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Pentagon weighs leaving Persian Gulf after Iran ‘exposed vulnerabilities’: Report

The Cradle | August 18, 2026

The Pentagon is reassessing its military footprint in Persian Gulf countries after months of losses inflicted by Iran, the Washington Post reported on 18 August.

Two people familiar with the ongoing analysis told The Post that one of the central questions before the Pentagon is whether to pull troops back from the Persian Gulf, where the largest US bases overseas have absorbed much of the Iranian retaliatory strikes.

The scale of damage suffered by those installations has compelled Washington to rethink where its forces should be located.

The Gulf holds the biggest and most entrenched US bases in the region, with Bahrain hosting the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, while Kuwait and other states house Army and Air Force assets.

Six US soldiers were killed in a March strike on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait, and more than 200 US facilities have been damaged or destroyed since the war began in February.

Washington has also lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones, accounting for a quarter of the entire fleet, at a replacement cost of up to $2.25 billion, and has burned through more than 1,000 advanced air-defense interceptors, draining nearly its entire stockpile of Patriot and THAAD missiles.

The Pentagon has already indicated it may not rebuild the damaged bases as they stood, and is instead weighing a shift of troops westward.

Michael Ratney, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, named Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast as possible destinations, though he acknowledged the added distance was no perfect fix, as Iranian missiles have already reached all three throughout the US war on Iran.

A regional intelligence source told Press TV that the Pentagon has concluded that no military plan currently exists that would guarantee open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or secure energy stability in the Persian Gulf, an admission that acknowledges Iran’s advantage in the waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil.

CNN reported in early August that the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) intelligence branch had emailed military analysts asking for “creative and unconventional” ideas for pressuring Iran, after commanders concluded that continued US strikes were failing to achieve Washington’s goals.

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on Pentagon weighs leaving Persian Gulf after Iran ‘exposed vulnerabilities’: Report

Iran war marks end of US Middle East order: Foreign Affairs

Al Mayadeen | August 18, 2026

A decades-old regional system built around US military supremacy, support for “Israel”, and the containment of Iran has reached a breaking point following Washington and Tel Aviv’s war on Tehran, political scientist Marc Lynch argued in Foreign Affairs.

In an extensive analysis titled “The End of the American Middle East”, Lynch said the war has exposed fundamental weaknesses in the security architecture Washington constructed after the 1991 Gulf War, particularly its ability to protect allies, impose military outcomes, and guarantee access to strategic waterways.

“The American Middle East is finished,” Lynch wrote, arguing that the regional order prevailing since 1991 has become “one of the many casualties of the US-Israeli war with Iran”.

According to Lynch, Washington spent more than three decades attempting to build a regional bloc centered on protecting “Israel” while containing Iran, Iraq, and later Tehran’s regional allies. President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran, he argued, was not a break with that strategy but its culmination.

Trump’s administration sought to eliminate the Iranian challenge through overwhelming military force, but the campaign failed to remove the government in Tehran or prevent Iran from retaliating throughout the region.

“The American and Israeli failure to dislodge the regime in Tehran has proved the bankruptcy of decades of sanctions and violence,” Lynch wrote.

Gulf security bargain shaken

At the center of Lynch’s argument is the erosion of confidence among Washington’s Gulf partners.

The US military presence in the region has long been justified by Washington’s ability to deter attacks, defend allied governments, secure energy infrastructure, and ensure navigation through strategic waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz.

The war with Iran put those guarantees under unprecedented pressure.

Gulf governments opposed the war and were angered that Washington and “Israel” launched military operations while Oman was mediating negotiations with Tehran, Lynch noted. Those states then found themselves exposed to Iranian retaliation despite having little influence over the decision to begin the confrontation.

US missile defenses intercepted part of Iran’s retaliation, but enough strikes penetrated defensive systems to cause significant damage and disrupt Gulf states’ sense of security.

Iran also demonstrated that it could severely restrict maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening a key artery for global energy exports and the economies of Washington’s Gulf allies.

Lynch argued that the experience raised a fundamental question for regional governments: whether hosting US military infrastructure continues to provide security or increasingly exposes them to wars initiated by Washington.

“What the Gulf took away from all this was that American security guarantees, the heart of the regional bargain, were no longer reliable,” he wrote.

Gaza and Iran deliver ‘death blow’

Lynch identified two developments as particularly damaging to Washington’s position: US support for the Israeli war on Gaza and the subsequent war against Iran.

