Aletho News

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ

U.S. Breaks Its Deal with Iran… Again

By Ted Snider | The Libertarian Institute | October 18, 2023

Building on its reputation as an unreliable diplomatic partner, the United States announced on October 12 that it was pulling out of the deal that would have granted Iran access to $6 billion of its money in exchange for the release of five American prisoners. This rare diplomatic success between the U.S. and Iran took months to work out, only to see the U.S. break its word again and renege on the deal.

In 2018, the United States granted a waiver for South Korea to continue purchasing Iranian oil despite American sanctions on Iran. Instead of being deposited in Iran, the money for the oil would be placed in South Korean accounts that could be accessed by Iran for humanitarian goods in South Korea that were not sanctioned. However, entanglements in the web of the sanctions regime made it impossible for Iran to withdraw money from its account. Meanwhile, five Americans were being held prisoner in Iran.

Under the deal worked out between the two countries, the South Korean accounts would be transferred to Qatar where they would remain out of reach of Iran except for the purchase of humanitarian items like medicine, medical supplies, and food. The money would go, not to the Iranian government, but directly to the vendors who provided the goods. In exchange, Iran would release the five prisoners.

On September 18, Iran kept its word and released the five prisoners. A month later, the United States broke its word and denied Iran access to its $6 billion. Though it is not known if the refreeze is permanent, U.S. officials say that “case-by-case applications to spend [the funds] under the current arrangement will be denied for the foreseeable future.”

This is not the first time the U.S. has broken an agreement with what must be a frustrated and furious Iran. On May 8, 2018 the U.S. unilaterally and illegally pulled out of the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran that was successfully limiting Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

As with the current hostage deal, Iran kept its word and was in full compliance with the JCPOA nuclear deal when the U.S. broke its word. Eleven consecutive International Atomic Energy Agency reports verified that Iran was completely and consistently in compliance with their commitments under the agreement.

The solidifying American reputation cannot help but be a significant impediment to future important negotiations with Iran. It will also likely tarnish U.S. credibility as a diplomatic partner or broker in other parts of the world. Much of the non-NATO world—that is, the global majority—is already reeling from the realization of how the United States’ broken promise on NATO non-expansion east to the borders of Russia contributed to the current crisis in Ukraine.

This broken deal is not only not the first broken deal with Iran, but it is also not the first time the United States has reneged on a deal that freed American prisoners. In 1963, Fidel Castro freed American prisoners after receiving hints that their release could lead to a process of reconciliation, only to see the U.S. disappoint on its commitments.

Iran, on the other hand, has, in the past, kept its word on freeing American prisoners. When Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani promised to exert Iran’s regional influence and intervene to help win the release of American hostages being held in Lebanon, U.S. President George H.W. Bush promised that Iran’s help would “be long remembered” and that, in return, Iran would get something because “goodwill begets goodwill.” Iran successfully intervened to secure the release of the Americans being held hostage; the United States sent word that Iran should expect no American reciprocation.

Biden promised a quick return to diplomacy with Iran over the JCPOA nuclear agreement and then neglected that promise. He then broke another deal with Iran after Iran had already fulfilled its obligation. The American prisoners had flown from Iran to Qatar to the United States to be, as Biden said, “reunited with their loved ones.” His administration is reinforcing the reputation started by earlier presidencies that America cannot be trusted to keep its promises. That reputation could harm U.S. credibility in future diplomatic engagements.

October 18, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Timeless or most popular | , , | Leave a comment

Russian jets armed with Kinzhal missiles to patrol Black Sea – Putin

RT | October 18, 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin told journalists on Wednesday that he has ordered warplanes to conduct regular patrols of the neutral airspace over the Black Sea.

“Our MiG-31 planes are armed with Kinzhal missile systems. It is known that they have a range of over 1,000 km and a Mach-9 speed,” he said at a press conference in Beijing.

The announcement was not meant as a threat, Putin stressed, but rather a reaction to escalating instability, particularly in the Middle East. He mentioned the US’ deployment of two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean Sea in support of Israel as a factor.

As stipulated by Putin, the range of the hypersonic weapons potentially puts the eastern part of the sea within striking distance of Russian patrols.

Putin reported the development after commenting on the confirmation by the US that it had supplied several ATACMS ground-launched ballistic missiles to Ukraine, providing a new military capability for Kiev’s forces fighting Russia. The president called it a mistake for several reasons, such as dragging the US deeper into the conflict.

“Let no one say they have nothing to do with it. We believe they do,” he stressed.

He also described as “laughable” the notion that Russia has “already lost” in Ukraine. US President Joe Biden voiced it on several occasions during the conflict in the sense that Moscow supposedly wanted to conquer the entire country and failed to do that. The Russian government denied ever having such aspirations.

“If Russia has lost the war, why supply ATACMS? Let him take back the ATACMS and the rest of the weapons, get some pancakes, and come to us for a tea party,” Putin mused.

