Warmongers Unite (As They Always Do); Boehner Caves In, Backs War; McCain Caught Playing iPhone Poker During Syria Hearing

In a completely expected yet disappointing moment, a wide range of Democrat and Republican fools have united in support of war.

It's hard to know precisely where to begin with this wrap-up as there is rampant stupidity on both sides of the political aisle but let's start with a preposterous statement by Secretary of State John Kerry who said Congress Faces 'Munich Moment'.

Secretary of State John Kerry told House Democrats during a Monday conference call that they face a "Munich moment" as they weigh whether to approve striking Syria to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad for using chemical weapons, two sources with knowledge of the call told NBC News.

The phrase is a reference to the 1938 Munich Pact that ceded control of part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany -- a moment that history has harshly judged as an appeasement of Adolf Hitler that preceded World War II.

Kerry's Preposterous Comparison

Five Simple Facts

1. Syria has no desire to rule the world
2. Syria did not invade any other countries
3. Syria is not demanding territory as the price for non-aggression
4. This is nothing like the 1938 Munich Pact that ceded control of part of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany
5. Kerry looks like a complete fool (as well as an Obama tool) to make the comparison he did

Rush to War

In this mad dash to war please note that John Kerry says US tests prove sarin used in Syria attacks

John Kerry, the US secretary of state, on Sunday strengthened the case for military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime after announcing that tests conducted on gas attacks in Syria had proved positive for the nerve agent sarin.

Sarin Used? By Whom?

Let's assume that sarin was used. Not once did Kerry say who was responsible. So who was responsible?

Please consider Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack

As the machinery for a U.S.-led military intervention in Syria gathers pace following last week’s chemical weapons attack, the U.S. and its allies may be targeting the wrong culprit.

Interviews with people in Damascus and Ghouta, a suburb of the Syrian capital, where the humanitarian agency Doctors Without Borders said at least 355 people had died last week from what it believed to be a neurotoxic agent, appear to indicate as much.

The U.S., Britain, and France as well as the Arab League have accused the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for carrying out the chemical weapons attack, which mainly targeted civilians. U.S. warships are stationed in the Mediterranean Sea to launch military strikes against Syria in punishment for carrying out a massive chemical weapons attack. The U.S. and others are not interested in examining any contrary evidence, with U.S Secretary of State John Kerry saying Monday that Assad’s guilt was “a judgment … already clear to the world.”

However, from numerous interviews with doctors, Ghouta residents, rebel fighters and their families, a different picture emerges. Many believe that certain rebels received chemical weapons via the Saudi intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and were responsible for carrying out the dealing gas attack.

“My son came to me two weeks ago asking what I thought the weapons were that he had been asked to carry,” said Abu Abdel-Moneim, the father of a rebel fighting to unseat Assad, who lives in Ghouta.

Abdel-Moneim said his son and 12 other rebels were killed inside of a tunnel used to store weapons provided by a Saudi militant, known as Abu Ayesha, who was leading a fighting battalion. The father described the weapons as having a “tube-like structure” while others were like a “huge gas bottle.”

Ghouta townspeople said the rebels were using mosques and private houses to sleep while storing their weapons in tunnels.

Propaganda On Both Sides

Given the propaganda on both sides, it is arguable as to whether the above story is true or not. Regardless, the story is plausible.

More importantly, precisely what business is it of the US to rush to war over uncertain facts?

Is poison gas really any worse than tens of thousands killed in African slaughters by machetes and other means?

To those who died, what difference does it make?

The Difference Is Oil

The US is in Syria for two reasons.

1. Oil
2. Warmongers promote war on the flimsiest of excuses every chance they get

Were it not for oil, the warmongers probably would not have succeeded in this case. Oil is the only real difference between this case and numerous slaughters in Africa in which the US stood by and did nothing.


Boehner Caves In

As totally expected by any rational thinking person (especially in light of Boehner caving in to the whims of Obama on numerous budget issues) Boehner's Aboard: Obama Gains Syria-Strike Support

President Barack Obama gained ground Tuesday in his drive for congressional backing of a military strike against Syria, winning critical support from House Speaker John Boehner while key Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to back a no-combat-troops-on-the-ground action in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack.

