Thursday Reads: The Blame Hillary Game; Russia's Internet Crackdown, and "Religious Experiences"
Posted: May 8, 2014 | Author: bostonboomer | Filed under: Foreign Affairs, morning reads, U.S. Politics | Tags: Benghazi, chronic stress, counterterrorism, Edward Snowden, Hillary Clinton, hippocampus, John Kerry, Johnnie Carson, Josh Rogin, Nigerian kidnappings, psychological studies, religion and the brain, religious experiences, Russian internet crackdown, US State Department | 44 Comments
Josh Rogin of the Daily Beast (formerly of The American Conservative and Foreign Policy) is at it again. Not long ago, he caused an uproar by sneaking into a supposedly off-the-record meeting of the Trilateral Commission and secretly taping John Kerry saying that Israel is in danger of becoming an "apartheid state." Not that there's anything wrong with taping the remarks, but Rogin failed to note this fact in his subsequent reports. Instead he sourced the remarks to "an attendee" and "recording obtained by The Daily Beast."
This morning Rogin has Hillary Clinton in his crosshairs: Hillary's State Department Refused to Brand Boko Haram as Terrorists. Rogin's point seems to be that Clinton is a hypocrite because since Nigerian group kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls, she has criticized them in no uncertain terms.
In the past week, Clinton, who made protecting women and girls a key pillar of her tenure at the State Department, has been a vocal advocate for the 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, the loosely organized group of militants terrorizing northern Nigeria. Her May 4 tweet about the girls, using the hashtag #BringOurGirlsBack, was cited across the media and widely credited for raising awareness of their plight.
On Wednesday, Clinton said that the abduction of the girls by Boko Haram was "abominable, it's criminal, it's an act of terrorism and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria." Clinton said that as Secretary of State she had numerous meetings with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and had urged the Nigerian government to do more on counterterrorism.
What Clinton didn't mention was that her own State Department refused to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the U.N. headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen senators and congressmen.
"The one thing she could have done, the one tool she had at her disposal, she didn't use. And nobody can say she wasn't urged to do it. It's gross hypocrisy," said a former senior U.S. official who was involved in the debate. "The FBI, the CIA, and the Justice Department really wanted Boko Haram designated, they wanted the authorities that would provide to go after them, and they voiced that repeatedly to elected officials."
Hillary Clinton condemns Nigerian kidnappings
Rogin goes on to quote numerous–some by name and some not–critics who essentially blame Clinton for the current situation. Rogin quotes these sources (largely Republicans) as saying that if Hillary had designated Boko Haram a terrorist group, the government would have been better able to cut them off from financial support and get other countries to do the same. Because of Hillary's refusal to do this, according to Republican Patrick Meehan, chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, "We lost two years of increased scrutiny. The kind of support that is taking place now would have been in place two years ago." John Kerry did add Boko Haram to the terrorist list late last year.
Rogin admits that not everyone agrees that designating Boko Haram a terrorist group would have made that much difference. Sources told Rogin that other efforts were made to deal with the issue. Yesterday f0rmer Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson defended the decision.
"There was a concern that putting Boko Haram on the foreign terrorist list would in fact raise its profile, give it greater publicity, give it greater credibility, help in its recruitment, and also probably drive more assistance in its direction," he said.
The U.S. has plenty of ways to assist the Nigerian government with counterterrorism even without designating Boko Haram, Carson said. The problem has long been that the Nigerian government doesn't always want or accept the help the U.S. has offered over the years.
"There always has been a reluctance to accept our analysis of what the drivers causing the problems in the North and there is sometimes a rejection of the assistance that is offered to them," Carson said. "None of that has anything to do with putting Boko Haram on the foreign terrorist list."
This sounds like a partisan issue to me, but I admit to having zero knowledge of Boko Haram and State Department policies in general. Frankly, I suspect Josh Rogin is trying to make a name for himself by undermining Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Obama administration foreign policy in general. But then, I'm also a partisan.
As for Hillary herself, she spoke to ABC News' Robin Roberts yesterday: Hillary Clinton Calls Nigeria Kidnappings 'An Act Of Terrorism.' The occasion was a "philanthropy event" at the Ford Foundation in NYC. CNN provides more detail about Hillary's remarks: Hillary Clinton faults Nigerian government's handling of search for kidnapped girls.
The Nigerian government has been "somewhat derelict" in protecting their children, Hillary Clinton said Wednesday as international attention focused on schoolgirls kidnapped by a militant group.
