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Biden Warns Congress Lack of Ukraine Aid Could Lead to US Troops on Ground

Sputnik – 18.01.2024

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden met with congressional leaders and warned them that not approving additional funding for Ukraine could possibly result in the deployment of US troops to that country, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday.

“The president conveyed a sense of urgency about the stakes for our NATO partners in the region, what it would mean for our NATO partners in the region, and certainly we don’t want to see our own troops put in a position where we might need to put boots on the ground,” Jean-Pierre said.

On Wednesday, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said that the United States’ status quo on Ukraine is unacceptable.

Johnson also said Congress needs a clearer explanation from the Biden administration about its strategy in Ukraine, the endgame and accountability for US funds. The speaker also added that US border security must be the top priority.

Biden’s supplemental request includes more than $60 billion for Ukraine.

January 18, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Hungary proposes plan to end Ukraine conflict

RT | January 17, 2024

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has called for a halt to all Western military aid to Ukraine, saying the massive influx of weapons – as well as Kiev’s reluctance to negotiate – has made peace impossible.

Asked what should be done to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine in an interview with Austrian news site Exxpress, Szijjarto said ending foreign arms shipments to Kiev is a top priority.

“The more weapons that are supplied, the longer the war lasts. And the longer the war lasts, the more people will die,” the minister continued. “It is obvious that what has been done so far has not been successful. Many weapons were delivered, but the war was only prolonged. A lot of money has been paid to Ukraine, but the destruction of Ukraine continues.”

Pressed on the possibility that Russian troops would “march all the way to Kiev” in the event Ukraine is left “defenseless,” the diplomat said this could only be avoided with negotiations and a renewed peace process.

“This should be prevented by ending the war now. As long as that doesn’t happen, the war threatens to intensify further and more people risk dying. The war should have ended yesterday,” he said.

Szijjarto went on to argue for more dialogue between the warring parties and countries willing to mediate talks, saying “the most important requirement is to keep communication channels open.” He noted that he is often “insulted by many European colleagues, and by Brussels” after meetings with his Russian counterpart, but said “there is no hope at all for peace” without negotiations.

Western sanctions have also failed to “bring the Russian economy to its knees” as intended, the foreign minister said, suggesting the more aggressive approach had backfired and could not bring an end to the fighting.

Budapest is among a small number of EU states that have refused to join the sanctions campaign or provide weapons to Ukrainian forces, opting instead to maintain ties with Moscow. Despite pressure from other members in the bloc, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declined to approve Brussels’ latest aid package to Kiev, holding up the funds since December.

The Hungarian leader has also threatened to veto Ukraine’s accession to the union, arguing that it poses many risks to the bloc and its economy, as well as the fact that Kiev is still “at war.”

The EU impasse comes at a time when Ukraine’s largest Western backer, the United States, has run out of aid money, as a $61.4 billion spending package remains stalled in Congress. Kiev’s foreign minister, Dmitry Kuleba, has acknowledged his country has no “plan B” should the funds run dry, saying there is no alternative to US largesse.

January 17, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Britons Mock Warmongering Lecture by UK Defense Secretary

Sputnik – 17.01.2024

The United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary Grant Shapps warned of potential war with Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea within the next five years in a widely mocked speech in London this week.

Shapps delivered the address to promote greater investment in military spending in the UK and its European allies.

“The era of the peace dividend is over,” said Shapps in remarks he also shared on his profile on the X social media platform. The so-called “peace dividend” was a proposed reinvestment of government finances toward domestic concerns after the end of the Cold War.

The comment may leave many Britons wondering when exactly they enjoyed a peace dividend, as the British government has imposed a policy of economic austerity for a number of years. The UK was also perhaps the US’ strongest ally in the so-called “War on Terror,” which led to the deaths of more than 4.5 million people across the Middle East according to some estimates.

The comments come as European media is reporting on supposed “leaked documents” that allege Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to launch an attack on Germany and other NATO members in the near future. The claims were dismissed as “fake news” by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Britons greeted Shapps’ remarks with ridicule, with multiple posts by the defense minister being “ratioed” on the X platform, meaning they received more comments than likes as users piled on to jeer the jingoistic speech.

