Don’t plan yet for Ukraine reconstruction
BY M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | INDIAN PUNCHLINE | NOVEMBER 15, 2023
Having successfully accomplished the destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States is estimating that in Ukraine too, destruction is nearly complete. At the recent meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of the US and India in New Delhi in the 2+2 format, the two countries “concurred on the need for post-conflict reconstruction” in Ukraine. It is an assertion that is out of sync with ground realities.
The Indians and Americans are whistling in the dark. Going forward, in fact, a whole new phase of Russia’s special military operations is to be expected and it is up in the air how Ukraine might look like in the aftermath.
There is much unfinished business left with regard to the so-called “South Russian lands” comprising Novorossiya, the historical name used during the Czarist era for the administrative area immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea.
In remarks at a recent meeting on November 3 on the eve of the National Unity Day with members of the federal and regional heads of civic chambers at the Victory Museum in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin repeated once again that Russia is “defending our moral values, our history, our culture, our language, including by helping our brothers and sisters in Donbass and Novorossiya to do the same. This is the key to today’s events.”
A noted political figure from Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov who used to be a lawmaker in Kiev reminded Putin with passionate intensity, “Believe me, we, people living in the southern part of Russia, which was cut off from its roots for 30 years, are, in fact, a storehouse of the Russian people’s historical forces, which was mothballed and could not make any efforts to regenerate our great Russia.”
Putin responded by underscoring the historical fact that Novorossiya constituted “the South Russian lands – all the Black Sea region and so on” that were founded by Catherine the Great after a series of wars with the Ottoman Empire.
Putin said that the Russian Federation chose to come to terms with the unfair, unjust move by the Soviet leadership to transfer the South Russian lands to Ukraine, but things began to change when the regime in Kiev “started to exterminate everything Russian…, declared that Russians are not an indigenous nation in these lands…, also started dragging this entire territory into NATO – brazenly, without heeding any of our protests, without paying attention to our position, as if we did not exist at all. This is what lies at the centre of the conflict that is taking place today. This is the cause of this conflict .”
Putin said the choice narrowed down to doing nothing or to “stand up in defence of the people living there… we need to do everything we can to ensure that the entry of these territories [into Russian Federation] is smooth, natural, and that people feel the result as quickly as possible.”
This was not the first time Putin expressed such views. But the context in which he spoke is important, as it has more than one salience, aside from the Russian psyche as a civilisation state — the tidings from the battlefields; Russia’s transition as a war economy; Europe’s inability to substitute for the US retrenchment due to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
First, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has ended in failure and another such misadventure is highly unlikely if only because Ukraine has no manpower left. The Russian military is gaining the upper hand.
Putin made an unexpected overnight visit last week to Rostov-on-Don, the operational centre for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine — the second such visit to the military headquarters in less than a month. Accompanied by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the commander of military operations in Ukraine Gen.Valéri Gerassimov, Putin was shown new military equipment and heard reports on the military’s progress in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov later said Russia is pressing ahead with its goals in Ukraine. This is one thing.
Now, this is happening when the European Union nations acknowledged on Tuesday that they may be on the way to failing Ukraine on their promise of providing the ammunition Kiev’s military dearly needs to stave off an expected Russian offensive. Amidst much fanfare early this year, EU leaders had promised to ramp up production and provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine’s front line by spring 2024 but is finding it tough to come up with the goods.
In comparison, Russia now produces more ammunitions than the US and Europe; it can manufacture 200 tanks and two million units of ammunition in a year. This asymmetry has serious consequences for the attritional war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Alexander Mikheyev, the chief executive of Rosoboronexport, was bullish on Tuesday, saying, “I can say with certainty that the current portfolio of orders is worth more than $50 billion… Today, we see that interest is even greater than it was before because our equipment — all aircraft, armoured vehicles, air defence systems, small arms, high-precision weapons — performed well in the conditions of the special military operation [in Ukraine.] So, either the partners are already coming back, or the long pause we had is over.”
