Given the column today on Hunter Biden, another story stood out in the morning the mix. Barron’s is reporting that Chelsea Clinton raked in $9 million in compensation since 2011 from various corporations by serving on corporate boards. While Chelsea Clinton has not had the record of personal wreckage of Hunter Biden, one could legitimately ask why corporations like IAC/InterActiveCorp (with brands like Tinder, Angie’s List, and Home Adviser) are so eager to have her on the board other than her connection to her still powerful parents.
Clinton was widely panned for her stint at NBC news as a “special correspondent,” a position that journalists derided as a special deal by NBC for her parents.
The issue of such influence peddling and connections can be complex with the children of powerful politicians. The problem with Hunter Biden is that he clearly sought to capitalize on such influence peddling in contracts like the one with Burisma. However, it is also fair for children like Clinton to object that they cannot escape the connection and whatever they achieve is viewed through the lens of suspicion. I was a critic of NBC’s hiring of Clinton at $600,000 a year, who was heavily criticized for her skills and performance. However, Clinton has done more than Biden in writing books, working with Clinton funded charities, and other pursuits. While we can have legitimate concerns over influence peddling, it is also unreasonable to expect the children of powerful politicians to go into self-imposed exile.
Chelsea Clinton? I wish she was not doing that. I wish she was doing things to help the world, building homes like the Jimmy Carters, something worthwhile.
That said, no, she is not Hunter Biden.
Chelsea -- Ms. Clinton (sorry, she was a child when I was already a parent) -- is not hiding what she is doing. It is not illegal. I do not think it is even unethical.
Her father is no longer president.
It is easy money which is why I wish she was doing something more; however, it is not illegal or even questionable money.
Even the $600,000 came after her mother was no longer Secretary of State. More to the point, on the NBC deal, she earned it. I thought she did a very poor job on NBC but she did publicly and it was not hidden and she was slammed for her performance.
I do not see this as the same as Hunter Biden.
I do like Ms. Clinton. I always thought she was a sweet, little girl and, even when her mother ticks me off, I still see Chelsea Clinton as that cute, little girl so that may be interfering with my judgment. I do not think it is but I will toss that out there.
The difference here is that Joe Biden was Vice President when his son was grifting. The difference is Hunter Biden's Ukraine deal looks suspect. The difference is President Barack Obama tasked Mr. Biden with rooting out corruption in Ukraine and there was his own son with a sweetheart, questionable deal.
Bill and Hillary Clinton are private citizens now. Chelsea Clinton is a private citizen.
If Hillary Clinton was trying to land the presidential nomination right now, it would be different. We would have to evaluate and re-evaluate everything.
Joe Biden is trying to become president right now. What his son did and does matters as a result.
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Monday:
Monday, January 6, 2020. A resolution passes the Iraqi Parliament but
it's not yet a law, Donald Trump threatens sanctions, fools hail Qasem
Solei mani as the defeater of ISIS, and much more.
Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament declared that all US troops should leave Iraq. We're wording it that way for a reason, we'll get to that reason shortly. This morning, Louisa Loveluck (WASHINGTON POST) notes:
SPUTNIK adds:
The Iraqi authorities have begun the preapartions for removing US troops from the country, Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a security spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, told reporters on Monday.
He said that the US-led international coalition will be allowed to consult, arm and train Iraqi military personnel and security forces, but the troops will be removed.
Khalaf added that the Iraqi government had limited the movements of foreign forces on the ground and in the air.
THE NATIONAL explains that what the Parliament voted on yesterday was a resolution and not a law, a "non-binding resolution" which will not go to the Cabinet. They explain of Parliament's actions on Sunday, "The session was boycotted by nearly half of all Iraqis parliamentarians and led by caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, a man who had resigned from his position last month. He was largely discredited among Iraqi youth for overseeing a ruthless crackdown that took the lives of hundreds of unarmed protesters - many of whom died at the hands of pro-Iranian militias represented in parliament."
It's non-binding. It's also true that US troops could remain in Kuwait and, yes, Iraq. How?