In an interview with CBS News last Sunday, Biden urged the audience to imagine a future in which “we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down,” claiming it was achievable.

October 18, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

C-SPAN Interview on An Encounter with Evil

By Jacob G. Hornberger | FFF | October 17, 2023

At Freedom Fest last July, I had the honor of being interviewed by C-SPAN’s Book TV about my most recent book An Encounter with Evil: The Abraham Zapruder Story. It’s about a 20-minute-long interview. The interview is another good sign that interest in the JFK assassination is increasing among the mainstream media, especially as we approach the 60th anniversary of the assassination. You can watch the interview here:

If you have not yet purchased and read my book, I highly recommend your doing so. What the CIA did with the Zapruder film on the very weekend of the assassination was kept secret for some 50 years. Don’t tell me that the CIA can’t keep secrets! In fact, if it had not been for a fortuitous disclosure by former CIA analyst Dino Brugionio, there is virtually no doubt that the CIA would have succeeded in covering its role with respect to the Zapruder film secret forever. 

The full details are contained in my book, but the following is the essence of what happened. 

The official narrative has always been that the original 8mm Zapruder film, which captured the assassination of President Kennedy, was sent to LIFE magazine on Saturday, November 22. 

Instead, what actually happened was that it was diverted to the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC) in Washington on that Saturday evening. 

How do we know that? Because Brugioni disclosed it during the late 2000s to assassination researchers Douglas Horne and Peter Janney. He told them that the film was brought to NPIC on that Saturday night, where he and his team made blow-ups of selected frames from the film to put on “briefing boards.”

He said that two men who represented themselves to be Secret Service agents then departed with the film. (As I explain in my book, it is a virtual certainty that the two men were actually CIA agents posing as Secret Service agents.)

On Sunday night, a 16mm copy of the Zapruder film was brought to NPIC by a man named “Bill Smith” who also represented himself to be a Secret Service agent (but who undoubtedly also was a CIA agent posing as a Secret Service agent). He told a CIA official at NPIC, Homer McMahon, that he had just brought the film from “Hawkeyeworks.”

How do we know this? Because McMahon told the Assassination Records Review Board in the 1990s that he and his NPIC team were the ones who received that 16mm copy from “Bill Smith” on that Sunday night. Their assignment was to make blow-ups from selected frames of the film and post them on “briefing boards” — in other words, the same thing that Brugioni and his team did with the 8mm original film on the previous Saturday night. 

What was Hawkeyeworks? It was a top-secret CIA film facility secretly located in Kodak’s research and development section of Kodak’s headquarters in Rochester, New York, where the CIA was able to do everything and anything with film that could be done in Hollywood. It was at Hawkeyeworks that the CIA made an altered, fraudulent copy of the film using a state-of-the-art “optical printer,” which “Bill Smith” then took back to NPIC on Sunday night, where, after it was converted to an 8mm film, it became the new “original” Zapruder film.

How do we know that the Sunday night film was a fraudulent, altered copy?

One reason is that the Saturday night film was an 8mm film. The Sunday night film was a 16mm film. It is impossible to convert an 8mm into a 16mm film. Thus, the 16mm film had to be a copy of the original 8mm film. 

Another reason is that when Horne and Janney showed Brugioni the extant film (that is, the film that purports to be the original), he told them that the film he saw on that Saturday might was different from the extant film they were showing him. It’s worth pointing out that Brugioni was perhaps the foremost photographic analyst in the world. (I detail his credentials in my book but you can read what Wikipedia states about him here.) 

Another reason is that there is no reason to have taken the film to Hawkeyworks except for the purpose of producing a fraudulent, altered copy of it. (Note: I should point out that there is no evidence Kodak participated in the CIA’s production of the fraudulent, altered copy of the film.)

Another reason is that there was no good reason for the Saturday and Sunday night events to be kept secretly compartmentalized — that is, the Saturday night team never knew about the Sunday night team, and vice versa. 

Another reason is that, as I detail in my book, Hollywood film experts who examined the extant film stated unequivocally their opinion that the extant film is an altered copy.

Another reason is that, as I detail more fully in my book, an extremely large number of witnesses stated they saw things prior to and during the assassination that that are not in the extant film.

It should also be pointed out that the fact that the CIA kept all of these shenanigans secret from everyone, including the Warren Commission, the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the ARRB, and the American people — and continues to do so — is itself incriminating. 

Again, all of this is more fully detailed in my book An Encounter with Evil: The Abraham Zapruder Story. 

Why is all this significant? Because it is this evidence that convicts the CIA of participating in the assassination of President Kennedy. There is no innocent explanation for the production of a fraudulent, altered copy of a film of the assassination, especially when the CIA kept what it did with the Zapruder film for some 50 years — and continues keeping the full operational details regarding the film secret. The CIA’s top-secret production of a fraudulent, altered copy of the Zapruder film automatically proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the CIA was, in fact, embroiled in the assassination of President Kennedy.