"The seizure of these young women by this radical, extremist group, Boko Haram is abominable, it's criminal, it's an act of terrorism and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria," Clinton said, later adding that "the government of Nigeria has been in my view somewhat derelict in its responsibility toward protecting boy and girls, men and women in northern Nigeria over the last years."
During her remarks at a philanthropy event in New York City, Clinton went on to say "the Nigerian government must accept help – particularly intelligence, surveillance and recognizance help – their troops have to be the ones that (are) necessary but they could do a better job if they accept the offers that are being made."
The U.S. government has offered to help in the search for the schoolgirls. Officials have told CNN the Obama administration is sharing intelligence with Nigerian authorities and could provide other assistance, but there is no plan to send U.S. troops. Legislators on Capitol Hill have also called for the United States to do more to help the Nigerian government.
A little more from the talk:
"The Nigerian government has failed to confront the threat or to address the underlying challenges," Clinton said of the kidnappings. "Most of all, the government of Nigeria needs to get serious about protecting all of its citizens… and ensuring the every child has the right and opportunity to go to school."
Standing in front of high profile financiers and donors at the opulent Waldorf Astoria, Clinton went on to urge Nigerian citizens to hold their leaders accountable and implored religious leaders, Nigeria's neighbors, the African Union and the international community to continue to stay involved in finding the schoolgirls.
"Every asset and expertise should be brought to bear," Clinton said. "Everyone needs to see this for what it is, it is a gross human rights abuse but it is also part of a continuing struggle within Nigeria and within North Africa."
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Saturday: Solidarity, Sisterhood
Posted: March 12, 2011 | Author: Mona (aka Wonk the Vote) | Filed under: Economy, Hillary Clinton: Her Campaign for All of Us, morning reads, Women's Rights | Tags: 2012, 8.9 quake in Japan, bees, Bernie Sanders, Bradley Manning, civil liberties, collective bargaining, FDR, Joan Baez, Liberalism, Phil Ochs, Rep. King "hearings" on "radical Islam", US State Department, Wisconsin, womancession, Women's and children's health | 74 Comments
Good morning, gleaners!
Grab your morning brew, and let's go!
It's farmer-labor day today at the WI Capitol building, starting at noon, complete with a "tractorcade."
Next, a piece I treasure. Plain Talk: Squandering 100 years of progress, by Dave Zweifel. Please take the time to click over and read this one sometime over the weekend if you can.
MoJo: Wisconsin GOP Bill Allows State to Fire Employees for Strikes, Walk-Outs
Hillaryland
Guess who is going to Egypt and Tunisia next week. In her FY 2012 budget request before Congress on Thursday, Hillary announced she will be meeting with transitional leaders in both Tunis and Cairo as well as with Libyan opposition while she's in the region. For the new Arab world that is emerging to be new at all, women cannot be left behind. Who better to put that world on notice than Hillary Rodham Clinton?
(second link will take you to an AFP report on Hillary's remarks at Friday's Women in the World conference in NY. See also her remarks at the 2011 Women of Courage event for more.)
This week–on International Women's day no less–our advocate-in-chief helped to launch a Global Partnership on Maternal and Child Health, bringing a long-neglected development goal further out of the shadows. Brava, Madam Secretary!
(see also Hillary's 100 Women Initiative. If you don't know what it is, click and find out.)
From Politico's quotes of the week: "Her Excellency, Madam President… I love saying that."
— Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, introducing the president of Kyrgyzstan at a State Department event.
Hillary and Julia from their bilateral on Tuesday.
If you're a Hillary fan who can't get enough of all things Hill and missed my essays from earlier this week, knock yourself out. One is the mischievously titled Hillary: Warmonger and the other is Women, Workers, and The Sisterhood.
My response to Rand Paul's hypocritical libertarian rant on "choice" (choice of toilet, that is). Shorter Wonk: I hope Rand has a working garbage disposal, because he sure talks a lot of trash.
See here for RH Reality Check's exhaustive coverage of the latest developments from yesterday. Also, Minkoff Minx wrote to her Georgia state representative, Stephen Allison (R-8) and received a letter from Rep. Allison that you might find of interest. Scroll to the end of the post to see it.
My $0.02 on Allison's response: The excuse that the most draconian of these bills will never pass is baloney. The rise of mini-Stupaks in states across the country has built up a momentum in the war against women, and that momentum is helping to get other horrible versions of these bills passed. Furthermore, the preponderance of such nonsense legislation clearly indicates a concerted effort to use women and their civil rights as a tool of division and distraction from the economy, degrading those rights in the process and blocking unfettered access to reproductive healthcare for women–all women. The rich will get their safe abortions on demand one way or another, and we all know it.
Tired of hearing about Charlie Sheen?
