 The Saker has an excellent summary of the last few days’ events in Iraq. See http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/52809.htm. What he says is shocking in the extreme, the italics are mine:
He says a lot of other things too in his article but the above is what interested me. The murder of General Soleimani has historical analogies with Jan/John Huss, the Bohemian Reformer that lived a century before Martin Luther, the great Protestant Reformer. Huss was also known as Iohannes Hus or Johannes Huss, a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a church reformer from which came Protestantism. But he started life as a Roman Catholic priest. As he grew disillusioned and moved away from Roman Catholic doctrines he became the object of many disputes. Huss went to The Council of Constance (1414–1418) to debate his dissensions under a promise of safe conduct. Before he left, he made his last will & testament. A wise move, he was detained, and then burned on the stake as a heretic. Yep, burned alive. I discussed the word “heretic” in Code Name Swan 53, where it comes from, what did it mean originally? It is from Greek, the language of the original Bible manuscripts, the learned language of the time when Jesus walked on the earth, “hairetikos” and later became “heretique” in Old French before becoming the word that we know today. Did you know that the Greek meaning of “heritic” is translated as “able to choose?” It is vastly interesting then that Rome slandered everyone that disagreed with their views as “heretics” and for a long time tried (and did) to murder them. Why? Because they are able to choose? Have freedom of choice? Use their own brains? In this instance, the word means to make up your own mind from what you read in the Bible, not what Rome tells you to think. Huss, at the stake, refused to change his views and made a prediction: “I never preached any doctrine of an evil tendency; and what I taught with my lips I now seal with my blood. You are now going to burn a goose, but in a century, you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.” Dr Martin Luther always described himself as that swan/goose and he came exactly a century later. Only in 1999, almost six centuries later did Pope John Paul II expressed “deep regret for the cruel death inflicted” on Huss and added “deep sorrow” for Huss's death and praised his “moral courage.” Whatever. It should never have happened to begin with. Safe conduct is defined as: “The situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person -usually an enemy state's subject - a pass or document to allow the enemy alien to traverse its territory without harassment, bodily harm, or fear of death. Safe conduct is only granted in exceptional circumstances. It may be given to an enemy to allow retreat under surrender terms, or for a meeting to negotiate; to a stateless person; or to somebody who for some reason would normally not be able to pass.” A recent historical example is Vladimir Lenin travelling to Russia through neutral Switzerland from Imperial Germany whilst that country was officially at war with Russia. He was not alone, there were 32 other Russians/Communists with him. We know what came after, the Soviet Union. During the Crusades and after, Christian pilgrims could request letters of safe conduct from a Muslim ruler allowing them to pass through to Jerusalem. Once given, such people are usually left alone to conduct their business in peace. It was then an utterly immoral act by the Trump Administration if General Soleimani was drawn to Baghdad on a safe conduct, even if only implied, and then killed in a drone strike. It cannot be explained or justified and the world should act in horror. This was way outside the rules of the game and will have consequences which will not take 100 years to come to the fore. The last time that a rumour, never mind an outright threat by a US President, occurred, that the USAF bombed Muslim holy places, came to the fore, the US Embassy was burned down in Pakistan (they are Sunni Muslims, same as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Saudi Arabia, not Shia like Iran). Two US servicemen died, forgotten in history now but mentioned in my books. It is a war crime to bomb cultural targets. I have to wonder what Donald J Trump was thinking when texting: “Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats. Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets” in response to the American operation that killed Soleimani. He was already attacking our embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.” The USA is the problem these days and the above foolishness, which is applauded by stupid people only, will not go away without bloodshed. I doubt if the world will show much sympathy for the American body bags (and any country that supports them in this) that will arrive in the future. We expected better from those claiming to be the “Leader of the Free World.”
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 There is a good article by Peter Hitchens: The killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was state murder. How can anyone be so bloody stupid? Published on Daily Mail last night. The article can be read at the following link https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-7852247/PETER-HITCHENS-killing-Iranian-General-Qasem-Soleimani-state-murder.html. No comments are allowed, none. Yet, the rest of the Daily Mail articles on the same subject have no such ban. Why is that? You might be sure that it is not by chance but deliberate policy. I find it odd.