October 18, 2023 Posted by | Book Review, Deception, Timeless or most popular, Video | , | Leave a comment

Dear American College of Clinical Pharmacy:

By Lori Weintz | Brownstone Institute | October 17, 2023

I just sent this letter off to the Board of Regents of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy:

October 12, 2023

Dear Executive Director Maddux and Board of Regents,

During the past 3 1/2 years, I have observed the troubling pattern of silencing viewpoints that depart in any way from the official Covid narrative. Your cancelation of Dr. Vinay Prasad as a keynote speaker at the upcoming ACCP Conference is an example of this inappropriate trend.

This is America. The founding principle of America is the freedom of speech, without which none of the other rights enumerated in the Constitution matter, because they cannot be pursued. Healthy, vigorous, oppositional debate is essential to innovation and problem-solving.  Without debate there is no progress and people become afraid, first to speak, and then to think for themselves.

Alicia Lichvar states she “cannot – in good conscience – share a platform with an individual who promotes such harmful rhetoric.” Ms. Lichvar claims there is a role for critical discourse, but not as the Keynote speaker. Why not? Since when is it assumed that the speaker at a conference, or graduation ceremony, or civic event represents the viewpoint of all?

In this instance, ACCP appears to have sided with the false ideology recently stated at Twitter (X) that people are entitled to “freedom of speech, not reach.” In Ms. Lichvar’s world, people like Dr. Prasad have the right to their views, just not in public, which is no right at all.

This was the moment to clarify that your group values varied viewpoints by inviting Ms. Lichvar to share her side in a debate with Dr. Prasad, or in her own presentation. It was not a moment to say you will be “revisiting the keynote speaker vetting and selection process to ensure alignment with the expectations and values of ACCP members.” There were obviously ACCP members who wanted to hear from Dr. Prasad, or he would not have been selected as a keynote speaker in the first place.

People who are so fragile they cannot even hear a differing viewpoint to their own, especially one presented by a licensed and credentialed colleague, need a wakeup call, not coddling.

You, Mr. Maddux, Mr. Olsen, Ms. Farrington, Ms. Phillips, Ms. Blair, Mr. Hemstreet, Ms. See, Ms. Finks, Ms. Parker, Ms. Ross, Ms. Clements, and Ms. Badowski, are listed on the ACCP webpage under the dropdown menu of “Leadership.”

The role of real leaders is not to “ensure alignment with the expectations and values” of the vocal few, but rather to preserve the ability to approach problems and issues in a manner that allows for consideration of all sides. People cannot make informed, adult decisions, if they’re awash in a culture of “safety” where “words are violence,” and differing viewpoints are “harmful.”

I invite you to reconsider your roles, and the bigger picture of what is happening in our country today, so as to ensure that free speech and thought are the elevating principles of enlightenment in your organization.

Sincerely,

Lori Weintz

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | Leave a comment

War with Hamas deals ‘severe economic blow’ to Israel

The Cradle | October 17, 2023

Eleven days into its war with the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance, Israel is paying a heavy economic toll, Maariv reported on 17 October.

The Israeli newspaper reported that “the Israeli economy appears to have already begun to pay a heavy price for the war,” which began on 7 October with the start of Hamas’ Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.

The newspaper explained in a report published Tuesday that “4.6 billion shekels [$1.1 billion] is the price paid by the Israeli economy as a result of workers not coming to work and low productivity in Israeli institutions.”

According to the analysis of the economic department of Israel’s Manufacturers Union, the closure of the education system, blocking of traffic routes, and the extensive mobilization of the army reserves has also hurt economic productivity.

In total, it is estimated that about 1.3 million Israeli workers did not go to work this week.

In southern Israel, some 85 percent of workers were absent from their jobs, along with about 20 percent of workers in the rest of Israel.

The head of the Manufacturers’ Union and the head of the Employers and Companies Association, Ron Tomer, said after the harsh assessments that “there is no doubt that the war constitutes a severe economic blow to the economy.”

According to Maariv, this estimate does not take into account “additional and very significant financial damage, which will only be assessed economically at the end of the fighting, such as direct damage to factories and damage to profitability.”

In addition to decreased productivity, Israel will see indirect damage, such as the damage to the reputation of Israeli companies with customers abroad, cancelled transactions, failure to adhere to schedules, and the depreciation of the shekel.

Should the conflict widen to include not just Hamas but also Iran, a key backer of the Palestinians, Bloomberg estimates oil prices could climb to $150 a barrel and cause a global recession that takes about $1 trillion off world output.

Iranian involvement on the Palestinian side could lead to a cut in Iranian oil output and a tightening of western sanctions hindering Iranian oil sales.

