lewrockwell--2020-07-20--Face Masks Turn Us Into Voiceless Submissives – And It’s Not Science Forcing Us To Wear Them, It’s P

Face Masks Turn Us Into Voiceless Submissives – And It’s Not Science Forcing Us To Wear Them, It’s Politics

In the name of Covid , the State has already thrust itself into every corner of our existence .
It has come between husbands and wives at the ends of their lives .
It has forbidden the old to embrace their grandchildren .
It has denied us funerals and weddings , locked the churches , silenced the ancient monastic music of cathedral choirs and prevented the free worship of God for the first time in 800 years , and banned us ( unless we are Left-wing ) from holding or attending public meetings .
It has ordered us to stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for sunbathing , going on country rambles or even entering our front gardens .
It has forced millions of us to stop working , sabotaged the educations – at school and university – of untold numbers of young people and has become our boss and paymaster in the biggest state takeover of life and work ever attempted by non-Communists .
The Case Against Masks ... Heckenlively , Kent Buy New $ 12.99 Soon we will discover that it has also wrecked an already wobbly economy and separated untold numbers of us from jobs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soon , too , it will also separate us from our savings , through punishing tax and savage inflation , to pay for the disaster it has caused .
Now it presumes to tell us what to wear .
And what it wants us to wear is a soggy cloth muzzle , a face-nappy that turns its wearer from a normal human into a mumbling , mouthless submissive .
And this , it seems , is popular .
Is there nothing the modern British people will not put up with ?
Britain ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that six months from now there will be reports of dolphins and whales floundering about in an ocean made sticky by millions of gallons of hand-sanitiser , as they choke on congealed clumps of used muzzles .
These items are set to become the new plastic bags .
Why is this frenzy taking place ?
Here is a clue .
On July 12 , Deborah Cohen , the medical correspondent of BBC2 ’ s Newsnight , revealed an astonishing thing .
The World Health Organisation ( WHO ) had reversed its advice on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t wear them ’ to ‘ do wear them ’ .
But the key fact was that it had not done so because of scientific information – the evidence had not backed the wearing of face coverings – but because of political lobbying .
She revealed on Twitter that : ‘ We had been told by various sources [ that the ] WHO committee reviewing the evidence had not backed masks but they recommended them due to political lobbying.
’ She said the BBC had then put this to the WHO , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the WHO had said : ‘ There is currently no evidence that wearing a mask ( whether medical or other types ) by healthy persons in the wider community setting , including universal community masking , can protect them from infection with respiratory viruses , including Covid-19.
’ The American TV news channel CNN reported on March 31 that Mike Ryan , executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme , had said at a briefing in Geneva : ‘ There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ benefit .
Technocracy : The Hard ... Wood , Patrick M. Best Price : $ 33.00 Buy New $ 24.59 ‘ In fact , there ’ s some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly.
’ A few weeks ago , the WHO changed its advice to say it ‘ advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult , such as on public transport , in shops or in other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same month , England ’ s chief medical officer , Chris Whitty , had said that wearing face masks would do little to combat the outbreak .
While noting that if someone was infected , they might reduce the danger of spreading the disease by covering their faces , Prof Whitty said wearing a face mask had almost no effect on reducing the risk of contracting the illness .
He stated : ‘ In terms of wearing a mask , our advice is clear : that wearing a mask if you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almost not at all .
So we do not advise that .
’

In the name of Covid, the State has already thrust itself into every corner of our existence.
It has come between husbands and wives at the ends of their lives. It has forbidden the old to embrace their grandchildren.
It has denied us funerals and weddings, locked the churches, silenced the ancient monastic music of cathedral choirs and prevented the free worship of God for the first time in 800 years, and banned us (unless we are Left-wing) from holding or attending public meetings.
It has ordered us to stay at home, scolded or fined us for sunbathing, going on country rambles or even entering our front gardens.
It has forced millions of us to stop working, sabotaged the educations – at school and university – of untold numbers of young people and has become our boss and paymaster in the biggest state takeover of life and work ever attempted by non-Communists. The Case Against Masks... Heckenlively, Kent Buy New $12.99 (as of 04:52 UTC - Details)
Soon we will discover that it has also wrecked an already wobbly economy and separated untold numbers of us from jobs and businesses we thought were safe. Soon, too, it will also separate us from our savings, through punishing tax and savage inflation, to pay for the disaster it has caused.
Now it presumes to tell us what to wear. And what it wants us to wear is a soggy cloth muzzle, a face-nappy that turns its wearer from a normal human into a mumbling, mouthless submissive.
And this, it seems, is popular. Is there nothing the modern British people will not put up with? Britain’s muzzle consumption is now so high that six months from now there will be reports of dolphins and whales floundering about in an ocean made sticky by millions of gallons of hand-sanitiser, as they choke on congealed clumps of used muzzles. These items are set to become the new plastic bags.
Why is this frenzy taking place?
Here is a clue. On July 12, Deborah Cohen, the medical correspondent of BBC2’s Newsnight, revealed an astonishing thing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had reversed its advice on face masks, from ‘don’t wear them’ to ‘do wear them’.
But the key fact was that it had not done so because of scientific information – the evidence had not backed the wearing of face coverings – but because of political lobbying.
She revealed on Twitter that: ‘We had been told by various sources [that the] WHO committee reviewing the evidence had not backed masks but they recommended them due to political lobbying.’ She said the BBC had then put this to the WHO, which did not deny it.
In March, the WHO had said: ‘There is currently no evidence that wearing a mask (whether medical or other types) by healthy persons in the wider community setting, including universal community masking, can protect them from infection with respiratory viruses, including Covid-19.’
The American TV news channel CNN reported on March 31 that Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme, had said at a briefing in Geneva: ‘There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. Technocracy: The Hard ... Wood, Patrick M. Best Price: $33.00 Buy New $24.59 (as of 03:55 UTC - Details)
‘In fact, there’s some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly.’
A few weeks ago, the WHO changed its advice to say it ‘advises that governments should encourage the general public to wear masks where there is widespread transmission and physical distancing is difficult, such as on public transport, in shops or in other confined or crowded environments.’
Earlier that same month, England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, had said that wearing face masks would do little to combat the outbreak.
While noting that if someone was infected, they might reduce the danger of spreading the disease by covering their faces, Prof Whitty said wearing a face mask had almost no effect on reducing the risk of contracting the illness.
He stated: ‘In terms of wearing a mask, our advice is clear: that wearing a mask if you don’t have an infection reduces the risk almost not at all. So we do not advise that.’
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-07-20--Why I Won’t This Time

Why I Won’t This Time

People ask – what can they do ?
It seems everywhere you go , Diapering is demanded as the price of being permitted to live .
You are told you may not enter a grocery store to buy food – much less a restaurant to eat ( though you are permitted to remove the Diaper once seated because this is submission theater , not a public health measure ) .
In some areas , people are pressured to Diaper everywhere , even outside .
The purpose of this is severalfold .
First , obviously , to maintain a state of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for it .
Life would be largely going back to normal by now if the populace weren ’ t being terrorized by ululations about the “ cases ” – without any context , such as the Infection Fatality rate , which is about the same as that for ordinary flu ( see the facts ; chart is below ) .
Almost all of the Undiapered aren ’ t dying – mostly because they ’ re still capable of walking .
.
.without a walker .
The average age of those felled is nearly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher .
And it ’ s not merely age but infirmity .
The thing really felling most of those oldsters is .
.
.
oldness .
That is to say , natural causes .
There is a reason why people are in nursing homes .
Most of these people aren ’ t in general circulation to begin with – and they shouldn ’ t be , for the same reason that people who can ’ t swim should avoid the pool .
The Politics of Obedie ... Etienne de la Boetie Best Price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Instead , those who can swim are told – in effect – that they must not go near the pool .
Pools must be treated as great dangers to all – and those who insist on going for a swim are a menace to those who can not .
But the lie that everyone can ’ t swim must be maintained – by forcing all to Diaper .
This , in turn , creates a state of general demoralization .
It is demoralizing to see everyone Diapered – what you can see of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faces – not their smiles , which have been banished along with practically everything else .
A Diapered face is an NPC face .
The acronym is a video-game reference .
A Non Playable Character .
That is , something without any free will , a construct that acts according to its programming .
The idea is to create the image of everyone acting according to the programming .
Diapering also demoralizes the Diapered , who is made to feel like a suppurating leper by being made to assume the costume of one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this business , to impose upon him a physical manifestation of compliance with something he considers false and even despicable .
It is exactly like forced hijab wearing .
No divergence from the True Faith will be permitted .
Americans who disagree – even with the facts on their side – can not be allowed to be seen to do so as it might give other Americans the same idea .
Universal Diapering is meant to convey universal agreement .
The Best of Eric Peters

