In remarks made before White House journalists on August 28, 2014 President Barack Obama, officially the Commander-in-Chief of the world’s most powerful military, offered his nation the following status of his leadership in the emerging global struggle with the Islamic State. “We don’t have a strategy yet,” so stated President Obama, with a level of reckless candor that is frankly astonishing.

And what about the Commander-in-Chief of the growing jihadi movement  coalescing under the framework of the caliphate that calls itself the Islamic State? The self-appointed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is much too savvy to reveal his grand strategic plan at a public press briefing. However, his public utterances display no ambiguity about his strategic goals and vision: to wage a merciless war of revenge against all the infidels on the planet, the United States  being his number one target. Furthermore, the impressive and swift battlefield successes achieved by the Islamic State over a wide geographic space encompassing  both Syria and Iraq display clear evidence of high-level strategic planning and near-flawless execution. It is unquestionably clear that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, unlike Barack Obama, is not waiting for a strategy to magically be formed; the grand strategy of the Islamic State not only exists; it is being aggressively implemented.

On paper, one could argue, it is inconceivable that the global jihad under the auspices of the Islamic State can defeat the world’s sole remaining superpower. Such rationalization betrays both intellectual conceit and a profound ignorance of history. From the fall of Rome to the Teutonic barbarians to the defeat of the British Empire by American revolutionaries, the historical record is replete with examples of supposedly mightier nations succumbing to numerically and economically inferior opponents on the battlefield. The brutal lesson of history is that very often it is not the side that is more humane and enlightened that prevails. Too often, the inverse is the case, though for reasons only tangentially linked to the display of greater ruthlessness. Strong leadership with a fierce devotion to victory at whatever cost, combined with a high level of strategic and tactical skill, is far more relevant in the martial contest between competing nations and ideologies than the relative level of civilization. Undoubtedly, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is both informed and inspired by what occurred in the century following the death of the Prophet Mohammed; the conquest of the Middle East, Southwest Asia, North Africa and large parts of Southern Europe by Arabian horsemen inspired by an uncompromising religious ideology that offered but one prescription: conquer or die.

With admirable honesty, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel informed the media that, with respect to the Islamic State, “They’re beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. Oh, this is beyond anything that we’ve seen. So we must prepare for everything.”

Since Hagel’s brutally frank characterization of the threat posed to the United States, administration officials and pundits have awkwardly attempted to walk back the perceived threat, arguing that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is too focused on operations in Iraq and Syria at present to be in a position to begin targeting the U.S. homeland-as though these people actually have a pipeline into the innermost thoughts of the caliph of the Islamic State. In reality, the U.S. intelligence community, and by extension President Obama and his administration, have no clear idea of the threat America confronts, or the military and operational capacity of the Islamic State. While frantic arguing ensues over the supposed threat of jihadists with European and American passports returning home to commit random acts of violence, has anyone in the policymaking echelon considered that a declared enemy of the United States who has already displayed an impressive level of operational skill is more likely to attack the American homeland in a manner that achieves far greater strategic consequences than merely bombing a subway or bus?

Until and unless the U.S. has leadership that is as determined, disciplined and focused as is found in the newly established caliphate, we may find the 21st century being overwhelmed and subjugated by the 7th century.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President of the United States  in 2016, see the video about the book that warned back in 2008 what a second Clinton presidency would mean for the USA:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Hillary Clinton Nude

Six years after the onset of the global economic crisis, and despite trillions of euros in added government debt and unprecedented monetary easing by the European Central Bank (ECB), the Eurozone economy is dead in the water. Unemployment remains disastrously high, and the marginal GDP growth  of some of the smaller Eurozone countries was offset by poor data from France and Germany-the two countries comprise two thirds of the Eurozone’s GDP.

Germany’s economic data was especially bad. The largest economy in the monetary union contracted by 0.2 percent  in Q2 of 2014. In the same period, France experienced zero growth, while Italy entered a technical recession. On balance, the debt and money-printing supported economies of Europe stood  at zero GDP growth in the second quarter of 2014. And the worst may be yet to come. The economic sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis has resulted in retaliatory sanctions, which will inevitably hit the Eurozone in Q3 of this year. In addition, there are warning signs of an economic slowdown in China.  There are ill omens ahead for the Eurozone.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President of the United States  in 2016, see the video about the book that warned back in 2008 what a second Clinton presidency would mean for the USA:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Hillary Clinton Nude

In 2003, as President George W. Bush  unleashed his invasion of Iraq-based on the false premise of WMDs- for the overarching goal of reengineering the Arab world to conform to Western notions of governance and economics, the Christian community of that ancient Mesopotamian land numbered 1.5 million, representing some 5 percent of the Iraqi population. At present, eleven years after the disastrous American intervention, the Christian community in Mesopotamia has dwindled by more than two thirds. How many remain is hard to estimate; credible figures range from under half a million to as low as 200,000, the latter estimate postulated by The Economist.  How ironic that the most powerful Christian-majority nation on the planet unleashed a series of events in the heart of the Arab world that may see the eventual  extinction of the nearly two-millennia old Christian community in Mesopotamia.

