Israel vs. Iran – a Trigger towards Armageddon?

One might ask, was this “out-of-control” situation planned and prepared by the Zionist-dominated west?

Peter Koenig
17 April 2024

Israel’s Minister of War, Joav Galant, told his troops the Iranian attack was not successful; that of about hundred drones and rockets, Israel downed them all but four, thanks to our good preparation. This is a lie on many levels.

Both Netanyahu and Galant expressed their determination to retaliate, after a well-thought-out plan. Netanyahu qualified, it needs to be a “clever response”.

Likewise, army chief Halevi is crystal clear in his attempt of launching a response for Iran’s retaliation attack on Israel, but he does not want to cause a war.

The Israeli Cabinet is also “mulling” over what they call a “political offensive” – whatever that may mean.

Interesting though, is that both sides, Israel and Iran, do not seem to want war, or better a HOT WAR, where sable rattling could surreptitiously convert into a mushroom cloud. They know, when NATO gets involved, Russia and China may get involved – and then – the sky is open and Armageddon is on the table – or, rather, all over Mother Earth.

If indeed, Israel goes ahead with such a counter-attack, however benign or non-benign it may be, it is like giving Biden the finger. Because, according to the latest news, Biden backtracked from his earlier limitless commitment to support Israel and to always fight for Israel’s security. Biden’s “back-stoppers” must have told him otherwise: “America is not going to war with Iran for Israel.” – Israel – you are on your own, so to speak.

That was a smart decision. Will they stick to it? The US is divided. There are the Zionists, who so far have called the shots in Washington and in the Pentagon. But the balance is gradually shifting in favor of the more level-headed thinkers, those who do not want to risk WWIII which could become nuclear – and global.

Similar messages of “caution” seem to emanate from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a strong supporter of Zionism. He called Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting prudence in any further action he may take. An escalation – that could spin out of control, is in nobody’s interest.

Nevertheless, PM Sunak assured Netanyahu of UK’s support to “guarantee Israel’s security”.

If this sounds like a game of words, probably it is a game of words. Maybe hiding a surprise – and perhaps during the days of “thinking about prudence”, something much bigger may be under preparation. Knowing the Israel-Zionist’s own supremacy concept, they will not let the Iranian attack, even if well justified, go unanswered.

Just to refresh memories, because they are systematically wiped out by the bought mainstream media: Iran launched a measured, but well calculated retaliation attack on Israeli military targets in the early morning hours of 14 April. The drone and ICBM missile assault of some 300 projectiles was a response for Israel’s unprovoked attack of 1 April on Iran’s Consulate in Damascus, leaving 7 people dead, including 2 high ranking Iranian military officers.

By the multitude of rockets Iran fired on Israel in sequence, first the drones than the missiles, Iran suppressed Israel’s and their allies air defense system that concentrated on intercepting drones and was unable to intercept the subsequently launched hypersonic missiles.

Tehran having entered a new stage of political and military stature beyond the Middle Eastern boundaries, had to react to Israel’s Damascus provocation of 1 April, in terms of a clear message, “Don’t mess with Iran – or else”.

Iran, now militarily speaking, one of the three key members of the newly ten BRICS nations, must assure the west that sanctions and threats and random unprovoked attacks will not cut it anymore.

The 14 April attack by Iran, was not just a retaliatory strike, but established a new order, depriving Israel of her absolute impunity, which until recently had been guaranteed by the US.

Important to note is, that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief, Hossein Salami, said that from now on, if Israel attacks the interests of Iran and Iranian citizens, Tehran will strike it again (RT – 16 April 2024).

This means, that if Israel now hits back, Iran will not just swallow whatever Israel does to harm Iran. And there is the danger – a real risk of escalation out of control.

One might ask, was this “out-of-control” situation planned and prepared by the Zionist-dominated west?

Let us not forget, whatever Zionist-Israel does in pursuit of her ultimate goal, the establishment of Greater Israel, is to control the Middle East’s inexhaustible energy resources.

Achieving Greater Israel depends very much on Israel conquering Iran, not only because Iran is literally in “command” of the oil and gas rich Middle East, but also, a Greater Israel needs control over the Strait of Hormuz, now controlled by Iran.

Currently about 30% or more of the world’s total oil and gas consumption is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. See this

With a Greater Israel, the bulk of Middle Eastern hydrocarbons would be under Zionist-Israeli control — and, with the Strait of Hormuz under Israeli control, shipments of the energy resources, how much and to whom, would be under Zionist command.

Not to forget, Zionist-Israel is already in the process of appropriating the enormous gas reserves off-shore of Gaza – conservatively estimated already some 20 years ago at about a trillion cubic-feet, worth between 2 and 3 billion dollars, depending on the market price. And as we know, he, who controls the resource, decides its “market” price.

An updated assessment of the Gaza off-shore reserves may be exponentially higher. Of course, kept secret, given the current war and expropriation scenario by Zionist-Israel.

The huge port that is rumored to be planned just outside Gaza – maybe construction has already begun, has little to do with food delivery to Gaza (certainly not), or “exporting” the remaining Gazans to unknown destinations.

Much more likely will this be the port for handling the Gaza off-shore hydrocarbons through a yet to be built (but planned since 1971) Ben-Gurion Canal, all the way to the Red Sea. The new canal, would probably bankrupt the Suez Canal, possession of Egypt, an Arab state.

The Suez Canal is already suffering due to lack of transshipments of at least 20 European countries, who are afraid the Yemeni-Houthi attacks on US and Israeli controlled merchandise vessels could also target their ships.

’Twas the night afore Armageddon

This Big Picture vision speaks for Israel not letting go. From their point of view, they MUST conquer Iran. The Zionists may be so blinded by their delusion of “grandeur”, that they may not see the Mushroom Cloud that may wipe them out along with much of the rest of the world.

The reality is that Iran is no longer alone. Iran wants to make sure that their power and presence is accounted for by Israel, the US, its European vassals, and the west at large – because they are now a member of the new BRICS which is not just an economic association.

Their membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) – a strategic and economic Chinese agency – protects them from outside attacks, the same way NATO members are protected. Attack one NATO member you attack them all.

Attack One BRICS state, you attack them all.

Retaliation in the case of an attack on Iran can come from all or selected members of the ten BRICS countries, especially from Russia and China; which would pretty much mean WWIII.

This may be the reason for Iran’s relatively benign retaliation against Israel. It was a warning.

Iran does not want war. They may follow the Tao philosophy, as expressed by Sun Tzu in ancient times, “To fight 100 battles and win 100 battles is not the height of skill. The best way to win is not to fight at all.” This is Iran’s strategy. Its strike against Israel was not so much a military response as a grandmaster’s move in a big chess game. And the game is not over yet (RT, 16 April 2024).