People ask – what can they do?
It seems everywhere you go, Diapering is demanded as the price of being permitted to live. You are told you may not enter a grocery store to buy food – much less a restaurant to eat (though you are permitted to remove the Diaper once seated because this is submission theater, not a public health measure).
In some areas, people are pressured to Diaper everywhere, even outside. The purpose of this is severalfold.
First, obviously, to maintain a state of hysteria in the absence of any reason for it. Life would be largely going back to normal by now if the populace weren’t being terrorized by ululations about the “cases” – without any context, such as the Infection Fatality rate, which is about the same as that for ordinary flu (see the facts; chart is below). Almost all of the Undiapered aren’t dying – mostly because they’re still capable of walking . . .without a walker.
The average age of those felled is nearly 80; the typical age is even higher. And it’s not merely age but infirmity. The thing really felling most of those oldsters is . . . oldness. That is to say, natural causes. There is a reason why people are in nursing homes. Most of these people aren’t in general circulation to begin with – and they shouldn’t be, for the same reason that people who can’t swim should avoid the pool. The Politics of Obedie... Etienne de la Boetie Best Price: $7.00 Buy New $7.00 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details)
Instead, those who can swim are told – in effect – that they must not go near the pool. Pools must be treated as great dangers to all – and those who insist on going for a swim are a menace to those who cannot.
But the lie that everyone can’t swim must be maintained – by forcing all to Diaper.
This, in turn, creates a state of general demoralization. It is demoralizing to see everyone Diapered – what you can see of them, that is. Not their faces – not their smiles, which have been banished along with practically everything else. A Diapered face is an NPC face. The acronym is a video-game reference. A Non Playable Character. That is, something without any free will, a construct that acts according to its programming.
The idea is to create the image of everyone acting according to the programming.
Diapering also demoralizes the Diapered, who is made to feel like a suppurating leper by being made to assume the costume of one. And, if he is opposed to this business, to impose upon him a physical manifestation of compliance with something he considers false and even despicable.
It is exactly like forced hijab wearing.
No divergence from the True Faith will be permitted.
Americans who disagree – even with the facts on their side – cannot be allowed to be seen to do so as it might give other Americans the same idea. Universal Diapering is meant to convey universal agreement.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters


Greetings From Venice

I ’ m in Venice where today is supposed to be the climax of Il Redentore , an annual festival held on the third weekend in July celebrating the end of the plague in 1576 that killed 50,000 people .
In 1576 , the Senat decided to build a small wooden church on Giudecca Island , now known as the Redentore Church ( Church of the Redeemer ) .
It ’ s actually opposite the hotel I ’ m staying in on the main island and I can see it out of my window as I write .
If things @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bridge would be built out of barges across the Grand Canal and thousands of people would cross to the Church and give thanks to God for ending the plague .
But of course it ’ s been cancelled .
The local authorities took that decision on July 10th , just one week before the festival was due to begin , delivering yet another blow to the local businesses that depend on tourism , which is the vast majority .
Tourism is the city ’ s main source of income , with 23 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but that ’ s dwindled to almost nothing during the pandemic .
The cancellation of the Festival of the Redeemer follows the cancellation of the last two days of the Venice Festival in March , as well as the postponement of the next Venice Biennale from 2021 to 2022 .
The hotels , museums , restaurants , bars , cafes , water taxis and gondoliers are all struggling to stay in business .
1965 ITALIAN 100 LIRA Check Amazon for Pricing .
The irony is that the absence of tourists makes this the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ July , the old city is like Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon , with the main thoroughfares becoming virtually impassable , let alone the narrow streets .
But now , almost the only people here are Italians , either the local residents , or visitors for the day from nearby areas .
I ’ m having a lovely time wandering around museums and churches with my family , and eating at the city ’ s finest restaurants .
You have to wear face coverings in shops and all the visitor attractions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hotels , but apart from that it ’ s heavenly .
Or it would be if I wasn ’ t constantly being reminded that without a massive bailout a lot of these businesses will go bust .
Not only will that mean tens of thousands of people losing their livelihoods , but also less tax revenue to spend on the city ’ s crumbling buildings and infrastructure .
Not that the Italian Government will be in a position to plug that hole .
The entire Italian economy has been propped up by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions around the world , as well as the public ’ s irrational fear of the virus , will mean a huge black hole in the country ’ s finances this year .
I fear for the future of this beautiful city .
Freddie Sayers , the Editor of UnHerd , has done another of his interviews with high-level lockdown sceptics , this time Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson from Oxford ’ s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine .
And it ’ s a blockbuster .
Both pour scorn on the conventional wisdom about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the highlights of Professor Heneghan ’ s contributions : Venezia T-shirt Venice ... Buy New $ 17.97 • On the effectiveness of masks : “ By all means people can wear masks but they can ’ t say it ’ s an evidence-based decision… there is a real separation between an evidence-based decision and the opaque term that ‘ we are being led by the science ’ , which isn ’ t the evidence.
” • On whether this a proper pandemic or just a bad bout of seasonal infection : “ One @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to look at who ’ s been infected , which shows a crucial difference when comparing the pandemic theory to seasonal theory .
In a pandemic you ’ d expect to see young people disproportionately affected , but in the UK we ’ ve only had six child deaths , which is far less than we ’ d normally see in a pandemic .
The high number of deaths with over-75s fits with the seasonal theory.
” • On the lockdown strategy : “ Many people said that we should have locked down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ homes developed outbreaks during the lockdown period so there are issues within the transmission of this virus that are not clear… Lockdown is a blunt tool and there needs to be intelligent conversations about what mitigation strategies can keep society functioning while we keep the most vulnerable shielded.
” • On whether trying to suppress the spread of the virus is a good idea : “ The benefits of the current strategy are outweighed by the harms…When it comes to suppression , only the virus will have a determination in that .
If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suppressing it to zero and locking down the country forever , then you ’ re going to have a problem… This virus is so out there now , I can not see a strategy that makes suppression the viable option .
The strategy right now should be how we learn to live with this virus.
” • On the infection fatality rate : “ We will be down about where we were with the swine flu : around 0.1-0.3 % which is much lower than what we think because at the moment we @ @ @ @ @ @ @

I’m in Venice where today is supposed to be the climax of Il Redentore, an annual festival held on the third weekend in July celebrating the end of the plague in 1576 that killed 50,000 people. In 1576, the Senat decided to build a small wooden church on Giudecca Island, now known as the Redentore Church (Church of the Redeemer). It’s actually opposite the hotel I’m staying in on the main island and I can see it out of my window as I write. If things were unfolding as planned, a temporary bridge would be built out of barges across the Grand Canal and thousands of people would cross to the Church and give thanks to God for ending the plague.
But of course it’s been cancelled. The local authorities took that decision on July 10th, just one week before the festival was due to begin, delivering yet another blow to the local businesses that depend on tourism, which is the vast majority. Tourism is the city’s main source of income, with 23 million people visiting in a normal year, but that’s dwindled to almost nothing during the pandemic. The cancellation of the Festival of the Redeemer follows the cancellation of the last two days of the Venice Festival in March, as well as the postponement of the next Venice Biennale from 2021 to 2022. The hotels, museums, restaurants, bars, cafes, water taxis and gondoliers are all struggling to stay in business. 1965 ITALIAN 100 LIRA Check Amazon for Pricing.
The irony is that the absence of tourists makes this the perfect time to visit. Normally in July, the old city is like Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon, with the main thoroughfares becoming virtually impassable, let alone the narrow streets. But now, almost the only people here are Italians, either the local residents, or visitors for the day from nearby areas. I’m having a lovely time wandering around museums and churches with my family, and eating at the city’s finest restaurants. You have to wear face coverings in shops and all the visitor attractions, as well as the communal areas of the hotels, but apart from that it’s heavenly. Or it would be if I wasn’t constantly being reminded that without a massive bailout a lot of these businesses will go bust. Not only will that mean tens of thousands of people losing their livelihoods, but also less tax revenue to spend on the city’s crumbling buildings and infrastructure. Not that the Italian Government will be in a position to plug that hole. The entire Italian economy has been propped up by tourism for years and the ongoing travel restrictions around the world, as well as the public’s irrational fear of the virus, will mean a huge black hole in the country’s finances this year. I fear for the future of this beautiful city.
Must-See Interview With Professor Carl Heneghan
Freddie Sayers, the Editor of UnHerd, has done another of his interviews with high-level lockdown sceptics, this time Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson from Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. And it’s a blockbuster. Both pour scorn on the conventional wisdom about the virus. Here are some of the highlights of Professor Heneghan’s contributions: Venezia T-shirt Venice... Buy New $17.97 (as of 03:56 UTC - Details)
On the effectiveness of masks: “By all means people can wear masks but they can’t say it’s an evidence-based decision… there is a real separation between an evidence-based decision and the opaque term that ‘we are being led by the science’, which isn’t the evidence.”
On whether this a proper pandemic or just a bad bout of seasonal infection: “One of the keys of the infection is to look at who’s been infected, which shows a crucial difference when comparing the pandemic theory to seasonal theory. In a pandemic you’d expect to see young people disproportionately affected, but in the UK we’ve only had six child deaths, which is far less than we’d normally see in a pandemic. The high number of deaths with over-75s fits with the seasonal theory.”
On the lockdown strategy: “Many people said that we should have locked down earlier, but 50% of care homes developed outbreaks during the lockdown period so there are issues within the transmission of this virus that are not clear… Lockdown is a blunt tool and there needs to be intelligent conversations about what mitigation strategies can keep society functioning while we keep the most vulnerable shielded.”
On whether trying to suppress the spread of the virus is a good idea: “The benefits of the current strategy are outweighed by the harms…When it comes to suppression, only the virus will have a determination in that. If you follow the New Zealand policy of suppressing it to zero and locking down the country forever, then you’re going to have a problem… This virus is so out there now, I cannot see a strategy that makes suppression the viable option. The strategy right now should be how we learn to live with this virus.”
On the infection fatality rate: “We will be down about where we were with the swine flu: around 0.1-0.3% which is much lower than what we think because at the moment we are seeing the case fatality.”
Worth watching in full.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-07-20--Colin Powell & Iraq