“Obviously, the best way to deter enemies and lead allies is by pouring billions of pounds into the military industrial complex,” responded one user sarcastically.

“You do know we were involved in bloody and unsuccessful wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?” added another. “Can you explain how British soldiers killed in Helmand or in Basra were at all beneficiaries of this so-called era of the peace dividend?”

“The people need to prepare for a new era of conflict with you bastards,” wrote user John Wight, expressing widespread antipathy towards governing elites in the West. “Wars happen when the government tells you who your enemy is. Revolution happens when you work it out for yourself.”

January 17, 2024 Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Militarism | | Leave a comment

US seeks funds for new bioweapons projects from Clinton, Soros, Rockefeller Foundations: Russian MoD

By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 15.01.2024

Russia’s Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense (RCBD) Troops began extensive reporting on Pentagon funding for military-related biological research in Eastern Europe and around the world in early 2022, with much of their findings based on the tens of thousands of documents seized over the course of the special military operation in Ukraine.

The United States government is actively searching for new sources of funding for military biological research from leading American ‘philanthropic’ institutions, including the Clinton, Soros, Rockefeller and Biden Foundations, RCBD Troops chief Igor Kirillov has announced.

“Based on an analysis of documents received in the course of the special military operation, the structure of the system created by the US administration for the global management of biological risks has become clear,” Kirillov said in a briefing Monday, summarizing an analysis of US military-biological activities in Ukraine and globally over the course of 2023.

“It consists of government agencies and private contractors, including representatives of Big Pharma. Through the organs of the executive branch, a legislative framework is being created to finance military-biological research directly from the federal budget. Guarantees provided by the state attract funds from non-governmental organizations controlled by the Democratic Party leadership, including the Clinton, Rockefeller, Soros and Biden Foundations,” Kirillov said.

According to the RCBD Troops’ chief’s information, the main private contractors involved in the Pentagon’s military-biological program include Metabiota, Black & Veatch and CH2M, with the companies tasked with the construction of facilities and the supply of equipment to labs around the globe. Their work is coordinated by the DoD’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency. On the Big Pharma front, Pfizer, Moderna, Gilead, Dynport Vaccine, AbbVie, Parexel, Eli Lilly & Co, Merck and Battelle are identified as key partners.

Washington’s goals are multifold, Kirillov said, and include the study of the causative agents of “particularly dangerous infections in regions of the world that are strategically important for the United States,” and achieving “superiority” in biomanufacturing, including by using biological espionage against potential geopolitical adversaries.

“Materials received have confirmed that the US military was set the task of monitoring the biological situation in the Middle East and Central Asia, territories bordering China, Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” Kirillov said. “Over the past year, the Pentagon developed and adopted a number of conceptual documents involving the expansion of the foreign network of US-controlled biological laboratories, and continuing military biological research beyond America’s national jurisdiction.”

Furthermore, the RCBD Troops chief said, 2023 saw the creation of new administrative and technical structures, including the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, and the State Department’s new Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, with their main aims assumed to be centered on securing the further expansion of America’s military-biological activities worldwide.

“While the stated goals include ‘monitoring infectious diseases’ and providing assistance to developing countries, the example of Ukraine makes clear how the military-biological potential of the United States is being built up,” using such otherwise seemingly benign institutions, Kirillov said.

The RCBD Troops chief pointed out, for instance, that by the time Russia kicked off its military operation in Ukraine, the Pentagon was already deeply engaged in a series of dangerous experiments studying the causative agents of dangerous diseases, including tularemia, anthrax and hantavirus, monitoring the local biological environment, collecting virus strains and studying the susceptibility of the local population to various diseases (including via unethical and potentially illegal experiments against an unwitting civilian population, ed.).

Washington’s European allies engaged in similar projects throughout 2023, promoting a network of ‘Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centers of Excellence’, which Kirillov said are factually aimed at placing biolabs in former Soviet republic countries. The Ukrainian case has shed light on how such institutions are financed via a series of grants to the country’s Science and Technology Center, with similar projects popping up in Central Asia and countries of the Southern Caucasus.