The devastation of Gaza, he argued, eliminated much of the remaining credibility Washington claimed among Arab populations, while the Iran conflict challenged assumptions about overwhelming US military superiority.

“The dual crisis of Israel’s destruction of Gaza and the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran may seem like just another episode in this cycle,” Lynch wrote. “But in truth, these events together have dealt a death blow to the American Middle East.”

Washington’s attempts to build closer cooperation between Arab governments and “Israel” were already under strain because of Gaza, particularly as successive US administrations pursued normalization without resolving the Palestinian issue.

Lynch argued that US policymakers misjudged the continued importance of Palestine to Arab public opinion and underestimated opposition to normalization. At the same time, unconditional US support enabled “Israel” to act with increasing military freedom across the region, including in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

According to Lynch, Washington is consequently confronting a contradiction of its own making: a regional order partly designed to guarantee Israeli security has helped produce an increasingly interventionist “Israel” that US governments struggle to restrain.

Iran adapted to decades of pressure

The strategy of isolating Tehran also produced unintended consequences, according to the analysis.

Cut off from Western military technology and subjected to sanctions, Iran invested heavily in comparatively inexpensive drones, ballistic missiles, and asymmetric warfare capabilities capable of imposing substantial costs on technologically superior adversaries.

Tehran also developed relationships with armed movements across the region, allowing it to expand its influence in environments destabilized by US, Israeli, and regional wars.

Although Iran suffered major damage during the latest fighting, Lynch argued that its leadership survived and demonstrated that the country could withstand direct military confrontation with the United States and “Israel”. It also proved capable of striking US partners and challenging Washington’s ability to guarantee uninterrupted passage through Hormuz.

The outcome, Lynch suggested, weakened decades of arguments that a large-scale attack could decisively eliminate the Iranian threat.

Washington’s ‘Suez moment’

Lynch compared the Iran war to the 1956 Suez Crisis, when Britain, France, and “Israel” attacked Egypt in an unsuccessful effort to regain control over the Suez Canal and weaken Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Although Britain and France maintained significant regional influence for years afterward, Suez came to symbolize the irreversible decline of their imperial dominance. The same process could now be underway for Washington, Lynch argued. “The full effects of the US disaster in Iran will similarly take time to materialize”, he wrote.

American forces, military bases, arms sales, and alliances are unlikely to disappear immediately. Gulf governments could even seek additional US weapons or security guarantees in response to growing uncertainty. But Lynch warned that such developments should not be interpreted as a restoration of the previous system.

Instead, regional states are likely to exercise greater independence, pursuing arrangements with Iran while expanding political and economic relations with China and Russia when doing so serves their interests.

Gulf states could seek accommodation with Tehran

Rather than maintaining the anti-Iran coalition envisioned by Washington, Lynch expects regional alignments to become more fluid.

Gulf states seeking to avoid becoming targets in another confrontation could negotiate bilateral understandings with Tehran rather than depend exclusively on US protection.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates could also increasingly compete for regional influence, further complicating Washington’s attempts to maintain a unified bloc.

Before the latest war, Lynch noted, Riyadh had already begun strengthening relations with Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey, while Abu Dhabi maintained close ties with “Israel”. Those rival alignments could become increasingly important as US primacy weakens.

The emerging Middle East, in Lynch’s assessment, would therefore be less centered around a single external hegemon and more defined by shifting coalitions, regional competition, and countries pursuing multiple partnerships simultaneously.

Lynch urges shift from domination to diplomacy

The decline of the old order does not necessarily mean the United States will disappear from the region, Lynch argued, but Washington would have to abandon the assumption that regional stability depends on American domination. He called for a policy based on diplomacy and collective defense rather than regime change, military intervention, and permanent containment.

That would include reducing dependence on large Gulf military bases, concentrating on missile defense and intelligence cooperation, securing freedom of navigation, and eventually incorporating Iran into a broader regional security framework. “The United States must pursue stability in the Middle East through diplomacy and collective defense, not militarized containment”, Lynch wrote.

He also called for Washington to place greater pressure on “Israel” over the occupied Palestinian territories and its military interventions in Lebanon and Syria, while reconsidering unconditional support for authoritarian allies throughout the region.

Ultimately, Lynch argued, the Iran war did not itself create the crisis facing US regional leadership. Rather, it revealed the consequences of weaknesses that had accumulated over decades. “Washington struggles to conceive of a Middle East it does not dominate,” he concluded.

The question now, according to Lynch, is whether US policymakers accept that transformation and seek a different relationship with the region or continue attempting to preserve a system whose foundations have already eroded.

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Comments Off on Iran war marks end of US Middle East order: Foreign Affairs

DoD Missile Shopping Spree Designed to Spread Superprofits, ‘Not Win Wars’: Karen Kwiatkowski

Sputnik – 18.08.2026

The MIC intends to “milk” “older and sometimes antiquated systems for as much profit as possible before a real paradigm shift towards actual 21st century defense strategy evolves – and will fight this evolution as long as they can,” former DoD analyst and Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

That was her response to the US military’s massive new $84.5B shopping spree for Patriot, THAAD and Tomahawk missiles.

“The MIC is in reaction mode, as is the Trump administration, trying to rapidly deal with an unexpected loss to Iran which has wiped out CENTCOM’s basing infrastructure, alongside an unexpected massive shortfall of [munition] consumables for scalable, combat and defense operations.”

“Slow by design” in fielding “weapons of any kind,” especially munitions which are “much less profitable” than contracts for the nuclear triad and carrier power projection, the munitions sector has become “kind of an economic backwater,” hence the sluggish production and limited scalability.

The new seven-year contracts for Patriots and THAADs are designed “to capture revenue, not win wars,” Kwiatkowski argues, as the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have shown that “these defense systems have proven overly expensive and incapable of defending against mass launches of cheap drones, or modern hypersonic missiles.”

Kwiatkowski predicts that the Pentagon and MIC will continue to spend money the US doesn’t have on “20th century tech, with the minor exception of off-the-shelf and modified drones and the AI to operate them,” until a “reckoning” forces a “complete paradigm change,” associated “with a new national defense strategy and abandonment of imperial aspirations.”

Unfortunately, the “dramatic” loss in Iran won’t be enough for that to happen, she believes. “It is a wake-up call. But our political system and military lobbies, as well as the Israel lobby which sees the US as a vassal industrial state for its own defense, are not oriented for strategy shifts or even modification.”

For now, the reality is that the MIC controls strategies and encourages “imperial war for short-term profit, and expensive never-ending contracts.”

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , | Comments Off on DoD Missile Shopping Spree Designed to Spread Superprofits, ‘Not Win Wars’: Karen Kwiatkowski

David GIbbs: How Intelligence Services Captured Academia & Journalism

Glenn Diesen | August 17, 2026

David N. Gibbs is a professor of history at the University of Arizona.

Debate on the CIA and academia: David Gibbs and Robert Jervis

Article in the Los Angeles Times on the CIA-academic nexus: https://irp.fas.org/news/2001/01/lat012801.html

Follow Prof. Glenn Diesen:

Support the research by Prof. Glenn Diesen:

Books by Prof. Glenn Diesen

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Militarism, Russophobia, Science and Pseudo-Science, Video | , , , | Comments Off on David GIbbs: How Intelligence Services Captured Academia & Journalism

The Colombian factor in South America

The Latin American left has spent the last few years investing in an image of Colombia that does not correspond to the country’s historical reality

By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | August 16, 2026

In Colombia, the newly elected president, Abelardo de la Espriella, has initiated a strong rapprochement with the State of Israel. Relations that had been strained during the government of Gustavo Petro have not only been fully restored but have also deepened substantially – with the new Colombian government even recognizing Israeli “sovereignty” over the Golan Heights, a Syrian region illegally occupied by the Zionists.

The move was met with shock among South American left-wing circles, particularly in Brazil, where Colombia’s historical image as Washington’s main regional asset in South America appears to have been completely “whitewashed” by the years of Petro’s government. It is curious to see how short collective memory is in Ibero-America and how political debate in general is shaped by the emotions of momentary agendas – and how this childish mentality has repercussions even at the highest institutional levels.

Although Espriella’s measures shocked Petro’s supporters across the continent, there is really nothing surprising about what happened – except for the infamous detail that the decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights came amid the emergency caused by a devastating earthquake. Colombia has always been the gateway for U.S. imperialism into South America.

Since the days of the Korean War – in which Colombia participated by sending a large contingent of troops – Bogotá has served as the United States’ offensive outpost in the region. Colombia is home not only to U.S. military bases, but also to biolaboratories, intelligence centers, narco-trafficking militias, and private military companies (PMCs) armed by the United States.

Most of the U.S. offensive infrastructure in South America is concentrated in Colombia. It was from Colombian territory that U.S.-armed mercenaries invaded Venezuela in 2020 during the failed “Operation Gideon,” whose objective was to overthrow then-President Nicolás Maduro through an asymmetric warfare campaign.

Going further back historically, between the late 1990s and early 2000s, the United States and Colombia consolidated total security and defense integration through the so-called “Plan Colombia” – the U.S. policy of sending security personnel to the South American country supposedly to “combat drug trafficking” and illegal guerrilla groups. Colombia subsequently internalized the entire U.S. security apparatus, from the CIA to the armed forces and PMCs.

If there is one country in South America capable of functioning as a military pivot for U.S. interests in the region, that country has always been Colombia. This has always been clear to any political analyst – or simply to any serious observer. Apart from Brazil itself – which has historically functioned as a “watchdog” for Washington while retaining a certain degree of autonomy – Colombia is the only country in South America truly capable of carrying out any U.S. military plan.

However, acting in an emotional manner, the left across the continent simply forgot all of this. Petro became a “revolutionary” icon because of his policies appealing to the left, particularly because of his performative response to the Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip. Petro severed diplomatic relations between Colombia and Israel and strongly condemned the actions of the Zionist state in international forums. But that was where it ended. Petro did nothing beyond diplomatic theater, nothing to structurally alter Colombia’s historical ties with the United States.

Not only that, Petro himself had previously maintained – during the presidential campaign that brought him to power – strongly pro-Western rhetoric, even going so far as to advocate NATO participation in the creation of an “environmentalist” military force to protect the Amazon from problems such as wildfires and deforestation. Petro, like the continent’s entire liberal left, was completely aligned with the agendas of the Democrats and the European Union, with disagreements emerging only in relation to Donald Trump and the State of Israel.

Unfortunately, much of the left-wing political establishment across the Americas seems to act solely on the basis of fleeting political trends and emotions, without paying attention to the deeper historical and geographical context. In recent times, there has been an information-terror campaign about a supposed “danger” to the region posed by Argentina (an economically fragmented country) and Paraguay (a tiny country with no significant military relevance), simply because the current governments of these countries have adopted a more explicitly pro-U.S. and pro-Israel stance. Meanwhile, Colombia was ignored because it was regarded as an “ally” on account of Petro.

Now Petro is out of the picture. And Colombia is returning to what it has always been: the U.S. offensive base in South America. Reality is returning with full force, to the despair of activists who childishly insist on believing in the liberal democratic game.

August 18, 2026 Posted by | Environmentalism, Progressive Hypocrite | , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Colombian factor in South America

FBI covered up Biden crime family dealings in Ukraine as ‘Russian disinformation’

By Drago Bosnic | August 17, 2026

The latest reports reveal yet another scandal within the American federal system that sought to cover up numerous criminal dealings involving former President Joe Biden and his administration. Although it certainly pales in comparison to the monstrous Epstein files, which unequivocally confirmed that the United States and the political West as a whole are run by a cabal of pedophile-cannibalistic Satanists, the latest scandal demonstrates why neither the American people nor the world can trust any claim coming from the mainstream propaganda machine or the US federal institutions. Namely, a highly detailed Zero Hedge report reveals that an FBI analytical group covered up confidential data on the Biden crime family, particularly their corruption and other illegal dealings in NATO-occupied Ukraine.

The group was “unofficially formed” within the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force in late 2019. Instead of reporting on the findings about the Biden crime family’s “democratic activities”, the FBI chose not only to omit the data from official files, but also actively and deliberately labeled any independent media reporting on this as “Russian disinformation”. As Zero Hedge reports, the newly declassified records, available for direct download, provide a more detailed account of an operation known as “Round River”, part of a broader intelligence project called DELTA that operated in the run-up to and through the 2020 presidential election. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence confirms that analysts with the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force-Russia (FITF-R) were directly involved.

“[FITF-R] came together around December 2019 and used internal systems to gather ‘any/all derogatory information’ previously reported by confidential human sources concerning ‘Joseph Biden corruption and other Ukraine related-topics’,” the report reads, adding: “The [Office of the Director of National Intelligence slide] deck refers to that body of reporting as the ‘Ukraine Narrative’, including information concerning Burisma Holdings, Hunter Biden, Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky and allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. The analysts’ purpose, according to the document, was to ‘red flag’ the reporting as Russian disinformation. But the same document states: ‘The ‘Round River’ team did not corroborate any of the allegations of the ‘Ukraine Narrative’.'”

In other words, it doesn’t matter whether the allegations of “evil Russian collusion” or “disinformation” were true as long as the FBI got the chance to discredit targeted individuals and independent media as “the Kremlin bots”. Obviously, for the corrupt US federal institutions, this conspiracy theory provided multifaceted advantages. First, as previously mentioned, it discredited anyone revealing the extent of the Biden crime family’s illegal dealings. Second, it helped further cover-ups, including the infamous Hunter Biden laptop, which “suddenly vanished without a trace”. Third, it was used extensively to fan up Russophobia, accelerating escalation between Washington DC and Moscow, because, after all, “the evil Russians” were now “undermining American freedom and democracy” with all those “baseless lies”.

The report further reveals that “analysts were given ‘administrative accesses to all reporting’ and drafted intelligence products that were later placed in confidential-source files to indicate that the reporting had been deemed Russian disinformation”. Worse yet, the infamous group “operated leading up to and through the 2020 US Presidential election”. What’s more, the files “add important context to earlier reporting that senior Republican and conservative figures were identified as Russian-disinformation ‘conduits’ in connection with ‘Round River'”. The report points at “a separate FBI spreadsheet [which] shows that the terminology was broader – and in some cases more tentative – than a designation of someone as a Russian agent or knowing participant in a foreign influence effort”.

Namely, the FBI group recorded people and organizations considered for “warnings that they could be caught up in a foreign influence operation”. This includes former Attorney General William Barr, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Rudolph Giuliani, senators Ron Johnson, Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, and representatives Jim Jordan and Devin Nunes. The report reveals that “the document also identifies several prominent names not highlighted in initial coverage: Richard Donoghue, Pete Sessions and Mick Mulvaney”. Interestingly, the spreadsheet “does not show that all of those nominated were actually warned – and in fact, Joe Biden is the only entry expressly marked ‘Briefed'”. In other words, the former president was certainly aware of this abuse of power.

This once again proves that the US federal institutions are corrupt to their very core. Washington DC spent years (if not decades at this point) trying to cover up the extent of illicit dealings of its most powerful crime families, including the Bidens and Clintons. Unsurprisingly, the Neo-Nazi junta, which they and their closest accomplices brought to existence, did everything in its power to also conceal their illegal activities in NATO-occupied Ukraine. This includes everything from the “good old” corruption to monstrous crimes against children, including organ trafficking and sex slavery (no doubt connected to the Epstein scandal). Anyone brave enough to publicly talk about this was immediately targeted, such as former Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach, who was forced to leave NATO-occupied Ukraine.

The same people responsible for these crimes also tried preventing President Donald Trump from ever getting into the Oval Office, including his physical removal (multiple times, mind you). Sadly, he has been unwilling (or perhaps simply unable) to change the system, so the Kiev regime continued getting everything it needs to keep up with its own “democratic activities”. Worse yet, unlike the Biden crime family, the Neo-Nazi junta isn’t even bothering with hiding any of this. It could even be argued they’re flaunting around, fully aware that as long as they can keep prolonging the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, their puppet masters in Washington DC, London and Brussels will turn a blind eye to anything. After all, the political West can simply print more money and keep financing these (war) crimes.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.

August 17, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Russophobia | , , | Comments Off on FBI covered up Biden crime family dealings in Ukraine as ‘Russian disinformation’

West Plans to Accuse Russia of Alleged Arms Supply to Drug Cartels – Russian Foreign Intel

Sputnik – 17.08.2026

MOSCOW – The West is planning a provocation involving accusations against Russia of allegedly supplying weapons illegally to drug cartels and other organized crime groups in Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Monday.

According to the SVR, the intelligence service of one of the Western countries, in coordination with “Ukrainian henchmen,” intends to stage “another anti‑Russian provocation.”

“This time, the events unfold on the Latin American stage, and the plot itself resembles an excerpt from a third‑rate criminal drug detective story. The plan is to accuse Russia of illegally supplying weapons to drug cartels and other organized crime groups in Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico,” the statement read.

Russian arms seized by the enemy during the special military operation are being transported to Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico as part of the provocation, and will be backed up with false documentation alleging the involvement in illegal arms supplies, the service said.

