NOV1781-DEC1781: Charleston Remains Occupied as Patriots Tighten the Noose

In my last post about Francis Marion and his militia, I had mentioned that port city of Wilmington, NC had been evacuated by the British Empire, but that even with the huge victory at Yorktown, VA, this war is far from over.

Maj. Gen Nathaniel Greene had hoped with Cornwallis gone and the British evacuation of Wilmington, NC on November 14th that the French navy might be asked to come to Charleston and/or the Continentals would be deployed to SC to push the Brits out to sea. But the French navy in alliance with Spain went to Jamaica and lost to the British in the attempt to capture that island.

Greene did receive about 300 mountain men from Tennessee but they stayed only for for one engagement but left after they experienced the boredom and heat of the low-country of South Carolina, even in November!.

The final liberation of SC were in the hands of Greene and Marion as Pickens were deployed to the western regions to deal with the various tribes of American Indians and loyalists in that area and Sumter was directed to lead a post in Orangeburg.

Typical of the independent nature of militia leaders, Sumter came up with a secret plan to expedite the liberation of South Carolina but was ignored by Marion.

Brig. Gen. Francis Marion was then given total autonomy by Greene in future operations so on 15NOV1781 two forces were dispatched to the area below Eutaw Springs to stop British plundering. Due to the poor turnout of the militia as harvest time operations were in process, as well as the diminishing threat from British troops in areas away from Charleston, Governor Rutledge and Continental commander Greene agree to create two new regiments of South Carolina State Troops.

From J. D. Lewis’ 2014 work: http://www.francismariontrail.com/EvolutionMarionsBrigadeJDL.htm

On 16-17NOV1781, new elections are held all across South Carolina
to elect new representatives for the General Assembly, which is planned
to be held in early JAN1782. Three men from the militia including Marion are elected to the South Carolina state senate and 25 men from the militia are elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives.

The circumstances of a 17NOV1781 raid on the Fairlawn Plantation where the Brits has munitions and provisions that doubled as a hospital shows that the British resolve to fight has diminished.  Marion takes advantage of the turnover of personnel and sends Lt. Col. Hezekiah Maham with 180 of his men plus 200 North Carolinians under Col. Isaac Shelby and Col. John Sevier,  to Fair Lawn Plantation on the banks of the Cooper River near Moncks Corners. Lt. Col. Maham and his group even  pass another British post and attempt to entice the British cavalry out to a fight, but they refuse.

At Fair Lawn, the patriots consider the main house too formidable to take, so they decide to attack one of the outbuildings, which is a British hospital. At this point the NC riflemen cover the redoubt while Lt. Col. Maham and his cavalry ride up to the building and demand its surrender. The medical defenders offer no resistance at all.

The patriots capture 300 stands of arms and other goods. About 150 patients and staff are made prisoners. Eighty prisoners could walk and are
taken back to Brig. Gen. Marion’s camp, the rest are paroled. Capt. MacLaine’s garrison watch all of this happen, but do nothing. The hospital is burned and the patriot’s ride away.

Two days later, northeast of Charleston, at Wappetaw Meeting House, the British come under attack by the same state troops commanded by Lt. Col.
Hezekiah Maham. The enemy abandoned this post as soon as they saw the Carolinians approaching with no shots exchanged per at least one
source. Apparently, the British enjoyed no long-range success in keeping Brig. Gen. Francis Marion’s patrols out of the vicinity of Charleston.

By the end of the month, North Carolina’s Col. Isaac Shelby and Col. John Sevier leave South Carolina under the command of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and Lt. Col. Hezekiah Maham, and head back across the mountains to home.

In hindsight, we see this season as the calm before the last storm of this attempt at independence from the British Empire:

Designed by Scott Aiken to show Marion’s impact and activity from 1780-1782. http://www.francismariontrail.com/MarionData.htm

In DEC1781 things seem to get even more quite. The news that Gov. John Rutledge writes a letter to Brig. Gen. Francis Marion and requests an escort of 25 men and a proper officer from Lt. Col. Hezekiah Maham’s regiment of cavalry means that there is a cautious return towards civil government rule as the new legislature commences in the new year. Obviously this will not take place in Charleston itself but at some other location away from the remaining British forces still in port.