Here's the fix. At least on the Internet.
Bernie Sanders introduces The Emergency Deficit Reduction Act. Sanders' press release says the bill would a) create a 5.4% surtax on millionaires, yielding up to $50 billion annually for the US Treasury, and b) end tax breaks for Big Oil, yielding about $3.5 billion a year in new revenue. Thank you, Bernie Sanders!
Krugman: Dumbing Deficits Down
BBC News Magazine: Are call centres the factories of the 21st Century?
Womancession/nifty graph pick of the week: Women Lead in Unpaid Work. Click graph for more info.
CLICK TO GO TO ECONOMIX
US Politics: 2012
Nate Silver/NYT: Wisconsin Dispute Could Mobilize Democratic Base
Andrew Leonard/Salon: Do rising gas prices spell doom for Obama?
US News & World Report says wedge issues are back just in time for the 2012 electoral cycle. In other news… Water? Yep, wet as ever. (When did wedge issues ever leave?)
Here's a derivative piece if ever there was one… Cameron Lynch says Barack Obama is the "Surprisingly Silent President." This echoes Ruth Marcus last week suddenly discovering that Obama is the "Where's Waldo" president. Obama told America who he was from 2004 to 2008. The creative clueless class was too busy chattering away and creating "a different kind of politician" narrative to take note that Obama was telegraphing very clearly that he would make an indifferent kind of president.
ProPublica: Obama Makes Indefinite Detention and Military Commissions His Own.
Have you read Glenn Greenwald's takedown of the NYT editors and Andrew Sullivan yet? Glenzilla exposes the hypocrisy of their "Bush-tortured" defenses for Obama's indefinite detention.
Amnesty International petition to Secretary Gates and President Obama: End the punitive detention of Bradley Manning
This next one is an amazing development. Via Laura Rozen over at her new Yahoo digs, The Envoy — Reporter: State Department official raps Pentagon treatment of Manning as "counterproductive and stupid." We're talking about PJ Crowley over at Hillary Clinton's state department, y'all. He told that to veteran BBC reporter Philippa Thomas without thinking twice. Thomas blogged about it here.
Required Reading for all Liberals: Lynn Parramore's Torture: The Movie (via New Deal 2.0) and Margaret Kimberly's Peace Prize Torture (via Black Agenda Report).
King hearings
Adam Serwer (via the American Prospect) has an important read up that puts it all in perspective… Good Cop, Bad Cop: "On counterterrorism, the only difference between Republicans and Obama is rhetorical."
Disaster in Japan and Elsewhere
Foreign Policy's The Cable: Crowley deleted tweet comparing Middle East 'tsunami' to Japan crisis.
(Also, Crowley confirmed his comments about Manning to The Cable:"What I said was my personal opinion. It does not reflect an official USG policy position. I defer to the Department of Defense regarding the treatment of Bradley Manning.")
See the NYT's photojournalism blog — Lens — for dramatic shots of the devastation from the 8.9 quake and tsunami in Japan, as well as other harrowing pictures from around the world yesterday, that tell the story of tragedy and strife.
UN study says globalization and agriculture industry exacerbating bee decline.
"The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century. Human beings have fabricated the illusion that in the 21st century they have the technological prowess to be independent of nature. Bees underline the reality that we are more, not less dependent on nature's services in a world of close to seven billion people."
–Achim Steiner, the executive director of UN Environment Programme
This Day in History (March 12)
First fireside chat: "It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail." –FDR, 1933 (even FDR sounds like he's saying Solidarity forever!)
What Kind of Liberal are You?
Take the quiz. I'm a "Working Class Warrior." How about you?
I mostly linked to this silly quiz so I could share this priceless bumper sticker quote from the first question: "May the fetus you save be gay."
Here's the quiz for any conservatives reading.
Song of Protest for Saturday
Joan Baez, There But For Fortune.
Extra verse added to the PPM version: "Show me the famine, show me the frail, eyes with no future that show how we failed, and I'll show you the children with so many reasons why there but for fortune, go you or I."
Also see Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune, and check for a screening near you.
I'm turning the Saturday reads over to you in the comments… Take the quiz and let us know how you score, share a song, link us to what's on your blogging list this weekend…and have a great day!
[originally posted at Let Them Listen; crossposted at Taylor Marsh and Liberal Rapture]
A new crop of Texas-led lawsuits awaits Joe Biden's White House (Benjamin Wermund/ExpressNews.com)
Welcome the Uighur cotton ban (Washington Examiner)
AOC's Ministry of Truth (Joe Concha/The Hill)
Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump (New York Times)