Bloomberg notes further that an oil shock of this size would also derail the worldwide effort to rein in inflation. In the US, the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent inflation target would not be met, and costly gasoline would be a hurdle for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.

Another possibility is that Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s single-most important energy corridor. Globally, over one-sixth of oil and one-third of liquefied natural gas passes through the narrow strait

“The gas market is calm but tense,” Henning Gloystein, director for energy, climate and resources at the Eurasia Group think tank said.

“It doesn’t take much to go into a fever pitch. We had the Ukraine war, Russian gas supply cuts, oil cap sanctions and now you have war in the Middle East as well — that’s a problem,” he said.

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

West ‘stomps’ on Russian-drafted resolution for Gaza ceasefire

The Cradle | October 17, 2023

A Russian-drafted resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza failed to pass at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 16 October. 

China, Russia, Gabon, Mozambique, and the UAE voted in favor of the resolution, while the US, UK, France, and Japan voted against it. Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland all abstained from voting. 

The text of the resolution called for an immediate humanitarian truce, the release of prisoners, access to aid, and the safe evacuation of civilians. 

Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, condemned the UNSC failure to pass the resolution and slammed the “selfish intention of the western bloc,” which he said “basically stomped” on international calls for de-escalation and an end to violence. 

He added that the resolution was needed to respond to the “unprecedented exacerbation” of the calamity inside the Gaza Strip, where Israel has continued to bomb 2.2 million Palestinians trapped inside and prevent the entry of humanitarian aid. 

Washington’s representative, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, denounced the resolution for failing to condemn “Hamas terrorism.”

“By failing to condemn Hamas, Russia is giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians. It is outrageous, hypocritical, and indefensible. We cannot allow this Council to unfairly shift the blame to Israel and excuse Hamas for its decades of cruelty,” she said. 

The failed resolution came the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin held phone calls with the presidents of Iran, Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

“The Israeli side was in particular informed of the essential points of telephone correspondences that took place today with the leaders of Palestine, Egypt, Iran, and Syria,” the Kremlin said in a statement. 

Close to 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and about 10,000 wounded due to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. 

The Rafah crossing with Egypt, the only entry for humanitarian aid to Gaza, has remained shut despite multiple reports of an agreement between Egypt and Israel, which Tel Aviv has denied. 

“The process of opening the crossing is a joint Palestinian-Egyptian process, subject to clear working mechanisms, and requires prior coordination, which has not happened until now [due to] lack of coordination, in addition to the intense bombing to which the crossing was subjected by the Israeli occupation forces,” Salama Marouf, director of the media office of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, said on Tuesday. 

Israel has bombed the aid route several times over the past few days, including on 16 August. 

Any talk of truce “comes in the context of the psychological warfare waged by the Israeli occupation,” Marouf added. 

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Militarism, Subjugation - Torture, War Crimes | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hungary PM Orbán meets with Putin in Beijing

BY THOMAS BROOKE | REMIX NEWS | OCTOBER 17, 2023

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss ongoing bilateral agreements between the two nations.

The pair were snapped shaking hands in the Chinese capital — the first photographed handshake between Putin and an EU leader since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Orbán told the Russian president that “Hungary has never sought to confront Russia” and has always and will continue to “pursue the goal of building and expanding the best communication,” reported Russia’s state-run news agency TASS.

“In Europe today, one question is on everyone’s mind: Will there be a ceasefire in Ukraine? For us Hungarians, too, the most important thing is that the flood of refugees, the sanctions, and the fighting in our neighboring country should end,” Orbán posted on X following the meeting.

Budapest has maintained relatively close relations with Moscow and faced the wrath of the European Union for steering its own course through the conflict in Ukraine and refusing to present a united front with other EU leaders.

Orbán’s administration has long opposed the provision of arms to Kyiv, which it claims is prolonging the conflict and increasing the death toll, and has advocated for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks.

The rendezvous exerts further pressure on Brussels, which requires Hungary’s approval for proposed budget reforms in order to unlock further funding for Ukraine.

“Given the fact that in today’s geopolitical conditions the opportunities for maintaining contacts and developing relations are very limited, it can only cause satisfaction that our relations with many European countries are maintained and developed. One of these countries is Hungary,” Putin told Orban.

The meeting was criticized by U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman who accused Orbán of “pleading for business deals” while Russia continues its aggression in Ukraine.

“Hungary’s leader chooses to stand with a man whose forces are responsible for crimes against humanity in Ukraine, and alone among our Allies,” he posted on X.

This interpretation of the meeting was questioned by the Hungarian prime minister’s political director, Balázs Orbán, who claimed that Budapest was “fed up” with Pressman’s “hypocrisy.”

“If the question is who’s doing business with the Russians, the Americans should turn down the volume. They are buying more than twice as much nuclear fuel alone as they used to, and we have a whole list of them,” he added.