During the week before Christmas, Marion’s men sweep around Moncks Corner and get as far as Dorchester. The entire area is quiet as the British are hunkered down in and right around Charlestown.

On Christmas Day 1781, in an act of revenge, patriots known as “The Bloody Legion” headed by Capt. John Leacraft and his Hilton Head Company of Militia attack a local Loyalist militia commander Capt. Philip Martingale in his home, killing, or more accurately, murdering him. Apparently, this was to avenge the bloody ambush on Hilton Head Island earlier in 1781 by British Maj. Maxwell and Loyalist Capt. Philip Martingale of Daufuskie
Island, who led a raiding party to Hilton Head and ambushed Patriots at Two Oaks Plantation.

On 31DEC1781, Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene relays Gov. Rutledge’s
announcement for the newly-elected legislators to meet on 08JAN1782 at
Jacksonborough, South Carolina. So the stage is set for civil government to return. The question is, will the British allow this to proceed naturally as rumors of a peace process rising in the British Parliament had yet to change the mind of King George or Lord Germain. The hope for a better future was still something that seemed just out of reach.

Stay tuned for 1782, as hindsight tells us, the Treaty of Paris in 1783 is yet over a year away!

-SF1

What is Good for America, Is Not Good for US Congress Representative’s Finances

The US House votes 354-60 against the withdrawal from the ILLEGAL US presence in Syria .. I think we found 354 people ready to volunteer themselves, or their kids and/or their grand-kids for the next war they dream up.
It must be all that MIC [Military Industrial Complex] lobbying money in their pocket and the promise of more $ that had them all voting against another illegal war in a far off land.
At the end of the day, this is great news for America, for American teenagers approaching the age where the military tries to attract them to the noble mission to occupy 700-1000 bases around the world, drone strike WITHOUT documentation in half a dozen countries and basically fail at bringing real democracy or freedom to any country in four decades PLUS.
Moon of Alabama’s post highlights all the good things going on in Syria which of course means that US politicians and their media start crying:
.. The mainstream borg is up in arms that Turkey uses Jihadis to attack their beloved anarcho-marxist PKK terrorists group. They have conveniently forgotten the history of the U.S. war on Syria, its arming of those Jihadis and its pampering of al-Qaeda. The U.S. did not betray the Kurds any more than it betrayed Turkey and the Jihadis which the Obama administration armed throughout the war…
On Lew Rockwell’s web site, Michael S. Rozeff writes:
This vote shows that the House members from both parties are captured by both military/intelligence/deep state interests and world government/democracy ideology. Both such elements go against the well-being of America..
You think? Bi-partisan agreement on unlimited wars, ‘wars without end, amen’ is what I hear from these sociopath politicians. Between the Israeli and MIC lobbies, these politicians can retire comfortably after only a few years in office.
To hear the politicians tell it, it was “shock and horror” when Turkey’s extremists start their NORMAL brutal tactics, but this time against the Kurds. It was all good when 500,000 Syrian’s were killed by Obama’s decision to “regime change” Syria.
Rania Khalek on Twitter outlines what REALLY came down:

“.. The US armed and funded extremists in Syria to overthrow the Syrian government and the media cheered. Those same extremists then attacked the Kurds on Turkey’s behalf to the horror of the same media…”
Yeah, main stream media (MSM) and a majority of US politicians acting the same way on the same day .. what can you say. They are all crazy.
Actually, things are going really well in Syria now with the US finally quitting their trespassing:

The Turkish controlled Jihadis made little progress. Mostly Kurdish fighters are preventing them from expanding from the area they are informally allowed to hold. The Turkish command has called up more irregular ‘rebel’ troops including Jihadis from Jaish al-Islam who had once controlled Ghouta in the east of Damascus. They had been transported to Idleb after their defeat. .. The Russian air force in Syria is preventing the use of the Turkish air-force in support of the Turkish attacks. Yesterday a Turkish F-16 entered Syrian air space but retreated when some Russian fighters appeared to hunt for it.

Can we do the same with Afghanistan now?

Asking for a friend.

-SF1

When “I Told You So” Ain’t Fun Any More – The End Game of Un-sustainability

The great thing about what is left of the “free” Internet is knowing that you are not alone in one’s own thoughts about the future. I think it can be a curse to be equipped with the ability to see “red flags” when few others do. When I think of the word prophetic, I don’t mean fore-telling as in declaring future events, but forth-telling as in revealing truths.

There are those that have this gift, like Patrick Henry, when he commented about the release of the document called the US Constitution with “I smell a rat”. This among many other “red-flags” he saw in that document came true in the years and decades to come.

The administrator of The Burning Platform wrote today about his (and others like Ron Paul) ability to see what was coming before 2008 and now sees more clearly what is unraveling once more. He also has learned a bit about human nature in this decade since the economy was turned upside-down and the banks were bailed out using taxpayer money.

First, about the sheep:

I will also no longer overestimate the ability of the American populace to see through this charade and come to their senses regarding their unsustainable use of debt to try and maintain an unrealistic lifestyle. Their willful ignorance, created through government education propaganda and social engineering, will not be extinguished until the inevitable financial collapse wipes them out again.

Second, about the wolves:

I suppose I continue to underestimate the level of maliciousness, gluttony, and pure arrogance of those pulling the strings behind the curtain, as they rape and pillage the dwindling financial resources of our empire in its death throes. These psychopaths in suits care not for this country or its people. These globalist pricks want nothing more than pliable slaves, distracted by their iGadgets, sports, and Hollywood drivel.

Lastly, about President Donald Trump:

Vintage 2016:

“They’re keeping the rates down so that everything else doesn’t go down. We have a very false economy. At some point the rates are going to have to change. The only thing that is strong is the artificial stock market. The U.S. economy is in a big, fat, ugly bubble. I will get rid of the nation’s more than $19 trillion national debt over a period of eight years. I’m renegotiating all of our deals, the big trade deals that we’re doing so badly on.” – Donald Trump, September 2016.

Vintage 2019:

“The U.S. economy would grow more quickly if monetary policy were eased. If we had a Fed that would lower interest rates, we would be like a rocket ship. We don’t have a Fed that knows what they’re doing. Our most difficult problem is not our competitors, it is the Federal Reserve. The Fed raised rates too soon, too often, and doesn’t have a clue!” – Donald Trump, July 2019

Obama did that too! The candidate sounded credible .. but once in office, one would think that someone has their kojones in a vise.

I certainly overestimated the campaign rhetoric truthfulness of Donald Trump as he railed against the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too low, creating a stock market bubble, and contributing to the parabolic rise in debt. His promise to eliminate the national debt in eight years was impossible, but I thought he might rein in spending and reduce annual deficits.

It seems men who may have the best intentions to do what is right on behalf of the American people when they seek higher office or are appointed to positions of power, such as the Federal Reserve, are summoned into a dark boardroom and informed who are the real bosses and what truly makes the world go round.

Sick but true. As FDR said:

The only reason they are selected is because they WILL do the bidding of those that bought, I mean brought, the puppet, I mean candidate to office.

So where does that have us in the 4Q of 2019?:

So here we are, entering Trump’s fourth year in office as the Deep State and their cronies in Congress, the CIA, and fake news media use impeachment as their last straw in their ongoing attempted coup, and the national debt is up by $3 trillion since Trump took office. At the end of his first term the national debt will exceed $24 trillion and interest on that debt will approach $600 billion.