Well the Kurds didn't attend the session on Sunday (nor did most Sunnis) and the Kurds are semi-autonomous. When thug Nouri was prime minister and trying to arrest Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi as part of his purge of all Sunnis, where did Tareq go? The KRG. And he stayed there for months before leaving Iraq. And there was nothing Baghdad could do about it but bluster and scream.
So the US could keep US troops in Iraq via the KRG if they had to ("had to" meaning they were truly kicked out -- which at this point they haven't been). Baghdad would issue threats and probably cut off monies. The US government would probably be willing to pay monies of its own to keep US troops in Iraq. The US government could also send US troops to Turkey -- don't forget there's already a CIA compound near the border Turkey shares with Iraq, Bully Boy Bush negotiated that during his second term.
US President Donald Trump is threatening sanctions against Iraq if US troops are kicked out. Joanna Tan (CNBC) reports:
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the U.S. president said: “If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,” Trump said.
The president added that “If there’s any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq.”
We'll note this response on Twitter.
Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament declared that all US troops should leave Iraq. We're wording it that way for a reason, we'll get to that reason shortly. This morning, Louisa Loveluck (WASHINGTON POST) notes:
While
parliamentary approval seems not to be needed, at least technically
speaking, their vote Sunday provides political cover for a prime
minister who has been operating in a caretaker capacity since mass
protests forced his resignation back in November.
“There
is no law required to kick the U.S. military out because a law did not
establish their presence,” Mardini said. “Baghdad has demonstrated its
signal to Washington that the presence of the U.S. military is no longer
wanted in Iraq. Since parliament is responsible for determining who is
the next prime minister, it’s hard to imagine that individual going
against the parliament’s vote."
SPUTNIK adds:
The Iraqi authorities have begun the preapartions for removing US troops from the country, Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a security spokesman for Iraq's prime minister, told reporters on Monday.
He said that the US-led international coalition will be allowed to consult, arm and train Iraqi military personnel and security forces, but the troops will be removed.
Khalaf added that the Iraqi government had limited the movements of foreign forces on the ground and in the air.
THE NATIONAL explains that what the Parliament voted on yesterday was a resolution and not a law, a "non-binding resolution" which will not go to the Cabinet. They explain of Parliament's actions on Sunday, "The session was boycotted by nearly half of all Iraqis parliamentarians and led by caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, a man who had resigned from his position last month. He was largely discredited among Iraqi youth for overseeing a ruthless crackdown that took the lives of hundreds of unarmed protesters - many of whom died at the hands of pro-Iranian militias represented in parliament."
It's non-binding. It's also true that US troops could remain in Kuwait and, yes, Iraq. How?
Well the Kurds didn't attend the session on Sunday (nor did most Sunnis) and the Kurds are semi-autonomous. When thug Nouri was prime minister and trying to arrest Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi as part of his purge of all Sunnis, where did Tareq go? The KRG. And he stayed there for months before leaving Iraq. And there was nothing Baghdad could do about it but bluster and scream.
So the US could keep US troops in Iraq via the KRG if they had to ("had to" meaning they were truly kicked out -- which at this point they haven't been). Baghdad would issue threats and probably cut off monies. The US government would probably be willing to pay monies of its own to keep US troops in Iraq. The US government could also send US troops to Turkey -- don't forget there's already a CIA compound near the border Turkey shares with Iraq, Bully Boy Bush negotiated that during his second term.
US President Donald Trump is threatening sanctions against Iraq if US troops are kicked out. Joanna Tan (CNBC) reports:
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the U.S. president said: “If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.”
“We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time. We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it,” Trump said.
The president added that “If there’s any hostility, that they do anything we think is inappropriate, we are going to put sanctions on Iraq, very big sanctions on Iraq.”
We'll note this response on Twitter.
Mr.President @realDonaldTrump I was tasked by many Iraqis to carry a message to you, Iraqis are in fear of what will happen if their country is sanctioned, lmajority of them do not agree with the parliament nor their government and they have been protesting for the past 95 days
And, again, their Parliament was not in full attendance -- all Kurds and most Sunni lawmakers boycotted the Sunday session.
Sanctions terrify Iraqis more than war. The majority not seeing a problem with severing ties with the U.S. never lived through sanctions. Majority of protesters were born after 1991. They remember the sanctions.