Listing examples of military-biological activities by NATO countries in the former Soviet space, Kirillov pointed to ‘Project 2410’ – conducted with the participation of researchers from the University of Florida, studying natural resistance of the causative agent of the brucellosis virus in domesticated and wild animals, including its possible transmission to human beings.

Another initiative, ‘Project 2513′ deals with risk factors and resistance of virulent enterobacteriaceae, including “isolating strains which are resistant to all known classes of antibiotics.”

“Project 2545 involves modeling the evolutionary changes of individual viruses which are highly pathogenic to humans. The research was supported by the UK Research and Innovation agency,” Kirillov said.

As before, the RCBD Troops chief said, US military-biological research abroad in 2023 was designed to take advantage of gaps in international legislation, allowing scientists to engage in highly risky research abroad which they would be prohibited from doing at home.

“The fact that the United States is blocking any and all international initiatives to verify [its adherence to] the Biological Weapons Convention is of particular concern. This excludes the possibility of checking the activities of laboratories both in the United States and abroad,” Kirillov said, pointing to US efforts to block or ignore Russian questions about the potential violations of the Convention by Kiev and Washington, including as relates to “research carried out on Ukrainian military personnel and the mentally ill, and the concealment by Ukraine and the United States of evidence of cooperation in the military-biological field in international reporting.”

Throughout 2023, Russia continued its efforts to identify individuals engaged in US military-biological activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, from DTRA and Eco-Health Alliance officials to various other government officials and private contractors, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The RCBD Troops’ efforts also included uncovering training for potential false flag scenarios to accuse Russia of using bioweapons – including one such training session in Lvov, western Ukraine, in August 2023, involving Ukraine’s Security Service and National Police.

“We have said repeatedly that the work of American military biologists is aimed at the creation of ‘artificially controlled epidemics’, and that it is not controlled within the framework of the Biological Weapons Convention nor the UN Secretary-General’s mechanism for investigating the use of biological weapons,” Kirillov said.

In light of these activities, the RCBD Troops chief expressed concerns about the potential for the “further deterioration” of the global epidemiological situation, including via the creation of new “artificial foci of diseases and an uncontrolled expansion” of disease carriers. The identification of Asian and African disease-carrying mosquitos in European countries, and the increase in the incidence of atypical infections across the region, from dengue to West Nile virus, are all evidence of this deteriorating situation, Kirillov said.

“Of particular concern is the growing number of studies of smallpox and other human-pathogenic orthopoxviruses conducted by US military specialists, [including] assessments of the monkeypox virus as a potential damaging biological agent and searching for agent-based imitators of smallpox viruses,” the senior Russian officer said. “Furthermore, despite the World Health Assembly ban, members of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has conducted aerobiological experiments using two strains of the variola virus.”

Such efforts could easily spark a global smallpox pandemic, Kirillov warned, citing the examples of the recent monkeypox pandemic and the increased incidence of cowpox observed over the past decade.

“I will remind you that American researchers are showing keen interest in the synthesis of orthopoxviruses. In 2017, they synthesized the functional genome of the horsepox virus. At the same time, the potential for artificially produced Lassa, Ebola, and Marburg viruses, as well as coronaviruses which are pathogenic to humans, has been demonstrated,” Kirillov said, pointing, for example, to the 2022 research at Boston University to create a new type of SARS-CoV-2 that’s far deadlier than any previously discovered strain.

“The risks of such dual-use research increase significantly when artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are incorporated. This was clearly demonstrated by one US firm which used an AI-based theraputic compound generator to create potential chemical warfare agents,” the RCBD Troops commander stressed.

Ultimately, Kirillov said, the continued “systematic expansion” of the US’s military-biological programs poses a clear “threat to the security of the Russian Federation and other states considered by the United States as strategic adversaries.”

“The scale of dual-use research conducted in the United States and the global biological risks it creates raise questions on the need for an independent international investigation,” Kirillov said, noting that Russian revelations uncovered over the course of the special military operation in Ukraine have forced even staunch US allies to reconsider their position regarding potential US violations of the Biological Weapons Convention.

January 16, 2024 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Timeless or most popular | , , , , | Leave a comment

Bypassing the UK parliament; the royal prerogative; and bombing Yemen

By Binoy Kampmark | MEMO | January 16, 2024

There is something distinctly revolting and authoritarian about the royal prerogative. It reeks of clandestine assumption, unwarranted self-confidence and, most of all, a blithe indifference to accountability before elected representatives. That prerogative, in other words, is the last reminder of divine right, the fiction that a ruler can have powers vested by an unsubstantiated deity, the invisible God, and a punishing force beyond the reach of human control. And that such powers can in turn be vested in the government of the day. It is anathema to democracy, a stain on republican models of government, a joke on any political system that has some claim on representing what might be called the broader citizenry.

The UK government, in league with the US and with support from a number of other countries, attacked Houthi positions in Yemen on 11 January. The decision was made without recourse to parliament and was justified by reference to Article 51 of the UN Charter as “limited, necessary and proportionate in self-defence”.

In his statement on the attacks, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pointed to the Houthi’s role in staging “a series of dangerous and destabilising attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea, threatening UK and other international ships, causing major disruption to a vital trade route and driving up commodity prices.” He made no mention of the Houthis’ own justification for the attacks as necessary measures to disrupt Israeli shipping and interests in response to their systematic, bloodcurdling razing of the Gaza Strip.

Lip service has been paid by the executive within Westminster to parliament’s importance in deciding whether the country commits to military action or not.

The stark problem is that the action is always decided upon in advance, and no dissent among parliamentarians will necessarily sway the issue. Motions can be proposed and rejected but remain non-binding on the executive emboldened by the royal prerogative.

The British decision to commit to the egregious invasion of Iraq in 2003 was already a foregone conclusion, despite preliminary debates in the House of Commons and huge public protests against the measure. On 18 March, 2011, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron informed the Commons of his intention to attack Libya, leading to a government motion on 21 March that the chamber “supports Her Majesty’s Government… in the taking of all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian-protected measures.”

That same year, the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in the UK acknowledged that a convention had crystallised in parliament that the House of Commons should be availed of “an opportunity to debate the matter [of committing troops] and said that it proposed to observe that convention except when there was an emergency and such action would not be appropriate.”

The broadly worded nature of the caveats – in cases of emergency or when it would not be appropriate – have made something of a nonsense of the convention. In April 2016, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon made much of the “exception”, arguing that it was “important to ensure that this and future Governments can use their judgment about how best to protect the security and interests of the UK.”

Parliament, in short, should be put in its place when necessary. Governments, it is reasoned, know best when it comes to matters of national security; parliamentarians less so. “In observing the Convention,” Fallon goes on to explain, “we must ensure that the ability of our Armed Forces is to act quickly and decisively, and to maintain the security of their operations, is not compromised.” In such cases, matters could be dealt with retrospectively, with the government of the day subsequently informing parliament after the fact.

An example of this absurd policy was played out in the decision by the UK government in April 2018 to target the Assad regime’s chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Hiding behind the weasel claim of humanitarianism, the explanation for avoiding parliament was shoddy and leaden. “It was necessary,” came the explanation from the PM’s office, “to strike with speed so we could allow our Armed Forces to act decisively, maintain the vital security of their operations, and protect the security and interests of the UK.”

The Yemen strikes eschew humanitarianism (the humanitarian justifications advanced by the Houthis in protecting Palestinian civilians has been rejected), but, in any case, shipping interests take priority. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey, apparently, was satisfied that an exception to the convention to consult parliament had presented itself. “The prime minister,” the minister parroted, “needs to make decisions such as these based on the military, strategic and operational requirements. That led to the timing.”

With the horse having bolted merrily out of the stable, Heappey remarked with all due condescension that parliament would, in time, be able to respond to the decision to strike Yemen. An “opportunity” would be made available “when parliament returns for these things to be fully discussed and debated.” The sheer redundancy of parliament’s role in matters of state, and that of MPs, could thereby be affirmed.

Much agitated by this state of affairs, former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell opined that no military action should take place without parliament’s approval. “If we have learnt anything in recent years it’s that military intervention in the Middle East always has dangerous and often unforeseen consequences,” said McDonnell. “There is a risk of setting the region alight.”

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran was of the view that parliament should not be bypassed in matters of war, yet opted for the rather fatuous formula arising out of the 2011 convention. “Rishi Sunak must announce a retrospective vote in the House of Commons on these strikes, and recall parliament this weekend,” she said.

The use of the royal prerogative in authorising military action remains one of those British perversions that makes for good common room conversation but offends the sensibilities of the democratically minded elector. A far better practice would be to make the PM of the day accountable to that most essential body of all: parliament. That same principle would be extended to other constitutional monarchies, which are similarly weighed down by the all too liberal use of the prerogative when shedding blood. If a country’s citizens are to go to war to kill and be killed, surely their elected representatives should have a say in that most vital of decisions?

January 16, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US, UK attacks on Yemen illegal, strategic mistake: Iran foreign minister

Press TV – January 16, 2024

Iran’s foreign minister has strongly slammed the recent attacks on the Yemeni territory by the United States and the UK as illegal and a strategic mistake.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in an early Tuesday phone call with Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, during which the two sides discussed the latest developments related to the Gaza Strip and the Red Sea.

During the conversation, Iran’s top diplomat stressed the Islamic Republic’s principled stance on protecting and maintaining security of shipping and navigation.

“By stopping ships that are bound for the occupied [Palestinian] territories, Yemen seeks to put a halt to the Zionist regime’s crimes and genocide against civilians in Gaza,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

He added that “illegal measures taken by the United States and the UK in attacking Yemen” amounted to a strategic mistake that would lead to further escalation of tensions in the region.

Since the start of the Israeli military aggression on Gaza in early October 2023, the United States and its Western allies have been providing financial and logistical support to the occupying regime in its ceaseless bombardment campaign against Palestinians in the besieged territory.

As part of their support for Palestinians, Yemen’s Armed Forces and popular Ansarullah resistance movement have over the past month targeted several ships owned by Israel or bound for ports in the occupied territories in the strategic Red Sea after multiple warnings.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Iran’s foreign minister expressed concern about the complicated humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip, reiterating Iran’s readiness to send humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people in the territory.

The Israeli genocide in Gaza has so far claimed the lives of more than 24,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, leaving thousands of others wounded and millions homeless. According to the UN, about 85 percent of the territory’s population has been displaced and forced into crowded shelters.

The regime has been also enforcing an all-out siege against Gaza that has prevented the flow of food, water, fuel, and medicine into the territory.

The UN chief, for his part, expressed concern about further spread of conflicts across the region, saying the world body is trying to stop the war and alleviate the suffering of the regional people.

He once again condemned the ongoing military aggression against Gaza, stressing the need for stopping it and sending humanitarian aid to Palestinians there.

Guterres also lauded the role played by the Islamic Republic in bolstering peace and stability in the region.

January 15, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US to send 1,500 troops to Syria and Iraq

The Cradle | January 15, 2024

The US is set to send 1,500 soldiers to Syria and Iraq, ostensibly in order to join the fight against ISIS, CBS Philadelphia reports on 14 January. 

The soldiers will be sent from the New Jersey Army National Guard in its largest deployment of soldiers to the area since 2008. 

“We have the people we need. We have the training that we need. We have the equipment that we need to fight and win,” Lt Colonel Omar Minott, who is among the 1,500 to be deployed, said. 

The deployment of troops to Syria and Iraq falls under Operation Inherent Resolve, the US military campaign against the Islamic State across Iraq, Libya, and Syria, which calls for combating ISIS and defending US bases against resistance groups in the region. 

The military operation caused a large number of US personnel deployments to the region this year. 

Within the latter half of 2023, the US sent a wave of 2,500 soldiers to Syria and deployed over 900 soldiers to Iraq on two separate occasions. The deployment of these soldiers was to protect US interests against “Iran-affiliated forces.”

According to Axios, the US military presence in the region reached about 45,400 as of October 2023. The majority is in Kuwait, with 13,500; followed by Bahrain at 9,000; and Qatar at 8,000. 

