VOCR-Boots on the Ground 062313

Obama prepares to slam coal, natural gas with executive orders

Get ready for a war on energy.
President Obama is expected to announce Tuesday a series of sweeping actions that will cripple domestic power production and smother America’s natural-gas industry, and the future it promises, all in pursuit of the fantasy of renewable energy.
The executive actions, which don’t require approval from Congress, will include greenhouse-gas limits on power plants, increased appliance efficiency standards and the use of public lands to promote renewables, according to a Washington Post report.
Forget making your blender work more efficiently, or building windmills in Washington, though.
This is going to be a serious assault on coal- and natural-gas utilities, using the Environmental Protection Agency as an enforcing army. It’s an assault the administration backed away from in its first term when cap-and-trade died in Congress. With no re-election hopes to restrain it, the White House’s assault will be even more reckless.
“The administration’s war on fossil fuels is now fully joined,” Stephen Brown, vice president for government affairs for Tesoro Corp., told the Post.
Together, coal- and natural-gas-fired plants provide about 68 percent of all electricity in the United States, according to the Edison Electric Institute, with most of the remainder coming from nuclear power – another environmentalist no-no.
Renewable fuels outside of hydropower – the kind of renewables the president will be talking about – produce only about 5 percent of the country’s needs.
“Apparently, this White House is willing to sacrifice the American manufacturing renaissance brought on by booming domestic energy development on the altar of climate change,” Brown told the Post.
You can’t have a war without sacrifice.

Container Ship Carrying U.S. Arms to FSA Rebels in Syria “Splits an’ Sinks” 

Sailing from Singapore to Jeddah and after that to North Europe, leaving behind hundreds of drifting containers and a huge aftershock hitting liner sector and all of the maritime industry.Even the scale of the consequences is hard, impossible, to estimate, not to mention consequences themselves. This is the 1st case in liner sector, when modern ocean-going liner container vessel (built in Japan!) sank in the ocean after breaking in 2 parts, like a poorly built and managed bulk carrier or over aged coaster. Nothing like this ever occurred, and no one believed it was possible, even theoretically. It just could not happen, but still, here it is.

Syrian rebels receive new shipment of weapons

Syrian rebels said Friday they have received new weapons from friendly countries that could lead to changes on the ground and victories against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The arms shipments arrived recently from Arab nations and other countries, a spokesman for the opposition fighters, Loay AlMikdad, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
He did not elaborate on the shipments, but insisted no weapons have come from the United States so far.
Mr. AlMikdad’s comments confirm earlier AP reporting that new weapons were recently delivered to the opposition from allies, enabling them to stall advances by regime forces in the northern city of Aleppo – Syria’s largest – and elsewhere.
Opposition members and experts had told The Associated Press that Gulf countries delivered new anti-tank missiles and some anti-aircraft missiles this month to rebel commanders.
The U.S. announced this month it had conclusive evidence that Mr. al-Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against opposition forces.
The White House said multiple chemical attacks last year killed up to 150 people.
Following the announcement, which coincided with an aggressive push by the regime to drive rebels from strategic areas they held, U.S. officials said President Barack Obama has authorized sending weapons to Syrian rebels in a major policy shift.
Syrian rebels have long demanded they be supplied with anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, but some Western nations are worried such weapons could end up in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked groups that are fighting in Syria against Mr. al-Assad.

Syrian Rebels Attack Damascus Security Compounds

AMMAN, June 23 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels attacked two security compounds in Damascus on Sunday, killing at least five people, opposition activists in the capital said.

Fighters attacked a compound in the district of Rukn al-Deen with explosives and another in Bab Musalla with mortar rounds, they said.

The compound in Rukn al-Deen served as a base for shabbiha militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, the activists said.

They said clashes were taking place between rebels and Assad's forces in the area, close to the Qaboun and Barzeh neighbourhoods which have been under heavy army shelling in the past few days to drive out insurgents.

It was unclear if those killed were police officers, militia fighters or civilians.

Syrian official television said three civilians were killed in Rukn al-Deen in what it described as a suicide attack.

U.S. increasing military forces in Jordan

Washington (CNN) -- Due to security concerns in Jordan, which borders the Syrian civil war, a combat-equipped detachment of about 700 U.S. troops will remain in the country following training exercises that ended this week, President Barack Obama told Congress on Friday.

In a letter to comply with the War Powers Act, Obama notified Congress that the detachment staying behind at the request of the Jordanian government included "Patriot missile systems, fighter aircraft, and related support, command, control and communications personnel and systems."

"The detachment will remain in Jordan, in full coordination with the government of Jordan, until the security situation becomes such that it is no longer needed," Obama's letter said.

A flood of refugees from the Syrian conflict is considered potentially destabilizing for Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the region. In addition, the possibility of cross-border missile fire or other attack raises concerns of an unwanted escalation in the volatile Middle East.

"The deployment of this detachment has been directed in furtherance of U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, including the important national interests in supporting the security of Jordan and promoting regional stability, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations," Obama's letter said.

CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr previously reported that U.S. troops would remain in Jordan beyond the training exercises that concluded Thursday. Obama's letter Friday put the figure at around 700.

The Patriot missiles would be used to defend Jordan against any missiles launched from Syria, according to Starr's report. A senior U.S. military official told Starr that F-16 fighter jets "send a message" to Syria that the United States will defend Jordan if necessary.

In addition, another 200 or so troops specializing in military planning from the 1st Armored Division's headquarters were scheduled to arrive later this summer in Jordan, Starr previously reported.

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NSA director: Edward Snowden has caused irreversible damage to US

National Security Agency director Keith Alexander said on Sunday that whistleblower Edward Snowden betrayed the trust of Americans and defended the broad surveillance programs as necessary to prevent another terrorist attack.
As Snowden evaded an attempt on Sunday by Washington to have him arrested in Hong Kong, General Alexander told ABC's This Week: "This is an individual who is not acting, in my opinion, with noble intent ... What Snowden has revealed has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and to our allies."
Alexander said the NSA surveillance programs Snowden had disclosed to the Guardian were tightly overseen and disputed statements from members of the Senate intelligence committee that they had not played a unique role in preventing terrorist attacks.
He read from a 2012 intelligence committee report about a law that broadened the NSA's authority to perform surveillance even when US communications are involved that said after "four years of oversight, the committee has not identified a single case in which a government official engaged in wilful effort to circumvent or violate the law".
Yet last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence conceded publicly that the surveillance had violated the fourth amendment on at least one occasion. The circumstances behind that violation remain classified.
Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have disputed that the NSA's collection of phone records on millions of Americans was key to preventing any terrorist attack. Alexander said that in "a little over 10" cases, the phone records databases helped the US government find individuals inside the US connected to terrorists.

US politicians issue warning to Russia as Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

US politicians attacked Vladimir Putin on Sunday and called for Russia to hand over Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who admitted leaking top secret spying documents.
As Snowden landed in Moscow after leaving Hong Kong, where the US had requested his arrest, leading Democratic senator Chuck Schumer accused the Russian president of sticking a finger in the eye of the US.
"The bottom line is very simple: allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States, whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden," Schumer said on CNN's State of the Union.
"That's not how allies should treat each other and I think it will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia relationship."
Mike Rogers, chairman of the House permanent select committee on intelligence, told NBC's Meet The Press that he did not have information that Putin had prior knowledge of Snowden's flight plans but "it wouldn't surprise me".
"Putin has been planting a thorn in the world's side in Syria. We think they may not be playing honest with respect to the nuclear treaty. They are very aggressive around the world," he said. "I'm sure they would love to have a little bit of coffee and some conversation with Mr Snowden."
He added that the US should use "every legal avenue" to bring Snowden back to the US. "We will continue with extradition activities wherever he turns up."
Rogers said the leaks had damaged national security and "bad guys overseas have changed the way they operate" as a result of the leaks.
Republican senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News that Russia should "hold this fellow and send him back here for justice".
"I don't think he's a hero, I believe he hurt our nation. He compromised the national security program designed to find out what terrorists were up to," he said.
However, amid the backlash against Russia, politicians and others also rounded on the Obama administration. Graham questioned why Snowden was allowed to leave Hong Kong in the first place. "I'd like to find out why our papers were not in compliance. That would be a big mistake by the Department of Justice," he said.
Republican senator Rand Paul attacked national intelligence director James Clapper, who earlier this month admitted to giving the "least untruthful" answer to Congress when asked about the extent of US surveillance of American citizens.


Latest Brazil protests bring 250,000 on to streets

More than 250,000 anti-government protesters have again taken to the streets in several Brazilian cities and engaged police in isolated intense conflicts. Demonstrators vowed to stay in the streets until concrete steps are taken to reform the political system.
Across Brazil protesters gathered to denounce legislation known as PEC 37 that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes. Many fear the laws would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians.
Federal prosecutors were behind the investigation into the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history, the so-called "mensalão" cash-for-votes scheme that came to light in 2005 and involved top aides of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva buying off members of congress to vote for their legislation.
Last year the supreme court condemned two dozen people in connection to the case, which was hailed as a watershed moment in Brazil's fight against corruption. However those condemned have yet to be jailed because of appeals, a delay that has enraged Brazilians.
The protests continued despite a primetime speech the night before from President Dilma Rousseff, a former leftist guerrilla who was tortured during Brazil's military dictatorship. She tried to appease demonstrators by reiterating that peaceful protests were a welcome, democratic action and emphasising that she would not condone corruption in her government.