Now let's turn to the public e-mail account where 15 drive-bys all repeat -- word for word -- the same e-mail that vanillagoddess2000@yahoo.com sent (with a virus, sorry, Vanilla, I have protection and then some) which boils down to the charge that before last week I had never even heard of Qassim Soleimani. I saw that first on Twitter about right wingers. Some less than factual lefties making that charge -- and making the whole left look stupid as a result. If you were an adult -- right, left, whatever -- following Iraq, you were well aware of Soleimani. We are left and Soleimani has been noted here repeatedly over the years.
In fact, September 25, 2018, the focus of that entire snapshot really is on Soleimani. There's a sentence in there that I have no idea what I'm trying to say -- I dictate these snapshots and I speak very fast so I'm amazed anyone's able to type them up. But But we do address Soleimani. That's not the first time, use Google and you'll see we've addressed him repeatedly over the years. But I bring up that snapshot because we talk about the US terrorist designation at length -- including noting the following 2011 release from the US Treasury Dept:
Treasury Sanctions Five Individuals Tied to Iranian Plot to Assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States
10/11/2011
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department
of the Treasury today announced the designation of five individuals,
including four senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
(IRGC-QF) officers connected to a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian
Ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir, while he was in the
United States and to carry out follow-on attacks against other
countries’ interests inside the United States and in another country. As
part of today’s action, Treasury also designated the individual
responsible for arranging the assassination plot on behalf of the
IRGC-QF.
Designated today pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 for acting for
or on behalf of the IRGC-QF were: Manssor Arbabsiar, a naturalized U.S.
citizen holding both Iranian and U.S. passports who acted on behalf of
the IRGC-QF to pursue the failed plot to assassinate the Saudi
ambassador; IRGC-QF commander Qasem Soleimani; Hamed Abdollahi, a senior
IRGC-QF official who coordinated aspects of the plot and oversaw the
other Qods Force officials directly responsible for coordinating and
planning this operation; Abdul Reza Shahlai, an IRGC-QF official who
coordinated this operation; and Ali Gholam Shakuri, an IRGC-QF official
and deputy to Shahlai, who met with Arbabsiar on several occasions to
discuss the assassination and other planned attacks.
Arbabsiar and Shakuri were named by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of New York in a criminal complaint unsealed today connected
with the IRGC-QF plot. Among the charges brought against them was
conspiracy to engage in foreign travel and use interstate and foreign
commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire. According to
the criminal complaint, Arbabsiar arranged for $100,000 to be sent from
Tehran to the U.S. as a down payment for the assassination of the Saudi
ambassador. Two wire transfers totaling approximately $100,000 were sent
from a non-Iranian foreign bank to a bank in the United States, to the
account of the person recruited by Arbabsiar to carry out the
assassination.
“Iran once again has used the Qods Force and the international financial
system to pursue an act of international terrorism, this time aimed
against a Saudi diplomat,” said David S. Cohen, Under Secretary for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “The financial transactions at the
heart of this plot lay bare the risk that banks and other institutions
face in doing business with Iran.”
As a result of today’s designations, U.S. persons are prohibited from
engaging in transactions with these individuals, and any assets they may
hold in the U.S. are frozen.
Manssor Arbabsiar
Arbabsiar met on a number of occasions with senior IRGC-QF officials
regarding this plot and acted on behalf of senior Qods Force officials –
including his cousin Abdul Reza Shahlai and Shahlai’s deputy Gholam
Shakuri – to execute the plot. During one such meeting, a $100,000
payment for the murder of the Saudi ambassador was approved by the
IRGC-QF. After this meeting, Arbabsiar arranged for approximately
$100,000 to be sent from a non-Iranian foreign bank to the United
States, to the account of the person he recruited to carry out the
assassination.
Qasem Soleimani
As IRGC-QF Commander, Qasem Soleimani oversees the IRGC-QF officers who
were involved in this plot. Soleimani was previously designated by the
Treasury Department under E.O. 13382 based on his relationship to the
IRGC. He was also designated in May 2011 pursuant to E.O. 13572, which
targets human rights abuses in Syria, for his role as the Commander of
the IRGC-QF, the primary conduit for Iran's support to the Syrian
General Intelligence Directorate (GID).
Hamed Abdollahi
Abdollahi is also a senior IRGC-QF officer who coordinated aspects of
this operation. Abdollahi oversees other Qods Force officials –
including Shahlai – who were responsible for coordinating and planning
this operation.
Abdul Reza Shahlai
Shahlai is an IRGC-QF official who coordinated the plot to assassinate
the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Adel Al-Jubeir, while
he was in the United States and to carry out follow-on attacks against
other countries’ interests inside the United States and in another
country. Shahlai worked through his cousin, Mansour Arbabsiar, who was
named in the criminal complaint for conspiring to bring the IRGC-QF’s
plot to fruition. Shahlai approved financial allotments to Arbabsiar to
help recruit other individuals for the plot, approving $5 million
dollars as payment for all of the operations discussed.
Shahlai was designated by Treasury in September 2008 pursuant to E.O.
13438 for threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and the Government
of Iraq.
Ali Gholam Shakuri
Shakuri is an IRGC-QF officer and deputy to Abdul Reza Shahlai who acted
on behalf of Shahlai in support of this plot. Shakuri provided
financial support to Arbabsiar and met with Arbabsiar several times to
discuss the planned assassination and other attacks. With Shakuri’s
approval, Arbabsiar arranged for the $100,000 down payment to be sent
from a non-Iranian foreign bank to the United States.
Background on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
The IRGC-QF is the Government of Iran’s primary foreign action arm for
executing its policy of supporting terrorist organizations and extremist
groups around the world. The IRGC-QF provides training, logistical
assistance and material and financial support to militants and terrorist
operatives, including the Taliban, Lebanese Hizballah, Hamas,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command.
IRGC-QF officers and their associates have supported attacks against
U.S. and allied troops and diplomatic missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The IRGC-QF continues to train, equip and fund Iraqi Shia militant
groups – such as Kata'ib and Hizballah – and elements of the Taliban in
Afghanistan to prevent an increase in Western influence in the region.
In the Levant, the IRGC-QF supports terrorist groups such as Lebanese
Hizballah and Hamas, which it views as integral to its efforts to
challenge U.S. influence in the Middle East.
The Government of Iran also uses the IRGC and IRGC-QF to implement its
foreign policy goals, including, but not limited to, seemingly
legitimate activities that provide cover for intelligence operations and
support to terrorist and insurgent groups. These activities include
economic investment, reconstruction, and other types of aid to Iraq,
Afghanistan and Lebanon, implemented by companies and institutions that
act for or on behalf of, or are owned or controlled by, the IRGC and the
Iranian government.
The IRGC-QF was designated by Treasury pursuant to E.O. 13224 in October
2007 for its support for terrorism, and was listed in the Annex to E.O.
13572 of April 2011 as the conduit for Iran's support to Syria’s GID,
the overarching civilian intelligence service in Syria which has been
involved in human rights abuses in Syria.
Indentifying Information:
Individual: Manssor Arbabsiar
AKA: Mansour Arbabsiar
DOB: March 15, 1955
Alt. DOB: March 6, 1955
POB: Iran
Citizenship: United Staes
Driver’s License: 07442833 (United States); expires March 15, 2016
Passport: C2002515 (Iran)
Alt. Passport: 477845448 (United States)
Individual: Ali Gholam Shakuri
DOB: 1964
Alt. DOB: 1965
Alt. DOB 2: 1966
Location: Tehran, Iran
Individual: Abdul Reza Shahlai
AKA: Abdol Reza Shala'i
AKA: Abd-al Reza Shalai
AKA: 'Abdorreza Shahlai
AKA: Abdolreza Shahla'i
AKA: Abdul-Reza Shahlaee
AKA: Hajj Yusef
AKA: Haji Yusif
AKA: Hajji Yasir
AKA: Hajji Yusif
AKA: 'Yusuf Abu-al-Karkh'
DOB: Circa 1957
Location: Kermanshah, Iran
Alt. Location: Mehran Military Base, Ilam Province, Iran
Individual: Hamed Abdollahi
AKA: Mustafa Abdullahi
DOB: August 11, 1960
Passport: D9004878
Citizenship: Iran
Individual: Qasem Soleimani
AKA: Ghasem Soleymani
AKA: Qasmi Sulayman
AKA: Qasem Soleymani
AKA: Qasem Solaimani
AKA: Qasem Salimani
AKA: Qasem Solemani
AKA: Qasem Sulaimani
AKA: Qasem Sulemani
DOB: March 11, 1957
POB: Qom, Iran
Passport: 1999 Diplomatic Passport 008827 (Iran)
x
We note that the US government has labeled him a terrorist and we note
that if that designation is correct, why has the US government not
acted? From that snapshot:
The report says
Qasem Soleimani has told the Kurds that they must have only one nominee
for president or he will make choose the nominee himself. Who? The
Iranian labeled a terrorist by the US government. It's amazing, isn't
it, how drones are used to kill 'terrorists' -- that's what our
government insists, anyway. But Qasem, labeled a terrorist by the US
government as well as the UN, is apparently an untouchable. Is he a
terrorist? If he is, why has the US arrested him or, as the US
government prefers, killed him? They've known where he is -- during the
fight against ISIS, he was repeatedly in Iraq. He is labeled a
terrorist and has been for years. Why has no US president been able to
arrest him?
Is he a terrorist or not? If he's not, he needs to be taken off the list. If he is, the US government needs to do their job and arrest him. Barack Obama [. . .] and Donald Trump have both allowed [Q]Asem Soleimani to traipse all over Iraq. Now he's dictating to the Iraqi Kurds what they can and cannot do. If the US government -- supposedly so concerned about terrorism -- had done its job, Qasem would be in a prison right now, not threatening Kurdish politicians.
Is it all just a game, a fraud against the people of the world, or does the label terrorist actually have a meaning?
Is he a terrorist or not? If he's not, he needs to be taken off the list. If he is, the US government needs to do their job and arrest him. Barack Obama [. . .] and Donald Trump have both allowed [Q]Asem Soleimani to traipse all over Iraq. Now he's dictating to the Iraqi Kurds what they can and cannot do. If the US government -- supposedly so concerned about terrorism -- had done its job, Qasem would be in a prison right now, not threatening Kurdish politicians.
Is it all just a game, a fraud against the people of the world, or does the label terrorist actually have a meaning?
I argued for him to be arrested. I stand by that call. I have not
praised the use of drone strikes, I have called them out here
repeatedly. I also believe if we accuse, we bring before a court.
Those are my beliefs, others can disagree -- and many do.
But he was labeled a terrorist by the US government which then went on to do nothing about it.
We've noted him at this site for years. We noted him repeatedly. We've noted other things as well. Such as?
Well there's the lie -- among the deluded -- that Soleimani defeated ISIS in Iraq.
ISIS was never defeated in Iraq. Some of the people repeating that lie
do so because they hate Sunni Arabs. Some, for example, in Syria or
with the ties or support of the Syrian government. They hate Sunnis. I
didn't realize they hated them so much -- these people. Some of whom
were quoted here re: War on Syria. And would be quoted again because we
don't need more wars. But do grasp that in Syria, the majority are
Sunni and yet the Shi'ite government oppresses them. Remember that when
you're on a Twitter and Syrian woman's praising Soleimani. Of course
she is, she's pro-Assad and she's pro-death to the Sunnis.
They lie. They whore.
Hayder al-Abadi was the prime minister of Iraq during the efforts to unseat ISIS -- especially to retake Mosul.
What was the militas role?
Well they terrorized Sunni towns early on, remember?
Do you not remember that? Oh, that's because, in America, you weren't
paying attention to Iraq anymore. Via a 2015 snapshot, let's journey
back to those days when Mitchell Prothero (McClatchy Newspapers) reported:
Basra, Iraq , PMF and Militia members/supporters attacked the tents of the Peaceful protesters yesterday هجوم عناصر تحمل اعلام الحشد و الميليشيات على خيم المتظاهرين في البصرة #Baghdad #QasemSoleimani #IranUsa #iraq #iran
Grasp what he said then and what he babbles about in his column. Grasp
that there has never been political reconciliation. Grasp that he knows
its needed and he avoids the topic now. That topic is at the heart of
what's going on Iraq and what's led to the months long protests.
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