Colin Powell & Iraq

A NYT Magazine piece on Colin Powell and the case to invade Iraq highlights an NIE that was prepared not to determine the truth , but rather to “ justify ” preemptive war on Iraq , where there was nothing to preempt .
The New York Times Magazine on Friday posted “ Colin Powell Still Wants Answers , ” a long article by Robert Draper to appear in Sunday ’ s edition .
The article is based on Draper ’ s upcoming book , To Start a War : How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq .
Google Books @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reckoning with arguably the most consequential decision in the history of American foreign policy.
” I can hardly wait .
Meanwhile , Draper ’ s article focuses on then Secretary of State Powell and his UN speech of Feb. 5 , 2003 and the National Intelligence Estimate ( NIE ) upon which it is largely based .
A lot of the detail will be new to most readers , not very much new to Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity , which had been established a month before .
VIPS watched the speech , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to President George W. Bush before close of business that same afternoon .
To Start a War : How th ... Draper , Robert Buy New $ 30.00 We gave Powell a charitable grade of “ C ” , faulting him for , inter alia , not providing needed context and perspective .
We should have flunked him outright .
Draper describes how , despite CIA ’ s strong effort to please , the “ case ” the agency made for war on Iraq , using such evidence as there was on weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alarmist enough for Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration hawks .
Specifically , the hawks were dissatisfied with the evidence-light , but-alarmist ( term of art used was “ leaning forward ” ) Pentagon and White House briefings by CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin in late Dec. 2002 on WMD in Iraq .
The hawks started to look elsewhere , since not all senior officials ( including Powell ) appeared to be “ with the program.
” Draper reports that Powell ordered Carl Ford , director of the widely respected State Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review the bidding regarding biological , chemical and nuclear weapons .
Ford ’ s analysts strongly disputed many of the key assertions from the usual suspects — particularly those coming from non-intelligence , war-friendly bureaucrats enlisted to support the war-lust proclivities of Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld .
Powell ’ s chief of staff , Col. Lawrence Wilkerson , was also spending an inordinate amount of time batting away unsourced and dubious-sourced assertions from Cheney-ites , so Powell finally told Wilkerson to start drafting from scratch .
Here ’ s where it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little history and inside-baseball intelligence experience comes in handy .
Draper quotes Powell : “ It was George Tenet who came to the rescue.
” CIA Director Tenet suggested basing a new draft on the National Intelligence Estimate of Oct. 1 , 2002 , “ Iraq ’ s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction.
” That had immense appeal to Tenet and others who had been co-opted into “ leaning forward ” to facilitate a Bush/Cheney war on Iraq .
Indeed , one can assume it had appeal to most of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , given that the Security Council briefing was but a handful of days away .
Midnight in Samarra : T ... Cooney , Eleanor Best Price : $ 18.85 Buy New $ 17.99 I have been referring to that NIE , advisedly , as The Whore of Babylon , wrong on every major accusation about WMD in Iraq .
I speak from experience at the CIA as a former chair of National Intelligence Estimates .
This one was prepared not to determine the truth , but rather to “ justify ” a preemptive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nothing to preempt .
To their credit , State/INR analysts had expressed formal dissent from some of its main conclusions back in September 2002 .
No , it is not possible that Powell could have been unaware of that .
And it is not difficult to explain why Powell chose to spurn his own intelligence analysts , despite their relatively solid reputation .
I will resist the temptation to guess at Powell ’ s motivation , even though I have had some considerable experience with him .
Back in the day , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notes before my one-on-one morning briefings of his boss , Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger , with The President ’ s Daily Brief .
I am not surprised , though , as Draper quotes Powell explaining his decision to stay in place as secretary of state and to do what he was told : “ I knew I didn ’ t have any choice .
He ’ s the President.
” Draper adds that , “ although Powell would not admit it , Bush ’ s request that he be the one to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was enormously flattering .
Cheney took a more direct approach : ‘ The Vice President said to me : “ You ’ re the most popular man in America .
Do something with that popularity.
” ” Draper describes INR ’ s Director Ford as “ heartsick ” watching Powell on TV before the UN Security Council .
Ford ’ s chagrin was widely shared among serious intelligence analysts — as well as by us alumni watching the prostitution of what had been our tell-it-like-it-is intelligence analysis profession .
But there the National @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intelligence community-endorsed consensus already “ on the books ” — and with drafting time running out .
Admittedly , this would be a far cry from starting “ from scratch.
” Rather , it became a case of “ garbage in , garbage out.
” Draper names the intelligence garbagemen : CIA Director Tenet , his deputy McLaughlin , the chair of the NIE Robert Walpole , for example .
They were out and out guilty of fixing the NIE in the first place and then its derivative that Powell briefed in open @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these were not innocent mistakes .
The intelligence was fraudulent from the get-go .
Awan Minutes To Midnig ... Webb , George Buy New $ 3.99 I am not making this up .
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity were able to see what was coming , and warned Bush on the afternoon of Powell ’ s speech to be wary of “ those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.
” VIPS followed up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2003 U.S./UK attack on Iraq .
The leaked Downing Street Minutes , published by The Times of London on May 1 , 2005 , provided the “ smoking gun.
” The minutes , from a July 23 , 2002 briefing of Prime Minister Tony Blair by the chief of British intelligence , just back from consultations with Tenet in Langley , showed that the White House had already decided to attack Iraq for regime change and that the “ intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy ” .
[ Emphasis added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ covered in a chapter I wrote in 2005 , for the book Neo-CONNED Again !
, which I titled “ Sham Dunk : Cooking Intelligence for the President.
” Sadly , not one of the many intelligence functionaries aware of what was going on went to the media or resigned .
In contrast , before the attack on Iraq , three senior Foreign Service Officers , looking on from Athens , Ulaanbaatar , and Washington , summarily quit on principle — so clear had it become that the U.S. was embarked on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ War of choice ” is more formally known as “ war of aggression ” — defined at the post WWII Nuremberg Tribunal as “ the supreme international crime differing from other war crimes only in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.
” ( Think torture , for example , as part of that accumulation . )
Equally sad , none of the perpetrators of the crime have been held to account for this crime , nor even for torture and other accumulated evils .
No one held to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addressed this issue in an op-ed in 2007 ; we argued that the U.S. could ill afford letting the Iraq War-liars off lightly , even if that meant taking a hard look back over previous years .
What is the inevitable result when no one is held to account ?
Putting a coda on all this several years later , the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on June 5 , 2008 the bipartisan conclusions of a five-year study by his committee that the attack on Iraq was launched “ under false @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to “ justify ” war on Iraq as “ uncorroborated , contradicted , or even non-existent.
” Finally , for those who may continue to believe that Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice ( of “ mushroom cloud ” fame ” ) , for example , were mistaken , rather than lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq , let me suggest watching this very short video .