Warmonger McCain Leads the Charge

On September 2, McCain said Congress Must Support Obama on Syria Action

Republican Senator John McCain said Congress must back taking action against Syria and that a failure of lawmakers to act would be “catastrophic” for U.S. interests in the region.

Catastrophic? How? Why? Is Syria a threat to the US? If so, in what way?

McCain Caught Playing iPhone Poker During Syria Hearing

Syria is so much a threat that McCain Was Caught Playing iPhone Poker During Syria Hearing

As the hearing continues, our ace photographer Melina Mara reports she spotted Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) “passing the time by playing poker on his iPhone during the hearing.”



Warmonger McCain attempted to make light of the issue with a ridiculous tweet: "Scandal! Caught playing iPhone game at 3+ hour Senate hearing - worst of all I lost!"

McCain Scandal

Yes senator, this is a scandal. If you were a Democrat, Fox news would be trumpeting the story for days if not weeks.

McCain learned nothing from his six years in captivity in one of the stupidest wars in history. And because of his captivity, he is the ideal spokesman for the defense industry warmongers.

Who better than McCain to fire the often heard charge "weak on defense"

McCain Fake Patriot

McCain is the gold medal winner in the "fake patriotism" contest.

Getting shot down in a war that the US should not have been involved with in the first place does not make one a hero.

Squandering taxpayer money in other senseless wars does not make one a hero either.

The simple facts of the matter are: this is another mad rush to war, on trumped-up evidence, for no good reason even IF the evidence as portrayed was correct.

Yet, here we go again, in another mad dash to war, this time with Obama siding with war-mongering McCain, and Boehner caving in to Obama (as he always does, on every issue).

Recall that Hillary Clinton caved in to Bush (and likely lost the nomination to Obama because she would not admit an error).

What if Romney Won?

Would things be any different if Mitt Romney won the election?

Given the Democrat strangle hold on the Senate, it is 100% certain that Obamacare would not have been repealed. Most legislation in Congress would not have been any different.

The biggest difference under Romney, is that we would probably be in a trade war with China and a real war with Iran. Would that be better?

If you conclude war was likely no matter who won, you conclude correctly. If you sense I am disgusted with both political parties, you sense correctly.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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Future of Education is At Hand: Online, Accredited, Affordable, Useful

I have long been in the camp that the price of education is so expensive as to make college a poor choice for many who attend, and a downright bad choice for those who go heavily in debt for degrees in little demand.

The entire education system is and has been for some time unsustainable. The cost of education keeps rising along with ...

1. Government aid
2. Union contracts
3. Pension benefits
4. Salaries of coaches
5. Competition for the most elaborate dorms
6. Fundraising

Dylan Matthews at the Washington Post has a 10-part series called "The Tuition is Too Damn High". The first seven articles in the series are already available. Part-10 is the writer's proposed solution.

I have talked about most of the points above except point five. Matthews discusses "dorm competition" in Part VI — Why there’s no reason for big universities to rein in spending.

Freddie de Boer is a grad student at Purdue University, one of Indiana’s flagship public research institutions. Purdue has a new gym – excuse me, a new “sports center,” the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center, to be exact. When de Boer went to check it out, he found treadmills that each featured a TV and an iPod dock, a bouldering wall and a 55-foot climbing wall, a spa with Jacuzzi function that can fit 26 people, six racquetball courts, and a “demonstration kitchen” for cooking lessons.

The Córdova Center wasn’t an expense that needed to be paid for. It was an expense made because it could be made, because the nonprofit university rewards those who spend money, not those who save it.

I suggest the problem with the education system is largely that of government throwing more money at the problem. Just as hundreds of affordable housing programs raised (not lowered the price of homes), the same happened in the education system.

Throw in union graft, pensions, sports, and you have the problem in a nutshell. The solution is simple.

Three-Part Solutions

1. Stop all student aid programs
2. Increase competition via accredited online programs
3. End the preposterous pension plans of educators and administrators

Of my three proposals, number two above is now at hand, in the form of more accredited online education, at reputable institutions, giving advanced degrees at affordable prices.