May President Putin’s words resonate and be taken seriously, “I hope WWIII can be avoided” – meaning that an Israeli assault on Iran would not remain unanswered by Russia – which would bring in NATO – and WWIII could explode overnight.

————

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

The West begs Iran for a Face-saver

Israel is now vowing to respond to Iran’s retaliatory attack, and while the Biden regime claims to have told Netanyahoo that the U.S. won’t aid in any offensive action, they are still promising to provide air defense… just like they did when Tehran retaliated for Israel’s deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria.

Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of The Cradle, Sharmine Narwani, reported that an Iranian military security official revealed exclusively to The Cradle that the U.S. reached out and asked Iran to allow Israel “a symbolic strike to save face,” which was “outright rejected” and met with warnings that any attack from Israel targeting Iran will be met with immediate action.

~~~~~

Choreographed retaliations impacting Iran proper, or its interests anywhere else, as during the mild and lawful Round One Iranian barrage, were rejected by Iran for Round Two.

Iran warned ANY support of Zion’s aggression by the deranged West (such as needed aerial refueling and air defense) will bring retaliation on their bases throughout the region, and closing Hormuz, perhaps selectively a la Houthis?!

Zion is committed to regaining permanently lost deterrence. F-UKUS is committed to Zion. The circle is about to be squared

Iran Strikes Israel

Garland Nixon interviews Laith Marouf — West Asia update — on a seismic week which changed our world. Le roi est mort, vive le roi!

Iran’s retaliation is historic for Palestine, the region, our world. Zio-USUK suffered a strategic defeat, on top of moral defeat of Gaza
the regional war has moved from non-state actors to state-on-state [with the implications of aligned alliances a la 1914]
Iran forced Anglo-Zionist-NATO alliance to reveal their air defenses (AD), including radars, locations, capabilities, occult allies (GCC), tactics, etc.  It made clear Franco-Brits are vassals; the combined West is a totalitarian Empire under a single diktat, for those oblivious the last six months of Genocide…
Iran has started bleeding both their budgets/treasure ($3+ BILLION cost in a few hours!) and air defense interceptors/warjets wear & tear/munitions through massive unprecedented swarm of cheap drones
Iran demonstrated, in addition to precision of its older drones/missiles (! Thx Comrades BeiDou & GLONASS), significant deterrence
Israel demonstrated its survival is dependent on combined West – demoted to abject vassal like Bahrain from its former optical strut
even this western defense is proven worthless, as in 404. US funded and part-built air defenses were thoroughly exposed.
as they proved they could take down western AD using older drones and Scuds, in real war they would rapidly degrade airbases and hardware required for the sole remaining advantage of Anglo-Zionists – air power; Hamas has exposed ground war inadequacy and Houthis the lost naval force projection.
Everything in Israel today exists by Grace of Iran (!!!). It can be leveled
Hezbollah today salted the wounded by blasting another “Iron” Dome AD complex in north occupied Palestine
during the Iranian aerial slap, Netanyahoo hid in the Jerusalem bunker of the messianic Jewish billionaire funding the Red Heifer sacrifice, destruction of Al Aqsa Masjid and building of the Third Temple on its ruins. The crazed want Armageddon. The Danger remains
A lesson learned by multipolar Global Majority during this measured & mild Iranian deterrence action: the US will need to bring all its forces for zionazi proxy to have a chance! Thus dominoes will quickly fall everywhere else, whether 404, Korea, etc.. [unfortunately, this INCREASES risk of total West Asian war.. all now have a vested interest in finishing off the Last Satanic Empire in such a distant and predictable weak theater, also given its tenuous logistics and abject emotional messianic devotion. iow, an emotional albatross]
As Houthis have same weaponry as Iran, they are shown to have pulled their punches in Red Sea.. more proof of imperial lunacy to keep fighting a lost war, merely for optics
if USUK persist, they will end up third world countries at the end of this mad devotion to Zion [AHH: actually, a best case scenario at this point]
Jordanian compradore regime will soon cease to exist; its fate is linked to zionism now
the Arab region now plans for the day after collapse of Zion, and eviction of USUK (provided we’re still alive); this is not merely Greater Syria but other natural agglomerations which used to exist prior to arrival of West or even Turks
Garland: the strike on Israel was an Exclamation Point of the [arrival] of the Multipolar World

The Boys from the School of the Americas

Sweet coordinated moves in our Juntaland, West African Sahelian branch, among the Axes of Resistance! 

Little noticed, just after Niger officially kicked out US troops (turning on the ticking clock, as with Frenchie earlier), and right after Russian advance troops arrived in town, China swooped in to provide sanctions-busting liquidity and lucrative deals. This effectively seals off Plunder Inc from one of most stupendous resource-rich regions on earth, easily to rival Russia itself. And Niger is projected to be Africa’s top growth economy this year….

 @Arab_Africa:  
 The day after Russian troops arrived, Niger signed a $400 million oil deal with China. China asked for $400 million for the sale of crude oil. The official signing ceremony of the agreement between Niger and CNPC took place on April 12. It was attended by the Prime Minister of Niger, Mahamane Zein Lamin, and the Chinese Ambassador to Niamey. |video|

 @Africa Intel: 
Hundreds rally in Niger’s capital to push for U.S. military departure

Hundreds took to the streets of Niger’s capital on Saturday to demand the departure of U.S. troops, after the ruling junta further shifted its strategy by ending a military accord with the United States and welcoming Russian military instructors.

Marching arm in arm through central Niamey, the crowd waved Nigerien flags in a demonstration that recalled anti-French protests that spurred the withdrawal of France’s forces from Niger last year after the army seized power in a coup. |media|

Oh, the Chinese fan the flames. And the key Junta leaders were trained in the famous USA torture academy AKA “School of the Americas,” located in Georgia, LOL!!!!

Iran’s Retaliation: Early Implications

Iran’s Retaliation: Implications of the Attack on Israel | Syriana Analysis W/ Mohammad Marandi

Join us as we explore the recent unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel, which consisted of a wave of drones and missiles launched in retaliation for an attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. Dr. Mohammad Marandi, a Professor at the University of Tehran, provides insights on the implications of this attack.

“The era of strategic patience is over.” As with Bears forced to awaken over Genocide in Novorossiya, it is active deterrence from now on.

Gaza Genocide is Anglo-Zionist Policy

Israel, Gaza and West Bank should be seen as the global blueprint for basically how to financialize genocide and destruction. Palestinians will either emigrate or be killed. Exodus or Annihilation. 

By Pepe Escobar at Strategic Culture Foundation. 

In what can be considered the most crucial podcast of 2024 so far, Professor Michael Hudson – the author of seminal works such as Super-Imperialism and the recent The Collapse of Antiquity , among others – clinically lays down the essential background to understand the unthinkable: a 21^st century genocide broadcast live 24/7 to the whole planet.

In an email exchange, Prof. Hudson detailed he’s now essentially “spilling the beans” about how, “50 years ago when I worked at the Hudson Institute with Herman Kahn [the model for Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove], Israeli Mossad members were being trained, including Uzi Arad. I made two international trips with him, and he outlined to me pretty much what has happened today. He became head of Mossad and is now Netanhayu’s advisor.”

Prof. Hudson shows how “the basic Gaza plan is how Kahn designed the Vietnam War’s division into sectors, with canals cutting off each village, as the Israelis are doing to Palestinians. Also already at time, Kahn pinpointed Balochistan as the area to foment disruption in Iran and the rest of the region.”

It’s not by accident that Balochistan has been CIA jewel territory for decades, and recently with the added incentive of the disruption by any means necessary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a key connectivity node of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Prof. Hudson then connects the major dots: “As I understand it, what the U.S. is doing with Israel is a dress rehearsal for it to move on to Iran and the South China Sea. As you know, there is no Plan B in American strategy for a very good reason: If anyone criticize Plan A, they’re considered not to be a team player (or even Putin’s Puppet), so critics have to leave when they see that they won’t be promoted. That’s why U.S. strategists won’t stop and re-think what they’re doing.”