The US deployment into Syria and Iraq to combat ISIS raises questions. According to the US State Department, ISIS attacks in Syria have decreased by 68 percent and 80 percent in Iraq when comparing 2023 to 2022. 

The Cradle’s Robert Inlakesh has said that this push by the US is to keep hold of its dominance in the region. 

“To maintain the dominance of the collective west over the region, the immediate hurdle is overcoming the influences of Iran and Russia. This is why the occupation of roughly a third of Syrian territory by the US and its proxies, along with the imposition of deadly sanctions on Damascus, has become crucial in undermining the strength of its adversaries,” Inlakesh said. 

Iranian and Russian forces in Syria have been coordinating with the specific aim of forcing Washington’s troops to eventually withdraw from the country.

Meanwhile, various Iraqi resistance forces have said they will continue to fight the US until they withdraw from their nation’s borders. 

Kataib Hezbollah spokesman Abu Ali al-Askari has previously said that the group’s operations against the US occupation will continue until the last soldier is removed from Iraq.

January 15, 2024 Posted by | Illegal Occupation, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Trump a ‘threat’ to UK – ex-MI6 chief

RT | January 15, 2024

Former US President Donald Trump’s potential reelection could be “problematic” for British national security due to his stance on NATO, former head of the MI6 intelligence service has warned.

Richard Dearlove, who led MI6 from 1999 to 2004, was discussing potential threats to the UK in 2024 in an interview with Sky News on Sunday, during which he pointed to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the “long-term behavior of China,” before moving to the US presidential race.

“You have to add a political threat, which I am worried about, which is Trump’s reelection… which I think for the UK’s national security is problematic,” Dearlove said. If Trump, given his critical attitude towards NATO, “acts hastily and damages the Atlantic alliance, that is a big deal for the UK,” he warned.

“We’ve put all our eggs in defense terms in the NATO basket. If Trump really is serious about, as it were, changing the balance, I mean the American nuclear umbrella for Europe is, in my view, essential to Europe’s security and defense,” the former spymaster said.

During his time in the White House, Trump disparaged NATO, calling it “obsolete,” and questioned the bloc’s relevance in the modern world. He also cast doubt on Washington’s commitment to defend its allies and argued that other NATO members were not contributing enough.

“Look, NATO has taken advantage of our country. The European countries took advantage,” the former president recently told Fox News, adding that his attitude towards NATO depends on whether “they treat us properly.”

Despite several court cases against him, Trump remains the frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination as presidential candidate. A recent Morning Consult poll indicates that he is leading with 69% support, while the nearest rival is trailing far behind.

January 15, 2024 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

UK to send 20,000 troops to NATO exercise

RT | January 15, 2024

The UK is set to deploy around 20,000 service members – as well as modern warships and fighter jets – to Europe to take part in a major NATO exercise amid rising tensions with Russia, the Defence Ministry has announced.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry, citing excerpts from a speech to be delivered by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, said that some 16,000 army troops – along with tanks, artillery, and helicopters – will join other bloc members on the continent to participate in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24, scheduled to take place in the first half of this year.

The effort will be supported by eight warships and submarines, as well as 2,000 Royal Navy sailors. The UK will also deploy a number of aircraft, including F35B Lightning fighters and Poseidon P8 surveillance aircraft, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Shapps is expected to call the drill “one of NATO’s largest deployments since the end of the Cold War,” adding that the UK and its allies have found themselves “in a new era” and “must be prepared to deter our enemies,” according to the statement. The statement specifically referred to the threat from the Russian “menace.”

NATO began reinforcing its military footprint in Europe first after a Western-backed coup in Kiev triggered hostilities in Donbass, which is now part of Russia. However, the most drastic build-up occurred after Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine in February 2022. In June of the same year, the US-led military bloc agreed to put 300,000 troops on high alert, up from 40,000, to deter Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that Moscow has no plans to attack NATO, arguing that there was “no geopolitical, economic … or military interest” in waging war against the bloc. Still, Moscow has also repeatedly warned that the alliance’s military activities close to its border warrant additional security measures. Putin has also said that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO was one of the key reasons for the current conflict.

January 15, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Progressive Hypocrite, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

UNSC has not authorized force against Yemen; China urges all parties concerned to abide by international law

Global Times | January 13, 2024

China opposes any forcible transfer of the Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, and all measures must be taken to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe and make a cease-fire the most urgent task of the moment, China’s permanent representative to the UN Zhang Jun said during a UN Security Council conference on Friday local time.

An immediate ceasefire has become the overwhelming call of the international community, but a permanent member of UN Security Council (UNSC) has vetoed the consensus reached by the UNSC in this regard on various grounds, which is a blatant defiance of international fairness, justice and the authority of UNSC, Zhang said.

The UNSC failed to adopt a draft resolution on December 8, 2023 that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza due to a veto cast by the US. Many countries expressed disappointment over the US veto of the Gaza-related draft.

It is a blatant double standard for some people to talk about the protection of human rights and the prevention of genocide while pretending to be deaf and dumb, covering up and diverting attention from the tragic situation in Gaza, Zhang remarked, “We must remove all interference and take vigorous action to quell the war, save lives and restore peace.”

In addition, Zhang stressed that that any forcible transfer of the Palestinian people must be firmly rejected.

Over the past three months, millions of Palestinian people have been forced to relocate repeatedly and were under constant threat to their lives, said Zhang, noting that China is gravely concerned about the “voluntary emigration” of Gaza people, which has been advocated by some Israeli politicians.

The horrific idea of displacing two million people from Gaza and turning it into a “safe zone” devoid of human habitation, if implemented, would constitute a grave crime under international law and completely destroy prospects for the “Two-State solution,” Zhang remarked.

The Chinese envoy called for all measures to be taken to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

Zhang said it was totally unacceptable for Israel to accuse the UN of not having the will and capacity to provide humanitarian relief when it was clear that Israel was accountable for the continued bombing and striking in Gaza and setting obstacles to the entry of humanitarian supplies.

He urged Israel to immediately cease its indiscriminate military attacks and destruction of Gaza.

UNSC resolutions 2712 and 2720 must be fully implemented, and Israel must fulfil its obligations as the occupying party to guarantee the safety of humanitarian workers and provide full cooperation with humanitarian relief efforts, Zhang said.

The envoy reiterated that a ceasefire must be implemented with the utmost urgency. “Only a ceasefire can prevent greater civilian casualties and humanitarian disasters and create conditions for the early release of all hostages; only a ceasefire can prevent the complete destruction of the basis of the Two-State solution; and only a ceasefire can prevent the entire Middle East region from being drawn into a catastrophe.”

Regarding the recent attacks launched by US and UK on Yemen against the Houthi rebels, which targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, Zhang expressed concerns about the spillover effects of the Gaza crisis.

Zhang said at a UNSC emergency conference on the Red Sea situation on the same day that the UNSC has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen. The military action taken by the related countries runs counter to the UN resolution 2722, which the Security Council has just adopted.

The envoy warned that the Middle East region is on the brink of extreme danger, and what should be avoided now is reckless military adventurism. He added that what is needed most of all is calm and restraint to prevent further expansion of the conflict.

China urges all parties concerned, especially the influential powers, to abide by the Charter of the UN and international law, adhere to the direction of dialogue and consultation, and make practical efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Red Sea and the Middle East region, Zhang said.

The US carried out further strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday night a day after launching a coordinated multi-nation attack on nearly 30 Houthi locations.

January 13, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US Not Ready for War of Attrition in the Red Sea – Analyst

By Oleg Burunov – Sputnik – 13.01.2024

Further bombing of Houthi positions in Yemen may prove ineffective, Russian military analyst Andrei Martyanov told Sputnik.

US and British forces carried out a spate of air strikes on over 60 targets at 16 Houthi militant locations in northern Yemen on Thursday and Friday nights, reportedly retaliation for the militants’ attacks against ships in the Red Sea since November.

The Ansar Allah movement has already pledged that the two Western powers will pay a “high price” for the strikes, which came as part of the US­­-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea.

With the operation showing no sign of progress, it seems that the US is not ready for a war of attrition in the Red Sea and is headed for an embarrassing debacle in the area, Russian military analyst Andrei Martyanov told Sputnik.

He said that US destroyers deployed to the Red Sea “might have a very good radar, but if you send towards them a bunch of drones, eventually they’re going to run out of missiles.”

“The most insulting in this case, so to speak, the rubbing salt in the wound, will be the fact the Houthis just probably will be sending $5,000-6,000 drones that will prod you to expend your $1.5-2 million air defense missile, if not more, in terms of costs,” Martyanov said.

According to him, if America “has some destroyer, let alone aircraft carrier, hit by some kind of the explosive device or drone, it will have not just technical problems, it will be a political issue in the United States.”

“One of the most shocking revelations for people might be the fact that while the US definitely has ‘sophisticated’ weapons, they are not necessarily that effective. For example, it is a well known fact that their air defenses will not be effective against modern anti-ship cruise missiles, especially the salvo, which is a [large] number of missiles arranged in a specific way when they are launched,” the analyst pointed out.

When asked about further escalation of the situation in the Red Sea, Martyanov suggested that Americans may “move their couple of carrier battle groups away from the shore and start, basically, running those bombing runs and start bombing and shooting at whatever they will find in northern Yemen.”

“As a result, obviously, it will create another outcry. This might work not so well, but at least they will say, ‘you see, we didn’t lose anybody.’ They will declare the victory and leave,” the analyst argued.

Finally, he remained skeptical about the US putting boots on the ground in northern Yemen, arguing that such a move would be “very problematic.”

“President Joe Biden doesn’t need coffins coming into the United States, covered in the Stars and Stripes. That could be pretty damaging to the already basically shaky US administration,” the analyst concluded.

January 13, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , | Leave a comment

US gives Spain ultimatum to ‘rectify its decision’ and join anti-Yemen alliance

The Cradle | January 10, 2024

Pentagon officials are pressuring Spain to “reconsider its refusal” to take part in the Red Sea Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) and have set an 11 January deadline for Madrid to “join with a ship or, at least, with personnel stationed in the area,” according to informed sources who spoke with Spanish daily El Confidencial.

As the US-led alliance struggles to make an impact against the pro-Palestine actions of the Yemeni armed forces, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, on Monday contacted his Spanish counterpart, Admiral Teodoro Lopez Calderon, to reiterate Washington’s “desire to work with all nations that share an interest in defending the principle of freedom of navigation and ensuring safe passage for global shipping.”

“Spain is a vital NATO ally and shares a long and strategic relationship with the US,” says the US navy readout of the phone call.

In parallel to this conversation, which was made public, a separate phone call took place between the US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos del Toro, and the Spanish ambassador in Washington, Santiago Cabanas, during which the Pentagon official “in much more direct language” pressed Madrid to take part in the naval coalition in support of Israel.

“[Del Toro] gave [Cabanas], at the end of the conversation, a kind of ultimatum: He wants to know, at the latest on Thursday the 11th, if Spain corrected its decision,” El Confidencial reports.

Spain has been the most vocal NATO member to reject being named part of this “coalition of the willing,” vetoing a vote at the EU that called for support of the coalition and making it clear that its forces committed to Operation Atalanta – a counter-piracy operation off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean – would not join OPG.

The veto by the Spanish mission to Brussels was a direct order from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, according to local reports.

This public pushback prompted US President Joe Biden to contact Sanchez in late December to discuss the crisis in Gaza and warn him about the “Houthi threat” in the Red Sea.

Nonetheless, Sanchez maintained his decision against joining OPG and also refused to join a statement that the US and its main European and Asian allies published on 3 January in which they issued a collective warning to Yemen. France did not subscribe to this text either.

While Madrid has not publicly explained their reasoning for refusing Washington’s demands, El Confidencial reports that authorities believe that, if Spain were to join OPG, this “would be … a way to relieve pressure on Israel and reduce the possibilities of reaching a definitive ceasefire in Gaza.”

January 10, 2024 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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