As background, the entire world knows, the US droned a senior Iranian Army officer, Major General Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on 3 January, killing him and local Iraqi militia commanders. Iran vowed to take revenge. A red flag, indicating a Jihad or Holy War, was hoisted for the first time over the Holy Dome Jamkarān Mosque in the thousands year old Persian history. Yesterday, the Iranians handed over an official letter to the UN Secretary-General stating flatly that they have the right, as they do, to defend themselves against attack. In many ways that should be interpreted as a declaration of war. Thus, things are heating up and escalating rapidly. Not even the hastily delivered letter from the US President by the Swiss Embassy in Tehran asking for de-escalation will lower the temperature anytime soon. Some reports say that the life of an equivalent US General was offered in return. Of course, this was immediately followed by further threats over Twitter – a sure sign of panic. If ever there was an impeachable offense by a US President this was it, committing an Act of War against a foreign nation. By the way, committing an act of war is considered to be a war crime since 1945. There is no such thing as a “Just War” either. That disappeared with the League of Nations and was last officially used by Benito Mussolini to justify the attack on Abyssinia. It does not exist in modern law. I don’t even want to discuss the legalities surrounding the murder of Qasem Soleimani since there are none to discuss under international law. I qualified as a lawyer more than two decades ago and know what this was. It was murder, an act of war, and unlawful in every known sense of the word. And the act, authorised by the US President (as if he has the legal authority to do so, LOL, he does not), will have dire consequences. You may expect Americans to be targeted now and to die in the foreseeable future. Many of them, as well as other Westerners, in particular, the US minions, France and the UK that somehow lost their manhood and independence of thought. It is sad to see proud nations that contributed so much in history reduced to such a state of submissiveness. You may expect that Iraq will now ask the US to remove its forces occupying Iraq. Under international law the US will have no choice. Staying on then is an act of war as being committed in Syria by arriving uninvited and staying on. There will be constant niggling attacks in the shadows leading to body bags that no US President can afford in an election year. The leaving of US Forces in Iraq will open the way for more Iranian influence closer to Israel, a tiny nation that cannot take on Iran and win: “We cannot fight Iran alone. They can affect us; we can affect them. It’s all about attrition. But if you want to gain something which is deeper, we cannot do it alone. This is a fact of life. It’s better to admit that.” Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Yair Golan, September 2017. Iran can afford a lot more attrition than the Jewish State, there are 81 million of them against less than 9 million Israelis. And it is also a fact that the USA, no matter which party is in charge, will never let Israel be defeated by anyone. No US President will stay in office if that happens. No US President will be elected without supporting Israel. The Jewish State controls Congress – see my non-fiction books why I say so, I have the evidence at hand which is not based on anti-Semitic views. Therefore, the attack on Soleimani makes no sense from any viewpoint. There is no risk of the US Embassy being overrun by angry Iraqis or any other justifiable cause. And it is Saudi Arabia that is the great supporter of Muslim terrorism against America: Republican Senator Rand Paul, October 2018: “It’s a fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest sponsor of radical Islam on the planet, and no other nation is even close. Since the 1980s, over $100 billion has ‘been spent on exporting’ Wahhabism (the brand of Islam that controls Saudi Arabia and is most prevalent in madrassas). According to Foreign Policy Magazine, an ‘estimated 10 to 15 percent of madrassas are affiliated with extremist religious or political groups,’ while the number of madrassas in places like Pakistan and India has increased exponentially – from barely 200 to over 40,000 just in Pakistan. Even the State Department noted during the Obama administration that Saudi Arabia was the ‘most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,’ and said Qatar and Saudi Arabia were ‘providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups.’” Iran is not innocent but in this case Iran, through General Soleimani, fought ISIS and Al Qaeda, the scourge of the world, both being Sunni groups, not Shia. So tell me, where are the benefits for the US and Israel in the assassination of General Soleimani? It does not help Israel or they would have done it themselves a long time ago. It does not help the US, it makes the country looks like it's being run on Mafiosi Principles which I would hope is not true. Another way is to say, the USA acted in Rogue State behaviour. Frankly, it was the most stupid act of Donald J Trump’s presidency ever. It gave the NEOCON war mongrels the escalation to destroy Iran that they craved. See how war mongrels like John Bolton, the fired National Security Adviser, reacted with glee. But I ask you, who will be paying the price for what comes from it? How many servicemen/women will die for such a war? It won’t be the war mongrels, they are always sitting safely in the Swamp dodging active service. Each one of them ran away from Vietnam and every other war they involved the USA in. They are cowards by nature. But what irks me most is when you read the comments on a right-wing outlet like Fox, Daily Mail, and others. You are struck by the bravado and idiotic thinking displayed for the world to see, repeating the same old lies since 2001. The same can be said on the left-wing outlets and never the two will meet on middle ground. That is the Hegelian Dialectic being played that I warned about in so many books. Let us look at what Dwight D Eisenhower, a good President, said: “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity... The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office... The middle of the road is all of the usable surface. The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.” So it seems that the reasoned arguments, like the one Hitchens put forward, middle of the road, are being suppressed. You don’t need to wonder why. We know what those behind the scenes want. Hopefully, they will be left disappointed, exposed and executed as war criminals.  I am happy to announce that Koos Kotze’s Mean Streets Police Series as well as some of his other non-fiction books are now hosted on the GMJ website at https://www.georgemjames.com/mean-streets.html. It is the only website where the books can be bought legally in Epub (Apple) versions. Those on Amazon only come in Kindle. They are also available in Kindle on my website. The paper versions are on Amazon.
Through the years, since Apartheid ended officially in 1994, a lot was written about the South African Police Force (SAP), the country’s National Police Force. Not all of the books were true to facts and many with a clear left-wing liberal political motive behind them. Many “anti” books were published, especially by the mainstream publishing houses and although they have a function and fulfilled a financial need, the Mean Streets Series is not like that. This is a story of a man, a junior officer that grew up in Apartheid South Africa and joined the Police at age 18 with the specific purpose to serve, to hunt criminals and terrorists and to kill them if needs be. He would go on to become an attorney at one of the most famous human rights law firms in Africa. A mesmerizing story. For those that were not members of the SAP between 1985-1991, and most were not, this is the closest you will ever get to see the world from the policemen’s viewpoint: “Makes the world of a policeman come to life. Brilliant exposé of what it really feels like to have been part of the SAP during the years of apartheid. The author is painstakingly honest about his emotions and experiences during that time. A must read...” is one reviewer’s remarks. “Outstanding book, 1 of 3 on the SAP by this author... Genuine honest look from the inside by one who was there, did that, got the T-shirt and all the rest” said another. “These books provide an entertaining glimpse into not only the world of Law Enforcement but also into a department which has been under media attack for decades. Of course Apartheid was a terrible and racist system, and the police enforced those very laws, but the author does an excellent job in explaining the reasons behind this in a clear and concise manner. If you try to understand ANYTHING from the police point of view, the author's reasoning will answer some tough questions. The series is informative, funny, entertaining and a series I enjoyed reading...” wrote a former NYPD officer. The various Mean Streets Books were read by many, criticized by some and loved by a lot more as an eye-opener to that closed world. The South African Police Force had almost nothing in common with a Sheriff's Department or the “Bobby on the Beat” – think Marines with police powers and you are closer to the truth. The highly trained policemen were fighting terrorists as mechanized infantry besides dealing with “normal” crime in between. The statistics show that most of the terrorists were killed by the South African Police Force, not the Army, during South Africa’s Border War. 98% of all terrorists inside South Africa died by police bullets. The Police likewise had a decade more experience in counterinsurgency, learning their trade during the Rhodesian Bush War. Their daily duties involved dealing with vicious and brutal crime, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and full-scale riots, depending on where they were. The Mean Streets Book Series is a warning. They will show you what happens when unscrupulous politicians gain control of a highly disciplined Police Force and there is no “Bill of Human Rights” to stop them from implementing the country’s laws. No matter how unfair the laws may be or no matter what opposition is faced, these police officers will not turn a blind eye or walk away. They will react in kind every time and violently if provoked or not. They were feared with good reason - they were brutally effective and true to their traditions. Yet they also showed kindness and saved life at times. The Series is an account of the author's basic training at the South African Police College in Pretoria and then the mean streets where crime, terrorism and violence are part of life. The third book is filled with funny incidents that made many smile. It is not merely a police biography but an intense look at how an honourable Police Force became an “Instrument of Terror” mostly because of politics way above the policemen’s pay grade. Funny, and insightful. At times you laugh, at times you cry, and sporadically you shake your head. If you liked the GMJ books you will love the JK books and vice versa. We often quote each other in the books. Visit the page and have a look: https://www.georgemjames.com/mean-streets.html.  The latest US rendition program started in 1995 or perhaps 1996 under the Administration of Billy Goat Clinton. After the 9/11 attack it really took off, expanding dramatically. The difference is that almost no one was ever tried in a court of law. We have men today, at the time of publishing, being held without trial at Guantanamo Bay for 17 years. It cannot be justified and ought never to have happened. If a man is a danger as a terrorist, then kill him. Don’t hold him for years. Whatever information he might have had then is now totally out of date and useless to you. The mere existence of the jail creates terrorism. So what this comes down to, also called “extraordinary rendition” is to deny suspects / terrorists the privileges of the US legal system, bad as it is. Let us say that X is identified inside Pakistan as a terrorist. He would then be kidnapped or arrested by the locals and handed over to the CIA (and FBI) for interrogation. Since the interrogation is done in ways that come down to torture and thus illegal under ordinary US laws, this must be done in other countries where they can get away with it. It is all about “playing the game” and deniability (which is useless today, it is not denied).
This playing games with the law, abusing it to make something obviously unlawful lawful is to be found also (see Code Name Alphabet 32) wherever the ridiculous United Nations (UN) Forces can be found on “Peacekeeping Duties.” The amount of sexual abuse of children, women and even goats is beyond belief. To look better, the UN changed the indisputable rapes and child molestation charges / accusations to something lesser by changing the designation of wrongdoing to reflecting “exploitations.” It is a pathetic solution that will change nothing and will never protect the abused. Sadly, there is a 1945 historical prelude to the United Nations’ whitewash of their war crimes. They learned it from the US and British Army... History will show you that in May 1945 Nazi Germany surrendered. This left the Allies with about 7.8 million German prisoners of war to take care of. The Geneva Conventions on War demanded that the prisoners eat the same rations as would your own troops, i.e. what Allied troops would eat. That is the laws of war, end of argument, you cannot escape it. However, General Eisenhower, the Allied Supreme Commander, Europe, later the US President, could not feed them at the same level as his own troops. It was logistically difficult because he failed to plan properly for it. Therefore, he designated the surrendering German troops not as prisoners of war (P.O.W.s) but “Disarmed Enemy Forces” (DEF). This meant two things. First, the International Red Cross could not access the prisoners. Wherever this happens, abuse is absolutely assured. And secondly, the prisoners had no Geneva Convention protection regarding food or anything else. They were now completely at the mercy of their former enemies. Consequently, they were kept in enormous wired-in enclosures lacking any shelter and other necessities to sustain life. The abbreviation used, DEF, sounds like DEATH when spoken and probably got some chuckles because of it. There are lots of film footage available today of the prisoners fighting over food, looking haggard and gaunt. Many Allied soldiers and commentators found the fighting for food very amusing. It was not amusing. There was nothing amusing about it. This was and is the finger of shame pointing right at them. No one knows how many men died because of the conditions implied on them but in the French Sector 16,500 died in 1945 alone. The Allies only got away with their behaviour because they were the victors and the Allied prisoners freed. There could be no retaliation from the German side. A 1989 book, Other Losses, written by James Bacque, claimed that the German P.O.W. deaths were deliberate. He stated that the deaths so caused was about 790,000 German soldiers. Note that these were ordinary soldiers, not the Gestapo, SS types. Men that fought in uniform without any suggestion of war crimes. Bacque got to his figure by looking at the records available. The deaths recorded as such, “other,” came to 790,0000 according to him. His claims were instantly and viciously attacked by US, UK, and West German historians. Particularly Professor (Dr) Stephen E. Ambrose, a renowned US historian left in charge of the Eisenhower legacy, was incensed. Ambrose would later become famous for his book “Band of Brothers” turned into a 2001 American war drama. It tells the story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from 1942 to the end of World War Two. Despite the miniseries being historically erroneous and showing looting as well as other war crime type of acts by the American heroes portrayed it did remarkably well, earning the highest praises. Still, even Dr Ambrose had to concede to Bacque’s book, “We as Americans can't duck the fact that terrible things happened. And they happened at the end of a war we fought for decency and freedom, and they are not excusable.” The quotation does not imply that Ambrose agreed with James Bacque’s findings. He contested them bitterly whilst agreeing that “terrible things happened.” A curious remark that should be noted down. Where there is smoke a fire is usually to be found too. Colonel Ernest F. Fisher, a former senior historian of the US Army Center of Military History, agreed completely with Bacque’s findings. Only by February 1946 or 10 months after the surrender took place and the captivity began did the International Red Cross gain access to the German DEF camps. They did much to provide relief although they were initially only allowed the smallest quantities of food to be delivered. In their reports, the Red Cross uses one phrase often enough to stand out to the reader, “appalling conditions.” The British Army had the same system going, exactly the same, called “Surrendered Enemy Personnel” (SEP). Same story, same evading of international treaty obligations. The Brits would do the same during the 1950s Malayan Emergency, use the definition of SEP and “Captured Enemy Personnel” (CEP) with the same consequences to the captured. By such means, devious in the extreme, the responsibility laid upon the victors by the 1929 Geneva Convention signed by all parties was negated. Perhaps not 790,000 died but certainly thousands did and the reclassification is not denied nor the reason why it was done - to remove the surrendered men from the protections provided by the Geneva Conventions. It makes for extremely shameful reading no matter what excuses are offered of which there are too many. It is scary how history repeats and mark my words the same will be done in the future. You, the average man / Joe might be the next target. Remember history. I heard of the above in vague rumours. Now, it is confirmed. Sadly so. GMJ  I hope you enjoy the GMJ Series. They are books worth reading if you like military history, romance, espionage and although the books have a strong South African flavour, the messages in them are directed towards the West. The GMJ Books are written as a warning to those who may not understand what is happening in sub-Saharan Africa, the new battleground, as we speak. As such, the GMJ Series contain intelligence truths which some will dislike on principle. I believe the public should be informed. And that the warnings communicated in this book are of utmost importance.
Code Name Love 72, Book 50, deals with two subjects. Firstly, the role of South African Army Cavalry Units during the long Border War 1966-1989. The cavalry use was a concept that came directly from the late South African Army Chief of Staff, General Magnus Malan. A man that I admire and one that was cruelly smeared as a child molester in a recent book that I consider to be unworthy in the extreme. Therefore, since the mainstream will spread their lies, I made sure to have on record that Magnus Malan was not, repeat not, a pedophile. If he was alive when the smear book came out he would have won a libel suit with contemptuous ease. As far as I am concerned he was a damn good soldier and stays highly respected by us. The application of cavalry during modern counterinsurgency operations was out of the box thinking, if not totally original. As my study shows, the Portuguese Army (in Angola) and the Rhodesians (the Grey Scouts) were doing so before the South Africans arrived, but we made it an artform. The study makes for interesting reading and lessons for the future. Secondly, I looked at the US Extraordinary Rendition Program happening across the world. This is where CIA members or their lackeys snatch / grab / kidnap a suspected terrorist and take him to a neutral country to be held, tortured and even murdered outside the normal protection of US laws. The fellow so grabbed has no legal recourse and no way out unless he can escape. Some have been held for 17 years without trial by now (2019). It is very bad news for counterterrorism for obvious reasons and a path that should never have been followed. I explain in detail why the program is a failure. There is a South African link going back to 2003 & 2005 which is also looked at. By dealing with the subject and the rescue of prisoners from a CIA safe house in Tanzania, I explained how such a rescue operation can be done without the use of official Special Forces (for deniability reasons). I also reveal the historical link where a US Army classification to act “legally” outside international law led to the deaths of tens of thousands of German prisoners of war between 1945-1948. This was the so-called DEF or “Disarmed Enemy Forces” concept known in the British Army as SEP or “Surrendered Enemy Personnel.” It denied the millions of German POWs the protection of the Geneva Convention as the Rendition Program denies Muslims the protection of the US Constitution. I will deal with this aspect, the lies, in the next blog. It is too serious to not stand alone. Merry Christmas, God bless, GMJ |