Suffice to say, not only is the Russian defence line well equipped and fortified but the mobilisation of the defence industry is also beginning to show results. Plainly put, Russia can carry on with the attritional war in Ukraine for years to come, as its war economy has put the special military operations on “self-financing”, “cost accounting” principles, while normal life moves on. (The Russian economy is expecting a 3 percent growth this year.)
To be sure, the Kremlin also would have taken note of US President Joe Biden’s audacious characterisation, during the recent address to the nation after his visit to Israel, of military aid to Ukraine and Israel as “a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations.”
Then, of course, there is the worsening external security environment. Thus, at a recent meeting on security, Putin compared the US to a spider:
“It is necessary to know and understand where the root of evil is, that spider who is attempting to wrap the entire planet, the entire world, into its web and wishing to achieve our strategic defeat on the battlefield…
“Fighting precisely this enemy within the framework of the special military operation, we are yet again boosting the positions of all those who are battling for their independence and sovereignty… The truth is that the more Russia is growing stronger and our society is becoming more unified, the more effectively we will be able to stand both for our own national interests and the interests of those nations that fell victim to the West’s neocolonial policy.”
Therefore, the increasingly frequent references in the Russian political discourse to the preservation of the Russian way of life, culture and values in Novorossiya can be deduced as highly meaningful markers on what lies ahead in the special military operations.
The Deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, Dmitry Medvedev was explicit recently that Novorossiya [New Russia] would include Odessa and Nikolayev as well — and possibly Kiev itself — which would probably leave Lvov in western Ukraine as the landlocked rump state on the Polish border available for NATO membership eventually.
Medvedev wrote today on Telegram channel: “America easily betrays “its sons of bitches” when they become useless. It seems that this period is definitely coming for Kiev. And it’s not just the swarms of Republicans and Democrats heading into the U.S. presidential election. Just tired already. They got it — they eat too much money, steal wildly and do not achieve military success. Plus, the Israeli-Palestinian mess happened. In short, the support of the untied “son of a bitch” is nearing an inevitable end. Of course, not at once. There will also be a lot of money, schizoid spells about democracy, bravura assurances about the coming victory on earth, and false beliefs about alliance for all time and other and other. But the situation is clear: the time to go into oblivion for another American “son of a bitch” is coming.”
Clearly, it is surreal to even contemplate a US-Indian collaboration for the reconstruction of Ukraine. The cruel fate that awaits Ukraine may turn out to be far worse than what Iraq and Afghanistan experienced.
UN issues Gaza water warning
RT | November 15, 2023
At least 70% of Gaza will be without access to drinking water by the end of Wdnesday, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned. The agency blamed Israel’s fuel blockade for the crisis, which has resulted in the collapse of water infrastructure in the enclave.
The 23,000 liters of fuel Israel has allowed to the UNRWA on Wednesday can only be used “to transport the little aid coming via Egypt,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. The agency needs around 160,000 liters a day for “basic humanitarian operations,” such as maintaining the water facilities, he added.
“Key services, including water desalination plants, sewage treatments, and hospitals have ceased to operate,” Lazzarini said. “It is appalling that fuel continues to be used as a weapon of war.”
Supplying just the trucks will lead to more loss of life, Lazzarini said, calling on Israel to “immediately authorize the delivery of the needed amount of fuel as is required under international humanitarian law.”
Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza after the October 7 incursion by Hamas, which killed an estimated 1,200 people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy the Palestinian group, launching air and artillery strikes against the enclave and sending ground troops earlier this month.
Lazzarini has also appealed for a ceasefire, noting that over 60 UNRWA installations in the enclave have been hit – most of them in the south of Gaza, which Israel said would be “safe” for civilians.
The government in West Jerusalem has adamantly rejected any ceasefire, or fuel deliveries to Gaza. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir declared “Diesel = weapon” on Wednesday, while Transportation Minister Miri Regev wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “fuel for UNRWA is fuel for Hamas.”
UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide humanitarian aid and protection to palestinian refugees “pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.” It operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Belize severs diplomatic relations with Israel
MEMO | November 15, 2023
The Central American state of Belize announced the severing of its diplomatic relations with Israel due to Tel Aviv’s continued attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The Belize government said in a statement published on its website that the decision was taken because Israel did not accept calls for a ceasefire and prevented the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
It added: “Despite our requests, Israel has not stopped its violations of international humanitarian law nor allowed relief workers to alleviate the suffering of millions of Gazans.”
As a result, it continued, the government is withdrawing the accreditation of Israel’s ambassador to Belize and withdrawing “its request for accreditation of Mr. Jonathan Enav as Belize’s Honorary Consul” to Israel.
“All activities conducted by the Israeli Honorary Consulate in Belize and the appointment of the Honorary Consul are suspended.”
It concluded that it “renews its call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, unimpeded access to humanitarian supplies into Gaza and the release of all hostages.”
This comes after South Africa, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Jordan recalled their ambassadors from the occupation state over its war crimes in Gaza.
US public support for Israel shrinks: Poll
The Cradle | November 15, 2023
Public support in the US for Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip has dwindled significantly, with only a third of US citizens saying Washington should continue to support Tel Aviv, according to a new poll carried out by Reuters.
“Most [US citizens] think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis,” the outlet writes.
According to the poll – which closed on 14 November – 32 percent of respondents said Washington should support Israel in the war with Gaza. This was a marked drop from 41 percent who said the US should support Israel in a Reuters poll conducted in mid-October.
The poll indicates that those who believe “the US should be a neutral mediator” rose to 39 percent from 27 percent last month.
“Four percent of respondents in the poll said the US should support Palestinians and 15 percent said the US shouldn’t be involved at all, both similar readings to a month ago.”
Western countries have witnessed a significant shift in public opinion recently, as evidenced by massive protests that have taken place across many cities.
In the US, tens of thousands have flocked to the streets of numerous cities, including Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many others. Those marching rejected Israel’s disproportionate response to the 7 October operation by the Gaza resistance and demanded an immediate ceasefire.
On 11 November, around 300,000 people marched through central London, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The brutality of Israel’s response to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood has shocked the world. The killing of over 11,300 – more than half of which are women and children – as well as open calls by Israel for ethnic cleansing and mass displacement, have been labeled a genocide by numerous international organizations and UN experts.
Condemnation of Israel’s actions is also growing within the US government.
An internal State Department dissent memo alleges that Israel is committing “war crimes” in Gaza and that President Biden is “spreading disinformation” and showing “disregard for Palestinian lives,” according to a copy of the memo obtained by Axios.
The five-page memo was transmitted to the State Department’s policy office on 3 November. It was signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees urging senior US officials to reassess their policy toward Israel and demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israel settlers destroy drinking water network, trees in southern Hebron
MEMO | November 15, 2023
Israeli settlers, with the protection of occupation forces, yesterday destroyed water networks in Khirbet Al-Tha’la and released their sheep into the lands of the residents in Khirbet Qawawis in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, a Palestinian official who specialises in settlement activity said.
The coordinator of the Popular and National Committees Against the Wall and Settlements in southern Hebron, Rateb Al-Jabour, added that settlers from the illegal settlements of Mitzpeh Yair and Avigayil released their sheep to graze on the farmers’ fields and destroyed their trees in Khirbet Qawawis. They also destroyed the fences and barbed wire surrounding the land.
Furthermore, they destroyed more than 20 almond trees owned by the residents Jabreen Musa Al-Na’ameneh and the sons of Ismael Salman Al-Na’ameneh.
Israeli soldiers also raided the village of Beit Amra, west of the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, and searched the homes of several residents belonging to the Da’is and Rashid families, and tampered with their contents.
He said residents confronted the settlers who were attempting to pave a settlement road near a settlement late on Monday night.
Al-Shifa Hospital under Israeli control, turned into center for ‘detention and torture’
The Cradle | November 15, 2023
Gaza’s largest medical complex, Al-Shifa Hospital, fell under the control of the Israeli army on 15 November following an overnight raid that saw dozens of troops storm the hospital based on Israeli and US intelligence that alleged the complex houses a “Hamas command center.”
“Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday night, in comments that preceded the brutal raid on the besieged medical complex.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh made similar comments before the raid, claiming that Washington obtained “newly declassified intelligence” showing Gaza resistance factions use hospitals as a “way to conceal and support their military operations and hold hostages.”
Neither US official provided evidence to back their claims, citing simply a “variety” of intelligence sourcing to back up the assertion.
“Since last night, it’s been a nightmare that cannot be imagined […] Before storming the compound, they targeted all the floors, the generators, the communications unit, and now we can have no contact with the outside world,” Palestinian journalist Jihad Abu Shanab, who is inside the Al-Shifa compound, told Al-Jazeera on Wednesday morning.
“[The Israelis] have told everyone to go up a floor, then go to a lower floor for investigation, and then they are forced to be interrogated, and they have seen a lot of humiliation,” he added.
The Qatari news agency also cites sources saying “about 30 people [were] taken outside of the building, stripped of their clothes. They are in the courtyard of the hospital, blindfolded, surrounded by three tanks. There is one tank right at the front of the emergency department targeting any moving object inside these buildings.”
Sources add that the Israeli tanks surrounding the hospital “blew up a warehouse of medicines and medical devices.”
According to a statement by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Israel has turned Al-Shifa Hospital into a center for “detention and torture.” The monitor also expressed concerns that patients, medical staff, and refugees will be executed as sporadic gunfire continues inside the complex.
“Israeli allegations about the use of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex for military purposes do not need all these long hours of searching and raiding. Therefore, there are concerns that the army may be creating an artificial scene for a new play,” Rami Abdu, the Chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, said on Wednesday.
Staff inside the hospital report that the Israeli army has continued its attacks against the hospital, bombing several sections while live fire can be heard inside the complex.
“Israeli drones are shooting anything moving inside the hospital,” the head of the orthopedics department told Al-Alam Radio.
Videos shared online showed medical staff and volunteers transferring babies from one ward in Al-Shifa to another to protect them from the Israeli raid.
According to Israeli media, the invading troops discovered “weapons and Hamas assets” inside the hospital. Nonetheless, Tel Aviv claims there is “no indication” of Israeli captives held inside the complex, as they previously claimed.
“We hold the occupation [Israel] and President Biden wholly responsible for the assault on Al-Shifa medical complex,” Hamas said in a statement early on Wednesday.
“The adoption by the White House and the Pentagon of the occupation’s false claim that the resistance is using Al-Shifa medical complex for military ends has given the green light to the occupation to commit more massacres against civilians,” the statement added.
Israel kills elderly Palestinian after using him in propaganda about ‘safe corridor’
Israeli army soldier talking to Bashir Hajji, a 79-year-old resident of Gaza City [@MariamBarghouti/X]
MEMO | November 15, 2023
The Israeli army killed an elderly Palestinian after using him in a propaganda campaign promoting its “safe corridor” in Gaza, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed. The organisation expressed its “outrage” on its website about Israel’s use of the man in an attempt to cover up its horrific crimes against displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli violence in the northern Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli army released a photo of one of its soldiers talking to Bashir Hajji, a 79-year-old resident of Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighbourhood, as he travelled on Salah Al-Din Road, the main route to the southern Gaza Valley,” explained the organisation. “The soldier appears to be helping and protecting displaced Palestinian civilians.”
However, the elderly man’s granddaughter, Hala Hajji, told the Euro-Med Monitor team that her grandfather was “brutally executed while crossing the ‘safe corridor’ when members of the Israeli army deliberately shot him in the head and back.” She also confirmed that he is in the photo that was put out by Israel, “exposing the army’s dangerous practice of flagrantly fabricating stories.”
Euro-Med Monitor pointed out that it has documented dozens of cases of the Israeli army executing displaced Palestinians and, in some cases, bombing them. Those displaced were attempting to flee to the south of Wadi Gaza at the Israeli army’s request.
The organisation renewed its calls for the “UN and the International Criminal Court to open an urgent independent investigation into the crimes to which displaced Palestinians have been and are still being subjected to hold those who ordered such crimes accountable; and to achieve justice for the victims.”