Isolate them in strategic hamlets, then kill them

In our email exchange, Prof. Hudson remarked “this is basically what I said” in reference to the podcast with Ania K, drawing on his notes (here is the full, revised transcript). Fasten your seat belts: unvarnished truth is more lethal than a hypersonic missile hit.

On the Zionist military strategy in Gaza:

“My background in the 1970s at Hudson Institute with Uzi Arad and other Mossad trainees. My field was BoP, but I sat in on many meetings discussing military strategy, and I flew to Asia twice with Uzi and got to know him.

The U.S./Israeli strategy in Gaza is based in many ways on Herman Kahn’s plan that was carried out in Vietnam in the 1960s.

Herman’s focus was systems analysis. Start by defining the overall aim and then, how do we achieve it?

First, isolate them in Strategic Hamlets. Gaza has been carved up into districts, requiring electronic passes for entry from one sector to another, or into Jewish Israel to work.

First thing: kill them. Ideally by bombing, because that minimizes domestic casualties for your army.

The genocide that we are seeing today is the explicit policy of Israel’s founders: the idea of “a land without a people” means a land without non-Jewish people. They were to be driven out – starting even before the official founding of Israel, in the first Nakba, the Arab holocaust.

Two Israeli Prime Ministers were members of the Stern Gang of terrorists. They escaped from their British jail and joined to found Israel.

What we are seeing today is the Final Solution to this plan. It also dovetails into U.S. desires to control the Middle East and its oil reserves. For U.S. diplomacy, the Middle East IS (in caps) oil. And ISIS is part of America’s foreign legion since it was first organized in Afghanistan to fight the Russians.

That is why Israeli policy has been coordinated with the U.S.. Israel is the main U.S. client oligarchy in the Middle East. Mossad does most handling of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and wherever else the U.S. may send ISIS terrorists. Terrorism and even the present genocide is central to U.S. geopolitics.

But as the U.S. learned in the Vietnam War, populations protest and vote against the President who supervises this war. Lyndon Johnson couldn’t make a public appearance without crowds chanting. He had to sneak out the side entrance of hotels where he was speaking.

To prevent an embarrassment such as Seymour Hersh describing the My Lai massacre, you block journalists from the battlefield. If they are there, you kill them. The Biden-Netanyahu team has targeted journalists in particular.

So the ideal is to kill the population passively, to minimize visible bombing. And the line of least resistance is to starve the population. That has been Israeli policy since 2008.”

And don’t forget to starve them

Prof. Hudson makes a direct reference to a Sara Roy piece in The New York Review of Books, citing a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to the Secretary of State on November 3rd, 2008. The cable reads, “As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to [embassy officials] on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge.”

That has led, according to Prof. Hudson, to Israel “destroying fishing boats and greenhouses of Gaza to deprive it from feeding itself.

Next, it has joined with the United States to block United Nations food aid and that of other countries. The U.S. quickly withdrew from the UN relief agency as soon as hostilities began, doing so immediately after the ICJ finding of plausible genocide. It was the major funder of this agency. The hope was that this would set back its activities.

Israel simply stopped letting food aid in. It set up long, long lines of inspections, that is, an excuse to slow the trucks to just 20% of their pre-Oct. 7 rate – from a normal rate of 500 a day to just 112. In addition to blocking trucks, Israel has targeted aid workers – about one a day.

The United States sought to avoid being condemned by pretending to build a wharf to unload food by sea. The intention was that by the time the wharf was built, Gaza’s population would be starved out.”

Biden and Netanyahu as war criminals

Prof. Hudson succinctly draws the key connection in the whole tragedy: “The U.S. is trying to blame one person, Netanyahu. But that has been Israeli policy since 1947. And it is U.S. policy. Everything that is occurring since October 2, when the Al-Aqsa mosque was raided by Israeli settlers, leading to Hamas’s [Al-Aqsa Flood] retaliation on October 7, was closely coordinated with the Biden administration. All the bombs that have been dropped, month after month, as well as blocking United Nations aid.

The U.S. aim is to prevent Gaza from having the offshore gas rights that would help finance their own prosperity and that of other Islamic groups that the United States views as enemies. And to show the neighboring countries what will be done to them, just as the U.S. has done to Libya just before Gaza. The bottom line is that Biden and his advisors are just as much war criminals as is Netanyahu.”

Prof. Hudson stresses how “the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Blinken and other U.S. officials have said the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling of genocide and calling for it to stop is Non-Binding. Then, Blinken has just said that no genocide is taking place.

The U.S. aim of all this is to end the rule of international law as represented by the UN. It is to be replaced by the U.S. ‘rules-based order,’ with no rules published.

The intention is to make the U.S. immune to any opposition to its policies based on legal principles of international law or local laws. A totally free hand – chaos.

U.S. diplomats have looked forward and seen that the rest of the world is seeing to withdraw from the U.S. and European NATO orbit.

To cope with this irreversible movement, the U.S. is trying to de-tooth it by wiping away all remaining traces of the international rules that underlay the UN’s founding, and indeed the Westphalian principle back in 1648 of non-interference in the affairs of other countries.

The actual effect, as usual, is just the opposite of what the U.S. intended. The rest of the world is being forced to create its own New UN, along with a new IMF, new World Bank, new International Court at the Hague and other organizations controlled by the U.S..

So the world’s protest against the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the West Bank – don’t forget the West Bank – is the emotional and moral catalyst to creating a new multipolar geopolitical order for the Global Majority.”

Disappear or die

The key question remains: what will happen to Gaza and the Palestinians. Prof. Hudson’s judgement is ominously realistic: “As Alastair Crooke has explained, there now cannot be any two-state solution in Israel. It has to be either all Israeli or all Palestinian. And the way it looks now is all-Israeli – the dream from the outset in 1947 of a land without non-Jewish people.

Gaza will still be there geographically, along with its gas rights in the Mediterranean. But it will be emptied out, and occupied by the Israelis.”

On who would “help” to rebuild Gaza, there are a few solid takers already: “Turkish building companies, Saudi Arabia financing developments, UAE, American investors – maybe Blackstone. It will be foreign investment. If you look at the fact that the foreign investors of all these countries are looking for what they can get out of the genocide against Palestinians, you realize why there’s no opposition to the genocide.”

Prof. Hudson’s final verdict on “the great benefit to the U.S.” is that “no claims can be brought against the U.S. – and against any of the warfare and regime change that it is planning for Iran, China, Russia and for what has been done in Africa and Latin America.

Israel, Gaza and West Bank should be seen as an opening of the New Cold War. A plan for basically how to financialize genocide and destruction. Palestinians will either emigrate or be killed. That has been the announced policy for over a decade.”

Roots of Gaza Genocide

Prof. Hudson discusses his early career with Herman Kahn (the real Dr. Strangelove) alongside Mossad agents. 

The roots of current annihilation of Palestinians lies in alliance between Anglo-Americans and Zionists, an alliance of convenience.

An agreed Grand Strategy, developed from lessons of Vietnam, includes targeted assassination of journalists to minimize exposure of extermination; destruction of hospitals to expedite the same; targeting of aid workers, UNRWA, green houses, farms, stores warehouses, fishing boats, etc.. to ensure comprehensive civilian starvation — and so on.

A systematic planning designed decades ago, steadily implemented piecemeal, and waiting for the right opportunity to roll out en masse “to tip over” the captive Palestinian population into absolute collapse.

Key point: USUK is not a hostage to messianic Judaism. The Empire actively ensures and supports implementation of the Policy at all levels. The merciless de-arabization ethnic cleansing objective of the zionists is supported at all costs, both to ensure the hegemonic proxy survival of the settler state (“our aircraft carrier”) and to introduce Chaos into the entire world, rolling back the modern International Law derived from post-Westphalian Treaty norms. And there is no Plan B.