“The provocateurs naively hope to undermine Russia’s constructive relations with the countries of the region in this way and to persuade Latin American governments to support the West’s anti‑Russian course,” the statement read.

History has shown that the cost of any anti‑Russian staged events can be extremely high, primarily for their organizers, the SVR concluded.

August 17, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Russophobia | , | Comments Off on West Plans to Accuse Russia of Alleged Arms Supply to Drug Cartels – Russian Foreign Intel

Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

By Nick Cleveland-Stout | Responsible Statecraft | August 17, 2026

At a glance, the Hanover Institute for Public Policy looks like a new think tank dedicated to Israel/Palestine. The organization churns out think-tank style reports on questions such as “Does AIPAC Use ‘Dark Money in Elections?” and “Is Israel Carrying out a Deliberate Campaign of Starvation in Gaza?”

But the Hanover Institute is not a real think tank. None of the reports have bylines. A small disclaimer at the bottom of the webpage notes that the organization was created on behalf of the Israeli Government Advertising Agency by Piro, Inc, a firm co-founded by Daniel Rosenberg, the producer of Spike Lee’s “Inside Man.”

The Hanover Institute’s reports — all of which are about Israel and Palestine — appear to be part of an Israeli effort to influence chatbots. The institute’s “data reports” have footnotes and tables of contents, and they present arguments in a neutral tone, helping them appeal to chatbots like Claude or Gemini. Piro’s website says that it “author(s) content engineered for how LLMs evaluate credibility,” describing this service as “AI Story Optimization.” Others refer to this practice of influencing artificial intelligence as “LLM poisoning.”

According to its “about” page, the Hanover Institute “studies the inputs fueling antisemitism in the United States, and publishes what the evidence shows.” Many of the reports are formulaic, starting with an innocent question that someone might ask a chatbot.

“What Caused the Displacement of Palestinians in 1948?”

“Which Humanitarian Organizations Have Documented Israeli War Crimes?”

“What is the Current Situation in the Gaza Strip?”

In an article titled “Is the IDF the World’s Most Moral Army?” the Hanover Institute cites a 2022 poll that found that 47% of Israeli Jews believed that statement. Another report casts doubt on UNICEF’s assertion that “90% of water and institutional infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed” in Gaza. Many of the reports conclude by linking the topic to rising antisemitism, oftentimes citing the same studies.

In a few cases, the Hanover Institute publishes what it claims are original findings. For instance, it put out a study saying 19 of the 36 most-watched Israel-Gaza explainer videos contain contested claims, with most of the contested claims aligning with the Palestinian narrative.

The Hanover Institute’s publications sometimes contradict Israeli government narratives. For instance, one report says that foreign funding of universities as an explanation for antisemitic incidents is “weak and full of exceptions.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed this theory, telling Breitbart last year that Europeans and Qataris have spent “billions of American universities, vilifying, vilifying Israel, vilifying Jews, also, frankly, vilifying the United States.”

Piro, Inc, the firm that created the Hanover Institute, has received $900,000 from the Israeli government for its work. Like many other contractors working for Israel, Piro’s work is subcontracted through Havas Media, a French public relations conglomerate.

The fake think tank has churned out over 100 reports since it started publishing on August 6. The Hanover Institute claims that “cited research is peer-reviewed and academic” although frequently cites Israeli government sources such as the Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

RS analyzed 12 random Hanover Institute articles using GPTZero, a popular AI detection software that claims a low false-positive rate. GPTZero flagged 11 of the articles as AI-written with “high confidence”; it flagged one article as AI-written with “moderate confidence.”

Israel has also contracted former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale to create pro-Israel websites engineered to influence chatbots as part of a $46.5 million contract. A Drop Site investigation last month found that many chatbots, particularly Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, had been successfully trained on data from those websites. Other chatbots frequently cite those websites without flagging them as part of an Israeli influence operation.

Piro does not explicitly state in its agreement submitted to the Department of Justice that its work for Israel is to influence AI. In an email to Politico, which first reported the filing, Rosenberg said his firm’s work is to “put accurate, sourced facts into the public record and to counter misinformation about Israel with verifiable information.” However, last month, Rosenberg posted on LinkedIn advertising Piro’s ability to influence chatbots:

“When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, or Perplexity about your category, an answer comes back in one confident paragraph. Most brands have no idea how that paragraph gets built. So we spent months reverse-engineering it… At Piro, we already knew how to build stories that move people. The question was: how do you make sure AI knows how to tell them?”

August 17, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Comments Off on Israel creates fake think tank in likely attempt to dupe AI chatbots

‘Do what Israel tells you’: US troops revolt over Iran war decision

Al Mayadeen | August 17, 2026

The Executive Vice President and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Dr. Trita Parsi, said messages reportedly written by US servicemen on an aircraft flap in the Gulf reflect growing discontent among troops deployed to the region, including frustration over the indefinite nature of their assignments.

Parsi, who said the image had been sent to him from the field, shared photographs showing messages written in the dust on an aircraft flap. The messages included: “Be a good guy and do what Israel tells you to,” “Operation Epstein Fury,” and “Peace deal #64 incoming… ALL THIS FOR THE HOLY LAND.”

Parsi said he had no basis for comparing the sentiments expressed in the messages with those of US service members in previous wars, but suggested they could represent either new attitudes or a greater willingness to express such views openly.

He also cited what he said was a comment from a serviceman about the morale of troops involved in the operation.

“What people in the media don’t understand when they compare past conflicts to this one, is this operation has no morale behind it. That makes a world of difference to service members deployed to undesirable locations indefinitely,” as one serviceman told Parsi.

Furthermore, he highlighted the serviceman’s reference to a lack of morale and indefinite deployments, arguing that these conditions could shape how troops view the war.

“My own conclusion: When a war has no morale behind it, winning means that you simply end it. There is no other “winning” in such an unjust war,” Parsi concluded.

The developments come amid growing scrutiny of poor conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and calls from lawmakers for answers from the War Department.

August 17, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Comments Off on ‘Do what Israel tells you’: US troops revolt over Iran war decision

Iran spokesman slams Canada’s participation in war on Iran despite Trump’s hostility

Press TV – August 16, 2026

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has issued a critique of Canada’s participation in the US-led war against Iran, highlighting the contradiction between Ottawa’s military cooperation with Washington and the Trump administration’s ongoing economic and diplomatic assault on Canadian sovereignty.

In a pointed social media post on Monday, Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, mocked Canada’s submissive stance toward the United States despite repeated humiliations from President Donald Trump.

“Washington calls Canada its 51st state; Washington imposes tariffs on Canadian goods; Washington insults Canada and threatens to punish it over wildfire smoke,” Baqaei wrote, accompanying his statement with an image of a hockey match. “Ottawa’s response: Understood, Sir!”

The Iranian spokesman’s remarks come amid escalating US economic aggression against its northern neighbor. President Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the “51st U.S. state,” proposing to erase the 5,525-mile-long border that separates the two nations.

Most recently, on July 20, 2026, Trump invoked Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose devastating 50% additional tariffs on certain Canadian imports, further straining ties with America’s second-largest trade partner.

The administration has also threatened to impose 100% tariffs on all Canadian imports should Ottawa finalize certain trade agreements.

Trump has even blamed Canada for wildfire smoke affecting the United States, accusing Ottawa of “wilful negligence” over forest management and threatening additional punitive measures.

Ottawa’s military complicity

Despite this relentless hostility, Canada has positioned itself as a willing participant in the US-led military campaign against Iran.

On March 19, 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that Canada is willing “to contribute to efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” signaling Ottawa’s readiness to support US military objectives in the region.

While Canadian officials have publicly claimed that the country was “not consulted, did not participate, and has no plans to participate in the offensive actions against Iran,” experts have pointed out that Canada’s military is deeply integrated into American command structures.

A Canadian military base, Camp Canada, located within the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, was struck by Iranian missiles on March 2, 2026, revealing the extent of Canada’s involvement in the conflict zone.

Additionally, a Canadian colonel’s receipt of a military medal raised questions about Canada’s actual role in supporting US operations against Iran.

Baqaei’s critique drew a sharp analogy to Canada’s beloved national pastime, stating: “THIS IS NOT HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA; IT IS WASHINGTON’S FARM TEAM.”

The irony has not been lost on Canadian observers. Despite Trump’s economic warfare against Canada, which has contributed to the country slipping into technical recession, Ottawa continues to align itself with Washington’s [actually Israel’s] military agenda.

Domestically, the Iran war has raised energy prices and inflation in Canada, leading to elevated transportation costs and food prices for Canadian consumers.

Public opinion remains strongly opposed to military involvement, with nearly six in ten Canadians (58%) opposing US and Israeli bombing of Iran.

August 17, 2026 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on Iran spokesman slams Canada’s participation in war on Iran despite Trump’s hostility

Seyed M. Marandi: Iran & Yemen Unleash a New Offensive Strategy

Glenn Diesen | August 16, 2026

Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi is a professor at Tehran University and a former advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team.

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August 17, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Comments Off on Seyed M. Marandi: Iran & Yemen Unleash a New Offensive Strategy

Catz Boasts Oracle is providing “scary” secret technology to the Israeli military

By Alison Weir | If Americans Knew | August 16, 2026

Israeli American Safra Catz is Oracle’s executive vice chair. She was Oracle CEO from 2014 to 2025, succeeding Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison. Ellison, the largest single donor to Friends of the IDF, and his son David are currently buying up US media on behalf of Israel

Catz was speaking at the 2024 Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit. The IAC is a nonprofit organization composed of Israeli Americans. Its slogan is “A strong and resilient bond between Israel and the United States starts with a united, passionate, and engaged community.” It has assets of over $32 million.

The commitment to Israel by Oracle and IAC has not diminished despite numerous reports that Israel is committing mass murder, torture, and genocide against Palestinians.

Forbes reports that Catz’ net worth is $2.9 billion.

  • She joined Oracle in 1999 and is credited with spearheading Oracle’s aggressive acquisition strategy, helping close more than 130 acquisitions.
  • Catz, who was born in Israel, earned a law degree at the University of Pennsylvania and worked on Wall Street for 14 years covering the software industry.
  • Catz and her husband Gal Tirosh gave $250,000 to President Trump’s fundraising committee in June 2020.

The Ellisons’ media empire

Larry Ellison’s net worth has recently ranged from $296.6 billion to  $192.6 billion.

Larry and David Ellison, who have already obtained numerous media companies, are currently working to acquire Warner Brothers Discovery.

In February, Wired Magazine listed what the family would control if the WBD deal goes through:

CBS and CBS News

Besides its news division, which includes 60 Minutes, CBS is also home to hits like Tracker and Matlock, along with reality stalwarts Survivor and Big Brother.

HBO and HBO Max

Among the most Emmy-winningest networks to exist, HBO’s library includes classics like Game of Thrones, The Wire, and Veep, as well as newer hits like The Pitt, The Gilded Age, and Thrones spin-off A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. (Outside of Canada, HBO Max is also a key distributor of the hockey smut drama Heated Rivalry.)

CNN

While CNN’s ratings dipped last year, it remains a news juggernaut and a top 5 cable network, featuring household names like John King, Kaitlan Collins, and Anderson Cooper (who recently announced he will be leaving 60 Minutes at the end of the current season).

DC Comics

The merger would put Paramount Skydance in control of storied comic book franchises like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.

Harry Potter

The wizarding world of Harry Potter, including all eight fantasy films and the upcoming HBO television series slated to premiere in 2027 would also be under the Ellisons’ purview.

TikTok

As of a deal finalized in January, Oracle now holds a 15 percent stake in TikTok’s US operations.

Star Trek

All 13 Star Trek movies and television shows are owned by Paramount Skydance. At a press event last year, Dana Goldberg, cochair of Paramount Pictures and chair of Paramount Television, said the franchise would be a “priority across the company.”

Warner Bros. Studios

Home to blockbusters like Barbie, The Dark Knight, and more recently, One Battle After Another and Sinners.

Comedy Central

South Park announced a five-year, $1.5 billion deal with Paramount last July, just prior to the merger with Skydance. The show has since skewered Donald Trump and those in his administration regularly.

Avatar Studios

In December, Paramount+ announced it would be the exclusive streamer of Avatar Studios content, including animated film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender and series Avatar: Seven Havens.

A Bunch of Cable Channels and Networks

The Food Network, HGTV, Discovery, TLC, OWN, Adult Swim, Showtime, TNT, and TBS are all part of WBD.

Other Key Franchises

Other notable titles that are or would be controlled by the Ellisons, pending the WBD takeover, include: The Lord of the Rings franchise, the Mission Impossible franchise, and the distribution rights to Dune: Part Three.

Annapurna Pictures

In addition, Megan Ellison (Larry’s daughter, David’s sister) is the founder of Annapurna.

August 16, 2026 Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Timeless or most popular, Video | , , | Comments Off on Catz Boasts Oracle is providing “scary” secret technology to the Israeli military

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