“Since your president refuses to talk about ending this war, someone has to,” quipped Koskovics Zoltán, a geopolitical analyst at the Budapest-based Center for Fundamental Rights.

Both leaders arrived in Beijing at the invitation of Chinese President Xi ahead of an international forum on China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Earlier on Tuesday, Orbán met with the Chinese leader to discuss the strengthening of Hungarian-Chinese relations.

“Connectivity instead of decoupling: This is the Hungarian model. Our aim is to strengthen Hungarian-Chinese relations. This is good for Hungary and good for the European economy,” he said in a statement.

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Putin offers solution to stop further bloodshed in Israel-Gaza conflict while Zelensky fears losing US support

By Drago Bosnic | October 17, 2023

As hostilities in the latest Israel-Gaza conflict escalate, the threat of a wider confrontation in the Middle East is getting likelier by the day. It’s safe to assume that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) haven’t launched a ground operation in Gaza yet due to possible direct Iranian involvement, as well as the greater engagement of Hezbollah in the north of the country. According to the Jerusalem Post, the main reason for the postponing of the offensive is precisely the latter. The Northern Command is forced to keep the best IDF troops in the area to ensure combat readiness on the Lebanese border in case Hezbollah gets more directly involved. The Lebanon-based Shia movement has tens of thousands of soldiers and a massive stockpile of various rockets and missiles that could do significant damage to the IDF. Israel simply cannot afford to ignore Hezbollah, as the group already defeated it once in 2006, the only such occurrence in the history of IDF.

The Jerusalem Post itself cited sources saying that “while a number of factors seem to have caused a delay, one factor has been a growing concern that Hezbollah is waiting for the moment that most IDF ground forces are committed to Gaza to open a full front with the IDF in the north”. This fact alone is forcing Israel to keep most of its military assets in the relative vicinity of the border with Lebanon. It could be said that Hezbollah is already providing significant support to Hamas just by being able to tie up so many IDF troops. Iranian involvement in this is implicit, as Tehran has been one of the main backers of Hezbollah since the group’s very inception. This is forcing the Israeli leadership to exercise caution and restraint, as a direct Iranian intervention remains a possibility. Such speculation is not without merit, as Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian already implied that Tehran might get involved:

“Conferred with my counterparts from Tunisia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Underlined the need to immediately stop Zionist crimes & murder in Gaza & to dispatch humanitarian aid. I stressed that time is running out for political solutions; probable spread of war on other fronts is approaching unavoidable stage.”

On the other hand, most high-ranking Israeli officials are adamant that the Gaza operation must be launched. For instance, Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom Tzipi Hotovely even compared the current airstrikes with the bombing of Dresden during WWII, when Western Allies leveled the German city, killing tens of thousands of civilians in the process. Israeli F-16I “Sufa” fighter jets have already dropped thousands of bombs on Gaza (primarily the US-made JDAMs – Joint Direct Attack Munitions), resulting in thousands of deaths and serious injuries among civilians there. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the death toll among Palestinians now stands at over 3,000. For its part, Israel reported that over 1,400 Israeli civilians died so far, with at least 4,100 wounded. The figures are certainly even worse as of this writing.

Such casualties are disastrous, especially given that the conflict started just ten days ago. Since then, the world has effectively split into three groups. Apart from those that express open support for either side, the largest part of the globe has opted for neutrality. This also includes superpowers such as Russia. Namely, Moscow was among the first to call for the end of hostilities before they escalate to include all regional and perhaps even global actors. In a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin (the first since the conflict started), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would proceed with the Gaza offensive despite Moscow’s warning that it would lead to massive casualties and possibly cause a strong reaction of the Muslim world, particularly Iran and its allies. Putin urged Netanyahu to engage in talks on the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

On the other hand, the United States is looking to use the crisis to escalate against Iran, as Washington DC warhawks were quick to blame Tehran for the surprise attack launched by Hamas. US President Joe Biden will visit Israel this week, coming mere days after State Secretary Antony Blinken. Biden recently denied reports about a possible deployment of American troops, calling it “unnecessary, as Israel has one of the finest fighting forces”. And while he stated that “it would be a mistake [for Israel] to occupy Gaza”, he supported the notion that Hamas must be eliminated entirely and warned Iran not to get involved. By directly supporting the upcoming ground operation by the IDF, Washington DC is risking (almost certainly intentionally) a wider conflict that might include several Arab states and Iran. In fact, Israeli forces already hit targets in Syria and Lebanon.

In the meantime, the Kiev regime is in panic mode as the global spotlight has moved away from Ukraine. Namely, the Neo-Nazi junta frontman Volodymyr Zelensky tried to get the attention of Western audiences to himself by pompously announcing a “solidarity visit”. However, Israel flatly refused, as the “time is not right”. Zelensky is likely terrified of the prospect that he will have to share hundreds of billions in so-called US “aid” with Israel. It’s no secret that the latter is a priority for Washington DC, while the Kiev regime and the Ukrainian people as a whole are routinely seen as “cheap cannon fodder” that should only be “dying for a NATO mission.” The words of the infamous warhawk Lindsey Graham that “the best money the US ever spent because the Russians are dying” show this only works for America if its actual allies are under attack.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst.

