Analyst's note: Absolutely must read and carefully considered. Here we go again. With John Kerry and Barrack Obama involved, what could possibly go wrong? When are we ever going to learn that we dhimmis will NOT force change in the Middle East short of a few warnings prior to beginning the creation of "glass runways and parking lots?" May I join the growing chorus of those who call for energy independence here in America. We don't need to be bowing to the defensive requirements and "requests" imposed by Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia. Nor should we be listening to the Muslim Brotherhood whispering in the ears of those in our federal government. History will ultimately prove these statement to be correct.
"The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region as Iraq adjusts to the withdrawal of American combat forces and the world nervously eyes Iran, according to a congressional report.
The study by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee examined the U.S. relationship with the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman - against a fast-moving backdrop. In just the last two days, Saudi Arabia's ruler named Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz as the country's new crown prince after last week's death of Prince Nayef, and Kuwait's government suspended parliament for a month over an internal political feud.
The latest developments inject even more uncertainty as the Middle East deals with the demands of the Arab Spring, the end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq at the end of 2011 and fears of Iran's nuclear program.
[....] "Home to more than half of the world's oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the Persian Gulf is critical to the global economy," the report said. "However, the region faces a myriad of political and security challenges, from the Iranian nuclear program to the threat of terrorism to the political crisis in Bahrain."
The report obtained by The Associated Press in advance of Tuesday's release provided precise numbers on U.S. forces in Kuwait, a presence that Pentagon officials have only acknowledged on condition of anonymity. Currently, there are about 15,000 U.S. forces in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring, giving the United States staging hubs, training ranges and locations to provide logistical support. The report said the number of troops is likely to drop to 13,500.
[....] Several members of Congress, most notably Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had pressed for a residual U.S. force to remain in Iraq, but the failure of the two countries to agree on whether American troops should be granted legal immunity scuttled that idea. Instead, officials talked of positioning a strong U.S. force just across the border in Kuwait. The strategy preserves "lily pad" basing that allows the military to move quickly from one location to the next.
[....] Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., who asked his staff to conduct the study, said in a statement: "This is a period of historic, but turbulent change in the Middle East. We need to be clear-eyed about what these interests are and how best to promote them. This report provides a thoughtful set of recommendations designed to do exactly that."
The 37-page report raises questions about how the United States can leverage its financial aid to force change in the Middle East. Late last year, two Democrats - Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts - opposed the U.S. sale of spare parts and equipment to Bahrain, arguing that the ruling Sunni monarchy was violating human rights and using excessive force to crack down on protests. The State Department went ahead earlier this year with the sale of some military equipment, saying it was for Bahrain's external defense and support for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is based in the country.
Bahrain stands as a strategic ally to counter Iran.
We also point out the following today from Congresswoman MIchelle Bachmanns home page on artical regarding House Members Seek National Security Answers from Inspectors General
Today, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06) and Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Tom Rooney (FL-16) and Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) sent letters to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State. These letters seek answers about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that calls for "civilization jihad."
In the letter, Bachmann, Franks, Gohmert, Rooney and Westmoreland questioned the Inspectors General about the direct influence within the intelligence community of Muslim Brotherhood operatives. They explained that the U.S. government in federal court has established that the group’s mission in the U.S. is "destroying the Western civilization from within." The members went on to request that the respective offices of the Inspectors General conduct a formal investigation or evaluation of the extent to which Muslim Brotherhood-tied individuals or entities are involved.
"The national security of our country depends on getting straight answers from the Inspectors General to the questions we posed in these letters," said Bachmann. "The Muslim Brotherhood is not shy about their call for jihad against the United States. We seek answers through these letters because we will not tolerate this group and its affiliates holding positions of power in our government or influencing our nation’s leaders."
"Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of ‘destroying Western civilization from within,’ and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism," said Gohmert. "For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."
"The Muslim Brotherhood openly calls for violence against the United States, but we’re learning that this organization may be infiltrating our ranks, even within our military," said Rooney. "We need our top security agencies to investigate thoroughly the degree to which members of this organization are active in our defense and intelligence communities, and what impact that has on our national security."
"We must always stay vigilant when fighting against those who want to destroy our way of life," said Westmoreland. "The Muslim Brotherhood may not have the name recognition of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but that does not mean they don't have the potential to be just as deadly. I'm hoping these letters will send the message to our country's intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic agencies that we cannot ignore the Muslim Brotherhood and must look into their operations and membership with the seriousness that is necessary in order to root them out of our government."
Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood’s motto reads, "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
Signers of the letter serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Bachmann, Rooney and Westmoreland), the Armed Services Committee (Franks and Rooney) and the Judiciary Committee (Franks and Gohmert). Additionally, Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Copies of the letters are available here: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State.
In summary, may I strongly suggest we consider a review of the ideas found in Winning the War against the Islamic Enemy
This article lays out what is required to stop the continued attacks from Islamist who follow the ideological concept of the jihad of war. The United States (seen my this enemy as the Great Satan) is in a war to the death and we need to realize it before it is too late. I appreciate the lack of political correctness in this article. To defeat this Islamist enemy - as with any enemy - we must first identify him and all that supports him. And then following the "Law of Retaliation", we must be willing to avenge ourselves on our enemies. They must KNOW that we WILL give them ALL more pain and destruction, even to the third and forth generation, than they can possibly conceive and are willing to bear. This is the war that the Islamist will understand ... he and all who support him must know that they will be expected to repay four-fold in all things for which he has done to us. We don't stop this war ... the Islamist enemy who started it will stop only when he is totally, UNCONDITIONALLY defeated. We didn't start it, they did, but we can end it. Our "leaders" of both parties have thus far failed to achieve step one. I love to see a good idea come together. Here is the bottom-line - Semper Fidelis:
"[....] We don't need to win their hearts and minds, and unless we clone Mohammed and put him through an intensive course in loving America, we don't have a shot at doing that. Islam is a religion which believes that order and justice come about when Muslims dominate non-Muslims. That's not a misunderstanding, it's their religion. It's also not our problem so long as we keep that religion and its attempts to impose their order and justice as far away from us as possible.
Forget convincing them that they shouldn't want to kill us, that's not our job. Our job is to convince them that trying is futile. That the consequences of trying to do it will hurt them more than it hurts us.
It's much easier to drop bombs on some tribesmen in Yemen or Afghanistan than paying a call to the Saudi King, It's much easier to send soldiers out to win hearts and minds in some hopeless part of the world, than to bring the war home to glittering cities closely interlinked with Western business interests like Riyadh, Doha and Dubai.
[....] To defeat them, we have to deal with the financial and ideological infrastructure that fuels the Jihad, which runs out of the desert across the region, and then to Asia, Africa and even America. Taking on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates; would be a genuinely gutsy call, not because they're militarily formidable, but because it would force us to break out of the box that we've been living in. The box that says there are no large scale conflicts, only police actions that keep the peace and prevent the enemy from spreading too far.
[....] To defeat the enemy, we have to defeat the enemy. And that means destroying his wealth, his backers, his intellectual leaders and the energy source that provides the momentum for the conflict. The Muslim world is not a single indivisible whole, but there are men with great wealth and power, operating out of the historical stomping grounds of Mohammed, who are trying to make it one. They are the enemy and if we do not destroy them, they may destroy us."
