Just a Thought

Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor

This opinion/thought presented here is my opinion alone/thought, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.or google.com  

 

Uh-oh...NOT good news folks as former U.S. national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster (retired) told CBS News just a short time ago that, "the war is far from being over, it's just in a new phase." And he added that after two days of dramatically escalating attacks by the U.S. and Iran, "This is just entering, kind of a new phase. Like the ceasefire war phase is what we're in, of the 47-year-long war with Iran."

 

Now I know it's CBS News that he said this on, and I also know about President Trump's past issues with McMaster, but other sources are now reporting this as well. But what's odd here is that I have been writing and saying on air all throughout this war that Trump should NEVER have negotiated with terrorists, and that he should NEVER underestimate Iran's probability of either having hidden key military equipment away or that Trump and crew likely have underestimated Iran's military capabilities all along, including that Trump while focusing on Iran's nuclear wants totally forgot or ignored Iran's bio-weapons program and labs.

 

Just goes to show that sometimes we "outsiders" do know more than certain of those in the "inner circle" simply because we look at the BIG PICTURE not just the sum of it's working and non-working parts. 

 

Copyright @ 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved.  

Op-ed: 
A One-Sided Deal Hopefully Soon Gone 
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

"We will strengthen not only our missiles but also our air, land and sea forces...When it comes to defending our country, we will ask nobody for their permission." 

- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's words said after President Trump's historic U.N. speech

While we have all been focusing on North Korea...and rightfully so...just three days ago Iran tested their new Khoramshahr medium-range missile mere hours after it was unveiled at a Tehran military parade...a successful launch shown on state television courtesy of in-flight video carried within the missile's nose. And they did so in direct defiance of warnings issued by President Trump...warnings alluding to the fact that he was ready to pull the U.S. out of Obama's 'very bad' nuclear deal...the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)...a deal signed in 2015 by the 'so-called' P5+1...as in the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council...China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany.

And know that these nations...save for us of course...still support this deal no matter that Iran continues to claim that the nuclear deal was never intended to address any other issues except nuclear bomb building and/or uranium enrichment...meaning the testing of missiles...delivery or otherwise...was never part of the deal.

And while the deal itself between Iran and the P5+1 did not specifically prohibit Iran from developing or testing missiles, the fact is that after the agreement went into effect the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Iran not to take any actions related to ballistic missiles...missiles"designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons" for at least eight years...to which Iran still argues that the tests they are currently conducting are solely for defensive purposes. Playing the semantics card by using the wording of the Security Council's own resolution against them, we all know that said missiles are indeed designed to carry nuclear warheads...and Iran knows we know and just does not care.

So while President Trump will report to Congress on October 15th as to whether or not he believes Iran remains in compliance with both the nuclear deal itself and with the Security Council resolution, and whether it remains in our best interests to continue to be part of this still 'very bad' nuclear deal...know that our president has indeed already made his decision, but being the savvy game player that he is he knows not to speak of his decision before said announced date as it would then give our enemy an upper hand of sorts.

But also know that if President Trump does indeed decide that Iran has not met its previously agreed upon obligations...especially in regards to their ongoing missile testing...missile testing that could give them the much needed technical 'smarts' for a nuclear delivery system by the time the deal's 'sunset clause' expires in 2025 or even before...that is if they do not already have it and possibly even be sharing it with North Korea's mad man-child Kim Jong-un. And that would allow U.S. lawmakers to reimpose even stricter and more punishing sanctions against the Iranian regime which, in and of itself, would lead to the collapse of the agreement.

Now as to Iran's newest ballistic missile...Iranian Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Commander, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, told reporters that the Khoramshahr missile just tested has a range of 1,250 miles and can carry multiple warheads, but quickly added the usual rhetoric that all of Iran's missiles are only designed to carry conventional warheads alone...yeah right...and that they have a limited range of about 1243 miles, but he let it be known that they have the technology to go further. But none of those mile numbers really matter as our ally Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf are already within Iran's missile range and have been for quite some time.

And now another item of sorts is getting thrown into this nuclear deal mix for can it really be that with Iran's previous missile tests being not so different than this newest one has led to an epiphany moment for National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster...a moment so life changing that it led him to flip on his once diehard support of Obama's 'very bad' nuclear deal. And why do I say this, on last Thursday's 'New Day' show on CNN, host Chris Cuomo asked Gen. McMaster what he thought of Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. First responding by calling said deal "fundamentally flawed" and that the Trump White House is concerned about what to do about Iran's "destabilizing behavior," it was his words, "It gave the Iranian regime all the benefits upfront...and then the incompleteness of the deal...which really could give the regime cover to advance a nuclear program."...that heralded a complete 180 degree turn from his past words said.

Where Gen. McMaster had once believed that "establishing regular diplomatic talks with Tehran could help reduce the suspicion of Iran not fulfilling the terms of the nuclear deal, and prevent war," he now has jumped on the 'Trump train'...so to speak...by saying that, "We've taken a holistic look at this...what's different about the President's approach is he didn't just look at the Iran deal -- he placed his decision on the Iran deal on broad context of how we protect American citizens, American interests, how we protect our allies and partners from Iran's broad range of destabilizing behavior."

See Gen. McMaster's 'New Day' interview with Chris Cuomo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhI0L1-RUic

A complete and total flip-flop and words I do not for even a moment believe...for these words said are from the very man whom former Secretary of State John 'Swiftboat' Kerry alluded to in a speech given on June 5, 2017...months after McMaster joined the Trump administration...as being the "best bet" for keeping the nuclear agreement alive. Interesting words for sure but what exactly did Kerry base his words upon. How about that from September 2006 until February 2017...in other words up until he was appointed National Security Advisor replacing Gen. Michael Flynn...McMaster was listed as a member of the British-based think tank 'International Institute for Strategic Studies' (IISS). 

While at IISS, McMastere served as a consulting senior fellow regarding military history; civil-military relations; development and security; and conflict and conflict prevention. But the sticking point here is that the IISS is bankrolled by many multinational corporate firms doing billions of dollars in business in and with Iran...our enemy Iran...and who has as one of the chief donors a George Soros-funded nonprofit that was identified by the Obama administration as being central in helping to sell the Iran nuclear deal to the public and to the media. While of course not serving there now, McMaster remains in contact with his former colleagues. 
 
Now add in that McMaster basically fired Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a Trump aide, from the National Security Council simply because he opposed the Iran nuclear deal...he also removed Rich Higgins, the NSC’s director of strategic planning and another voice against the Iran nuclear deal...as well as removing Derek Harvey, who like the others also opposed the Iran deal no matter that he was the man who held the Middle East portfolio at the NSC...and McMaster did all this in what some newspapers called a “sweep of Iran hard-liners.” 
 
Then there's rummages now coming out of D.C. that McMaster has reportedly been continuing to urge both President Trump himself as well as his administration to re-certify Iran’s compliance with Obama's 'very bad' nuclear deal no matter his current words said...no matter that President Trump himself has rightfully called this deal "one of the worst transactions the U.S. has ever entered into."

So, the bottom line for me in regards to Gen. McMaster's newest words regarding what remains a 'very bad' nuclear deal, is that his now flip-flopping placating words said are said solely to try and save his position withing the administration...what with more and more folks telling the president that McMaster might not be who he seems on the surface. And I do not trust him, I do not believe anything he says, and I so do question his loyalty to our president for besides the old adage that leopards never change their spots is that I believe once an islamic condoner it is a safe bet to say always an islamic condoner.

But even if you remove McMaster from the mix, one can easily surmise from Iran's own words said that they have no intention now nor ever of living up to the deal they agreed to. And that becomes more than a bit obvious in the very words Iran has repeatedly spewed...words to the affect that it has no choice but to boost its defenses because its "regional rivals Israel and Saudi Arabia" have signed arms contracts with Washington and other Western governments. "We will strengthen our defense and military capabilities whether you want it or not," Iran's President Rouhani said but a few days ago as a direct response to Trump's 'America First' speech at the U.N. General Assembly last week. 

Adding that Washington "creates problems for the peoples of our region every day and boast of selling arms to the bloodthirsty Zionist regime which has been attacking the peoples of our region for 70 years like a cancerous tumor," is something I find quite humorous in a dark and maybe picky sort of way as Israel has only been a country for 69 years not the 70 years Iran claims...give these islamic sorts an inch and they will surely take a mile.

So where does all this leave us now that we have a president who understands the ramifications that we've been 'had' by the previous president who catered to the whim of his brethren over the security of the world. President Trump said it best in a recent tweet...the U.S. doesn't have "much of an agreement" after Tehran again test fired a ballistic missile. And with his adding that "They are also working with North Korea," Trump knows well that we must not let the "murderous Iranian regime" continue its destabilizing activities as it builds "dangerous missiles"...to which I will add or helps another dangerous regime to do so.

In other words, while we know President Trump is well-skilled in the 'art of the deal'...in this case his alluding that he may renegotiate the nuclear pact or de-certify what he called "one of the worst and most one-sided transactions" in U.S. history and a total "embarrassment to the United States"...is but a smoke and mirrors buildup for what is his final decision...a final decision he probably made when Iran publicly stated that renegotiation is not option. And we know President Trump does not take well to threats...veiled or otherwise.

Just ask Mr. "Rocket Man" who now sees U.S. Air Force bombers and fighter escorts going further north than the demilitarized zone about the "clear message" that sends...for actions now taken by this president against America's enemies do indeed speak louder than even forceful words said. 
 
Be ready Iran...you...I'm sure...are rightfully next on President Trump's 'hit list.'

Copyright @ 2017 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved

 

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Today, Tuesday, September 26th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss the Iranian nuclear deal...could it soon be gone, President Trump's historic U.N. speech, and important news of the day.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history

Op-ed:
Why We Are Still In Afghanistan
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots on American Political Radio

This past Friday, in an impromptu White House press briefing regarding President Trump's new strategy towards Afghanistan, National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster was careful not to allow the words 'radical islamic terrorism' to cross his lips when talking about the taliban nor did he speak of the atrocities they have committed. But if you cannot call the enemy by their true name...if you cannot speak of the enemy's actions taken...then you simply cannot defeat that enemy. 

But then again maybe that is not the goal of McMaster and some others...maybe the best they hope for is a Soviet-style withdrawal if even that...'face-saving' at its not very best.

And while war is known to change even brave men...some wars are so horrific and the cost in both blood and treasure so high that what is known to be wrong gradually but surely morphs into the new right, with that new right turning into acquiescing and then excusing the actions of those they know are so morally wrong.

So it seems to be with the enemy we fight in the theater of war called Afghanistan...a war the Afghan people themselves see as nothing but a foreign invasion for the invader's profit alone. A never ending war so many decades long...a war whose invader's uniforms might change yet a war that has seen the one constant being that the taliban alone grow stronger with each passing day. The taliban...an enemy skilled in the art of guerilla warfare...an enemy who uses the country's rocky grounds, barren mountains, and its deep caves that lead straight down to hell as their impenetrable lair from which to control what passes for the Afghan government. And that government has long been impotent to stop the carnage and blood shed for said government is overrun with both corruption and incompetence, and sadly lacks the much-needed desire to initiate positive change.

And dare we forget that democracy is a foreign concept to a people still living like they did centuries ago...a people whose enemy is seen as any and all not of their village...making it impossible for democracy to take hold no matter if Afghanistan does become an American war won...because our political leaders refuse to understand that democracy cannot be born if a country's people do not want it nor are willing to fight for it. Nation building in our image has proven to be a failed objective time and time again and will be so with Afghanistan again for it remains a war that sees powerful warlords and tribal chiefs sitting back and enjoying the spoils of said war...spoils financed by incompetency sadly on both our and the Russians side.

For the Russians their war with Afghanistan was the Soviet Union’s final foreign military stand before its ultimate collapse in 1991. Soviet troops invaded the capital of Kabul on December 25, 1979, on Moscow's order to replace the radical islamist Hafizullah Amin with the Soviet-endorsed Babrak Karmal as head of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Moscow believed that by their overthrowing Amin they could somewhat control the timing of Afghanistan’s communist revolution and protect the communist regime from collapsing due to its being domestically unpopular, fearing this could result with Afghanistan ceding either to islamist or Western forces.
 
And while a 1989 armistice saw the failed Soviet army leaving Afghanistan with the above stated 'face-saving' of sorts, that 'face-saving' resulted in “no common front of resistance fighters which could have effected a smooth political transition.”* This left the country whose people were so tired of war...coupled with the ongoing rivalry between the different war lords...seeing the taliban easily occupying Kabul as well as other parts of the country. And the taliban did so with help from Pakistan...help that continues to this day no matter that the Trump administration has decided to reduce the level of U.S aid to Pakistan because of their not taking decisive action against the taliban and its offshoot known as the Haqqani network.

So why hasn't the U.S. military...the greatest military the world has ever known...won a decisive victory against these backwards taliban fighters...simply because we are fighting with 21st century weapons and bombs against those who hide deep within caves in mountains of rocks that our bombs do little damage to. And those that our bombs have killed, for the most part, have been the collateral damage known as women and children, with collateral damage being the bane of civilian populaces more times than not. And this particular type of collateral damage has led the Afghan people's allegiance to actually turn more towards sympathy for their taliban oppressors than towards those seeking to set them free. And why...because true freedom the likes of which we take for granted is something the Afghan's have never really known.

And let's not forget that a war is not truly won if there is no plan in place for the peace that comes when weapons are finally laid down.

No tangible plans for peace meaning in the end even the military might of America will possibly go the way of all others who tried to conquer a country whose warlords and tribal chiefs are experts in the art of what we now call guerrilla warfare. And remember, Afghanistan is a country that has never been totally conquered. A brief history lesson...in the mid-4th century B.C., Alexander the Great tried to conquer this barren and inhospitable land, but the warlords and their fighters fought them off. In the 19th century the British tried not once but twice, but they too were driven back and done so with heavy casualties. And only a century later did the Soviets invade...a full invasion with their sole prize being to take and occupy Kabul...and yet after a decade of occupation, they too, were driven out to be replaced by American forces in the aftermath of 9/11...with a handful of U.N. forces thrown in for good measure.

And amid all these loses why do many of those currently holding political positions of power deem Afghanistan important enough to risk even more American lives...to further deplete American treasure...treasure that has already cost we taxpayers $800+ billion in a still failed attempt to overthrow the taliban when there remains no definitive win in sight...and especially when a 2014 U.S. government report stated that the cost of reconstruction in Afghanistan would total more than the entirety spent under the Marshall Plan...so why?

The answer to that for some of these political folks, I believe, is their erroneous assumption that we...like the Russians thought...must win to 'save-face.' Remember, while failure is rightfully not in America's vocabulary being obligated to undo the 'supposed' damage done to our reputation as the world's number one super power is not reason enough for more American blood to be shed or for treasure to be spent. Again why...because our 'supposed' reputation destroyed was done so by the words and actions...or lack thereof...of America's own enemy within...one Barack HUSSEIN Obama...and that damage has now become but perceived damage and no longer tangible damage thanks to the election of Donald Trump as president and his strong stance against those out to kill us all.

If a reason to fight on in Afghanistan is needed...one not just to 'save face'...let that reason be to prevent an all-out Afghan civil war coupled with country wide chaos that would deprive our military of much needed counter-terrorism bases...bases needed to help secure the U.S. homeland from terrorist attacks. Also, not having those counter-terrorism bases in Afghanistan would create a vacuum of power that would allow not only the taliban...who currently control 40% of the country and one-third of the population...but al-Qaeda and possibly even ISIS to establish and/or expand already existing areas of sanctuary throughout the rest of the country... areas from which they can continue to launch said terrorist attacks...attacks internet chatter promises will soon be on the scale of 9/11.

And know that the taliban already has sanctuaries within Pakistan itself...sanctuaries that harbor much of the taliban's leadership command. And knowing this has led our military commanders being unable to militarily target that leadership command because doing so would translate into an attack on Pakistani soil itself...an act of war against a country we are not at war with.

And this in turn allows Pakistan...who is well-known as the chief monetary sponsor of the taliban...to become the region's centralized terror hub...a hub to rival that of even Iran. 

So what is it about Pakistan that has turned a once ally into 'terror central'...and why is Pakistan's military and intelligence service (ISI) trying to under-cut our attempts to stabilize Afghanistan by their supporting the taliban?

To answer that one must go back to the Durand Line...the still in dispute 1,510 mile long internationally decided upon border between Pakistan and Afghanistan...a border that was established after an 1893 memorandum of understanding between Mortimer Durand of British India and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan...a border established when Pakistan was still part of India. This disputed border with its corresponding disputed territories translates into Pakistan having a vested interest in making sure that the Afghan government never gets strong enough to keep their current claim on the still disputed territories.

Therefore, logic to the Pakistani government dictates their siding with any and all who are against the Afghan government...hence their support for the taliban and their not aiding us in our fight against said taliban. 
 
But why does Pakistan want those disputed territories...what drives them to support an enemy akin to the likes of ISIS? To answer that think back to the 'Land Grab' series** my Right Side Patriots partner and friend Craig Andresen and I wrote just a few years ago and the answer becomes clear...for just like Obama's wanting certain areas of America to come under federal government control, Pakistan wants control of certain disputed areas for the very same reason...as in what is under the surface of the land.

And what territory is at the heart of Pakistan's want...it is the Wakhan Corridor...a narrow finger strip of mostly mountainous land tucked into the northeastern corner of Afghanistan...a desolate and inhospitable place which all of a sudden, in 2014, was set up by the corrupt Afghan government as a national park...a national park in a war-torn country...a national park being protected at all costs by a for the most part bankrupt government whose what little money they have would be better served aiding its poverty-stricken people than on what appears to most to be on the surface nothing but ruggedly barren mountainous land.

But we know that appearances can be deceiving for the seemingly barren land Pakistan wants that the Afghan government still controls is brimming to a tune of an estimated $1 trillion with iron, silver, gold, copper, cobalt, lithium, oil, natural gas, emeralds, rubies, azure, other precious and rare minerals, and most importantly it is brimming with uranium...and those heading Pakistan's government know that if they secure a major source of uranium they gain an all-important upper hand over their enemy India.

And to secure that specific territory and make sure it becomes part of Pakistan, I would bet Pakistan's government made a deal with the taliban that would have the taliban giving them the territory they want after we finally pulled out just like the Russians did in order to 'save-face'...that is something the Pakistanis are counting on. And with us gone the Pakistanis would give the taliban their so-wanted nuclear weapon...or two or three...in return for a deal completed...with one to keep for themselves...the others to sell to the highest islamic bidder. 

Clearly, Pakistan knows what is under the ground and wants it as much as we want them not to have it, and I believe that is one of the real reasons why we continue to fight a war in a country whose people do not want us there...with the other reason being that what lays under the ground would not only help finance the devastated country's rebuilding...instead of us paying for it all...but would also go a long way into Afghanistan paying us back for both American lives lost and treasure spent.  

And the Afghan government knows well that by their losing control of certain key areas of Afghanistan gives the taliban not just the 40% of the country they already control but gives them the entirety of Afghanistan to do with what they wish. And we know we cannot allow any of these players to control Afghanistan for he who controls Afghanistan controls not only what up until this point in time Iran has controlled...as in terrorist operations worldwide...but would now allow Pakistan to arm with nuclear weapons any and all who meet their price or agenda...and that we cannot under any circumstances allow.

“From New Delhi to Tehran when we talk about South Asia and a critical element of our strategy in the region has to be Pakistan. And we cannot be successful in Afghanistan -- we've seen that over the last several years -- unless we have a higher degree of cooperation from Pakistan. So Pakistan is absolutely an integral part of the strategic review that's ongoing,” were the recent words of Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and we best listen and act upon those words for the alternative will surely not be pretty.
__________________________________________ 
*Guerrilla Warfare: A Historical and Critical Study, By Walter Laqueur
** Government Land Grabs: The Truth Exposed
Part 1:  http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2014_05_03_archive.html
Part 2:  http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2014_05_04_archive.html
Part 3:  http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2014/05/op-ed-government-land-grabs-truth.html
Part 4:  http://thepatriotfactor.blogspot.com/2014/05/op-ed-government-land-grabs-truth_5.html

Copyright @ 2017 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved

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RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

Today, Tuesday, August 29th from 7 to 9pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss the real reason why we are still in Afghanistan; Craig presents the first ever 'binky' award; updated news on Hurricane Harvey and the nightmare in Houston TX; and the pardoning of Sheriff Joe.

Hope you can tune in at: http://listen.samcloud.com/w/73891/American-Political-Radio#history