The MOOC That Roared

Reader "Tom" pinged me today with this email:

Hi Mish,

I've read your thoughts and comments on higher education and the future of college degrees. I agree with most of your ideas, but I would have guessed we were 5-10 years away from some of that stuff. Nope. Georgia Tech has a Master's in Computer Science that is going to bust higher education wide open. Check it out:

Maybe I'll get that PhD after all.

Best.... Tom

Radical Change

Tom sent a link to a Slate article The MOOC That Roared, subtitled "How Georgia Tech’s new, super-cheap online master’s degree could radically change American higher education".

Georgia Institute of Technology is about to take a step that could set off a broad disruption in higher education: It’s offering a new master’s degree in computer science, delivered through a series of massive open online courses, or MOOCs, for $6,600.

The school’s traditional on-campus computer science master’s degree costs about $45,000 in tuition alone for out-of-state students (the majority) and $21,000 for Georgia residents. But in a few years, Georgia Tech believes that thousands of students from all over the world will enroll in the new program.

The $6,600 master’s degree marks an attempt to realize the tantalizing promise of the MOOC movement: a great education, scaled up to the point where it can be delivered for a rock-bottom price. Until now, the nation’s top universities have adopted a polite but distant approach toward MOOCs. The likes of Yale, Harvard, and Stanford have put many of their classes online for anyone to take, and for free. But there is no degree to be had, even for those who ace the courses.

George Washington University’s online MBA Healthcare degree, for example, costs the same $1,485 per unit (52.5 units gets you to the finish line) as the standard program. The reasons for this are many, but perhaps the most important is that universities are terrified of debasing the value of their diplomas.

Drop the price of the online degree, the logic goes, and you could have a Napster-like moment sweeping college campuses. Revenues spiral down as degree programs are forced to compete on tuition. That’s a terrifying prospect for universities, which have depended on steadily rising tuition—growing at more than twice the rate of inflation—to cover costs.

Georgia Tech’s new program, though, throws a monkey wrench into the system by reordering the competitive landscape. U.S. News & World Report ranks the computer science department among the nation’s top 10. The new degree—which is a partnership with MOOC pioneer Udacity—is intended to carry the same weight and prestige as the one it awards students in its regular on-campus program.

Uncharted Territory

Someone at Georgia Tech is thinking, and that person is Zvi Galil, the head of Georgia Tech’s school of computing.

"This is uncharted territory," he says. But, he warns, if Georgia Tech doesn’t do this someone else might come along and do it first—grabbing the notoriety, the students, and the revenue. "There is a revolution. I want to lead it, not follow it".

As I have stated repeatedly, someone was bound to do this, and here we are. And it will not stop with advanced degrees, but rather spread like wildfire to lower degrees.

I have warned parents with kids in grade school to not lock in education costs at today's rates because I expected costs to come down. And they will, dramatically, within a few years.

Unfortunately, this will not do much for high school seniors right now. And it certainly will not do anything for those buried in student debt with no job and no way to pay it back.

But relief is coming for those still in grade school.

Welcome Deflationary Event

College dorms will be for kids of the wealthy, but even then, expect costs to mitigate somewhat when parents decide there is no extra "value" in spending an additional $40,000 a year for education.

Yes, this is a deflationary event, and one that everyone will welcome (except those who benefit from the current system of waste and graft).

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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Exploring the Impossible: India Seeks to Expand Trade in Rupees; India Stock Market Sinks; Rupee Decline Continues

The desperate act of the day comes from Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid who says India Looking to Expand Rupee-Payment System.

India is exploring possibilities of a rupee-based trade-payment mechanism with several countries, Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said Tuesday, a move that may help stabilize the local currency and reduce the country's current-account deficit.

India already has a rupee-based payment mechanism with Iran, which was worked out by New Delhi and Tehran to skirt Western sanctions against Iran. Under that, Iranian oil would be purchased with Indian rupees, which Iran would use to buy Indian goods, which include food, drugs, consumer products and auto parts.

India imports more than three-fourths of the crude oil it requires and a depreciating rupee has increased its energy costs in the local currency, adding to the government's fuel subsidies. The Indian rupee has fallen nearly 20% against the U.S. dollar since early May.

"Our commerce [trade] minister is in touch with many countries. Let's see where it is possible," Mr. Khurshid told reporters here. "If it is possible, than it would be of help to us right now," he added.