Euro-Med Monitor is a non-profit human rights organisation. Seventy per cent of its staff and volunteers are victims of human rights violations. According to its website, it “advocates for the human rights of all persons across Europe and the MENA region, particularly those who live under occupation, in the throes of war or political unrest and/or have been displaced due to persecution or armed conflict.”
Tel Aviv Refuses Western Requests to Allow Aid Into Gaza Through Israel
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | November 14, 2023
Officials in Tel Aviv have denied requests from some Western nations to bring aid into Gaza through an Israeli crossing. Israel has allowed a small amount of aid to enter Gaza via Egypt. The aid making it into the besieged enclave is only a tiny portion of what is required to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
Tel Aviv requires the trucks to pass inspection at the Israel-Egypt border before proceeding into Gaza through the Rafah crossing. In recent days, aid that flows into Gaza through Egypt has slowed because of a backup inside of Israel.
Western countries have asked Tel Aviv to allow aid to pass from Israel through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint. According to Haaretz, Tel Aviv has rejected the proposal because it does not want to take any responsibility for the Palestinians in Gaza who have been displaced by the Israeli military operations. “Israel opposes the idea,” the outlet reports. “Despite the pressure applied by the Western countries, Israeli sources say that Jerusalem objects because it wants to renounce any responsibility for civilian matters in the Gaza Strip.”
Haaretz explained that the Israeli refusal is creating some anger in Western countries. “If they’re going to check the goods at Kerem Shalom anyway, the most logical thing is to bring the goods in through there,” a Western diplomat told the Israeli outlet. “We understand Israel’s position, but there is an attempt to avert a humanitarian disaster in Gaza. If there are thousands more dead there, or heaven forbid an epidemic breaks out, the world will blame Israel. It’s in your interest to streamline the aid.”
After the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, Israel imposed a complete siege of Gaza. The next day, Tel Aviv launched a massive military operation in Gaza that has decimated the small enclave’s infrastructure. A small number of aid trucks have entered Gaza, but aid groups have described the amount of aid as severely insufficient.
Since imposing the siege, Israel has not allowed any fuel into Gaza. On Tuesday, Axios reported speaking with Israeli and US officials who say some fuel will be allowed into the strip this week.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini explained the situation inside Gaza was becoming increasingly desperate. “We have heavily rationed the use of fuel and accessed pre-existing, limited amounts stored in a depot inside the Gaza Strip through close coordination with Israeli Authorities. The depot is now empty,” he added. “It is unbelievable that humanitarian agencies have to beg for fuel and operate on life support. Since the beginning of the war, fuel has been used as a weapon of war, and this should stop immediately.”
The Biden administration has tried to focus on the aid it is providing to Palestinians amid a flurry of criticisms for supporting the Israeli military operation in Gaza that has killed at least 4,600 children in just five weeks.
Pentagon Quietly Ramps Up Ammo For Israel
By Svetlana Ekimenko – Sputnik – 15.11.2023
With the Palestinian death toll in Gaza reportedly reaching over 11,000, including 4,630 children, the US has been facing pressure over its support for the Israeli campaign. However, the Biden administration has rejected calls for a ceasefire, even as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets across the country.
As Israel continues its operation to eliminate Hamas in the Gaza Strip whatever the costs, the Pentagon has reportedly been tacitly boosting military aid to its biggest non-NATO ally.
Despite publicly voicing concern over the surging civilian death toll in Gaza, Washington is maintaining a “weapons pipeline” to cater to Israel’s military aid requests, reported Bloomberg.
Thus, Israel has asked for over 57,000 155 mm high explosive artillery shells, 20,000 M4A1 rifles, 5,000 PVS-14 night vision devices, 3,000 M141 hand-held bunker-buster munitions, 400 120 mm mortars, and 75 army vehicles, specifically, the Army and Marine Corps’ new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Israel has also ostensibly requested 200 armor-piercing Switchblade 600 dive-bombing drones made by AeroVironment Inc., which the US Army does not have in its inventory.
All of this is contained in an internal Defense Department list seen by the outlet. The catalogue of weapons shipped to Israel is reportedly contained in a Pentagon document, “Israel Senior Leader,” dated late October. Some of the weapons are already being delivered, while others are in the process of being provided by the US Defense Department from both American and Europe-based stockpiles, it was added.
The report underscored that the US is ready to acquiesce to Israel’s weapons demands far beyond the provision of Iron Dome interceptors and precision munitions manufactured by Boeing Co. that was publicly announced earlier. Two Iron Dome batteries are currently en route to Israel by sealift.
One tally purportedly revealed that 36,000 rounds of 30 mm cannon ammunition, 1,800 M141 bunker-buster munitions, and close to 3,500 night-vision devices had already been delivered to Israel by late October. Another tally is described as including around 2,000 Hellfire laser-guided missiles produced by Lockheed Martin Corp. These are intended for AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships. Another 36,000 rounds of 30 mm ammunition to be fired by the Apache’s cannon are also on the cited weapons list. A further 312 Tamir missile interceptors have also been donated to Israel by the US.
When asked to comment on the report, a Pentagon spokesman said that it was “leveraging several avenues – from internal stocks to US industry channels – to ensure Israel has the means to defend itself.”
The spokesperson added that Israel was being provided by the US with 155 mm artillery shells, small-diameter bombs, precision-guided munitions, along with “Iron Dome interceptors and medical support equipment.”
Since the start of Israel’s campaign to target Hamas in retaliation for the militant group’s attack on October 7, Washington has staunchly supported Tel Aviv. The Biden administration did make a feeble attempt at shuttle diplomacy, but had nothing to show for it. As the Israel Defense Forces intensified their Gaza operation to eliminate Hamas, global protests have surged over the spiraling Palestinian civilian death toll. Over 11,000 people, many of them children, have already died in the enclave, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.
However, Washington has rejected calls for a ceasefire in hostilities even as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets across the US. Instead, the Biden administration urged for a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s assault.
The Biden administration has faced censure from non-governmental organizations for its provision of artillery shells, along with other munitions, to Israel. Over 30 such organizations wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday to call on him to refrain from sending the 155 mm shells, saying:
“In Gaza, one of the world’s most densely populated places, 155 mm artillery shells are inherently indiscriminate… These munitions are unguided and have a high error radius.”
More than 500 former Biden campaign staffers also urged US President Joe Biden to press for a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip. In their letter published online and signed by former employees of Biden’s 2020 campaign, as well as the Democratic National Committee and state-level Democratic Party organizations, they pointed out, “We were and continue to be horrified by the devastating Hamas attack against Israeli civilians on October 7.” The group of staffers, calling themselves Biden Alumni for Peace and Justice, wrote:
“You must call for a ceasefire, hostage exchange, and de-escalation, and take concrete steps to address the conditions of occupation, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing at the root of the horrific violence we are witnessing now.”
Israel: What We Are Doing in Gaza, We Can Do in Beirut
By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | November 14, 2023
The Israeli Defense Minister threatened to launch a war in Lebanon that would resemble the military operations in Gaza. Israeli forces have waged a brutal assault and blockade of the enclave. Tel Aviv’s bombing has killed over 11,000 Palestinian civilians, including 4,000 children. The White House is concerned that if Israel goes to war in Lebanon, it will provoke a wider conflict involving the US.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said, “What we are doing in Gaza, we can do in Beirut.” After Tel Aviv began military operations in Gaza last month, Hezbollah and the Israeli military began exchanging fire along the border. Scores of people have been killed, including soldiers and civilians on each side. An Israeli strike caused the death of a Lebanese journalist.
Gallant’s threat to model operations in Lebanon after those in Gaza is concerning due to the brutality of the Israeli operations. At least 11,000 people have already been killed, with thousands more believed dead under the rubble. Israeli forces have also laid siege to hospitals and bombed other shelters housing displaced Palestinians.