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US warmonger Senator threatens Iran

By Lucas Leiroz | October 17, 2023

Once again, the pro-war sectors of American politics seem to want to foment a conflict situation with US involvement. A prominent public figure in the US Senate has made very serious threats to Iran, promising that Washington “will not hesitate” to take actions against Tehran if the conflict in the region continues to escalate.

The threats were made by the highly known Senator Lindsey Graham, who is notorious for his bellicose and irresponsible positions regarding American foreign policy. Graham issued a warning to Iranian authorities, stating that if there is any military action by Hezbollah against Israel, Washington will act to protect its ally, which could have serious consequences for Iran, both in military and economic terms.

“Here’s my message. If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the — to the State of Israel, existential in nature. I will introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business,” Graham said.

Hezbollah was not the only topic in the Senator’s speech. Graham also stated that he does not believe in the Iranian government’s official narrative that the Hamas operation was carried out autonomously. For him, believing this is “laughable”, with total confidence on his part that Hamas’ actions were previously discussed with Iran.

“The idea that Iran read about this operation in the paper, or on television is laughable. 93% of Hezbollah and Hamas’ money comes from Iran (…) They’re the source of the problem. They’re the great evil. So, if Hezbollah escalates against Israel, it will be because Iran told them to. Then Iran, you’re in the crosshairs of the United States and Israel,” Graham added.

Graham’s stance is extremely complicated, as the current tense situation in the Middle East favors risks of escalation and internationalization, and there is therefore a considerable possibility of Iran becoming involved in hostilities. This involvement can be direct or indirect, with Tehran sending regular troops or mobilizing its allied groups – which are not limited to Hezbollah. In either scenario, the risks would be enormous for Israel, which, despite its large military strength, is a small and vulnerable country in situations of war of attrition.

Furthermore, it must be emphasized that Iran is doing everything possible not to enter the war. By warning Israel not to continue collectively punishing Gaza, Tehran is offering alternatives to armed confrontation. But Tel Aviv, despite being afraid of invading on the ground, continues to bomb Gaza and kill thousands of civilians, causing Iran’s patience to progressively run out.

It has also been informed by the Persian country’s authorities that the so-called “Axis of Resistance” – a Theran-led coalition of anti-Zionist armed movements – could act at any time in defense of the Palestinians. Iranian politicians clarified that, despite Tehran leading the coalition, the member groups have high decision-making autonomy, and there is no full Iranian control over how these movements will react to Israel. In other words, the risks of escalation are great, and Iran is not capable of preventing it alone.

The only way to truly de-escalate is through a commitment on the part of Israel to stop the attacks. Without this, the situation will go out of control and there will inevitably be intervention – if not direct from Iran, at least from some Iranian-allied group. Furthermore, it is necessary to remember that Hezbollah is already de facto involved in hostilities, with bombings being exchanged between the IDF and the Shiite militia every day. Obviously, if nothing is done to stop these hostilities, at some point Hezbollah will choose to launch a more effective incursion.

With all these factors, Graham’s words sound like a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. He points to an imminent scenario as a “red line” and issues direct threats, making real de-escalation actions virtually impossible. However, this type of behavior is in fact expected from Graham, who is a known “hawk” of American foreign policy. Months ago, the Senator became embroiled in a controversy after saying that the US was investing money in “killing Russians” in Ukraine – praising such an “investment”. In the same vein, on another occasion, he also suggested that Kiev should kill Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It remains to be seen whether these pro-war tendencies will prevail in the American public debate. For now, the US stance has been extremely bellicose, with the country sending aircraft carriers to “help” Israel. However, it is necessary to remember that the American military-industrial complex is not able to work on two different fronts at the same time – in addition to the possibility of escalation in the Pacific in the near future. Washington needs to act rationally and discourage war in the Middle East.

Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

You can follow Lucas on Twitter and Telegram.

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Mainstream Media, Warmongering, Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Detente climate poisoned as US congressional report hypes China, Russia’s ‘nuke threats’

By Wang Qi | Global Times | October 13, 2023

Despite a recent climate of detente between China and the US, a US report by a congressionally mandated panel hyped “threats” from China and Russia, urging Washington to prepare for possible simultaneous wars with Moscow and Beijing and enhance its already formidable nuclear arsenal.

Analysts said Friday that the report will harm the fragile thawing in relations between China and the US. As the report is likely to be reflected in the future National Defense Authorization Act, it will also poison the global strategic environment for the next decade, they said.

