence and intolerance of differing views, is not desirable, whether from the left or right.  There are, however, profound differences in the dangers posed by the two opposing sides, and in the way they are treated by key sources.

Right wing extremism is a fringe movement largely rejected by conservatives, Republicans, and others on the right. Left wing extremism has become the heart and soul of the Progressive movement, supported by a number of key leaders of the Democratic Party, academia, and some of the media.

Far rightists are generally ostracized by the GOP, conservative donors and related organizations. Their counterparts on the left are well supported, feted even. 

Extremists on the right are (correctly) criticized without penalty. However, individuals and organizations which point out the dangers of leftists are irrationally and falsely branded as racists, fascists, as well as just about any other epithet imaginable.

Universities and news outlets bend over backwards in attempts to portray left wing extremists in the best possible light.  When a particularly outrageous act is committed, great pains are taken to say the perpetrator is a loner, not a leftist at all, or was responding to unbearable stimuli. Any act committed by an individual who has the remotest inclination to agree with conservatives is imputed to be the liability of everyone on that side of the ideological divide.

Coverage of even the most serious acts committed by a Progressive perpetrator fairly quickly leave the news cycle.  

Consider how rapidly the horrendous attempt at the mass assassination of Republican congressmen at a baseball practice, in which four individuals were shot, the most serious being Rep. Steve Scalise. (R-Louisiana) left the news cycle. Consider how differently the incident would have been treated if the victims had been leftist Democrats.  

Academia and the media have muddied the discourse by portraying the most heinous historic left-wing extremists as rightists. When the Soviet Union was falling, the Communist old guard were referred to by media sources as “conservatives.” Hitler’s horrible National Socialists are only referred to as Nazis, to cover up their left- wing reality.  Indeed, the  Antisemitism that characterizes socialists from Hitler to the Soviet Union to Democrats Rasida Talib, Illian Omar and former DNC vice chair and current Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison remains largely unspoken, as does the barely concealed Antisemitism of the “BDS” (boycott,  disinvestment, sanction) movement so popular on the Left, particularly within universities. Little has ever been discussed about the Obama Administrations’ inexplicable tilt towards Iran, and its attempts to alienate America from Israel. 

Biased Progressive history books dwell on every American flaw, incorrectly asserted to be the result of conservative thinking, even though those errors have been long rectified. However, they scrupulously overlook the hundred million murders, economic disasters, and terrible oppression committed by extreme left-wing governments over the past 100 years, and ongoing still. It’s barely mentioned that Democrats have been the party of slavery and segregation.

The refusal to acknowledge left wing extremism can be discerned in Hollywood’s Progressive popular entertainment venues. There is a common plot in many television dramas. A horrible crime or act of terror is committed, and all indications point to a left-wing extremist group. But in the final moments, the real culprit is exposed to be a right-wing businessman or conservative politician.

Antifa, the left-wing masked stormtroopers who have a penchant for street rioting, property damage, and physical assaults, have received protected status within their key arena, Portland, Oregon.  The mayor of that city has encouraged the police to essentially stand down and surrender the streets to them during their outbreaks. Nothing was done when journalist Andy Ngo was beaten so severely by an Antifa mob that he required hospitalization.

The response to this and Antifa’s other outrages? As reported by the Daily Wire:

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“Democrat Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM) proclaimed that far-left extremist group Antifa consists of  ‘peaceful protesters’ who are just trying to protect Portland from “domestic terrorism.”

Photo: Wikipedia

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Quick Analysis

Instigating a Recession

The intense drive on the part of the U.S. media to convince the public that a recession is in the near future is meant to diminish recognition of President Trump’s signature achievement: the revival of the moribund U.S. economy.

It is the ultimate dirty political trick, because the victims extend far beyond an opposition candidate.

 Kimberly Amadeo, writing in The Balance, reports that “The U.S. economic outlook is healthy according to the key economic indicators…There isn’t too much inflation or deflation. That’s a Goldilocks economy.”

Unemployment is at near-record lows.  Unemployment for African Americans is at record lows. The growth in jobs in industries such as manufacturing have been astounding.

As noted in Forbes, In the final 26 months of Obama’s presidency, manufacturing employment increased barely 0.8%. In President Trump’s first 26 months, it grew 3.9%, 399% more jobs than Obama’s record.

In another area, mining, even labor leaders have praised Trump for his success. In an interview with The Hill Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, it was noted that “According to a 2018 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 2,000 new coal jobs were created during Trump’s first year in office” and the once nose-diving labor picture there has finally stabilized.”

Wage growth across the board continues to be a positive note.

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The economy is considered to be in the best condition in the past 19 years, with the highest confidence rating in the past 14.

The significant threat to the economy from China’s rapacious policies of restricted access to its markets, intellectual property theft, dumping and other practices, long ignored by Washington, is finally being addressed by the White House.  While this could result in some temporary issues, the long-term result will be a significant boost for the U.S. economy.

 Stephen Moore stated in a Heritage Foundation/Washington Times  study that “Beijing’s abusive trade practices and theft of U.S. intellectual property ($300 billion stolen per year), are intolerable. In the short term, the trade dispute is bad for growth, bad for consumers and bad for stocks. But if/when Mr. Trump prevails and gets the concessions from China, the market upside is gigantic and that’s what isn’t being discounted into the market today.”

Stephen Moore’s analysis explains that “The United States is simply a better place to invest in today than it was two years ago. If/when Mr. Trump prevails and gets the concessions from China, the market upside is gigantic and that’s what isn’t being discounted into the market today. There’s an old saying that Wall Street economists have predicted eight of the last two recessions. The bears in the economics profession keep getting paid a lot of money misreading the nation’s economic weather vanes — whether it was the power and durability of the Reagan expansion in the 1980s, the ferocious bull market of the late 1990s, the after-effects of the 9/11 attacks, or most recently the phenomenal revival of growth in President Trump’s first years in office… Equally flawed is the idea that the economic recovery has been going on for a decade and is now running out of gas. No, the boom began on Nov. 8, 2016, not in 2009. The recovery was anemic in the Obama years. One reason Art Laffer, Larry Kudlow and I were so confident in our predictions to candidate Donald Trump that we could get four or five years of 3 to 4 percent growth was that the recovery from the Great Recession was so flat.”

Despite the solid indicators of a healthy economy, a biased media, intent on taking down the Trump Administration, continues to push the idea that a recession is looming.  It’s more than just poor journalism.  The type of fear generated by that incorrect reporting can lead to a lack of confidence that actually could spur a recession. In an analysis for the Federal Reserve,   David S. Miller warns “It’s hard to predict recessions. We haven’t had many, and we don’t fully understand the causes of the ones we’ve had. Nevertheless, we persist in trying.”

As Joseph Valle reported in Newsbusters that the leftist media hyped recession fears every single day in June and July. “…at least one journalist openly sided with left-wing comedian Bill Maher who wants a recession to get rid of President Donald Trump. NBC’s Richard Engel chimed in “Short-term pain might be better… after Maher said ‘I really do’ want a recession on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher Aug. 9. A recession is generally considered two quarters or more of negative economic growth. That hasn’t stopped the media from pushing “dark clouds” and the likelihood of a recession coming soon, possibly even before the 2020 election. That could have serious consequences if economist Mohamed El-Erian was correct when he warned “we’ve got to be careful because we can talk ourselves into a recession.”

Gregory Daco, writing in The Hill warns that “We must not turn recession fears into self-fulfilling prophecies.”

Illustration: Google Images

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Quick Analysis

Congress Returns: What to Expect

Congress returns to session this week, The House on September 9, The Senate on September 30.

With the Presidential election season rapidly moving ahead, expect political maneuvering to be even more vigorous than usual.

Two top issues the Democrats were relying on to gain votes have fallen flat. The entire “Russian Collusion” charge has been proven false, and has boomeranged against those who asserted it.  The reality that key current and former members of the FBI and the CIA, allied with the Clinton campaign, conspired to alter an election and its aftermath is slowly sinking in to the public consciousness.  Similarly, in a bid to secure female votes, various sexist-type charges levied against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh turned out to be incorrect.

Democrats will now concentrate on gun control and environmental matters. In the wake of several mass shootings, sentiment to enact measures such as enhanced background checks will be a very visible factor in coming legislative discussions. Whether those measures will have any real-world impact is questionable.

The American Bar Association has emphasized education concerns: the “What You Can Do For Your Country Act (S.1203/H.R.2241 would allow borrowers of all federal loans to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, as well as borrowers enrolled in any federal repayment plan. The Paycheck Fairness Act would ban employers from asking job candidates about their salaries at previous jobs.

There is a growing interest in allowing greater access to protecting and expanding access to retirement savings. Lorie Konish, writing for CNBC notes: “ Congress…will have a slew of proposals to consider, including some that could have a big impact on your retirement.  New proposals aim to fix legacy issues by expanding access to retirement savings, making Social Security solvent and protecting income in multi-employer pensions… The Secure Act… includes measures to allow small employers to band together to offer 401(k) plans, give part-time workers access to retirement plans, take away the 70½ age limit for individual retirement account contributions and raise the age for required minimum distributions to 72, from 70½. It also would expand the inclusion of annuities in 401(k) plans and put a 10-year time limit on how long non-spouse beneficiaries can stretch out an inherited IRA.

Other measures seek to ensure the solvency of the Social Security fund, and establish health care savings accounts for seniors. Expect more debate over campaign finance and environmental issues.

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Wrangling over the 2020 budget will be central to the Fall session.

Back in March, the White House submitted its $4.746 trillion budget proposal, which the Democrat-majority house declared “dead on arrival.”  The major flash point was, and continues to be, the President’s push for more funds to extend the southern border wall, needed to stem the vast influx of illegal immigration. According to The Hill,  “House Democrats have already pledged to oppose any push by the administration to loosen restrictions on border barrier funding. Border money as well as related spending like Immigration and Customs Enforcement are expected to be the two biggest hurdles to getting a spending deal.”

The Administration also seeks to increase defense spending.  During the Obama years, as the U.S. cut Pentagon funding, both China and Russia committed significant additional monies to their militaries, and both Iran and North Korea moved ahead on their nuclear programs.  One could say that Washington “Gave peace a chance,” but it didn’t work.  Moscow now possesses the world’s strongest nuclear force, replete with new weapons. China now has a superpower-class military with technology that fully rivals America’s.  

Other issues included in the White House budget were measures designed to combat the opioid epidemic; a proposal “to hold institutions of higher education accountable for results by requiring colleges and universities to share a portion of the financial responsibility associated with Federal student loans to encourage them to improve performance,” a move to modernize federal governmental technology,” and a ten percent increase in funds for the care of veterans.

The parties, already far apart on numerous issues, are not expected to reach an agreement before the October 1 deadline.  Another “continuing resolution,” lasting until December, will probably prevent a government shutdown.

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Quick Analysis

Foreign Policy Update

IRAN

The United States Government is intensifying its maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to the State Department. This week under its “Awards for Justice” program it announced a reward of “up to $15 million” for any person who helps disrupt the financial operations of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Qods Force.

This program gives individuals an incentive to work with the United States to bring terrorists to justice and to prevent acts of terrorism globally, according to Brian Hook, the Special Representative for Iran and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State.  

It marks the first time that the United States has offered a reward for information that disrupts a government entity’s financial operations.  The IRGC and the Qods Force were designated as a foreign terrorist organization in April 

Hook said the “IRGC trains, funds, and equips proxy organizations across the Middle East.  Iran wants these groups to extend the borders of the regime’s revolution and sow chaos and sectarian violence.  We are using every available diplomatic and economic tool to disrupt these operations.”

The United States also is also taking sweeping action against an IRGC/QF oil-for-terror network as it has moved hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of illicit oil which is then used to fund terrorism.    

VENEZUELAN REGIONAL CRISIS 

The United States Announced additional humanitarian assistance in response to the Venezuelan regional crisis. Deputy Secretary John Sullivan and United States Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green announced September 4 more than $120 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance to address the largest external displacement of persons in the Hemisphere’s history. 

According to the State Department, Maduro’s rampant corruption, brutal repression, and vast social and economic mismanagement has forced more than 4.3 million Venezuelans to flee the country. Its socialist policies have wreaked havoc on the once prosperous nation and created an environment in which there was a 65% increase in maternal mortality in a single year and in 2018 saw 94% of households living in poverty.  

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The aid includes emergency food and health assistance, to vulnerable Venezuelans in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, and throughout the region.  To date the US has contributed over $376 million in aid since FY2017.  In 2019 ninety percent of hospitals reporting shortages of medicine and critical supplies, along with severe shortages of electricity.  

CHINA

The United States’ Treasury Secretary Munchin, USTR Lighthizer and China’s Vice Premier Liu He have agreed to ministerial-level discussions on the ongoing trade dispute in Washington in early October. Chinese and US trade officials spoke via telephone over the last few weeks to resolve issues to enable to talks to move forward toward resolution of the trade dispute between the two countries. 

This will be the first face-to-face meeting since the recent escalation and is expected to include deputy-level official meetings this month in preparation for the October talks. President Trump announced additional tariffs last month that are scheduled to take effect in October on $250 billion of Chinese goods. 

While some analysts report that the Administration is restricted in its future options, the upcoming talks offer an opportunity to make “meaningful progress,” according to a US trade official. Resolution of the dispute remains a distant goal, although both sides remain committed to ending the dispute.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay