Is Trump’s Agenda Starting to Show “Shades of Brown”? The Million Dollar Question

By Peter Koenig

Original post date: 31 January 2017

Where is Mr. Trump coming from and where is he going to? What is really on his agenda, what is trustworthy, and what is sheer farce and eventually killed by its own weight of controversy? – While out there, the different agenda items are spun around by the presstitute as anti-Trump and pro-establishment propaganda.

Left and right do no longer exist.  The so-called liberal elitist intellectual ‘left’ has sold its soul to the neocons, they may not even realize to what extent. The benefits they cash-in have blinded them to the disaster politics being propagated by the globalist-Atlantists. They are now fully in the realm of the Neocon crony directed western mass-media. After all, the lush western comfort zone is difficult to leave – while it lasts; key sentence – ‘while it lasts’. Thereafter the deluge – which may mean eradication of life on earth as we know it.

In comes Trump, thinking he doesn’t need the establishment; a multi-billionaire who doesn’t need the approval or the money from the establishment. In a symbolic gesture, he renounced his salary as President of the United States. – If it only were that simple.

In a historic move, President Trump has signed in the first ten days in Office an impressive number of Presidential Decrees and Executive Orders, has initiated long phone calls with friends and foes – and even received the Prime Minister of Washington’s closest ally, Mme. Teresa May from the UK. To be sure, she came with her own agenda, a trade deal and a promise to keep NATO alive. In the light of everything else that is going on, did she get what she came for, or is it yet another make-believe propaganda event?

Executive Orders

Among the Executive Orders, Presidential Decrees and Controversies, is the objective of achieving a peaceful alliance with Russia, jointly fighting terrorism in the Middle East, notably eradicating ISIS and affiliated terror groups like Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda  and other belligerent mercenaries, eventually to finding peace in Syria, Iraq and the Middle East as a whole – as well as in Ukraine.

Mr. Trump also considers NATO ‘obsolete’ and outdated – and rightly so. Since 1991, the official role of NATO, to defend Europe from a possible intrusion of the Soviet Union has disappeared. Never mind, that NATO has since then be reborn, namely as a constant aggressor of Russia, against all agreements made between the ‘allies’, winners of WWII in 1991, expanding its military bases from 12 in 1991 to over 30 today, all encircling and threating Russia – willingly provoking possibly an all-devastating WWIII. It is clear that western promises, agreements and diplomacy count for nothing. The US / western military industrial complex calls the shots – or enunciated differently: lucrative destructive military production and war overrule peace; they buy politicians and diplomats.

The ‘obsolete NATO’ statement, was quickly interpreted by his cabinet appointees and military advisors as meaning that Europe has to chip in more – reminding of Obama’s request that European NATO members should contribute with at least 2% (of GDP) military budget, thereby reducing the funding gap which now stands at 70% US vs. 30 % other members.

Trump’s campaign pledges were genuinely addressing the peoples’ concerns. Not only of the American people, but the vast majority of the world’s population wants peace. Contrary to what one would believe, reading, listening and watching the MSM.

While Mr. Trump talked on Saturday, 28 January, for over an hour with Mr. Putin on the phone, seeking harmonious relations, establishing a person-to-person contact between the two leaders, even projecting a personal meeting soon for closer discussions on how to address Syria, Ukraine – the fight against (Washington-made) ISIS and other associated Middle-Eastern terror groups, the ever ongoing anti-Russia drum-beat must be ringing in his ears.

Mr. Trump’s own Cabinet appointees were berating and demonizing Russia, following the establishment’s (Deep State) script, with false and toothless accusations. These are the proclamations of Mr. Mattis, Secretary of Defense – “I would consider the principal threats, starting with Russia”; Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State-designate: “Russia today poses a danger”; Mike Pompeo – the new Tea-Party Republican CIA Director: “Russia has reasserted itself aggressively”. Of course, no evidence, just negative propaganda.

All the while, Madame May is warning Mr. Trump on the risks associated in dealing with Mr. Putin and that utmost caution was in order. This may have been one of the reasons for not talking about lifting of sanctions during his conversation with Vladimir Putin. There were serious rumors circulating that in a good will gesture, Mr. Trump may lift the useless and illegal sanctions against Russia.

Of course, this may have made Europe look ridiculous, including the UK under Teresa May, holding on to sanctions which were imposed in the first place only because as vassals to Washington they were unable to resist and refuse the sanctions mandated by Obama, three years ago – and which were doing more harm to Europe than to Russia.  And now, what to do, if Trump abolishes them? Do they, the Master puppets of Europe also rescind them, showing publicly that they are nothing but a spineless bunch of stooges?

Also, the only reasoning for the sanctions were two gross and flagrant western lies, (i) Russia interference in Ukraine, and (ii) Russia annexation of Crimea. Lifting the sanctions would mean the justification for them has gone – basically admitting to the lie. The west has literally dug itself in a hole of worms, or worse, a nest of tarantulas.

Now, where does Trump stand? – Here are some of the controversial decrees and executive orders, domestic as well as international.

Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines

As part of the many decrees he signed last week, Mr. Trump reversed Mr. Obama’s ban on the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as the Dakota Access pipeline. It is an abrogation of the native Americans’ civil rights living in this area. He said there would be renegotiation, between whom and whom was not clear. The pipeline projects would follow a quick environmental assessment process. But the main reason for doing so, he said, was creating jobs – creating jobs building the pipelines, but also in manufacturing the steel pipes in the US.

The Sierra Club and other environmentalists immediately denounced Mr. Trump’s decision and announced huge protests, much larger than those which brought Obama to put a freeze on these controversial projects.

According to the Native Online News, Mr. Trump took down the Native Americans Web Page from the White House web pages, as well as the web pages on civil rights, people with disabilities and climate change, all of which were part of the White House Intranet during the last eight years of Obama’s White House. – Is this indicative on how Mr. Trump feels towards minorities?

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement

One of the new President’s first moves was canceling the Obama-negotiated TPP. This was just a formality, as the trade deal between 11 Pacific countries and the US was already dead during the last months of Obama’s White House tenure. Nothing new there. But this ‘formality’ could pave the way for an equal or even more important trade deal prevention, the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) with the European Union – the deal that would be so bad, it needed to be negotiated in secret and behind closed doors. The same for TiSA, the Trade in Services Agreement that involves 50 countries (49 + US) and would lead the way to privatizing all service systems, from water supply to health, to education and on by international corporations, mostly American corporations.

Cancelation of these trade agreements is a good thing. They are all lopsided in favor of American corporations’ rent-seeking activities abroad. They are nefarious for Europeans and Americans alike, if their puppet leaders accept them, like the submissive Brussels technocrats, and their tooth- and spineless member countries. However, that was not Mr. Trump’s worry. His worry is, “America First” – bring back these overseas jobs and manufacture at home, creating jobs at home. This conforms with the deglobalizing principle of ‘local production for local markets, creating local jobs…’ – actually supporting the American working class which has been miserably neglected over the past few decades of relentless outsourcing to cheap-labor countries..

The Mexican Border Wall

Trump had promised throughout his campaign he would build a wall (Israel style) along the Mexican border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants – and that the cost of the wall had to be borne by Mexico. Mexico’s President, Enrique Peña Nieto said Mexico would not pay for the border wall. Escalating the conflict, President Trump accused Mexico of ‘burdening the United States with illegal immigrants, criminals and trade deficit.’ If Peña Nieto would refuse, The US would pay for the wall with a 20% import levy on all goods and services from Mexico. The argument has come to a standstill, as Mexico’s President, under public pressure, has come forth strong, canceling the meeting with Donald Trump scheduled for this week in Washington.

In his anti-immigrant zeal, Trump did not consider the economic disaster a ban on (illegal)  immigrants would mean for western US economies that depend on them – agriculture, hostelries, and small manufacturing.

On the other hand, inventive Mexican business wizards are circulating rumors that Mexico might want to convert the wall into a tourist attraction, equipped with hotels, restaurants, parks, shops and even a museum telling the visitors the true story of the piece of land where the United States has built a wall, to whom that land originally belonged and who stole it and under what circumstances. A bit of history along with the wall could indeed do no harm.

Banning Immigration from Muslim Countries

President Trump also signed a controversial Executive Order banning immigration notably from Middle East countries, like Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Syria and Yemen. This created havoc at airport border controls throughout the US and the world, as hordes of refugees and travelers from Middle Eastern countries were blocked, after Trump’s signing of the Executive Order. According to the NYT, a Brooklyn judge ruled to prevent the government from deporting some of the refugees back into their home countries, as they might be exposed to harsh and inhuman treatment. He stopped short, however, from declaring Trump’s action as constitutionally illegal – and did not go as far as letting the stranded crowds into the country. So, the chaos prevails. – What else is new? The Masters of Chaos just added a new dimension to the never-ending chaos of the war on terror.

Syria Safe Zones

President Trump last week gave the Pentagon and the State Department 90 days to come up with a plan to establish “safe zones” within Syria. This is akin to the Obama / Hillary desire, implying ‘no-fly zones’ (for Syria military) and potential mid-air conflicts between Russian and US / NATO planes, both allegedly ‘fighting’ terrorists. According to Trump, the “safe zones” were meant to “protect Syrian war-stricken refugees.” This latest idea is a stark departure from his earlier campaign pledge to ‘make peace’ in Syria and cooperate with Russia in eradicating ISIS and other terrorists, and to abandon the policy of US foreign interference. Needless to say, neither Syria or Russia have been consulted. – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called on Washington to reconsider such a move in a “conflict-ridden Syria, where both sides are engaged in aerial military campaigns.”

