Clinton offers $45 million to Syrian rebels

[Big Bad Voodoo]

http://www.mcclatchy...-to-syrian.html

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday announced $45 million in additional aid for Syrian opposition activists, the latest U.S. push for influence in a civil war that’s raged beyond the international community’s control

Edited September 29, 2012 by the L

[+and-then]

Sounds reasonable. Give the aid to the victims. If we give anyone guns they'll just use them against us.

[Big Bad Voodoo]

If we give anyone guns they'll just use them against us.

What goes around comes around.

[Ashotep]

I agree don't give them guns. You never know for sure who you are backing until its too late. I also don't want troops sent in either. This is the people of Syria's battle not ours.

[Sakari]

Hmm...

Facts of Child Hunger in America

• Nearly 14 million children are estimated to be served by Feeding America, over 3 million of which are ages 5 and under. i
  
• According to the USDA, over 16 million children lived in food insecure (low food security and very low food security) households in 2010.
  
• More than 20% of the child population in 37 states and D.C. lived in food insecure households in 2010. The District of Columbia (30.7%), Oregon and Arizona (both 29.0%) had the highest rates of children in households without consistent access to food. iii
  
• In 2010, the top five states with the highest rate of food insecure children under 18 are the District of Columbia, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico, & Florida. iii
  
• In 2010, the top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children under 18 are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Virginia, Minnesota, & Massachusetts. iii
  
• Proper nutrition is vital to the growth and development of children. 62 percent of client households with children under the age of 18 reported participating in the National School Lunch Program, but only 14 percent reported having a child participate in a summer feeding program that provides free food when school is out.i
  
• 54 percent of client households with children under the age of 3 participated in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).i
  
• 32 percent of pantries, 42 percent of kitchens, and 18 percent of shelters in the Feeding America network reported "many more children in the summer" being served by their programs.i
  
• In 2010, 16.4 million or approximately 22 percent of children in the U.S. lived in poverty. iv
  
• Research indicates that hungry children have do more poorly in school and have lower academic achievement because they are not well prepared for school and cannot concentrate. v
  
• In fiscal year 2009, 48 percent of all SNAP participants were children. vi
  
• During the 2010 federal fiscal year, 20.6 million low-income children received free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, just 2.3 million of these same income-eligible children participated in the Summer Food Service Program that same year. vii
  

Yup, let's keep helping other countries, and not fix ours....

[regeneratia]

$o what do you think Rum$feld'$ foundation i$ doing? http://usatoday30.us...msfeld-memo.htm

Rumsfeld's war-on-terror memo

Below is the full text of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's memo on the war on terror:

October 16, 2003

TO: Gen. Dick Myers Paul Wolfowitz Gen. Pete Pace Doug Feith

FROM: Donald Rumsfeld

SUBJECT: Global War on Terrorism

The questions I posed to combatant commanders this week were: Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror? Is DoD changing fast enough to deal with the new 21st century security environment? Can a big institution change fast enough? Is the USG changing fast enough?

DoD has been organized, trained and equipped to fight big armies, navies and air forces. It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror; an alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere — one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem.

With respect to global terrorism, the record since Septermber 11th seems to be:

We are having mixed results with Al Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them — nonetheless, a great many remain at large.

USG has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis.

USG has made somewhat slower progress tracking down the Taliban — Omar, Hekmatyar, etc.

With respect to the Ansar Al-Islam, we are just getting started.

Have we fashioned the right mix of rewards, amnesty, protection and confidence in the US?

Does DoD need to think through new ways to organize, train, equip and focus to deal with the global war on terror?

Are the changes we have and are making too modest and incremental? My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?

Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?

Does the US need to fashion a broad, integrated plan to stop the next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions.

Do we need a new organization?

How do we stop those who are financing the radical madrassa schools?

Is our current situation such that "the harder we work, the behinder we get"?

It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog.

Does CIA need a new finding?

Should we create a private foundation to entice radical madradssas to a more moderate course?

What else should we be considering?

Please be prepared to discuss this at our meeting on Saturday or Monday.

Thanks.

Edited September 29, 2012 by regeneratia

[+and-then]

What goes around comes around.

Yup....and around and around....

[acidhead]

from the OP's link:

The U.S. government has refused to directly arm or fund the so-called Free Syrian Army, a loose confederation of rebel militias, largely out of fear that the assistance would make its way to Islamist extremist groups that have joined the battle

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/09/28/170069/clinton-offers-45-million-to-syrian.html#storylink=cpy

45 million in so-called aid and everybody is supposed to believe that none of it is going to these rebels?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight............

[acidhead]

btw.. the title of this thread is incorrect.... the money is earmarked to syrian activists...... hahhaa