Tel Aviv has caused a massive humanitarian catastrophe for the 2.3 million residents of the strip. Israel cut fuel, water, food, and medical aid to the enclave. Tel Aviv has refused requests from Western nations to bring aid directly from Israel into Gaza. Tel Aviv is enforcing a tedious inspection regime of all aid trucks entering Gaza through the Egyptian crossing, causing delays.
Several Israeli officials have boasted that the operations in Gaza amount to an ethnic cleansing campagin. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter said, “It is first and almost an operational event. We have a huge number of fighters of our own that have to operate in a densely populated area. We need to reduce the number of residents.” He continued, “This is going to result in some sort of Nakba. [This is] a Gaza Nakba 2023, that’s how it’ll end.”
In Washington, officials are concerned that Tel Aviv will drag the US into a conflict in Lebanon. Axios reported Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “expressed concern” to Gallant about fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border. The White House requested Austin relay the message due to “growing anxiety” that Israel’s military action is exacerbating tensions on the border.
While the Biden administration has expressed concerns about some of Tel Aviv’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon, Washington is refusing to condition any of the military support it provides to Israel on a reduction of civilian casualties or deescalation.
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Book Review
New paperback: Butchered by “Healthcare”
Lies are Unbekoming | October 20, 2026
Butchered by “Healthcare” is Robert Yoho’s plain-spoken account of how American medicine stopped being a profession and became an industry. 341 pages. Over a thousand references. Thirty-eight chapters.
“Screening Tests Are Useless”, on tests that find diseases that would never have hurt you. “The FDA Protects the Big Drug Companies”, on an agency funded by the companies it regulates. “The Journals’ Sins Are the Editors’ Sins”, on ghostwritten studies and captured peer review. “Opioids and ‘Pain Management’”, on how a generation was prescribed its way into addiction. “Prozac and Relatives” and “Antipsychotics Are Disastrous”, on what psychiatry does to adults and children. “Surgery: Money Before Patients”. “Failed Cancer Treatments”. “Futile CPR and Overprescribing”. “Billing Scams & Specialty Warfare”. “Hospitals Are Sharks”. Each with a Patient Tips section at the end on how to survive it.
If you have ever walked out of a doctor’s office with a prescription you didn’t ask for, or watched a parent put through a treatment that made them worse, this is the book you want on your shelf before the next appointment. … Full review
Butchered by “Healthcare” is available on Lulu now.
Blog Roll
Aletho News- Iran’s Next Strike May Not Explode. It Could Shut You Down /Col Doug Macgregor
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- If Americans Knew
- Americans at National Conservatism Conference held in Israel this year criticize Israel
- Christiane Amanpour exits CNN with a legacy shaped by the debate over Israel
- Israel’s war on Iran is the final move in a decades-old strategy
- Israel Denies Entry to French Journalist, U.S. Researcher Amid Rise in Entry Denials
- Gaza’s hospitals are running out of life-saving fuel – Daily Update
- Mysterious bot accounts reportedly spread fake ‘man on the street’ videos for Michigan Senate candidate
- Israeli Defense Minister Katz Says Over 60 Lebanon Villages Have Been Destroyed
- Why Is Israel Running TV Ads in Iowa Ahead of the Midterms?
- Hind Rajab’s Alleged Killer Is in the United States. HRF Demands His Arrest.
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- Germany’s Green Energy Debacle: High Energy Costs Force Kahla Porzellan to Close After 182 Years!
- New Study: 50 Years Of The Most Aggressive ‘Net Zero’ Policies Can Only Affect The Global Climate By 0.03°C
- US September “Heat” Was No Record…Many Records Set Decades Ago
- Latest European Green Energy Debacle; Portugal’s Largest Flagship Solar Park Insolvent!
- Green Energy Debacle: German Expert Professor Fritz Vahrenholt Warns Of Severe Economic And Social Consequences
- Two More Paleo Reconstructions Affirm Meters-Higher Sea Levels Across Ireland, Brazil 7000-6000 Years Ago
- New Study: Earth And Venus Surface Warmth Largely Explained By Convection And Lapse Rate, Not CO2 Or Radiation