Christianity predates Islam in the Middle East by hundreds of years. With the establishment of the Arab empires following  the death of the Prophet Mohammed, particularly the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, the status of minorities within the Islamic world became  defined as dhimma, an Arabic term defining the granting of a minority religion the right to practice their faith and establish communal institutions, but with restrictions and requirements that enshrined their submission to the Muslim state, including payment of a special tax, referred to in Arabic as the jizya. The dhimma status was granted to Christians and Jews, both peoples recognized as being “people of the book.” Other religious minorities were deprived of any protection, and regarded as pagan heresies.

Despite the rights granted under the dhimma status, the Christians in the Arab world never had an easy existence, even under the best of circumstances. Under the Caliphate of the Ottoman Turks, the plight of the Christians actually worsened. Nearly a century ago, approximately 1.5 million Armenian Christians died during  a massive ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by the Ottoman Empire during the early period of the First World War-the first genocide of the 20th century.

The period of European colonial rule that followed World War I, which included the creation of artificial, multi-ethnic and religious entities under the Sykes-Picot Agreement,  and subsequent independence of these nations after World War II, allowed a brief period in which Christians in the Arab world could coexist with the Muslim majority in a context where Arab nationalism temporarily transcended religious identity. That is no more.  The radioactive half-life of the U.S. military intervention in Iraq has demolished the thin veneer of secular nationalism that defined the post-World War II Arab Middle East, and opened a Pandora’s box of repressed 7th Century religious fanaticism that may well spell doom for the ancient Christian communities in much of the Arab world.

The recent onslaught of the armies of the Islamic State, under the brutal but militarily effective leadership of its self-appointed caliph, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, has led to the seizure of large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria. The very heart of the Christian communities in Mesopotamia have now fallen under the control of the Islamic State.  The caliphate has made clear its attitude towards the Christians: they are “crusaders,” and therefore Islam’s number one enemy. In Mosul and other towns with substantial Christian  communities, the Islamic State quickly laid down its policy towards these beleaguered people; convert to Islam, pay the jizya tax or be put to death. Initially, they are also being allowed to flee with no more than the clothes on their backs. In short order, even that option will likely be denied them. The largest Christian town in Iraq, Qaraqosh, with a population of 50,000, has now fallen to the Islamic State. Their future is indeed dire.

Most movements that commit large-scale massacres typically keep their blood-soaked deeds secretive. With the Islamic State, the opposite is the case. The caliphate has placed on the Internet a score or more of videos displaying with boastful pride the mass shootings and beheadings of Shiites in Iraq and Alawites in Syria. If this is the manner in which the Islamic State deals with Muslims who don’t follow the Sunni  tradition, can there be any doubt as to the ultimate fate that will befall the Christians of the Arab world who fall under the control of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi and his fanatical followers?

A horrific fate awaits the Christians in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Yet, the world is silent. The progressive leftwing has its own ideological agenda, to which the Christians of the Middle East are irrelevant. The two most powerful Christian-majority countries, the United States and Russia, are too distracted by a crisis both nations manufactured over another Christian-majority country, Ukraine, to intervene and prevent the unfolding slaughter.

The first genocide of the  twenty-first century approaches, yet the world displays profound indifference. As we all bear witness to another mass extermination  in human history, it is a scathing reminder that the capacity of the human race to forget the lessons of the past remains daunting.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President of the United States  in 2016, see the video about the book that warned back in 2008 what a second Clinton presidency would mean for the USA:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Hillary Clinton Nude

Italy, which has the 4th largest economy in the European Union,  is technically back in recession. According to official economic  data, the Italian economy in Q2 of 2014 contracted by 0.2 percent. This marks the second consecutive quarter of negative economic growth, thus meeting the technical definition of an economic recession.

Italy’s politics are a mess. Its judiciary is a mess.  It has a large untaxed underground economy, contributing to massive fiscal deficits. Despite some highly skilled entrepreneurs and impressive industrial sectors, the Italian economy is uncompetitive on the global market, particularly in comparison with its northern neighbor, Germany. Then again, Italy’s economic woes are no worse, and in many cases better, than other European economic basket cases, including Spain and Greece.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President of the United States  in 2016, see the video about the book that warned back in 2008 what a second Clinton presidency would mean for the USA:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Hillary Clinton Nude

For the second time since 2001, Argentina, the third largest economy in Latin America with a GDP of approximately 400 billion dollars, has defaulted on its sovereign debt. The cause this time is related to its previous default; hedge funds holding  bad debts from the previous default have successfully employed legal means to prevent Buenos Aires from paying current servicing on its restructured debt.

These hedge funds that seek out defaulted loans are commonly referred to as vulture funds. They buy up bad debts at a fraction of their face value, then they employ aggressive legal  tactics to force the defaulting sovereign to cough up substantial payments to the investors, reaping in the process massive profits.

I can think of no better metaphor explaining the mendacious economic distortion of modern-day capitalism.

If Hillary Clinton runs for President of the United States  in 2016, see the video about the book that warned back in 2008 what a second Clinton presidency would mean for the USA:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Hillary Clinton Nude