Is this a good direction? Is this Trumps 4D chess? Using Kevin’s voice from the movie “Home Alone” I say: “I don’t think so”

The tax cuts for corporate America and the richest individuals reduced tax revenues and resulted in corporations buying back billions of their own stock to drive the stock market to the highest valuations since the 2000 dot.com bubble. Meanwhile, Trump fed the military industrial complex with billions more, while funding war throughout the world. Rhetoric about ending wars is just bullshit for the masses. The entitlement outlays remain on an unsustainable path, as Trump and all the feckless politicians in D.C. pretend all is well. Nothing bad has happened – Yet.

I am sure during the Democrat/CIA attempted coup that Trump did not want to pull back DOD spending, especially since a large number of his backers are pro-military, no matter what other country’s women and children will be droned.

The Fed balance sheet peaked at $4.5 trillion as they increased interest rates by a mere 200 basis points over a few years, still 200 basis points below what used to be considered normal. We’ve heard the boasts about the “best economy ever”, “lowest unemployment in history”, “stock market highest ever”, and “record corporate profits”, but with interest rates still at emergency levels and the Fed balance sheet a mere $750 billion lower than its peak, somehow the Fed feels compelled to cut rates and restart QE – but not calling it QE. Powell is bowing down to his Wall Street masters and Trump by taking actions which would only be taken during a recession or financial crisis.

Nothing to see here. Either they will fake it until 2020 elections or the wheels will come off the months prior.

GDP has averaged 2.5% in 2019, with consumer confidence high, consumer spending solid, unemployment at all-time lows, the stock market within spitting distance of all-time highs, and corporate profits at all-time peaks. Why would the Fed cut rates by 50 basis points, with more coming, and increase their balance sheet by $180 billion in one month, with a commitment to increase it by $60 billion a month for the foreseeable future? Will these actions benefit the average person or the above average bank and corporate executives? Savers are again being sacrificed on the altar of corporate America.

Yes, this is the reward people who have tried to save all their lives so they will not be a burden to their kids or to society get when the central bank allows a government to mortgage the future taxpayers lives as perpetual slaves.

Until then, other than Climate Change causing the end of the world in 2032, we have a few things to beware of:

  • His [Trump’s] impeachment and/or election of a gun grabbing socialist will surely lead to civil violence.
  • The continued provocations between superpowers with nuclear weapons and a Middle East always on the verge of apocalypse only needs an arrogant misstep by an egomaniacal leader to trigger a global conflagration.

Stay tuned. Glad I am not the only one that sees these “red-flags”. Now there are at least two, or three or more if you count Captain1776 and Malibu, two of my sons, .. or maybe more if you count my other two sons and my daughter.

You may not know it today, but in the days to come, you might have to lean on your faith (if that is what you have/want/need), that there is a hope for a better future at some point. The founders talked a bit about Providence in their trying times.

Here is to a new generation that can take to heart that after the storm, there will be peace and prosperity.

-SF1

Most People Are Nice People – Why it is So Hard to Understand that the State is Organized Crime

If you had asked me 20 years ago if I thought that the US government was a criminal organization, I would have laughed and called you a conspiracy theorist (a CIA term to discredit those who have doubts about the official government narrative).

Since then I have read a lot about our history (American and pre-American) from a variety of sources that have links to established source materials. At the end of the day, I can say with certainty, that there are elements of our government, and some of the elite who pull the strings they have at hand, that pure evil does exist in this world. This evil prefers to operate behind the mask of the state to accomplish its evil deeds. All too willingly there are political minded people that start out to make the nation or world a better place then over time will either be blackmailed or bought out to follow along with this evil agenda, taking on a mask of themselves as being one who “helps” “the people”.

This propensity for evil to find power structures to use for their own personal agendas is nothing new. Reading the accounts of God’s own nation of Israel or even the atrocities of the Roman Empire can give you a flavor of the depravity of the human soul.

Assisting me in coming to terms with this reality, in light of my indoctrination fo American Exceptionalism in government school systems, have been articles and searches from Lew Rockwell’s site over the past almost two decades. I have always been amazed by the sheer volume of material available for free from his site or others like the Mises Institute that can help anyone research for themselves how the world really operates, as well as the United States government, the Deep State and even Deep Politics.

There has been an article that I bookmarked earlier this week that referenced another lengthy article that intrigued me earlier this year that I never had time to really look at in detail. Let’s just say, I am still overwhelmed by the HTTP links, books and articles that cover not only US history but also world history that unveils what has happened behind the curtain for so many decades and centuries. Let me just say, the trust factor of government in general just keeps ratcheting down the more I read. I think I now know how many of the founders felt when they attempted a “good version” of government after it’s War for Independence from the British Empire.

“Who Rules America: Power Elite Analysis, the Deep State, and American History” by Charles Burris helps to unpack the trajectory of powerful men who have heavily influence many things behind the scenes that shows the heart of government is in fact, organized crime.

Here is a clip of the historical events that led to the effort in the American colonies in the 1770s to try and accomplish something new:

Why Power Elite Analysis (Libertarian Class Analysis) is Distinct From And Superior to Marxist Analysis

  1. Libertarian Class Theory Antedates Marxist Theory
  2. The English Civil War (The Levelers)
  3. Jean-Baptiste Say,  Charles Comte and Charles Dunoyer
    1. The Industrial Society Versus the Statist Society
    2. The Competitive Free Market Versus the Monopolistic Society
    3. The Free Market Pitted Against Mercantilism and Feudalism
  4. Henri de Saint-Simon and the Distortion of Class Theory
  5. From Saint-Simon to Karl Marx
  6. Elitism and the Myth of Pluralism
  7. Gaetano Mosca, The Ruling Class
  8. Later 19th Century Libertarian Class Analysis
    1. Herbert Spencer: Military Society Versus the Industrial Society
    2. Sir Henry Maine: From Status to Contract
    3. Richard Cobden: War and the Interests

I have to admit, I have scrimped when it comes to researching history before the 1770s, and have found myself ill prepared to understand why the wheels came off the American Revolution’s “cause” so fast after the war had ended. In less than a decade, some of the same people that were pro-liberty, took up the reigns of government to be used as the British Empire did, to control the people, to enrich themselves at their expense, and establish a central strong government and central bank to keep people like them in power for generations to come in America. At the end of the day, America looked more like Europe with each passing decade. I guess the imperialism DNA is a strong thing to resist for even noble causes and honorable principles.

Even the honorable Thomas Jefferson tried to do the right thing as President of the United States and came away discouraged for how he had led this young country in those early years. As a older man he was actually thinking that yet another revolution could bring about two or three confederations out of the exiting united States.

In part two of Charles outline, he focuses mainly on the United States trajectory of becoming a hidden organized crime unit led by the power elite:

Part Two

  1. Early American Historical Overview

Theme of Liberty Versus Power –  (Ivan Jankovic, The American Counter-Revolution in Favor of Liberty: How Americans Resisted Modern State, 1765–1850); The Country Party Versus Court Party: The Declaration of Independence and the Revolution (Bernard Bailyn, The Origins of American Politics; The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution; Angelo M. Codevilla, The Ruling Class: How They Corrupted America and What We Can Do About it)

  1. Counter-Revolution
    1. U.S. Constitution (Sheldon Richman, America’s Counter Revolution: The Constitution Revisited; John Taylor, New Views of the Constitution of the United States; Charles A. Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; Saul Cornell, The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism & the Dissenting Tradition in America, 1788-1828; What The Antifederalists Were For)
    2. Alexander Hamilton and the Plutocratic Federalists: “The Funding Fathers” (John McConaughy, Who Rules America: A Century of Invisible Government; Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Archenemy Betrayed the American Revolution – and What It Means for America Today; Brion McClanahan, How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America)
    3. The Early Nationalist Period (Stanley Elkins & Eric McKitrick, The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800; Gordon Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815; Phillip H. Burch, Elites in American History: The Federalist Years to the Civil War)
    4. Republicanism: From Jefferson to Van Buren
  2. Jeffersonian Drive to Roll Back the Federalist Program and Rid America of its Powerful Ruling Elite (Lance Banning, The Jeffersonian Persuasion: Evolution of a Party Ideology)
  3. Failure of Jefferson/Madison Regimes and the Rise of the Old Republicans or “Tertium Quids” (Norman K. Risjord, The Old Republicans: Southern Conservatism in the Age of Jefferson)
    1. John Taylor of Caroline County, Virginia (John Taylor, Tyranny Unmasked)
    2. John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia
    3. The Panic of 1819, James Monroe, and the “Era of Good Feelings“

This exhaustive set of links ends with the current era highlighting the Obama and Trump administrations:

It is beyond a doubt, that even if one were to investigate only a fraction of these things, it would remain as the tip of the iceburg as to what was really accomplished via politics in secret.

What I appreciate about Charles Burris is that he then goes on to outline some of the historical events that were made possible by the power elite. Going back from the present to WWI, one can only imaging the lives lost or scared by these sociopaths in our midst:

The question for someone in the present is not whether the US should have intervened in these conflicts but what have we learned from this previous century of war, destruction, and the needless death of millions?

What we now know concerning the horrific wars of the previous century, as well as 21st century conflicts such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, provides us with a historical template to guide us in making future principled decisions concerning intervention or non-intervention.

Briefly, working backwards, what have revelations concerning non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, deliberately falsified intelligence from the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans, and an elaborately coordinated media disinformation campaign done for the case for US intervention in Iraq in 2003? For falsified (and/or still classified) information concerning the September 11th attacks leading to intervention against Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Afghanistan?

What has declassified revelations from the archives of the former Soviet Union and the Venona files in the United States done to totally reshape the narrative story of espionage and the Cold War?

What has archival revelations concerning the Pentagon Papers and the deliberately contrived Gulf of Tonkin Incident done to spurious justification for the massive intervention in the Vietnam conflict?

What has fifty years of revelations concerning the November 22, 1963 coup d’état and brutal murder of President John F. Kennedy by Lyndon Johnson and the highest echelons of the National Security State done to totally reassess the dynamic behind the change in US policy toward Vietnam within days of JFK’s assassination? How have the powerful behind-the-scenes revelations concerning the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 aided in seeing a more complete picture regarding Kennedy’s murder and the subsequent change of policy toward Vietnam?

How have incisive revelations concerning the birth of the National Security State in 1947 impacted the story of the Cold War? How have revelations concerning the use of former Nazi intelligence officers in the Reinhard Gehlen organization grafted upon US military intelligence and the CIA, been shown to have provided unreliable and provocative disinformation which fueled early Cold War tensions?

How have decisive revelations concerning the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor reshaped the narrative of US intervention into WWII?

How have revelations concerning the Hitler/Stalin Non-Aggression Pact and the joint German and Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 affected our historical portrait of the larger story of how the Second World War began?

How have revelations concerning American and British financial, corporate, and political elites substantially aiding and rebuilding the Nazi war machine in the years prior to WWII as a bulwark against the Soviets change our view of the deep historical background?

How have revelations of the decades of joint military training and cooperation by intelligence services between Germany (during the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich) and the Soviet Union impact upon the lead up to WWII?

How did the Treaty of Versailles and agreements such as Sykes-Picot affect the interwar course of events leading to the Second World War?

How did the internecine network of secret treaties, entente cordiales, and clandestine military alliances drawn up prior to the First World War lead to this conflagration?

To this legacy one can only conclude that maybe America is not really exceptional at all, but just another self-serving nation who stuck their nose in other nation’s business totally contrary to the wishes of even the very statist George Washington!

The great American Experiment has indeed run its course. It would be nice if the next revolution was one of minds and hearts and not violent, however, man is prone toward the shortcuts of utilizing sanctions and war to accomplish the ‘greater good’.

-SF1

US Sends Warship into Russia’s Gulf of Mexico – Amid Tensions with Turkey

There are no coincidences really. I wonder if the US Empire’s navy commanders read Paul Craig Roberts blog and then react accordingly:

It appears that Washington intends to withdraw from the Open Skies agreement with Russia .. The Open Skies Treaty allowed the US and Russia to overfly each other’s territory in order that there could be mutual assurance that one country or the other wasn’t building up forces for attack ..

.. then Roberts writes:

.. Washington is currently raising tensions in the Black Sea, arming Ukraine, Georgia, and Romania, countries that border the Black Sea along with Russia, Turkey, and Bulgaria.The US and its NATO puppets are conducting military exercises in this internal sea that hosts Russia’s Crimean naval base ..

.. then Roberts suggests a strategic move that would stop the US/NATO in their tracks:

.. Russia can declare the Black Sea on Russia’s own coast to be a Russian national security interest.

It would be a highly responsible decision for the Russian government to prevent the dangers that Washington is creating by taking a lesson from Ancient Rome.

Rome declared a much larger sea, the Mediterranean Sea,to be “mare nostrum,” — our sea.The Russians could declare the Black Sea to be “our sea.”

Russia should be able to treat the Black Sea like the US treats the Gulf of Mexico, right? If Iranian or Russian naval vessels were performing military exercises in the Gulf of Mexico, the US media (neo-con mouth pieces) would be crying and shouting foul!

Here is the US Navy’s response as shared by Sputnik:

The US warship, armed with cruise missiles and interceptors, marks the seventh entry of an American missile destroyer into the Black Sea since the beginning of the year, as well as the second of the USS Porter.

Commander of the US 6th Fleet Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti has commented on the USS Porter’s arrival in the Black Sea.

According to a statement published in the newspaper Stars and Stripes, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was deployed to an area near Russia’s borders in order to carry out routine operations, showing NATO allies and US partners in the region the country’s “dedication to freedom of navigation”.

How about that. Great timing!

Then, on queue, the US talks about some sanctions (1st level of warfare when negotiations breaks down) against Turkey for invading Syria (but the US did that and was not sanctioned, “above the law” anyone?). Turkey has already agreed to purchase Russian S-400 missile defense platforms, and these sanctions seem to push Turkey towards Russia. Geographically, it might help to note what role Turkey plays in Black Sea access:

 

Turkey’s ability to restrict access to the Black Sea comes from a pre-WWII agreement:

Montreux Convention

.. the 1936 Montreux Convention [2], which makes Turkey the gatekeeper to the Black Sea and lays down the rules to be applied by Turkey in allowing the entry of ships from the Mediterranean.

These rules state that “in time of peace, merchant vessels shall enjoy complete freedom of transit and navigation in the Straits, by day and by night, under any flag and with any kind of cargo” (Article 2).

However, they impose very severe restrictions on the entry of warships belonging to non-Black Sea states and on how long they can remain in the Black Sea… And Article 18(2) stipulates:

“Vessels of war belonging to non-Black Sea Powers shall not remain in the Black Sea more than twenty-one days, whatever be the object of their presence there.”

In addition, under Article 13, Turkey must be notified in advance of a proposed passage through the Straits by a warship, 15 days in advance in the case of warships belonging to non-Black Sea powers, and the notification must “specify the destination, name, type and number of the vessels, as also the date of entry for the outward passage and, if necessary, for the return journey”.

Now you can see why NATO advances into Ukraine also needed a Turkey NATO membership as well to ensure US Empire warship access ANYTIME.

I believe that the US Empire/NATO has over played its hand since the USSR dissolved into various republics. Even though the US Empire promised that NATO would not advance in the wake of the Soviet collapse, it did so anyway.

So whether Russia becomes bold at this point and follows Paul Craig Robert’s suggestion about the Black Sea (based on how Rome essentially did the same centuries ago) or if Turkey flips back out of NATO over the US Empire’s bully tactics, things seem to be a changing in the Geo-political world at an increasing rate.

Stay tuned!

-SF1