Then , please ask yourself if Iraq could go from zero weapons of mass destruction before 9/11 to a formidable array of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since the CIA was established , the NIE has been the supreme genre of intelligence analysis and has included input from other intelligence agencies — in recent years , 17 of them .
The NIE ’ s record for accuracy is spotty .
One completed in September 1962 , for example , said the Soviets would never try to put missiles in Cuba , as the missiles were en route .
America On Suicide Wat ... Watkins , Richter Best Price : $ 10.81 Buy New $ 9.99 A thoroughly professional one on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former director of State/INR , concluded unanimously “ with high confidence ” that Iran had stopped working on a nuclear weapon in late 2003 .
That one demonstrably played a huge role in thwarting Cheney/Bush planning for a strike on Iran in 2008 , their last year in office .
( Bush actually says as much in the part of his memoir that he wrote himself . )
It would be a mistake , however , to put the “ Whore of Babylon ” NIE of Oct. 1 , 2002 about all those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfortunate 1962 Estimate on Cuba .
The conclusions in the Iraq Estimate were not mistaken , they were fraudulent .
The conclusions were fixed to “ justify ” an unprovoked attack on Iraq .
Here ’ s what happened and why it is relevant today .
Throughout 2002 , Tenet , who as director of Central Intelligence was in charge of the entire intelligence community as well as the CIA , had been deftly avoiding doing an Estimate on WMD in Iraq because he knew the evidence was paper-thin .
As the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heated up in September 2002 , the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee , Bob Graham ( D-FL ) asked Tenet to please prepare such an Estimate .
The answer came back : Can ’ t do ; too busy .
Under pressure from Committee member Dick Durbin ( D-IL ) Graham called Tenet back and told him , in essence : No NIE , no vote to authorize war .
After informing the White House , Tenet got permission to go ahead and have an NIE prepared — with two conditions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ accusations about Iraqi WMD that Cheney made during a speech at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Nashville on Aug. 26 , 2002 ; and the NIE had to be formally issued before the first week of October when the White House wanted a House and Senate vote to give Bush permission to make war .
No problem for Tenet , who found himself the ultimate beneficiary of former CIA Director Robert Gates ’ finely tuned Geiger counter for careerists and corruptibility in selecting top managers .
The malleable managers promoted originally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in record time a formal estimate written to the specifications of their frequent visitor : Vice President Cheney .
This is the NIE on Iraq ’ s weapons capability that Draper describes as having “ been thrown together in less than three weeks ” in September 2020 .
James Clapper , whom President Barack Obama appointed director of National Intelligence overseeing the entire intelligence community , was in charge of satellite imagery analysis at the time , leading up to the attack on Iraq .
Did he tell anyone that no WMD had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ source for such intelligence ?
Well , no .
Rather , he was “ leaning forward.
” At the Carnegie Foundation in November 2018 , Clapper was hawking his memoir Facts and Fears : Hard Truths From a Life in Intelligence .
In the book Clapper places the blame for the consequential fraud ( he calls it “ the failure ” ) to find the ( non-existent ) WMD , in his words , “ where it belongs — squarely on the shoulders of the administration members who were pushing a narrative of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the intelligence officers , including me , who were so eager to help that we found what wasn ’ t really there.
” ( Emphasis added ) .
During the Q and A I commented on Clapper ’ s eagerness to please whatever superiors he was working for at the time , and give them the information they lusted for to “ justify ” things like war — to the point of finding “ what wasn ’ t really there.
” ?
I noted that exactly two years earlier , the Obamas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s victory on Russian interference .
And so , I asked , was this a repeat performance ?
Had Clapper snapped to and again “ found what really wasn ’ t there ?
” This , I emphasized , was the conclusion of VIPS , including two former technical directors at NSA who had done the forensic research on how DNC emails ended up at WikiLeaks — the work the FBI decided not to do .
Why Not an NIE on Russian Interference ?
Here ’ s the rub .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes ( R-CA ) to provide a briefing to members on Russia ’ s alleged meddling in the November election .
The denial prompted Nunes to cast doubt on recent claims coming out of the CIA , including whether or not there really is an agency assessment that Moscow was aiming to help Trump win the presidency .
“ We want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us , ” he added .
Nunes was more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Intelligence Clapper .
He claimed he was “ dismayed ” that the committee had not been informed about reports that the CIA had revised information that it previously reported to members .
Nunes noted that during an open hearing in November , Clapper said the evidence connecting the government of Russia to WikiLeaks was “ not as strong , ” and that the intel community didn ’ t have “ good insight into ” the issue .
At about the same time , several Democratic senators , including Patrick Leahy ( D-VT ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote a to Clapper requesting an NIE on “ Russian efforts to manipulate the recent US presidential election.
” “ Given the serious nature of these matters , with unprecedented national security implications , we believe that our intelligence community must prioritize a conclusive , public NIE to lay out the facts of this serious matter for the American people , ” the senators urged in their letter .
Oops .
Lame duck Clapper and his bosses suddenly developed a Tenet-like allergy to preparing a full blown NIE .
The White House opted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study for Obama .
The Democrats in Congress may well have been warned about the thinness of the evidence ( now thoroughly debunked ) that Russia hacked the DNC emails published by WikiLeaks .
In any event , they acquiesced in what Clapper misnamed an “ Intelligence Community Assessment ” titled “ Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.
” An NIE , of course , would have required the participation of all 17 intelligence agencies , some of whom , like State/INR , might ask troublesome questions about the evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s lame excuse that there was not enough time to do a full NIE does not pass the smell test .
After several months of advertising the “ Intelligence Community Assessment ” as the product of all 17 intelligence agencies , Clapper was forced to admit to Congress that , well , actually only the CIA , FBI , and NSA were involved ; and , well , actually only “ handpicked analysts ” from those three .
Notably shut out of the process were that pesky INR ( with its substantial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Intelligence Agency , which has charter responsibility for keeping tabs on the GRU , the Russian military intelligence agency alleged to have done the hacking .
Former U.S .
Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock asked a former colleague why State/INR was frozen out of the process .
His friend explained simply that INR did not agree with the analysis — and not for the first time .
In other words , the Jan. 6 , 2017 “ Intelligence Community Assessment ” was deliberately organized as a rump effort to come up with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wanted — a reprise of his performance with imagery analysis on WMD in Iraq .
And off and running went Russiagate .
This escapade actually may have been easier for Clapper who may believe what he said during an on May 28 , 2017 ; namely that the Russians are “ almost genetically driven to co-opt , penetrate , gain favor , whatever , which is a typical Russian technique.
” Certainly , Clapper would not want any State Department pin-stripers messing with his firm handle on the make-up of Russian chromosomes .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in office and , by some estimates , may be lucky to stay out of jail .
The coming months should see some kind of denouement for all this — or maybe not .
“ We ’ ll see what happens.
” In any case , the stakes are very high .
Meanwhile , why not an NIE on Russian hacking of the DNC .
With all the work that has already been done , it should not take very long to prepare — assuming that work can bear close scrutiny .

A NYT Magazine piece on Colin Powell and the case to invade Iraq highlights an NIE that was prepared not to determine the truth, but rather to “justify” preemptive war on Iraq, where there was nothing to preempt.
The New York Times Magazine on Friday posted “Colin Powell Still Wants Answers,” a long article by Robert Draper to appear in Sunday’s edition. The article is based on Draper’s upcoming book, To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America Into Iraq.
Google Books calls it “the definitive, revelatory reckoning with arguably the most consequential decision in the history of American foreign policy.” I can hardly wait.
Meanwhile, Draper’s article focuses on then Secretary of State Powell and his UN speech of Feb. 5, 2003 and the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) upon which it is largely based. A lot of the detail will be new to most readers, not very much new to Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, which had been established a month before. VIPS watched the speech, dissected it, and sent their verdict to President George W. Bush before close of business that same afternoon. To Start a War: How th... Draper, Robert Buy New $30.00 (as of 03:58 UTC - Details)
We gave Powell a charitable grade of “C”, faulting him for, inter alia, not providing needed context and perspective. We should have flunked him outright.
Draper describes how, despite CIA’s strong effort to please, the “case” the agency made for war on Iraq, using such evidence as there was on weapons of mass destruction, was deemed not alarmist enough for Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration hawks.
Specifically, the hawks were dissatisfied with the evidence-light, but-alarmist (term of art used was “leaning forward”) Pentagon and White House briefings by CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin in late Dec. 2002 on WMD in Iraq. The hawks started to look elsewhere, since not all senior officials (including Powell) appeared to be “with the program.”
Draper reports that Powell ordered Carl Ford, director of the widely respected State Department Intelligence Unit (INR), to review the bidding regarding biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. Ford’s analysts strongly disputed many of the key assertions from the usual suspects — particularly those coming from non-intelligence, war-friendly bureaucrats enlisted to support the war-lust proclivities of Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Powell’s chief of staff, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, was also spending an inordinate amount of time batting away unsourced and dubious-sourced assertions from Cheney-ites, so Powell finally told Wilkerson to start drafting from scratch.
Here’s where it gets interesting; here is where a little history and inside-baseball intelligence experience comes in handy. Draper quotes Powell: “It was George Tenet who came to the rescue.”
CIA Director Tenet suggested basing a new draft on the National Intelligence Estimate of Oct. 1, 2002, “Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction.” That had immense appeal to Tenet and others who had been co-opted into “leaning forward” to facilitate a Bush/Cheney war on Iraq. Indeed, one can assume it had appeal to most of those involved in Powell’s speech preparation, given that the Security Council briefing was but a handful of days away. Midnight in Samarra: T... Cooney, Eleanor Best Price: $18.85 Buy New $17.99 (as of 03:58 UTC - Details)
I have been referring to that NIE, advisedly, as The Whore of Babylon, wrong on every major accusation about WMD in Iraq. I speak from experience at the CIA as a former chair of National Intelligence Estimates. This one was prepared not to determine the truth, but rather to “justify” a preemptive war on Iraq, where there was nothing to preempt.
To their credit, State/INR analysts had expressed formal dissent from some of its main conclusions back in September 2002.
No, it is not possible that Powell could have been unaware of that. And it is not difficult to explain why Powell chose to spurn his own intelligence analysts, despite their relatively solid reputation. I will resist the temptation to guess at Powell’s motivation, even though I have had some considerable experience with him. Back in the day, we used to spend a few minutes comparing notes before my one-on-one morning briefings of his boss, Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger, with The President’s Daily Brief.
I am not surprised, though, as Draper quotes Powell explaining his decision to stay in place as secretary of state and to do what he was told: “I knew I didn’t have any choice. He’s the President.” Draper adds that, “although Powell would not admit it, Bush’s request that he be the one to make the case against Hussein to the U.N. was enormously flattering. Cheney took a more direct approach: ‘The Vice President said to me: “You’re the most popular man in America. Do something with that popularity.””
The All-Purpose NIE on Iraqi WMD
Draper describes INR’s Director Ford as “heartsick” watching Powell on TV before the UN Security Council. Ford’s chagrin was widely shared among serious intelligence analysts — as well as by us alumni watching the prostitution of what had been our tell-it-like-it-is intelligence analysis profession. But there the National Intelligence Estimate was for plucking — an intelligence community-endorsed consensus already “on the books” — and with drafting time running out.
Admittedly, this would be a far cry from starting “from scratch.” Rather, it became a case of “garbage in, garbage out.” Draper names the intelligence garbagemen: CIA Director Tenet, his deputy McLaughlin, the chair of the NIE Robert Walpole, for example. They were out and out guilty of fixing the NIE in the first place and then its derivative that Powell briefed in open session to Security Council. No, these were not innocent mistakes. The intelligence was fraudulent from the get-go. Awan Minutes To Midnig... Webb, George Buy New $3.99 (as of 03:03 UTC - Details)
I am not making this up. Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity were able to see what was coming, and warned Bush on the afternoon of Powell’s speech to be wary of “those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic.” VIPS followed up with two more Memos before the March 2003 U.S./UK attack on Iraq.
The leaked Downing Street Minutes, published by The Times of London on May 1, 2005, provided the “smoking gun.” The minutes, from a July 23, 2002 briefing of Prime Minister Tony Blair by the chief of British intelligence, just back from consultations with Tenet in Langley, showed that the White House had already decided to attack Iraq for regime change and that the “intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy”. [Emphasis added.]
This and additional detail is covered in a chapter I wrote in 2005, for the book Neo-CONNED Again!, which I titled “Sham Dunk: Cooking Intelligence for the President.”
Sadly, not one of the many intelligence functionaries aware of what was going on went to the media or resigned. In contrast, before the attack on Iraq, three senior Foreign Service Officers, looking on from Athens, Ulaanbaatar, and Washington, summarily quit on principle — so clear had it become that the U.S. was embarked on a so-called “war of choice.”
“War of choice” is more formally known as “war of aggression” — defined at the post WWII Nuremberg Tribunal as “the supreme international crime differing from other war crimes only in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.” (Think torture, for example, as part of that accumulation.)
Equally sad, none of the perpetrators of the crime have been held to account for this crime, nor even for torture and other accumulated evils. No one held to account. Col. Pat Lang and I addressed this issue in an op-ed in 2007; we argued that the U.S. could ill afford letting the Iraq War-liars off lightly, even if that meant taking a hard look back over previous years.
What is the inevitable result when no one is held to account?
Putting a coda on all this several years later, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on June 5, 2008 the bipartisan conclusions of a five-year study by his committee that the attack on Iraq was launched “under false pretenses.” He described the intelligence conjured up to “justify” war on Iraq as “uncorroborated, contradicted, or even non-existent.”
“Non-existent” intelligence?
Finally, for those who may continue to believe that Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice (of “mushroom cloud” fame”), for example, were mistaken, rather than lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, let me suggest watching this very short video.
Then, please ask yourself if Iraq could go from zero weapons of mass destruction before 9/11 to a formidable array of WMD a short year later.
NIEs: a Big Deal
Ever since the CIA was established, the NIE has been the supreme genre of intelligence analysis and has included input from other intelligence agencies — in recent years, 17 of them. The NIE’s record for accuracy is spotty. One completed in September 1962, for example, said the Soviets would never try to put missiles in Cuba, as the missiles were en route. America On Suicide Wat... Watkins, Richter Best Price: $10.81 Buy New $9.99 (as of 03:43 UTC - Details)
A thoroughly professional one on Iran in 2007, managed by a former director of State/INR, concluded unanimously “with high confidence” that Iran had stopped working on a nuclear weapon in late 2003. That one demonstrably played a huge role in thwarting Cheney/Bush planning for a strike on Iran in 2008, their last year in office. (Bush actually says as much in the part of his memoir that he wrote himself.)
It would be a mistake, however, to put the “Whore of Babylon” NIE of Oct. 1, 2002 about all those Iraqi WMD in the category of the unfortunate 1962 Estimate on Cuba. The conclusions in the Iraq Estimate were not mistaken, they were fraudulent. The conclusions were fixed to “justify” an unprovoked attack on Iraq.
Here’s what happened and why it is relevant today. Throughout 2002, Tenet, who as director of Central Intelligence was in charge of the entire intelligence community as well as the CIA, had been deftly avoiding doing an Estimate on WMD in Iraq because he knew the evidence was paper-thin. As the public campaign to justify an attack on Iraq heated up in September 2002, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham (D-FL) asked Tenet to please prepare such an Estimate. The answer came back: Can’t do; too busy.
Under pressure from Committee member Dick Durbin (D-IL) Graham called Tenet back and told him, in essence: No NIE, no vote to authorize war.
After informing the White House, Tenet got permission to go ahead and have an NIE prepared — with two conditions. It had to conform with the extreme accusations about Iraqi WMD that Cheney made during a speech at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Nashville on Aug. 26, 2002; and the NIE had to be formally issued before the first week of October when the White House wanted a House and Senate vote to give Bush permission to make war.
No problem for Tenet, who found himself the ultimate beneficiary of former CIA Director Robert Gates’ finely tuned Geiger counter for careerists and corruptibility in selecting top managers. The malleable managers promoted originally by Gates were happy to conjure up in record time a formal estimate written to the specifications of their frequent visitor: Vice President Cheney. This is the NIE on Iraq’s weapons capability that Draper describes as having “been thrown together in less than three weeks” in September 2020.
Corrupt Holdovers: ‘So Eager to Help’
James Clapper, whom President Barack Obama appointed director of National Intelligence overseeing the entire intelligence community, was in charge of satellite imagery analysis at the time, leading up to the attack on Iraq. Did he tell anyone that no WMD had been discovered in imagery — the primary source for such intelligence? Well, no. Rather, he was “leaning forward.”
At the Carnegie Foundation in November 2018, Clapper was hawking his memoir Facts and Fears: Hard Truths From a Life in Intelligence. In the book Clapper places the blame for the consequential fraud (he calls it “the failure”) to find the (non-existent) WMD, in his words, “where it belongs — squarely on the shoulders of the administration members who were pushing a narrative of a rogue WMD program in Iraq and on the intelligence officers, including me, who were so eager to help that we found what wasn’t really there.” (Emphasis added) .
Clapper explained:
“… we heard that Vice President Cheney was pushing the Pentagon for intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and then the order came down [to Clapper as director of NIMA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency] to find the WMD sites. We set to work, analyzing imagery to eventually identify, with varying degrees of confidence, more than 950 sites where we assessed there might be WMDs or a WMD connection. We drew on all of NIMA’s skill sets … and it was all wrong.”
During the Q and A I commented on Clapper’s eagerness to please whatever superiors he was working for at the time, and give them the information they lusted for to “justify” things like war — to the point of finding “what wasn’t really there.”?
I noted that exactly two years earlier, the Obamas and Clintons were desperate to blame Donald Trump’s victory on Russian interference. And so, I asked, was this a repeat performance? Had Clapper snapped to and again “found what really wasn’t there?” This, I emphasized, was the conclusion of VIPS, including two former technical directors at NSA who had done the forensic research on how DNC emails ended up at WikiLeaks — the work the FBI decided not to do.
Why Not an NIE on Russian Interference?
Here’s the rub. In December 2016, Clapper rejected a request from House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) to provide a briefing to members on Russia’s alleged meddling in the November election.
The denial prompted Nunes to cast doubt on recent claims coming out of the CIA, including whether or not there really is an agency assessment that Moscow was aiming to help Trump win the presidency. “We want to clarify press reports that the CIA has a new assessment that it has not shared with us,” he added.
Nunes was more pointed in a letter to Director of National Intelligence Clapper. He claimed he was “dismayed” that the committee had not been informed about reports that the CIA had revised information that it previously reported to members. Nunes noted that during an open hearing in November, Clapper said the evidence connecting the government of Russia to WikiLeaks was “not as strong,” and that the intel community didn’t have “good insight into” the issue.
At about the same time, several Democratic senators, including Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), wrote a letter to Clapper requesting an NIE on “Russian efforts to manipulate the recent US presidential election.”
“Given the serious nature of these matters, with unprecedented national security implications, we believe that our intelligence community must prioritize a conclusive, public NIE to lay out the facts of this serious matter for the American people,” the senators urged in their letter.
Oops. Lame duck Clapper and his bosses suddenly developed a Tenet-like allergy to preparing a full blown NIE. The White House opted instead to commission Clapper to do a study for Obama. The Democrats in Congress may well have been warned about the thinness of the evidence (now thoroughly debunked) that Russia hacked the DNC emails published by WikiLeaks. In any event, they acquiesced in what Clapper misnamed an “Intelligence Community Assessment” titled “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.”
An NIE, of course, would have required the participation of all 17 intelligence agencies, some of whom, like State/INR, might ask troublesome questions about the evidence as well as the conclusions. Clapper’s lame excuse that there was not enough time to do a full NIE does not pass the smell test.
After several months of advertising the “Intelligence Community Assessment” as the product of all 17 intelligence agencies, Clapper was forced to admit to Congress that, well, actually only the CIA, FBI, and NSA were involved; and, well, actually only “handpicked analysts” from those three. Notably shut out of the process were that pesky INR (with its substantial expertise on Russia) and the Defense Intelligence Agency, which has charter responsibility for keeping tabs on the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency alleged to have done the hacking.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock asked a former colleague why State/INR was frozen out of the process. His friend explained simply that INR did not agree with the analysis — and not for the first time.
In other words, the Jan. 6, 2017 “Intelligence Community Assessment” was deliberately organized as a rump effort to come up with the answers Clapper’s White House bosses wanted — a reprise of his performance with imagery analysis on WMD in Iraq.
And off and running went Russiagate.
This escapade actually may have been easier for Clapper who may believe what he said during an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd on May 28, 2017; namely that the Russians are “almost genetically driven to co-opt, penetrate, gain favor, whatever, which is a typical Russian technique.” Certainly, Clapper would not want any State Department pin-stripers messing with his firm handle on the make-up of Russian chromosomes.
Clapper and his colleagues are no longer in office and, by some estimates, may be lucky to stay out of jail. The coming months should see some kind of denouement for all this — or maybe not. “We’ll see what happens.”
In any case, the stakes are very high. Meanwhile, why not an NIE on Russian hacking of the DNC. With all the work that has already been done, it should not take very long to prepare — assuming that work can bear close scrutiny.
Reprinted with the author’s permission.


lewrockwell--2020-07-20--The Global Reset – Unplugged

The Global Reset – Unplugged

Imagine , you are living in a world that you are told is a democracy – and you may even believe it – but in fact your life and fate is in the hands of a few ultra-rich , ultra-powerful and ultra-inhuman oligarchs .
They may be called Deep State , or simply the Beast , or anything else obscure or untraceable – it doesn ’ t matter .
They are less than the 0.0001 % .
For lack of a better expression , let ’ s call them for now “ obscure individuals ” .
These obscure individuals who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elected .
We don ’ t need to name them .
You will figure out who they are , and why they are famous , and some of them totally invisible .
They have created structures , or organisms without any legal format .
They are fully out of international legality .
They are a forefront for the Beast .
Maybe there are several competing Beasts .
But they have the same objective : A New or One World Order ( NWO , or OWO ) .
History of the Deep St ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ These obscure individuals are running , for example , The World Economic Forum ( WEF – representing Big Industry , Big Finance and Big Fame ) , the Group of 7 – G7 , the Group of 20 – G20 ( the leaders of the economically ” strongest ” nations ) .
There are also some lesser entities , called the Bilderberg Society , the Council on Foreign Relations ( CFR ) , Chatham House and more .
The members of all of them are overlapping .
Even this expanded forefront combined represents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have superimposed themselves over sovereign national elected and constitutional governments , and over THE multinational world body , the United Nations , the UN .
In fact , they have coopted the UN to do their bidding .
UN Director Generals , as well as the DGs of the multiple UN-suborganizations , are chosen mostly by the US , with the consenting nod of their European vassals – according to the candidate ’ s political and psychological profile .
If his or her ‘ performance ’ as head of the UN or head @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his or her days are counted .
Coopted or created by the Beast ( s ) are also , the European Union , the Bretton Woods Organizations , World Bank and IMF , as well as the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) – and – make no mistake – the International Criminal Court ( ICC ) in The Hague .
It has no teeth .
Just to make sure the law is always on the side of the lawless .
In addition to the key international financial institutions , WB and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ development banks and similar financial institutions , keeping the countries of their respective regions in check .
In the end its financial or debt-economy that controls everything .
Western neoliberal banditry has created a system , where political disobedience can be punished by economic oppression or outright theft of national assets in international territories .
The system ’ s common denominator is the ( still ) omnipresent US-dollar .
The supremacy of these obscure unelected individuals becomes ever more exposed .
We , the People consider it “ normal ” that they call @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – or once were proud of calling , our sovereign nations and sovereignly elected governments .
They have become a herd of obedient sheep .
The Beast has gradually and quietly taken over .
We haven ’ t noticed .
It ’ s the salami tactic : You cut off slice by tiny slice and when the salami is gone , you realize that you have nothing left , that your freedom , your civil and human rights are gone .
By then it ’ s too late .
Case in point is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prepared way before 9/11 .
Once 9/11 “ happened ” , the Patriot Legislation was whizzed through Congress in no time – for the people ’ s future protection – people called for it for fear – and – bingo , the Patriot Act took about 90 % of the American population ’ s freedom and civil rights away .
For good .
Agenda 21 : The Wrenchi ... DeWeese , Tom Best Price : $ 9.38 Buy New $ 17.99 We have become enslaved to the Beast .
The Beast calls the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economies , on who should be shackled by debt , when and where a pandemic should break out , and on the conditions of surviving the pandemic , for example , social confinement .
And to top it all off – the instruments the Beast uses , very cleverly , are a tiny-tiny invisible enemy , called a virus , and a huge but also invisible monster , called FEAR .
That keeps us off the street , off reunions with our friends , and off our social entertainment , theatre , sports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Soon the Beast will decide who will live and who will die , literally – if we let it .
This may be not far away .
Another wave of pandemic and people may beg , yell and scream for a vaccine , for their death knell , and for the super bonanza of Big Pharma – and towards the objectives of the eugenicists blatantly roaming the world – see this .
There is still time to collectively say NO .
Collectively and solidarily .
Take the latest case of blatant imposture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Covid-19 had passed , at least in the Global North , where the major world decisions are made , in early June 2020 , the unelected WEF Chairman , Klaus Schwab , announced “ The Great Reset ” .
Taking advantage of the economic collapse – the crisis shock , as in “ The Shock Doctrine ” – Mr. Schwab , one of the Beast ’ s frontrunners , announces openly what the WEF will discuss and decide for the world-to-come in their next Davos Forum in January 2021 .
For more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , The People , accept the agenda of the unelected WEF ?
It will opportunely focus on the protection of what ’ s left of Mother Earth ; obviously at the center will be man-made CO2-based “ Global Warming ” .
The instrument for that protection of nature and humankind will be the UN Agenda 2030 – which equals the UN Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG ) .
It will focus on how to rebuild the willfully destroyed global economy , while respecting the ( “ green ” ) principles of the 17 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s all connected .
There are no coincidences .
The infamous Agenda 2021 which coincides with and complements the so-called ( UN ) Agenda 2030 , will be duly inaugurated by the WEF ’ s official declaration of The Great Reset , in January 2021 .
Similarly , the implementation of the agenda of The Great Reset began in January 2020 , by the launch of the corona pandemic – planned for decades with the latest visible events being the 2010 Rockefeller Report with its “ Lockstep Scenario ” , and Event 201 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ computer-simulated a corona pandemic , leaving within 18 months 65 million deaths and an economy in ruin , programmed just a few weeks before the launch of the actual corona pandemic .
See COVID-19 , We Are Now Living the “ Lock Step Scenario ” and this and this .
The racial riots , initiated by the movement Black Lives Matter ( funded by the Ford Foundation and Soros ’ Open Society Foundation ) , following the brutal assassination of the Afro-American George Floyd by a gang of Minneapolis police , and spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 160 cities , first in the US , then in Europe – are not only connected to the Beast ’ s agenda , but they were a convenient deviation from the human catastrophe left behind by Covid-19 .
See also this .
The Beast ’ s nefarious plan to implement what ’ s really behind the UN Agenda 2030 is the little heard-of Agenda ID2020 .
See The Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic : The Real Danger is “ Agenda ID2020 ” .
It has been created and funded by the vaccination guru Bill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations ) , the association of Big Pharma – involved in creating the corona vaccines , and which funds along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ( BMGF ) a major proportion of WHO ’ s budget .
The Great Reset , as announced by WEF ’ s Klaus Schwab , is supposedly implemented by Agenda ID2020 .
It is more than meets the eye .
Agenda ID2020 is even anchored in the SDGs , as SDG 16.9 “ by 2030 provide legal [ digital ] identity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” .
This fits perfectly into the overall goal of SDG 16 : ” Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development , provide access to justice for all and build effective , accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
” Following the official path of the UN Agenda 2030 of achieving the SDGs , the ‘ implementing ’ Agenda ID2020 – which is currently being tested on school children in Bangladesh – will provide digitized IDs possibly in the form of nano-chips implanted along with compulsory vaccination programs , will promote digitization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 5G – which would be needed to upload and monitor personal data on the nano chips and to control the populace .
Agenda ID2020 will most likely also include ‘ programs ’ – through vaccination ?
– of significantly reducing world population .
Eugenics is an important component in the control of future world population under a NOW / OWO – see also Georgia Guidestones , mysteriously built in 1980 .
The ruling elite used the lockdown as an instrument to carry out this agenda .
Its implementation would naturally face massive protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lines as were the BLM protests and demonstrations .
They may not be peaceful – and may not be planned as being peaceful .
Because to control the population in the US and in Europe , where most of the civil unrest would be expected , a total militarization of the people is required .
This is well under preparation .
In his essay “ The Big Plantation ” , John Steppling reports from a NYT article that a Sustainable : The WAR o ... DeWeese , Tom Best Price : $ 14.99 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this militarization is part of a broader trend .
Since the late 1990s , about 89 percent of police departments in the United States serving populations of 50,000 people or more had a PPU ( Police Paramilitary Unit ) , almost double of what existed in the mid-1980s .
He refers to these militarized police as the new Gestapo .
Even before Covid , about 15 % to 20 % of the population was on or below the poverty line in the United States .
The post-covid lockdown economic annihilation will at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the risk for civil turbulence and clashes with authorities – further enhancing the reasoning for a militarized police force .
None of these scenarios will , of course , be presented to the public by the WEF in January 2021 .
These are decisions taken behind closed doors by the key actors for the Beast .
However , this grandiose plan of the Great Reset does not have to happen .
There is at least half the world population and some of the most powerful countries , economically and militarily – like China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Reset ” maybe yes , but not in these western terms .
In fact , a reset of kinds is already happening with China about to roll out a new People ’ s Bank of China backed blockchain-based cryptocurrency , the crypto RMB , or yuan .
This is not only a hard currency based on a solid economy , it is also supported by gold .
While President Trump keeps trashing China for unfair trade , for improperly managing the covid pandemic , for stealing property rights – China bashing no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US and that the US will cut trading ties with China – or cut ties altogether , China is calling Trump ’ s bluff .
China is quietly reorienting herself towards the ASEAN countries plus Japan ( yes , Japan ! )
and South Korea , where trade already today accounts for about 15 % of all China ’ s trade and is expected to double in the next five years .
Despite the lockdown and the disruption of trade , China ’ s overall exports recovered with a 3.2 % increase in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
This overall performance in China exports was nonetheless accompanied by a dramatic decline in US-China trade .
China exports to the US decreased by 7.9 % in April ( in relation to April 2019 ) .
It is clear that the vast majority of US industries could not survive without Chinese supply chains .
The western dependence on Chinese medical supplies is particularly strong .
Let alone Chinese dependence by US consumers .
In 2019 , US total consumption , about 70 % of GDP , amounted to $ 13.3 trillion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ directly imported from China or dependent on ingredients from China .
The WEF-masters are confronted with a real dilemma .
Their plan depends very much on the dollar supremacy which would continue to allow dishing out sanctions and confiscating assets from those countries opposing US rule ; a dollar-hegemony which would allow imposing the components of The Great Reset scheme , as described above .
At present , the dollar is fiat money , debt-money created from thin air .
It has no backing whatsoever .
Therefore , its worth as a reserve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the new crypto-yuan from China .
In order to compete with the Chinese yuan , the US Government would have to move away from its monetary Ponzi-scheme , by separating itself from the 1913 Federal Reserve Act and print her own US-economy- and possibly gold-backed ( crypto ) money – not fiat FED-money , as is the case today .
That would mean cutting the more than 100-year old ties to the Rothschild and Co. clan-owned FED , and creating a real peoples-owned central bank .
Not impossible , but highly improbable .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ as world power is at stake .
Meanwhile , China , with her philosophy of endless creation would continue forging ahead unstoppably with her mammoth socioeconomic development plan of the 21st Century , the Belt and Road Initiative , connecting and bridging the world with infrastructure for land and maritime transport , with joint research and industrial projects , cultural exchanges – and not least , multinational trade with “ win-win ” characteristics , equality for all partners – towards a multi-polar world , towards a world with a common future for mankind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are associated with BRI – and the field is wide open for others to join – and to defy , unmask and unplug The Great Reset of the West .
The original source of this article is Global Research .

Imagine, you are living in a world that you are told is a democracy – and you may even believe it – but in fact your life and fate is in the hands of a few ultra-rich, ultra-powerful and ultra-inhuman oligarchs. They may be called Deep State, or simply the Beast, or anything else obscure or untraceable – it doesn’t matter. They are less than the 0.0001%.
For lack of a better expression, let’s call them for now “obscure individuals”.
These obscure individuals who pretend running our world have never been elected. We don’t need to name them. You will figure out who they are, and why they are famous, and some of them totally invisible. They have created structures, or organisms without any legal format. They are fully out of international legality. They are a forefront for the Beast. Maybe there are several competing Beasts. But they have the same objective: A New or One World Order (NWO, or OWO). History of the Deep St... Stone, Jeremy Buy New $14.99 (as of 06:14 UTC - Details)
These obscure individuals are running, for example, The World Economic Forum (WEF – representing Big Industry, Big Finance and Big Fame), the Group of 7 – G7, the Group of 20 – G20 (the leaders of the economically” strongest” nations). There are also some lesser entities, called the Bilderberg Society, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Chatham House and more.
The members of all of them are overlapping. Even this expanded forefront combined represents less than 0.001%. They all have superimposed themselves over sovereign national elected and constitutional governments, and over THE multinational world body, the United Nations, the UN.
In fact, they have coopted the UN to do their bidding. UN Director Generals, as well as the DGs of the multiple UN-suborganizations, are chosen mostly by the US, with the consenting nod of their European vassals – according to the candidate’s political and psychological profile. If his or her ‘performance’ as head of the UN or head of one of the UN suborganizations fails, his or her days are counted. Coopted or created by the Beast(s) are also, the European Union, the Bretton Woods Organizations, World Bank and IMF, as well as the World Trade Organization (WTO) – and – make no mistake – the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. It has no teeth. Just to make sure the law is always on the side of the lawless.
In addition to the key international financial institutions, WB and IMF, there are the so-called regional development banks and similar financial institutions, keeping the countries of their respective regions in check.
In the end its financial or debt-economy that controls everything. Western neoliberal banditry has created a system, where political disobedience can be punished by economic oppression or outright theft of national assets in international territories. The system’s common denominator is the (still) omnipresent US-dollar.
“Unelected Individuals”
The supremacy of these obscure unelected individuals becomes ever more exposed. We, the People consider it “normal” that they call the shots, not what we call – or once were proud of calling, our sovereign nations and sovereignly elected governments. They have become a herd of obedient sheep. The Beast has gradually and quietly taken over. We haven’t noticed. It’s the salami tactic: You cut off slice by tiny slice and when the salami is gone, you realize that you have nothing left, that your freedom, your civil and human rights are gone. By then it’s too late. Case in point is the US Patriot Act. It was prepared way before 9/11. Once 9/11 “happened”, the Patriot Legislation was whizzed through Congress in no time – for the people’s future protection – people called for it for fear – and – bingo, the Patriot Act took about 90% of the American population’s freedom and civil rights away. For good. Agenda 21: The Wrenchi... DeWeese, Tom Best Price: $9.38 Buy New $17.99 (as of 04:25 UTC - Details)
We have become enslaved to the Beast. The Beast calls the shots on boom or bust of our economies, on who should be shackled by debt, when and where a pandemic should break out, and on the conditions of surviving the pandemic, for example, social confinement. And to top it all off – the instruments the Beast uses, very cleverly, are a tiny-tiny invisible enemy, called a virus, and a huge but also invisible monster, called FEAR. That keeps us off the street, off reunions with our friends, and off our social entertainment, theatre, sports, or a picnic in the park.
Soon the Beast will decide who will live and who will die, literally – if we let it. This may be not far away. Another wave of pandemic and people may beg, yell and scream for a vaccine, for their death knell, and for the super bonanza of Big Pharma – and towards the objectives of the eugenicists blatantly roaming the world – see this. There is still time to collectively say NO. Collectively and solidarily.
Take the latest case of blatant imposture. Conveniently, after the first wave of Covid-19 had passed, at least in the Global North, where the major world decisions are made, in early June 2020, the unelected WEF Chairman, Klaus Schwab, announced “The Great Reset”. Taking advantage of the economic collapse – the crisis shock, as in “The Shock Doctrine” – Mr. Schwab, one of the Beast’s frontrunners, announces openly what the WEF will discuss and decide for the world-to-come in their next Davos Forum in January 2021. For more details see this.
Will, We, The People, accept the agenda of the unelected WEF?
It will opportunely focus on the protection of what’s left of Mother Earth; obviously at the center will be man-made CO2-based “Global Warming”. The instrument for that protection of nature and humankind will be the UN Agenda 2030 – which equals the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It will focus on how to rebuild the willfully destroyed global economy, while respecting the (“green”) principles of the 17 SDGs.
Mind you, it’s all connected. There are no coincidences. The infamous Agenda 2021 which coincides with and complements the so-called (UN) Agenda 2030, will be duly inaugurated by the WEF’s official declaration of The Great Reset, in January 2021. Similarly, the implementation of the agenda of The Great Reset began in January 2020, by the launch of the corona pandemic – planned for decades with the latest visible events being the 2010 Rockefeller Report with its “Lockstep Scenario”, and Event 201, of 18 October in NYC which computer-simulated a corona pandemic, leaving within 18 months 65 million deaths and an economy in ruin, programmed just a few weeks before the launch of the actual corona pandemic. See COVID-19, We Are Now Living the “Lock Step Scenario” and this and this.
The Race Riots
The racial riots, initiated by the movement Black Lives Matter (funded by the Ford Foundation and Soros’ Open Society Foundation), following the brutal assassination of the Afro-American George Floyd by a gang of Minneapolis police, and spreading like brush-fire in no time to more than 160 cities, first in the US, then in Europe – are not only connected to the Beast’s agenda, but they were a convenient deviation from the human catastrophe left behind by Covid-19. See also this.
The Beast’s nefarious plan to implement what’s really behind the UN Agenda 2030 is the little heard-of Agenda ID2020. See The Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic: The Real Danger is “Agenda ID2020”. It has been created and funded by the vaccination guru Bill Gates, and so has GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations), the association of Big Pharma – involved in creating the corona vaccines, and which funds along with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) a major proportion of WHO’s budget.
The Great Reset, as announced by WEF’s Klaus Schwab, is supposedly implemented by Agenda ID2020. It is more than meets the eye. Agenda ID2020 is even anchored in the SDGs, as SDG 16.9 “by 2030 provide legal [digital] identity for all, including free birth registration”. This fits perfectly into the overall goal of SDG 16: ”Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”
Following the official path of the UN Agenda 2030 of achieving the SDGs, the ‘implementing’ Agenda ID2020 – which is currently being tested on school children in Bangladesh – will provide digitized IDs possibly in the form of nano-chips implanted along with compulsory vaccination programs, will promote digitization of money and the rolling out of 5G – which would be needed to upload and monitor personal data on the nano chips and to control the populace. Agenda ID2020 will most likely also include ‘programs’ – through vaccination? – of significantly reducing world population. Eugenics is an important component in the control of future world population under a NOW / OWO – see also Georgia Guidestones, mysteriously built in 1980.
The ruling elite used the lockdown as an instrument to carry out this agenda. Its implementation would naturally face massive protests, organized and funded along the same lines as were the BLM protests and demonstrations. They may not be peaceful – and may not be planned as being peaceful. Because to control the population in the US and in Europe, where most of the civil unrest would be expected, a total militarization of the people is required. This is well under preparation.
In his essay “The Big Plantation”, John Steppling reports from a NYT article that a
“minimum of 93,763 machine guns, 180,718 magazine cartridges, hundreds of silencers and an unknown number of grenade launchers have been provided to state and local police departments in the US since 2006. This is in addition to at least 533 planes and helicopters, and 432 MRAPs — 9-foot high, 30-ton Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected armored vehicles with gun turrets and more than 44,900 pieces of night vision equipment, regularly used in nighttime raids in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Sustainable: The WAR o... DeWeese, Tom Best Price: $14.99 Buy New $15.21 (as of 03:59 UTC - Details) He adds that this militarization is part of a broader trend. Since the late 1990s, about 89 percent of police departments in the United States serving populations of 50,000 people or more had a PPU (Police Paramilitary Unit), almost double of what existed in the mid-1980s. He refers to these militarized police as the new Gestapo.
Even before Covid, about 15% to 20% of the population was on or below the poverty line in the United States. The post-covid lockdown economic annihilation will at least double that percentage – and commensurately increase the risk for civil turbulence and clashes with authorities – further enhancing the reasoning for a militarized police force.
China’s Crypto RMB
None of these scenarios will, of course, be presented to the public by the WEF in January 2021. These are decisions taken behind closed doors by the key actors for the Beast. However, this grandiose plan of the Great Reset does not have to happen. There is at least half the world population and some of the most powerful countries, economically and militarily – like China and Russia – opposed to it. “Reset” maybe yes, but not in these western terms. In fact, a reset of kinds is already happening with China about to roll out a new People’s Bank of China backed blockchain-based cryptocurrency, the crypto RMB, or yuan. This is not only a hard currency based on a solid economy, it is also supported by gold.
While President Trump keeps trashing China for unfair trade, for improperly managing the covid pandemic, for stealing property rights – China bashing no end – that China depends on the US and that the US will cut trading ties with China – or cut ties altogether, China is calling Trump’s bluff. China is quietly reorienting herself towards the ASEAN countries plus Japan (yes, Japan!) and South Korea, where trade already today accounts for about 15% of all China’s trade and is expected to double in the next five years.
Despite the lockdown and the disruption of trade, China’s overall exports recovered with a 3.2% increase in April (in relation to April 2019). This overall performance in China exports was nonetheless accompanied by a dramatic decline in US-China trade. China exports to the US decreased by 7.9% in April (in relation to April 2019).
It is clear that the vast majority of US industries could not survive without Chinese supply chains. The western dependence on Chinese medical supplies is particularly strong. Let alone Chinese dependence by US consumers. In 2019, US total consumption, about 70% of GDP, amounted to $13.3 trillion, of which a fair amount is directly imported from China or dependent on ingredients from China.
The WEF-masters are confronted with a real dilemma. Their plan depends very much on the dollar supremacy which would continue to allow dishing out sanctions and confiscating assets from those countries opposing US rule; a dollar-hegemony which would allow imposing the components of The Great Reset scheme, as described above.
At present, the dollar is fiat money, debt-money created from thin air. It has no backing whatsoever. Therefore, its worth as a reserve currency is increasingly decaying, especially vis-à-vis the new crypto-yuan from China. In order to compete with the Chinese yuan, the US Government would have to move away from its monetary Ponzi-scheme, by separating itself from the 1913 Federal Reserve Act and print her own US-economy- and possibly gold-backed (crypto) money – not fiat FED-money, as is the case today. That would mean cutting the more than 100-year old ties to the Rothschild and Co. clan-owned FED, and creating a real peoples-owned central bank. Not impossible, but highly improbable. Here, two Beasts might clash, as world power is at stake.
Meanwhile, China, with her philosophy of endless creation would continue forging ahead unstoppably with her mammoth socioeconomic development plan of the 21st Century, the Belt and Road Initiative, connecting and bridging the world with infrastructure for land and maritime transport, with joint research and industrial projects, cultural exchanges – and not least, multinational trade with “win-win” characteristics, equality for all partners – towards a multi-polar world, towards a world with a common future for mankind.
Today already more than 120 countries are associated with BRI – and the field is wide open for others to join – and to defy, unmask and unplug The Great Reset of the West.
The original source of this article is Global Research.