Exploring the Impossible

The only reason Iran accepts Rupees is because of embargoes by the US and Europe on trade with Iran. As a result, Iran is shut off from trade in dollars and euros, and in a desperate move of its own is willing to accept rupees.

No one else wants the damn things including India citizens who would rather own gold. See India in Serious Trouble (and Gold at the Heart of It).

Such reality does not stop foreign ministers from exploring the impossible, and wasting more time in the process.

The real world does not stop on such foolishness. For more on the real world, please see DeLong-in-Wonderland.

Also note the Rupee itself.

Rupee vs. US Dollar



The Rupee has declined 35% against the US dollar since July 2011.

Asia Pacific Stock Market



BSE is the India stock market.

That India's Foreign Minister is on a mission to explore the impossible is sure sign that desperation has set in, and India has no idea what to do.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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DeLong-in-Wonderland

Preposterous economic proposals from economists living in academic wonderland are the norm.

For example: Please consider the following statements by Brad DeLong, a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, from his post Central Banking: Banking Camp vs. Macroeconomics Camp.

A prolonged and sustained central-bank policy of purchasing ever-increasing quantities of long-term assets is essential to get a financial sector with diminished appetite for risk to use some of its risk-bearing capacity for its proper purpose of reducing the risk burden on entrepreneurship and enterprise. But such a policy removes diminishes financiers' ability to rely on the easy business of riding the duration yield curve for profits. A simple and straightforward central-bank statement that in the aftermath of 2008-2013 it is clear that inflation targets in the 0-2%/year range run unwarranted downside employment risks, and that inflation targets should instead be in the 2-4%/year range is an obvious no-brainer from the standpoint of an organization that exists to balance aggregate demand to potential aggregate supply.

In Academic Wonderland

Those in academic-wonderland think inflation is the cure for everything. Somehow they know (or believe central banks should know)...

1. The right amount of inflation
2. The right amount of risk taking
3. The right amount of unemployment
4. The right policies that will achieve 1, 2, and 3 above.

In the Real World

• In the real world, the Fed can set inflation targets but the market does not have to agree
• In the real world, The Fed can target money supply but it cannot force consumers to borrow or banks to lend
• In the real world, asset bubbles frequently form before price inflation hits
• In the real world, the Fed missed a huge asset bubble in dotcom stocks in 1998-2000
• In the real world, the Greenspan Fed created the biggest housing and credit bubbles in history
• In the real world, Bernanke did not even realize there was a housing bubble until it burst

No Brainer or No Brains?

DeLong states "... it is clear that inflation targets in the 0-2%/year range run unwarranted downside employment risks, and that inflation targets should instead be in the 2-4%/year range is an obvious no-brainer..."

1. If inflation was a cure-all, India would not be in the midst of a currency crisis
2. If achieving 4% price inflation without causing other economic distortions was so easy, Japan would have had inflation decades ago

I could provide a thousand more examples but won't.

Delong-in-Fantasyland

DeLong humorously bills his blog as "Grasping Reality with Every Possible Tentacle: Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal--Fair, Balanced, and Reality-Based 99.4% of the Time".

Let's return to the real world.

When Nixon closed the gold window, the expansion of credit exploded. The Fed blew asset bubble after asset bubble. Fed policies not only got the US economy in serious trouble twice, those policies continue to play a huge part in the wage discrepancies that inflationists like DeLong moan about.

In the real world, Japan got in trouble to the tune of 250% of GDP with ridiculous Keynesian and monetarist "solutions" that did not work.

In the real world, Japan is in deep trouble financing interest on its national debt, even at rates close to 0%.

Delong-in-Wonderland says the cure for such problems is more of the same policies that got us in trouble in the first place.

DeLong may as well stand in front of the ocean and command the tides to stop. Such is the thinking (or lack thereof) of those in ivory towers who think mind-over-matter and Alice-in-Wonderland policies work.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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India Manufacturing PMI Contracts for First Time Since March 2009; Eurozone Manufacturing PMI 26-Month High of 51.4

A weak manufacturing recovery of sorts is underway in Europe. How long it lasts remains in question, with France not participating in the recovery.

The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI® shows Final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 26-month high of 51.4 in August (July: 50.3).

Country PMI Rankings



The upturns in production at German, Italian, Dutch and Austrian manufacturers all strengthened on the back of improving inflows of new business. Output also rose further in Ireland and returned to growth in Spain as a result of an increase in new business. All of these nations also reported higher levels of new export business, with rates of increase hitting 28-month highs in Italy and the Netherlands, a 32-month record in Spain and a 29-month high in Austria. German exports rose following five months of decline, while the rate of growth in Ireland held broadly steady at July’s seven-month peak.

In contrast, output, new orders and new export orders fell at French manufacturers. Production also declined in Greece, despite stabilisations in both total new business and foreign demand following prolonged spells of contraction.

India Manufacturing PMI Contracts for First Time Since March 2009

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI™ shows Manufacturing operating conditions deteriorate for first time in over four years.

Business conditions in the Indian manufacturing sector deteriorated during August for the first time in over four years, with both output and new orders falling at faster rates. Export orders also declined, ending an 11-month sequence of growth.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI™) fell from 50.1 to 48.5 in August, indicating a moderate deterioration of business conditions. The latest index reading was the lowest in four-and-a-half years and the first sub-50.0 reading since March 2009.

Amid reports of fragile economic conditions and subdued client demand, new orders placed at Indian manufacturers fell solidly in August. Furthermore, the rate of contraction accelerated to the fastest since February 2009. Order book volumes across the intermediate goods sector decreased at a sharp and accelerated pace, while consumer goods producers registered a slight decline.

New business from abroad also fell, ending an 11-month sequence of growth. Anecdotal evidence suggested that competitive pressures increased and that demand from key export clients was weaker. Consequently, Indian manufacturers reduced their production volumes for the fourth consecutive month in August and at the fastest rate in four-and-a-half years.

Clearly this is not good for the Rupee. Nor is the outlook promising for India's preposterous growth target of 6 percent.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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India in Serious Trouble (and Gold at the Heart of It)

Last week India's trade minister, Anand Sharma, came out with a laughable suggestion: RBI should consider monetizing gold.

India’s central bank should look into the possibility of monetizing gold holdings, trade minister Anand Sharma said on Thursday, in the latest proposal aimed at combating a yawning current account deficit that has hammered the rupee.

It was not immediately clear whether Sharma was referring to the 557.7 tonnes of gold the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) holds in its own reserves, or gold in private hands. He did not give more details of how the proposal would work.

India has the world’s third largest current account deficit (CAD), which is approaching nearly $90 billion, driven in large part by a huge appetite for gold imports. The deficit has helped undermine the rupee, the worst performing major currency since May.

Any talk of using the country’s gold to help meet India’s international obligations revives memories of a 1991 balance of payments crisis—when India flew 47 tonnes of gold to Europe as collateral to avoid a sovereign debt default.

In comments published by The Hindu newspaper last week, David Gornall, chairman of the London Bullion Market Association, said India could raise $23 billion by swapping gold for a payable currency for a period of its choice, while remaining the long-term holder of the gold.

Free Money?

I am not sure which is sillier 1) proposing selling gold or 2) Proposing India could get $23 billion in free money by swapping gold while retaining ownership.

India Might Buy Gold From Citizens to Ease Rupee Crisis

Reuters picked up on this story in an equally convoluted report India Might Buy Gold From Citizens to Ease Rupee Crisis

India is considering a radical plan to direct commercial banks to buy gold from ordinary citizens and divert it to precious metal refiners in an attempt to curb imports and take some heat off the plunging currency.

A pilot project will be launched soon, a source familiar with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) plan told Reuters, although the idea was met with some scepticism.

India has the world's third-largest current account deficit, which is approaching nearly $90 billion, driven in a large part by appetite for gold imports in the world's biggest consumer of the metal. That has played a major role in driving the rupee to a record low.

"We will start a pilot project among some banks where we will allow them to buy back gold from individual households," the source, an official familiar with the central bank's plan, said. "This will start soon, we have discussed (it) with banks."

Radical Plan With Scant Details

Somehow India wants to buy gold from citizens, and it also wants to sell it (or sell gold bonds supposedly backed by gold). Details are scarce but it safe to conclude that the scheme is preposterous no matter what it is.

Pater Tenebrarum at the Acting Man blog pinged me with this comment "The Indian government is instituting one stop-gap measure after another. Buying gold from its citizens? For rupees? Don't make me laugh...Indians buy gold to get out of the rupee"

Stop-Gap Measures

In his post covering Stop-Gap Measures by India's Government, Tenebrarum stated ...

It also seems likely to us that some traders are worrying that India's government might do something stupid about its gold reserves or the gold held by its citizens. This worry is definitely justified, as India's government has so far done nothing but institute stop-gap measures to halt the slide of the rupee and the deterioration of the country's current account. Not a single step has been taken that would actually be required: bold reform is needed, but it is politically unpopular. And so the government takes one useless emergency measure after another – and it is definitely eying gold as the next vehicle to do something stupid with.

Should India try something with gold, it is perfectly safe to conclude no matter what the plan is, the plan will fail.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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Terrorists Won the War on Terror; 74% of Pakistanis View US as Enemy, 60% Have No Confidence in Obama

Eric Tillberg, writer on Policy Mic says The War On Terror is Over, and the Terrorists Won.

After the first two shots of the War on Terror on September 11, 2001, the first major battle of the war occurred, and was lost, on October 26, 2001. This was the day the PATRIOT Act was signed into law by President Bush.

Terrorists, by killing 3,000 people in a spectacular fashion, goaded the United States into compromising its values and betraying its citizens.

As a followup, the terrorists won another victory with the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security on November 25, 2002. This department gives a much more menacing facade to the federal government and proved to be the moment when American citizens got the idea that they were viewed as the enemy by their own government.

Defeats continued with the establishment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), representing an increase in funding for an already bloated (and misnamed) Department of Defense. By this point, the American idea was on life support with little hope of reversal. The final blow that rang the bell of defeat for our nation was PRISM. Although PRISM began in 2007, we have only recently learned of its existence thanks to Edward Snowden.

The defeat of America in the War on Terror provides an excellent explanation for the resurgence of libertarian politics at home. It is a natural reaction, when one no longer trusts the government, to demand the right to keep and use arms and to demand that the government extract itself from most if not all aspects of our lives.

We don't only have to look internally to see that the terrorists have won. Al-Qaeda has not gone away and has not been obliterated. In this grand game of whack-a-mole, the moles see our weakening resolve to preserve ourselves and are encouraged by it. The passage of these laws must be seen as propagandistic victories to the terrorists and undoubtedly help in their recruitment. We must rediscover the American idea and begin living by it once again. This would be the best way to turn the tide on the War on Terror.

Pakistan and US Drone Policy

Shortly after 911, the US had support of the vast majority of Pakistani citizens. Polls now show only 55% unfavorable attitude towards Al Qaeda even as support dwindles elsewhere.



74% of Pakistanis View US as an Enemy

A PEW Research survey on Global Attitudes shows 74% of Pakistanis Call America an Enemy.

Roughly three-in-four Pakistanis (74%) consider the U.S. an enemy, up from 69% last year and 64% three years ago. And President Obama is held in exceedingly low regard. Indeed, among the 15 nations surveyed in both 2008 and 2012 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, Pakistan is the only country where ratings for Obama are no better than the ratings President George W. Bush received during his final year in office.

Moreover, roughly four-in-ten believe that American economic and military aid is actually having a negative impact on their country, while only about one-in-ten think the impact is positive.

Only 17% back American drone strikes against leaders of extremist groups, even if they are conducted in conjunction with the Pakistani government.

Pakistani Views of US, OBama



Unwinnable War

Terror is a method. It is not possible to win a war on a method.

And because US drone policy kills many innocent people as did senseless invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, more people resent US aggression now, than before 911.

Place yourself in the shoes of the average Pakistani who has lost a friend or family member in drone attacks. Would you think the US was an enemy? Of course you would.

Would you view those drone attacks as an act of terror? Of course you would. The US is making enemies hand over fist with its drone policy (which itself is an act of terror killing innocent civilians along the way).

How can you win a war on method, especially when you use the method yourself?

Is Obama another Bush Clone?

Please also see Is Obama Another Bush Clone? Another Nixon Clone?

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

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