Citing a senior official involved in the report by the Strategic Posture Commission, Reuters said the panel members are worried about “ultimate coordination” between China and Russia, which will get the US into a two-war construct.

The US and its allies must be ready to deter and defeat both adversaries simultaneously, the Strategic Posture Commission said, urging Washington to expand or restructure its nuclear arsenal to tackle the “existential challenge.”

The panel’s vice chair, Jon Kyl, a retired Republican senator, said that the US requires huge defense spending increases, and both the White House and Congress need to tell the US people that higher defense spending is a small price to pay “to hopefully preclude” a possible nuclear war involving the US, China and Russia.

It is very rare that this quasi-official report suggests the need to prepare for simultaneous war with China and Russia, including nuclear deterrence and counterattack, Lü Xiang, a US studies research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

The report is perhaps the boldest vision from the US strategic community since the Cold War, endorsing the interests of the military-industrial complex, and seeking to influence the US decision-making community, Lü said.

The report came at a time when Beijing-Washington ties showed signs of warming, after a slew of meetings between high-level officials. On Thursday local time, the US accepted China’s invitation to attend the Xiangshan Forum, a top security forum in Beijing this month, according to the media.

This report undoubtedly poisons the current climate of warming ties between China and the US, and will inevitably poison the strategic environment for the next decade, said Lü, noting the report’s recommendations are likely to be embodied in the National Defense Authorization Act, and the US will most likely significantly expand its nuclear forces in the next decade.

It means that the US is going to maximize the “challenges” and then respond to the “worst possibilities it has assumed,” he noted.

Although China has always emphasized an active defense strategy, we must also be prepared for a risky US posture on nuclear weapons, Lü said.

In February, Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, stressed that even though the US has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, it is still investing heavily in upgrading its nuclear triad. The US has been repeatedly hyping up the so-called “China nuclear threat,” only to seek excuses for expanding its own nuclear arsenal and maintaining military hegemony.

In 2020, Fu Cong, then director general of the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, cited statistics from renowned international think tanks, pointing out that the US nuclear arsenal stands at about 5,800 nuclear warheads, which is almost 20 times that of China’s.

The US report is still asking for more defense spending, but how much more the US economy can afford to raise its defense budget remains doubtful, Lü said.

For fiscal year 2024, the US defense budget request hit another record high of $842 billion, more than the gross domestic product of Saudi Arabia for the entire year of 2021, and 20 percent higher than the combined defense budgets of nine countries, including China, Russia, India, and the UK, According to Xinhua.

US strategic circles should clearly understand that if a nuclear war between China, the US and Russia really breaks out, it will be disastrous for the world. Moreover, if the US assumes that a nuclear war will break out, others will look at the US as a participant, which poses risk to the US as well, analysts said.

October 17, 2023 Posted by | Economics, Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Spanish Minister suggests taking Israel to ICC for ‘war crimes’

MEMO | October 16, 2023

Spain’s acting Social Rights Minister suggested taking Israel to the International Criminal Court for “war crimes,” local media reported.

Ione Belarra shared a video accusing the European Union and the US of “being complicit in Israel’s war crimes,” the Spanish daily, El Mundo, said on Sunday.

She called on Spanish citizens to take to the streets to demand that Madrid distance itself from the US’s unwavering support for Israel and called on the Global South to find a solution.

“Today we want to raise our voice to denounce that the state of Israel is carrying out a planned genocide in the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of thousands without light, food and water and carrying out bombings on the civilian population that are collective punishment, seriously breach international law and may be considered war crimes” she said.

Ten days into Israel’s bombing of Gaza, over one million people – almost half the total population of Gaza – have been displaced.

October 16, 2023 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

US faces defeat in geopolitical war in Gaza

BY M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | INDIAN PUNCHLINE | OCTOBER 16, 2023 

One hundred years after the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) against the ruling Ottoman Turks amidst the impending defeat of Germany and the Triple Alliance in World War I, another armed uprising by the Arabs has erupted — this time around, against Israeli occupation, in the backdrop of the looming defeat of the United States and NATO in the Ukraine War — presenting a thrilling spectacle of history repeating unabridged. 

The Ottoman Empire disintegrated as a result of the Arab Revolt. Israel too will have to vacate its occupied territories and make space for a state of Palestine, which of course, will be a crushing defeat for the US and marks the end of its global dominance, reminiscent of the Battle of Cambrai in Northern France (1918) where Germans — surrounded, exhausted and with disintegrating morale amidst a deteriorating domestic situation — faced the certainty that the war had been lost, and surrendered.  

The torrential flow of events through the past week is breathtaking, starting with a phone call made by Iran’s President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss a common strategy toward the situation following the devastating attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, against Israel on October 7.

Earlier on Tuesday, in a powerful statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had emphasised that “From the military and intelligence aspects, this defeat (by Hamas) is irreparable. It is a devastating earthquake. It is unlikely that the (Israeli) usurping regime will be able to use the help of the West to repair the deep impacts that this incident has left on its ruling structures.” (See my blog Iran warns Israel against its apocalyptic war.)

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Raisi’s call to the Crown Prince aimed to “support Palestine and prevent the spread of war in the region. The call was good and promising.” Having forged a broad understanding with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a discussion with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, during which he called upon Islamic and Arab countries to extend their support to the Palestinian people, emphasising the urgency of the situation.

On Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian embarked on a regional tour to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Qatar through Saturday to coordinate with the various resistance groups. Notably, he met Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha. Amir-Abdollahian told the media that unless Israel stopped its barbaric air strikes on Gaza, an escalation by the Resistance is inevitable and Israel could suffer a “huge earthquake,” as Hezbollah is in a state of readiness to intervene. 

Axios reported on Saturday citing two diplomatic sources that Tehran has delivered a strong message to Tel Aviv via the UN that it will have to intervene if the Israeli aggression on Gaza persists. Simply put, Tehran will not be deterred by the deployment of 2 US aircraft carriers and several warships and fighter jets off the shores of Israel. On Sunday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan acknowledged that the US couldn’t rule out that Iran might intervene in the conflict.

In the meantime, while Iran was coordinating with the resistance groups on the military front, China and Saudi Arabia shifted gears on the diplomatic track. On Thursday, even as the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading for Arab capitals after talks in Tel Aviv, seeking help to get the hostages released by Hamas, China’s Special Envoy on the Middle East Zhai Jun contacted the Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Saudi foreign ministry Arabia Saud M. Al-Sati on the Palestine-Israel situation with focus on the Palestine issue and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, in particular. The contrast couldn’t be sharper. 

On the same day, an extraordinary event took place in the Chinese foreign ministry when the Arab envoys in Beijing sought a group meeting with Special Envoy Zhai to underscore their collective stance that a “very severe” humanitarian crisis has emerged following Israel’s attack on Gaza and “the international community has the responsibility to take immediate actions to ease the tension, promote the resumption of talks for peace, and safeguard the Palestinian people’s lawful national rights.” 

The Arab ambassadors thanked China “for upholding a just position on the Palestinian question … and expressed the hope that China will continue to play a positive and constructive role.” Zhai voiced full understanding that the “top priority is to keep calm and exercise restraint, protect civilians, and provide necessary conditions for relieving the humanitarian crisis.” 

After this extraordinary meeting, the Chinese Foreign Ministry posted on its website at midnight a full-bodied statement by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi titled China Stands on the Side of Peace and Human Conscience on the Question of Palestine. This reportedly prompted a call by the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Wang Yi. 

Interestingly, Blinken too called Wang Yi from Riyadh on October 14, where, according to the state department readout, he “reiterated U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and called for an immediate cessation of Hamas’ attacks and the release of all hostages” and stressed the importance of “discouraging other parties (read Iran and Hezbollah) from entering the conflict.”

Succinctly put, in all these exchanges involving Saudi Arabia — especially, in Blinken’s meetings in Riyadh with Saudi FM and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while the US focused on the hostage issue, the Saudi side instead turned the attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The state department readouts (here and here) bring out the two sides’ divergent priorities. 

Suffice to say, a coordinated Saudi-Iranian strategy backed by China is putting pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to de-escalate. The UN’s backing isolates Israel further.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s exit is to be expected but he won’t throw in the towel without a fight. US-Israel ties may come under strain. President Biden is caught in a bind, harking back to Jimmy Carter’s predicament over the Iran hostage crisis in 1980, which ended his bid for a second term as president. Biden is already backtracking. 

Where do things go from here? Clearly, the longer the Israeli assault on Gaza continues, the international condemnation and demand to allow a humanitarian corridor will only intensify. Not only will countries like India which expressed “solidarity” with Israel lose face in the Global South, even Washington’s European allies will be hard-pressed. It remains to be seen whether an invasion of Gaza by Israel is anymore realistic at all. 

Going forward, the Arab-Iran-China axis will raise the plight of Gaza in the UN Security Council unless Israel retracted. Russia has proposed a draft resolution and is insisting on a vote. If the US vetoes the resolution, the UN GA may step in to adopt it. 

Meanwhile, the US project to resuscitate the Abraham Accords loses traction and the plot to undermine the China-brokered Saudi-Iranian rapprochement faces sudden death.

As regards the power dynamic in West Asia, these trends can only work to the advantage of Russia and China, especially if the BRICS were to take a lead role at some point to navigate a Middle East peace process that is no longer the monopoly of the US. This is payback time for Russia. 

The era of petrodollar is ending — and along with that, the US’ global hegemony. The emergent trends, therefore, go a long way to strengthen multipolarity in the world order. 

October 16, 2023 Posted by | Timeless or most popular | , , , , , | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »