Trump repeating same mistakes as Bush, Obama

Posted on by dsmarth

Imagine choosing an individual like John Bolton, a former George W. Bush administration official, who saw no wrong in the Iraq War or the no-find WMD (weapons of mass destruction). Bolton continues to demonize Iran and any countries not fully aligned with the priorities of Saudi Arabia and Israel.

President Trump pledged to bring the troops home. He criticized our involvement in the Middle East. And, now, he does the exact opposite, recruiting neoconservative war hawks like John Bolton to be his national security adviser.  Mike Pompeo, who replaced Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, sees no problem with executing “whistleblowers” or engaging in the same foreign policies that caused blowback to our homeland in the first place.

Knowing about Bolton’s history, either Donald Trump is delirious, has absolutely no real understanding of what neoconservatives want, or was a closet neocon. Neocons want more wars and foreign/military entanglements everywhere. For what reason?

Haven’t the past 17 years been enough? The suffering of millions of people in foreign countries, and troops dying, or with serious physical and mental injury. The government-launched War on Terror as a response to 9/11 got us into the Iraq War, the Afghanistan surge in troops, and funding and training of rebels in Syria, who later helped strengthen ISIS.

The U.S. is supporting Saudi Arabia’s dirty war of aggression against the poorest Arab nation, Yemen. The U.S. under Trump has created more instability by relocating America’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem, a city that was jointly held through past parties’ agreements. He has increased drone strikes and expanded the Pentagon’s discretion in matters of military bombing, and drone use, killing civilians and even rescue workers in targeting terrorists, on suspicion only.

There isn’t one campaign pledge made in foreign affairs that Trump hasn’t violated. He cleverly weaved in conservative-libertarian positions and political messaging to win the votes of libertarians who thought he would be a “peace” president. Unfortunately, he has done nothing but create more havoc on the world scene, empowering the war-mongering neoconservatives who started all these wars with their propaganda in the first place.

A Bolton and Pompeo takeover of these two cabinet-level governmental bodies is nothing more than the virulent continuation of the same old Bush/Obama policies that got us in this mess to begin with! Unfortunately, these reckless and irrational American policies have resulted in too many deaths of American troops and innocent civilians including children in foreign lands.

Isn’t it time that all Americans stand up and call it for what it is? It’s immoral! Until Trump reverses these decisions, “Make America Great Again” is nothing more than an empty campaign marketing slogan. Unless Americans oppose these unending wars, America will succumb to the worst vices one can imagine. Imagine a president that is friendly with Saudi Arabia, known for its beheadings of dissenters, and on the next leg of his 2017 overseas trip, presents Pope Francis with a tome of books by Martin Luther King, a great moral leader who promoted non-violence like Mahatma Gandhi.

What a disservice to the American people and our nation to continue down the same path, which will lead to the same outcomes: more destruction, more killing and deaths, less national security, greater government surveillance, and eventually the further reduction of individual liberties and freedom. The silence must stop!

Deborah K. Smarth

PUBLISHED IN APP.COM https://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2018/03/23/donald-trump-foreign-policy-john-bolton-george-w-bush-barack-obama/452954002/

A close up image of stacks of dollar bills

LETTER: Middle class gets little from government

Posted on by dsmarth

Have you noticed lately how the political establishment and economic elite throw the middle class crumbs? Whether it’s the national or state political parties’ platforms, the policies promoted usually slight the middle class. According to three past studies’ definitions, “middle class” includes income ranges from $32,000 to $122,000.

The latest federal tax reduction proposal gives most of the tax benefits to the very, very wealthy, not the vast majority of people. They throw crumbs our way. So, how does the Trump administration expect to have a revived economy when the income of most average Americans has not grown since the Great Recession. In fact, the disparity in income distribution has increased dramatically over the past few decades.

In the recent New Jersey gubernatorial race, Kim Guadagno said that the average family would save $800 annually with her circuit-breaker property tax reduction plan. The Governor-elect said he would increase taxes for the wealthiest top bracket, hedge funds, and do away with corporate subsidies. Murphy indicated that the added proceeds from these tax increases would be spent for diverse spending items including infrastructure projects; but, wouldn’t that inevitably be channeled to big contractors and corporate businesses? Why not shift those additional revenues from tax increases on the top 1 percent and the hedge funds, for an income tax cut to the middle class?

Giving back income to the middle class would do more for the economy than investing solely in infrastructure projects or other spending projects. Tax cuts would give middle class families the ability to spend more and save more. It belongs in their pockets to begin with since their income is the fruits of their labor.

The only way property tax hikes across New Jersey can be halted is to initiate “binding” budget referendums on school budgets and local government budgets. Would the Legislature or the incoming administration be willing to give the people the ultimate power of vetoing increases in municipal and school budget spending, with no strings attached? That would be a first, great start to controlling property taxes and the bloated bureaucracy of the institutional educational complex. With a binding budget referendum, the people would ultimately control spending and taxation, increasing accountability to the people.

The middle class is the segment that produces a strong economy. Without income growth and real strong tax cuts for middle America at every level of government, the American economy will stagnate further, despite the false messaging of those who hold power.

Deborah K. Smarth, Manalapan

A paramedic with an injured man in stretcher

LETTER: Investigative report on Syrian group fell short

Posted on by dsmarth

Amazingly CBS’ 60 Minutes ran a June 18 story on the non-governmental organization “White Helmets” (Syria Civil Defence). It described the group as strictly volunteers who help Syrians victimized by civil chaos, bombings, etc. in Syria.

But, there is another story inside this story the mainstream corporate media should have realized — unless they’re doing the establishment’s bidding? There are a lot of questions and information suggesting it is not as simple as the 60 Minutes portrayal. Articles posted on www.strategic-culture-org by Finian Cunningham, a former editor and writer for major news organizations, writing extensively about international affairs, and Peter Korzun, offer fuller insights into this group:

•The organizer of this group is a former military intelligence officer, now, private security consultant in “rebel” controlled Syria;

•The group receives government funds from the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany and Japan; the U.S. $23 million (2013-2016) flows from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); the latter entity has been used as “a cover for covert CIA activities;”

•The entity only provides support to Syrians “in areas controlled by the violent opposition,” but, not those who are hurt from terrorists’ attacks in the government-controlled areas;

•While the group claims not to be armed, it has been reported that photographs document members carrying arms and also “celebrating terrorist group military successes;”

•The White Helmets reportedly post false/fake photos as efforts to blame the Syrian military for targeting civilians and casualties thereto and reportedly released videos/images to the Western media from the location of the April 4 alleged chemical attack; they have also been accused of producing fake photos to blame the Russian military for actions it did not carry out;

•An investigative story by researcher and reporter Vanessa Beeley exposes one of the leaders of the group as an arms trader, supplying terrorists with arms.

Most stunning, articles about the White Helmets clearly state that it is “nothing else but an elaborate deception” and “a tool used by Western spy agencies to denigrate Russia and everyone who does not support the terrorists in their effort to overthrow the Syria’s legitimate government.”

Is this the best the major media can do in reporting to its viewers?

Deborah K. Smarth

MANALAPAN

How can Trump side with the Saudis?

Posted on by dsmarth

President Donald Trump’s regional “peace” summit to fight terrorism with Saudi Arabia insults Americans’ intelligence. A weapons deal brokered by Trump amounting to more than $300 billion over a 10-year period is not a tool of “peace” in the region. Sen. Rand Paul should be thanked for introducing a “resolution of disapproval” motion that will force the U.S. Senate to vote on the arms deal within the next 30 days. Americans should flood the Senate phone lines to support Paul’s efforts.

The Saudi connection to 9/11 cannot be erased. Fifteen of the hijackers were Saudis. Besides being the world’s leading funders of terrorist activity and extremism, Saudi Arabia is the most flagrant violator of human rights, beheading and killing protesters and treating women unequally.

The Saudis — with the U.S. providing bombs and other military support in Yemen — have committed war crimes. The United Nations acknowledges as a result of Saudi air, land and sea blockade, there is a famine crisis in Yemen. And the Trump administration and its spokespersons demonize Iran and Syria?

Iran just conducted an open and fair national election with moderates taking power, compared to a Saudi dictatorship. Iran has expended sizeable resources and blood in fighting Salafi-Jihadist terrorism. The Syrian government has been fighting the rebels who created civil chaos in its country, including ISIS/al-Qaeda.

Trump needs to dismantle and replace his neoconservative advisers, who are leading him down the wrong path of war.

Deborah K. Smarth

PUBLISHED IN APP.COM https://www.app.com/story/opinion/readers/2017/06/01/letter-can-trump-side-saudis/102376976/

The image of Donald Trump with his wife and others

LETTER: U.S. headed down wrong path of war

Posted on by dsmarth

President Donald Trump’s regional “peace” summit to fight terrorism with Saudi Arabia insults Americans’ intelligence. A weapons deal brokered by Trump amounting to more than $300 billion over a 10-year period is not a tool of “peace” in the region. Sen. Rand Paul should be thanked for introducing a “resolution of disapproval” motion that will force the U.S. Senate to vote on the arms deal within the next 30 days. Americans should flood the Senate phone lines to support Paul’s efforts.

The Saudi connection to 9/11 cannot be erased. Fifteen of the hijackers were Saudis. Besides being the world’s leading funders of terrorist activity and extremism, Saudi Arabia is the most flagrant violator of human rights, beheading and killing protesters and treating women unequally. According to a published Institute for Peace and Prosperity article, “The extreme Wahhabi interpretation of Sunni Islam embraced by the Saudis as a state religion is near indistinguishable from the ideology of ISIS … or any of those terror organizations.”

The Saudis — with the U.S. providing bombs and other military support in Yemen — have committed war crimes. The United Nations acknowledges as a result of Saudi air, land and sea blockade, there is a famine crisis in Yemen. And the Trump administration and its spokespersons demonize Iran and Syria?

Iran just conducted an open and fair national election with moderates taking power, compared to a Saudi dictatorship. Iran has expended sizeable resources and blood in fighting Salafi-Jihadist terrorism. The Syrian government has been fighting the rebels who created civil chaos in its country, including ISIS/al-Qaeda. Concerning the recent sarin attack in Syria, even Theodore Postol, MIT professor emeritus of science and technology, after examining the material presented by the Trump administration, questions the administration’s assumptions that Syria was responsible.

Trump needs to dismantle and replace his neoconservative advisers, who are leading him down the wrong path of war.

Deborah K. Smarth

Manalapan