Is it possible that this latest Trump contradiction is in response to Netanyahu’s request and long desire to destabilize Syria and to establish “safe zones” – so that gradually Syria could be infiltrated with US, NATO and Israeli ground troops to ‘protect’ the Syrian population – and eventually advance towards Damascus to force a ‘regime change’?

With this order to his Pentagon colleagues, Trump breaches his campaign promise of non-interference in other countries. Is he poised to become a traitor only few days into his Presidency?

Surprisingly, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson has said that “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be allowed to run for re-election in the event of a peace deal in Syria.” This is a drastic reversal of the UK position which until recently was a carbon copy of Washington’s ‘regime change’ objective. Johnson added, “We have been wedded for a long time to the mantra that Assad must go, and we have not been able at any stage to make that happen, and that has produced the difficulty we now face. We are getting to the stage where some sort of democratic resolution has got to be introduced … and if there is a political solution, then I don’t think we can really avoid such a democratic event. I think that is the way forward.”

Let’s see how that chives with Mr. Trump’s idea to please Mr. Netanyahu.

Torture and Water Boarding – plus

Already back in February 2016, Trump said, “torture works, water boarding  will be back; it will be soft in the light of other interrogation enhancement tactics – we will do much worse — water boarding is fine, but it is not really tough enough.”

Under a three-page draft order, titled “Detention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatants”, Trump would also bring back ‘rendition’ and dark prisons (i.e. CIA’s ‘black sites’), which Obama banned. If signed, the draft order would also revoke Mr. Obama’s directive to give the International Committee of the Red Cross access to all detainees in American custody. The new Trump rule might lead to a blatant infringement against the Geneva Convention of Prisoners of War.

“These practices of torturing detainees and ‘disappearing’ them in ‘black sites’ are serious crimes which must never be repeated,” Ian Seiderman, Legal and Policy Director of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) stated.

Much worse, according to Michel Chossudovsky , Mike Pompeo, the new head of the CIA, favors the reinstatement of “waterboarding, among other torture techniques”. He views Muslims as a threat to Christianity and Western civilization. He is identified as “a radical Christian extremist” who believes that the “global war on terrorism” (GWOT) constitutes a “war between Islam and Christianity”.

The GWOT is not just fought abroad; it will continue being a major task for the Homeland Security Department, hence guaranteeing their work for years to come. – It is already now hard to believe that anything regarding the absurdly paranoid US security position will change under Trump. He receives orders from above. And the ‘above’, or the Deep State’ has an absolute interest in preserving the status quo. This is the one way towards the extremely lucrative aim of Full Spectrum Dominance. War and destruction are highly profit-oriented; believe it or not, the US economy depends on it. If there was peace tomorrow, the US economy would collapse.

Moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Early on in his campaign – and obviously pleasing one of his Deep State masters, Israel’s Netanyahu, Mr. Trump let it be known that he intends to transfer the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

As recently reported by Al Jazeera and Information Clearing House (ICH), and against all historic background, preparations are well under way for that move which would be a disaster for US diplomacy, not just in the Middle East but all over the world. The last shred of US credibility would be flushed down the drain.

When France and Britain signed the Skype-Picot Agreement hundred years ago (May 1916), dividing Ottoman territories among themselves, Jerusalem’s status was designated as an international area, due to its shared religious significance. That status was adhered to throughout the 70 years of almost continuous Israeli – Palestinian conflict.

Trump, under pressure from pro-Israeli Zionist lobbies, also says he may cut funding to the UN, if the international body recognizes Palestine. It is clear, Netanyahu pulls the strings on puppet Trump.

And why does Mr. Trump, the strong-minded, financially, politically and, yes, morally independent new President of the United States, voted for by the people, by the common people, by the working-class people, those who have had enough of the promises and lies of the Washington establishment – why does he fall to the pressure of the Zionists?

These are but some of Mr. Trumps starkly controversial and often contradictory policy decisions; many of them pleasing some, but terrifying others – and this not just domestically, but throughout the international arena. The million-dollar question on where President Trump is headed is still a door to a dark room.

One worthwhile agenda item, not yet mentioned but should be considered by Mr. Trump – as suggested by Paul Craig Roberts  is “breaking into hundreds of pieces the six mega-media corporations that own [and control] 90% of the US [and western] media and selling the pieces to separate independent owners who have no connection to the ruling elites. Then America would again have a media that can constrain the government with truth rather than use lies to act for or against the government.”

This might actually fit Mr. Trumps own outrage with the ‘fake news’ MSM. It might help cutting the monster octopus’s tentacles that currently span and usurp the globe, by feeding the people the truth. However, the monster’s tentacle-amputations would need to be sealed off with a collective consciousness, so they could never grow back.

* Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a former World Bank staff and worked extensively around the world in the fields of environment and water resources. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America.