~~~~~

TRANSCRIPT

Gaza: The Strategic Imperative
By Michael Sunday, April 14, 2024

​PROF. MICHAEL HUDSON, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF GAZA. – Ania K

ANIA: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to my channel. Today I have with me for the fourth time, I’m still counting, a very, very special guest, one of the best professors in economics and financial analysts in the world. And I’m very glad we are reconnecting with Professor Hudson again.

I want to start this live stream with asking all of you to check all my links down below this live stream, because being on other platforms, especially nowadays, is very important. So you have my locals there, you have mailing lists, and every other link if you choose to support my work as well.

Also, Professor Hudson’s three links. You have the website (michael-hudson.com), Patreon (patreon.com/michaelhudson), and all the books that Professor Hudson has published so far, you can order. It’s all the way down below this live stream. I’m sure this video will bring you immense value, and I would like you to hit this like, because it helps other people to see it, since YouTube recommends videos with a lot of likes. Leave the comments and also share the video, because the knowledge that you will be hearing today, it’s priceless.

Welcome back, Professor Hudson. Thank you so much for joining me today for this conversation.

MICHAEL HUDSON: Thanks for having me back again.

ANIA: And I would like to say to the audience as well that this video is dedicated to what is taking place, especially in Gaza and Israel. Of course, we will address other countries related to this situation, but Professor Hudson has sent me a very in-depth email after our last live stream a week ago, also on Friday, and we actually decided after we ended that live stream to have this particular topic to be the main topic of this video. So, I give this to you, Professor Hudson, where would you like to start this conversation, please?

MICHAEL HUDSON: I think I should start with my own background, because 50 years ago, in 1974, I was working with the Hudson Institute, with Herman Kahn, and my colleagues there were a number of Mossad agents who were being trained. Uzi Arad was there, and he became the head of Mossad and is currently the main advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu.

So, all of what is happening today was discussed 50 years ago, not only with the Israelis, but with many of the U.S. defense people, because I was with the Hudson Institute, which was a national security agency, because I’d written Super Imperialism, and I was a balance of payments expert, and the Defense Department used my book Super Imperialism not as an expose, but a how-to-do-it book. And they brought me there as a specialist in the balance of payments. Herman brought me back and forth to the White House to meet with cabinet members and to discuss the balance of payments. He also brought me to the War College and to the Air Force think tanks.

So, all of what is happening now was described a long time ago, and Herman was known as a futurist. He was Dr. Strangelove in the movie. That was all based for him on his theories of atomic war, but he was also the main theorist behind Vietnam. And nobody seems to have noticed that what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank now is all based on what was the U.S. strategy during the Vietnam War. And it was based on the “strategic hamlets” idea, the fact that you could cut back, you could just divide all of Vietnam into little parts, having guards at all the transition points from one part to another. Everything that Israel is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere throughout Israel was all pioneered in Vietnam.

And Herman had me meet with some of the generals there to explain it. And I think I mentioned I flew to Asia twice with Uzi Arad. We had a chance to [get to] know each other very much. And I could see that the intention from the very beginning was to get rid of the Palestinians and indeed to use Israel as the basis for U.S. control of Near Eastern oil. That was the constant discussion of that from the American point of view. It was Israel as a part of the oil.

So, Herman’s analysis was on systems analysis. You define the overall aim and then you work backward. How do you do it? Well, you can see what the Israeli policy is today. First of all, you isolate the Palestinians and strategic hamlets. That’s what Gaza had already been turned into for the last 15 years. It’s been carved up into districts requiring electronic passes from one sector to another to go into Israel, to go to Jerusalem, or to go to Israel for jobs to work.

The aim all along has been to kill them. Or first of all, to make life so unpleasant for them that they’ll emigrate. That’s the easy way. Why would anyone want to stay in Gaza when what’s happening to them is what’s happening today? You’re going to leave. But if they don’t leave, you’re going to have to kill them, ideally by bombing because that minimizes the domestic casualties. Israel doesn’t want its soldiers to die any more than Americans do. So, the American form of war, as it was in Vietnam, is bombing them. You don’t want person-to-person contact because people fighting for their lives and liberty tend to be better fighters because for them it’s really essential. For the others, they’re just doing soldier’s work.

So, the genocide that you’re seeing today is an explicit policy, and that was a policy of the forefathers, the founders of Israel. The idea of a land without people was a land without Arabs in it, the land without non-Jewish people. That’s really what it meant. They were to be driven out starting even before the official funding of Israel, the first Nakba, the Arab Holocaust. And the two of the Israeli prime ministers were members of the Stern gang of terrorists. The terrorists became the rulers of Israel. They escaped from British jail and they joined to found Israel. So, what you’re seeing today is the final solution to this plan. And the founders of Israel were so obsessed with the Nazis, essentially, they wanted to do to them what they did to us, is how they explained it to people.

For the United States, what they wanted was the oil reserves in the Middle East. And again and again, I heard the phrase, ‘you’re our landed aircraft carrier in Israel’. Uzi Arad, the future Mossad head, would be very uncomfortable at this because he wanted Israel to be run by the Israelis. But they realized that for Israel to get by with the money that it needed for its balance of payments, it had to be in a partnership with the United States.

So, what you’re seeing today isn’t simply the work of one man, of Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s the work of the team that President Biden has put together. It’s the team of Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor, Lincoln, and the whole deep state, the whole neocon group behind them, Victoria Nuland, and everyone. They’re all self-proclaimed Zionists. And they’ve gone over this plan for essentially America’s domination of the Near East for decade after decade.

But as the United States learned in the Vietnam War, populations protest, and the U.S. population protested against the Vietnam War. What the Biden administration wants to avoid is the situation that President Johnson had in 1968. Any hotel, any building that he went to, to give a speech for his re-election campaign, there were crowds shouting, LBJ, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today? President Johnson had to take the servants entrance to get away from the press so that nobody would see what he was doing. And essentially, he went on television and resigned.

Well, to prevent this kind of embarrassment, and to prevent the embarrassment of journalists who were doing all this, Seymour Hersh described the [Mai Lai] massacre, and that helped inflame the opposition to Johnson. Well, President Biden, who’s approved Netanyahu’s plan, the first people you have to kill are the journalists. If you’re going to permit genocide, you have to realize that you don’t want the domestic U.S. population or the rest of the world to oppose the U.S. and Israel. You kill the journalists. And for the last, ever since the October 2nd Al-Aqsa event, you’ve had one journalist per week killed in Israel. That’s part of it.

The other people you don’t want, if you’re going to bomb them, you have to start by bombing the hospitals and all of the key centers. That also was part of the idea of the Vietnam War. How do you destroy a population? This was all worked out in the 1970s, when people were trying to use systems analysis to think, how do you work back and see what you need? And the idea, if you bomb a population, you can’t really hide that, even if you kill the journalists. How do you kill a population passively? So you minimize the visible bombing. Well, the line of least resistance is to starve them. And that’s been the Jewish, the Israeli policy since 2008.

You had a piece by Sarah Roy in the New York Review, citing a cable from 2008, from Tel Aviv to the embassy saying, as part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to the embassy officials on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gaza economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge. Well, now they’re pushing it over the edge.

And so Israel has been especially focusing after the journalists, after the hospitals, you bomb the greenhouses, you bomb the trees, you sink the fishing boats that have supplied food to the population. And then you aim at fighting the United Nations relief people.

And you’ve read, obviously, the whole news of the last week has been the attack on the seven food providers that were not Arabs. And this was, again, from a systems analyst point, this is exactly what the textbook says to do strategically. If you can make a very conspicuous bombing of aid people, then you will have other aid suppliers afraid to go, because they think, well, if these people, aid suppliers, are just shot at, then we would be too.

Well, the United States is fully behind this. And to help starve the Gazan people, Biden immediately, right after the ICJ finding of plausible genocide, withdrew all funding from the United Nations relief agencies. The idea, again, the hope was to prevent the United Nations from having the money to supply food.

So when the United States is now trying to blame one person, and Biden goes on a television recorded call with Netanyahu saying, please be humane when you’re dropping your bombs, do it in a humane way. That’s purely for domestic consumption. It’s amazing how nakedly hypocritical all this.

And ever since the Al-Aqsa Mosque was raided by Israeli settlers on October 2, leading to Hamas’s Al-Aqsa Flood retaliation on October 7, it was closely coordinated with the Biden administration. All the bombs have been dropped day after day, week after week, with the whole of the US. And Biden has said on a number of occasions, the Palestinians are enemies.

So I think I want to make it clear that this is not simply an Israeli war against Hamas. It’s an American-backed Israeli war. Each of them have their own objectives. Israel’s objective is to have a land without non-Jewish population. And America’s aim is to have Israel acting as the local coordinator, as it has been coordinating the work with ISIS and the ISIS commanders to turn them against targets provided by the United States.

Basically, that’s the duopoly that’s been created.

And I think Alastair Crooke has cited Trita Parsi, one of the Israeli political leaders, saying the objective really in all this, of Israel’s conflict and Biden’s acquiescence to it, is that Israel is engaged in a deliberate and systematic effort to destroy existing laws and norms about warfare. And that’s really it.

You have people, you have reporters, such as Pepe Escobar, saying that the United States is a chaos agent. But there’s a logic in this. The United States is looking forward to what it’s going to be doing in the Near East, in Ukraine, and especially in the China Sea and Taiwan. Looking forward, the United States says, how do we prevent other nations moving against us in the international court or suing or somehow putting sanctions against us? Israel is the test case, not simply for what’s happening there in Israel and Palestine itself, but against anything that the United States will be doing through the rest of the world.

That’s why the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., echoed by Lincoln and other U.S. officials, said there’s no court of justice ruling against genocide, that it was a non-binding ruling. Well, of course it was binding, but it has no means of enforcement. And both Lincoln and yesterday, the head of the army said, there is no genocide taking place in Gaza. Well, what that means is you have to go to a court, and that’s going to take years and years. And by the time the court case is over and there’s any judgment of reparations due, then you’re going to, by then the Gazans will all be dead. So the U.S. aim is to end the rule of international law that is why the United Nations was founded in 1945.

And in fact, this international law goes way back to 1648 with the peace of Westphalia in Germany to end the 30 years war. All the European nations agreed not to interfere with the internal affairs of other countries. Well, that also was part of the United Nations principle.

And yet you have the United States explicitly advocating regime change in other countries, and most specifically in Russia and throughout the Middle East. So if you can end the whole kind of rule of law, then there’s really no alternative to the United States rules-based order, which means we can do whatever we want, chaos.

And if you look at what’s happening in Gaza is facilitating a transition from a orderly world of the United Nations to chaos, then you’re going to understand basically what the whole, the big picture, the long range picture that’s been put in place really over a series of decades. That’s why the United States, and the United States has no plan B. It only has the plan A to do this. It’s not taking into account the counter reactions and the feedback. Maybe we can discuss that a little later. I’d better leave the questions up to you.

ANIA: Thank you. You actually have already answered many of my questions in that intro, but I want to ask you this now. I will jump a little bit now. I have a question about something that you wrote to me in your email.

I believe looking at many, many situations that are taking place in the world, that sometimes all you really need to do is to follow the money and it will give you a lot of answers. So as you said in your email that, let me check, where is it? The Israeli developers already are planning to turn Gaza into luxury beachfront properties.

So let me ask you here, Professor Hudson, What is really the main goal for Israel’s existence? And in this case, is this really about their luxurious properties, oil? What else is this region really about? Why is it so crucial?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, it’s not just about beach properties. It’s what’s off the beach, the gas, the natural gas that they’ve discovered right offshore the Mediterranean that belongs to Gaza. So the Israelis are after the gas.

But your basic question, you’d sent me a list of questions you were going to go through. And I think if you keep to that sequence, it’s good. What you’re really asking is, you know, what’s the main goal for Israel’s existence? And I think if people don’t really, their sense of justice is so strong that they can’t believe what the original goal was. And the initial goal in the 19th century was formed in a period where Europe was anti-Semitic. The most anti-Semitic part of all was Ukraine. If you read Leon Trotsky’s autobiography of growing up in Odessa, he described the pogroms there. And so the Zionists, the first wave of Zionists, were looking for how can the Jewish people escape from this anti-Semitism.

Here’s the problem. By 1947, when Israel was formed, anti-Semitism was passé. Most Jews in the United States, certainly who I grew up with, they were all assimilated. Of course, they had well wishes for Israel. There was very little talk of the Arabs. But you had two arms of Judaism.

The one arm were the people who remembered with a vengeance what was done for them against them in Ukraine and Russia, and especially by Hitler and the Holocaust. They wanted to be separate and to have just to be protected.

But most of the Jewish population in America and Europe was thoroughly assimilated. And the last thing they wanted was to be separate. They wanted just the opposite. They wanted anti-Semitism to end.

But the Zionists who were in charge of Israel, the Stern Gang leaders, were obsessed with the old antagonisms. And in a way, they were obsessed with Nazism and said, well, we want to do to them what they did to us.

And again, the idea of a land without a people meant a land— we intend to make Israel into a land without non-Jewish people. That’s what a land without people, their slogan, meant. And from the very beginning, they started by driving Arabs out of Palestine, destroying their olive trees, destroying their orchards, taking their houses, and just killing them. That’s why the English threw them in jail before turning around and said, well, it’s true that we’ve thrown all the leaders in jail, but let’s recognize Israel and make Israel a whole country to do what these leaders that we were before throwing in jail were doing.

ANIA: Thank you.

You said also in your email that ISIS is part of America’s foreign legion. Can you please elaborate on that?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, ISIS was organized originally to fight in Afghanistan against the Russians. And al-Qaeda, which was the parent of ISIS, was simply the roster of people who were willing to fight under the U.S. command.

Well, part of al-Qaeda turned against America on 9-11, but most, especially the Sunni followers of Wahhabi theology, were very eager to fight against the Shiites. Islam is divided into two parts, the Sunni Islam of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Republics, and much of the Near East, and the Shiites from Iran and maybe half of Iraq and parts of Syria also.

So you had these two sectarian groups fighting each other, and the United States provided the funding and the organization to them and essentially delegated to Israel much of the organization of organizing ISIS to fight against Assad, to fight against whomever the United States designated as our enemies, meaning we want to take their oil lands. America has taken Iraqi oil and won’t leave, is taking Syrian oil and won’t leave.

So essentially, the U.S. has used ISIS to fight against all of the Shiites on the theory that the Shiite Islam is all controlled by Iran, and they want to essentially wipe out the Shiites as they’re doing in Gaza, even though I think the Palestinians are mainly Sunni, but you should think of the ISIS as America’s foreign legion. They’ve hired them, they pay them, and they recruit from them.

You’ve just seen in what happened in Russia from the Ukrainians, Oregon recruited Sunni terrorists from Tajikistan. You’ve seen the United States trying to use ISIS to recruit, to fight in Russia’s southern periphery in Central Asia and to fight in the Uyghur territories of Xinjiang in Western China. They’re using ISIS to try to essentially attack the integrity of China, Russia, and Syria and any other area where the United States wants a regime change to put in the usual client oligarchy.

ANIA: So interesting, and they sell it under the description that this is the enemy and terrorist, and they are founding it. And the public is still buying this, Professor Hudson. How is this possible?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, this is hypocritical. Everybody throughout the world is appalled by the cruelty and the barbarism of ISIS. The United States is not going to come right out and say, hey, that’s us that they’re fighting. We’re directing ISIS from the presidential office. We love ISIS.

Well, Biden loves ISIS, and Blinken loves ISIS, and the entire neocons, the CIA loves ISIS because they’re all running it, but they can’t say it to the American public. They have to pretend just like they’re pretending with Netanyahu that, oh my heavens, look at [what] ISIS is doing. We’ve really got to fight against it.

And for instance, when it put in the white helmets in ISIS, these were the American supplied public relations unit to essentially do false propaganda, false images, make false flag attacks. All of these false flag attacks, all of the white helmets and the propaganda has all been coordinated by the United States.

ANIA: I want to ask you now a question that to some extent you actually answered already. Does Israel make any independent decisions that are not consulted with the United States in regards to bombing Gaza?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, the question is, what is the United States or what do you mean by the United States? They don’t need official approval. There’s already a broad agreement in principle. Do whatever you have to do.

The United States has given them a free hand saying, we’re not going to interfere. You’re our managers on site. Just as you’re managing ISIS, you can manage certainly your own country. The U.S. has given blanket approval for Israel’s genocide. That’s why it says there’s no genocide there.

And it shares the aim of extending the war to fight Iran. Again and again, what Netanyahu is saying, we’re not going to be safe until we defeat Iran. Well, the United States has, that’s America, that’s the neocon plan outlined in the 1990s. It was spelled out, I think, by General Petraeus of first Afghanistan, then Iraq, then Syria, and then Iran. All of this was worked out from the beginning. The United States is trying to figure out, how do we do it?

Well, there’s a general expectation that one way to do it is to have Israel mount a false flag attack, something Iran does that is so bad that Israel retaliates and then, as it just bombed the Iranian embassy in Syria, that Iran is going to then do something to Israel and the United States will come to protect our Israeli brothers and world peace and prevent the genocide that the Gazans are trying to do against Israel and that Iran is trying to do against the rest of the world and bomb Iran.

Back in 1970s, there were discussions of what do you do? What will Iran do to fight back? Well, there’s one thing that Iran can do, that it doesn’t have to bomb American troops in Syria or Iraq. It doesn’t have to bomb Israel. All it has to do is sink a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. That’s the big strait. You’ve seen what happened, what the Houthis have done with the Red Sea. The big traffic is the Strait of Hormuz. That’s where Saudi Arabian oil and we could call it the oil gulf. It’s called the Persian Gulf, but it’s really the oil gulf. That’s where all the oil trade is. If you sink a ship or two in the oil gulf, that’s going to push oil prices way, way up because that’s going to cut most of the world off for as long as Iran wants from the Middle Eastern oil supply.

Well, that’s what really terrifies Biden because he’s pretending that there’s no inflation in the United States and that the economy is quite heavy. The inflation that would follow from Iran sinking a ship in Hormuz will essentially be crowning the American opposition to Biden, which is growing.

It’s one thing to be against genocide and killing people, but much more important is if your gas prices go up, the American people think that that’s really much more important than the fact of genocide and crimes against humanity. That’s really what is frightening the US.

The question is right now, how do they make the Israeli provocation against Iran— an excuse for the United States to come in with all of NATO’s and European support and somehow prevent Iran from having the power to close down the Straits of Hormuz. That’s what they’re trying to figure out now. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but when Blinken has said, Israel has not broken any rules. It’s all okay. What the United States really is [saying], if they can get away with this, they can say there are really no rules at all for the whole world. We can do whatever we want. Right now is coming to a peak. It’s the follow-up that was all thought in advance of the whole Israeli movement against Gaza.

ANIA: Thank you, Professor Hudson.

Next question that is about targeting civilians, journalists, and workers. Again, you’ve addressed this already, but I will ask you this. Why is the Israeli army targeting all those groups?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, it’s targeting everyone. It’s targeting all civilians because it wants a land without Palestinian people. It’s targeting the most critical people necessary for a Gazan society to survive. It targets the journalists because it doesn’t want the world to see what it’s doing, because Israel has already lost its standing in the world. The United States tells them, especially, you’ve got to kill the journalists because if you don’t kill them, we, the Biden administration, are going to look bad. We already have the Americans turning against the war.

There’s only one anti-war candidate running in the presidential elections for this November. That’s Jill Stein. Every other candidate is completely backing Israel in the war, but the American people, the majority of Americans look at what’s happening in Israel as genocide and as a crime against humanity. They’re not going to vote for Biden. Biden is going to lose the election or certainly not win it. It may go into the House of Representatives if nobody wins it.

In order to drive the rest of the Gazan populations out, you have to, number one, get rid of the journalists. Number two, you want to get rid of the hospitals. As you’re bombing the people, a lot of them are going to get injured. You want all the injured people from the bombs to die. For that, you have to bomb the hospitals. You especially have to target the doctors for killing. Not only will there not be doctors to heal the wounded people, but other doctors, doctors without borders from other countries, will be afraid to go into Gaza because if you go there, you know that if you’re a food worker bringing aid or a doctor or an aid worker, you’re going to get shot because you’re at the top of the target list.

ANIA: It’s horrible. Just listening to this, you know, it’s very hard to…

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, imagine how I used to feel sitting in meetings and all of this was just said as if this is part of a game and this is how we’re planning it all out. All of this was what was discussed. How do we do evil? I mean, this…

ANIA: Yeah, but those are not humans to me. They are not humans to me.

MICHAEL HUDSON: That’s right.

ANIA: Soulless beings that are not humans. That’s all I say here.

Professor Hudson, next question is about those Israeli developers who, as you said in your email, are already planning to turn Gaza into luxury beachfront properties. So what do you really know about this? They are already planning this? Like they have plans for those properties?

MICHAEL HUDSON: The Americans made a start. They began by building docks. You not only want beachfront property, you want docks for the buyers to have a place to tie up their yachts or their sailboats.

And so the United States is building these piers. One reason it’s doing it is it can pretend that it can say, we’re not building the piers for Israeli property owners to have yachts, we’re going to deliver food. But by the time we finish building the piers, there’ll be no more Gazans. I mean, that’s the whole point. By building the piers, they’ve enabled Israel to prevent the food trucks from coming in from the south. So building the piers is a means of pretending to help without doing anything at all to help actually [deliver] food to Israel.

So yes, all throughout the news, there have been statements by the Israeli real estate companies saying, Gaza could have been a nice place to live if there weren’t Arabs in it. And now if we can clear the land of Arabs, make it a land without those people, then this is a wonderful property. And it has natural gas to help the Israeli balance of payments. So the whole idea is to make this a center of Israel luxury development.

ANIA: Again, absolutely disgusting to me, just listening to this. I want to ask you now about, were Gaza [to cease] to exist completely, what will happen to all the Palestinians who survived?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, the land is going to be there, and it’ll be beachfront property. Alastair Crooke has been, I think, the clearest writer. He was one of the negotiators between Israel and the Palestinians. He’s explained that there cannot be a two-state solution anymore.

The Israelis say, we are going to kill all of the Palestinians. The Palestinians say, well, we can’t exist with the Israelis, and we have to defend ourselves. If we don’t kill them, they’re going to kill us. So Israel has to be either Palestinian or Israeli. It can’t be both. That is ended forever. So anyone who talks of a two-state solution, they’re just not looking it up.

So the question is, how is Gaza going to exist? Either it’s going to be all Israeli, and the Gazans will be forced to flee. The Israelis want them to flee by boats and to be sunk, most of them will be sunk in the Mediterranean, just like after America and France destroyed Libya. The Libyans tried to flee in boats, and they were sunk.

So either they will drown, or they will somehow work their way into a prison camp that Egypt and its leader is setting up for Gazan refugees. And then the Gazans will somehow try to gain entry into Europe or other countries. So you can expect a huge influx of Gazans into Europe.

Some people have suggested, well, now that Ukraine is turning into a land without a people, maybe either the Gazans can turn Ukraine over to the Palestinians, or we could give it to the Israelis, saying, well, this is your ancestral land, this is where all of the pogroms that started Zionism began. Now you can go back and there are no more Ukrainians. They have programs against you. Maybe the Israelis should go to Ukraine. One population or the other has to emigrate.

Well, Israelis already have been losing a huge chunk of their population, especially their working age population, especially those who have jobs in information technology or highly paying jobs. So, you’re already seeing a population outflow.

So, Gaza will exist geographically, but we have no idea about what is going to be the demographic composition.

And I think the Israeli Defense Forces Chief, Herzi Halevi, said just last Sunday that Israel, he announced Israel knows how to handle Iran, just as they’re handling Gaza, that they’ve prepared for this. They have good defensive systems. And he said, we are operating and cooperating with the USA and strategic problems partners in this region. So, the US is going to be putting pressure on Egypt to expand the concentration camps that it’s setting up and to pressure the Europeans. Maybe so many Germans are leaving their country now that there’s no more work for them. Maybe the Palestinians will go to Germany and other European countries, and wherever they can find some kind of refuge.

America was willing to give the Jewish population refuge as long as the Jewish population served European imperialist aims of controlling the Near Eastern oil. But what can Palestine offer to be protected? If the Palestinians don’t have anything to offer the Europeans or the Americans, their governments simply do not care. They’ve done absolutely nothing to protect the Palestinians because they don’t care if there’s no money in it for them. And the Arab countries with money, the Saudi Arabians, the United Arab Republics have not really lifted a hand to help this. Even though a large labor force in Saudi Arabia is already Palestinian, they don’t need more Palestinians there. So, that’s basically what’s happening.

ANIA: Thank you, Professor Hudson. You know, before I ask you my last question, you know, people’s beliefs that the governments care about them. This is the most… I don’t understand how people can still believe that any government really cares about them in the world, looking at the situation like this. It’s heartbreaking. Just listening to what you said is a lot for me to take in.

The last question is when the bombing will stop and who is going to rebuild Gaza Strip?

MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, the bombing will stop when there are no more Palestinians to bomb. Israel doesn’t have the money to rebuild it or the intention of rebuilding. And even if Israel wants to rebuild it with nice homes all the way to the beachfront, who is going to do the building?

Well, already Israel has made a deal with India to get a lot of Indian construction workers from the poorest provinces of India coming over there. But again, who’s going to pay them? You can give them work permits, but the answer is who will pay them will be the contractors who are given the contracts to rebuild homes and offices and the new Israeli compound in Gaza, unless the world works and says, no, the Israelis have to give back all the land and it’s Israel that will be a minority under a Palestinian government.

You cannot have an Israeli government that is over the whole region because its policy is to kill the Palestinians. So I don’t see that, again, you can’t have a two-state solution. It doesn’t look like anyone’s supporting the Palestinians right now.

Who would help rebuild it? Well, the Turkish builders might come in and build it. Other Middle Easterners would rebuild it. Saudi Arabia could finance huge developments there. The United Arab Republics could buy land. American investors, maybe Blackstone could help develop there, but it’ll be foreign investment.

And if you look at the fact that the foreign investors of all these countries are looking for what they can get out of the genocide against Palestinians, you realize why there’s no real opposition to the genocide that’s taking place.

And the great benefit to the U.S. of all this is that as a result of this absence of any kind of the moral feeling that you’ve just expressed, no claims can be brought against the United States for any of the warfare, any of the regime change, interference that it’s planning for Iran, China, Russia, and as it’s been doing in Africa and Latin America. So Israel and Gaza and the West Bank should be seen, I think, as an opening of the new Cold War. And whatever you see happening in Gaza after the Gazans are driven out, you see this is really the plan for what the United States wants to do in China, in Russia, in Africa, in the whole rest of the world. You’re seeing a plan for basically how to financialize and make money out of genocide and the destruction of society. And in order to do that, you have to prevent anything like the United Nations of having any authority at all.

And the irony in all this is that the United States is creating just the opposite of what it wanted to do. I mean, obviously, while this is happening in Gaza, most of the global majority that we’ve spoken before, the world outside of NATO, America and Europe, are appalled. And the only way of stopping what’s happening in Gaza happening in the rest of the world is to create an alternative to the United Nations, an alternative to the World Bank, to the IMF, an alternative to all the organizations that the United States has controlled to turn the whole rest of the world into Gaza, if it can.

ANIA: Dr. Hudson, Professor Hudson, I want to thank you for coming back. I want to thank you for telling me after our last live stream to address this, because you shared it with me and with the audience. And I really hope that you will spread this video, guys, you will share it.

So I personally believe that we are fighting evil. And the way that I feel I am in a small way contributing to this is to trying to seek the truth and bring people who have knowledge and understanding and can share the facts and the truth with the world. Because if you don’t know what you’re fighting against, what you’re fighting with, then you’re like Don Quixote. You have to know what is the problem. And I am immensely grateful for guests like yourself to be on my channel and to share your knowledge with the audience. I can only imagine knowing all of this, what you shared with us today, living with this for so many years and watching the [unfolding] of those events in the world. For someone who has feelings and emotions, it’s very hard to bear. I can only imagine. So thank you for your contribution.

MICHAEL HUDSON: I’m on your show, Ania, because you see that this is evil, and it is evil.

ANIA: Yes. Thank you so much. I know you have to go. And I want to invite you again, of course, in the near future. Hopefully, you find time for our next conversation. To everyone who’s watching, make sure to check all the links to Professor Hudson that are already attached down below this live stream. And like I said, please share the video. Hit this like. It’s free of charge, and it helps the channel also. And more people can hear this information in the world. Thank you, everyone. And until next time.

Iran on the Rise

Peter Koenig
14 April 2024

The warning was on the wall. Ever since Israel attacked “out of the blue” on 1 April 2024 the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing 7, including two generals, an Iranian retaliation was to be expected.

The New York Times (NYT) reports “Iran mounted an immense aerial attack on Israel on Saturday night, launching more than 200 drones [other sources talk about 300 drones] and missiles in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike in Syria two weeks ago, and marking a significant escalation in hostilities between the two regional foes.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say there were over 300 aerial threats, including some 200 drones, 100 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles. See this.

Israel and her western friends claim that many of the drones were intercepted by IDF and the help from allied military support. The latter apparently include the UK, France, and Jordan – and most likely also US-NATO forces that have long been stationed in the region.

Nevertheless, according to several RT reports, a large-scale missile and drone attack against Israel has been a success, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said in a statement published by IRNA news agency. The Islamic Republic’s military managed to “hit and destroy” some “important military targets,” it added, without providing any further details.

Short video clips published by Iranian media on social networks, viewing Islamic Republic’s missiles hitting their targets in Israel. Several missiles appeared to have been striking targets in a settlement, RT reports, however without being able to confirm the veracity of the clips.

The Guardian informs, that it was the Islamic Republic’s first-ever direct attack on the Jewish State, a development that brings the two countries to the brink of all-out conflict after more than a decade of shadow war and soaring stress six months into Israel’s war in Gaza, following the Hamas attack last October.

It was reported on Israeli television that Iran had launched more than 100 drones as well as cruise missiles towards Israel, and Iran later said it had fired a “first wave” of ballistic missiles. See this.

This latest war theatre is in full development. At this point it is unclear what exactly happened and to what level the conflict may escalate. A regional war – that could expand to a WW-scenario is a real danger. It depends largely to what extent foreign – non regional – players, will get involved. Arab states have already warned against any “foreign”, meaning non-regional, intervention. Specifically, that means the US / NATO. The latter would include of course almost all of the spineless European nations.

—–

Iran has many reasons for retaliation. Other than the Syrian Consulate event, the killing of General Qasem Soleimani with a targeted US drone attack on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad. This assassination was still carried out under President Trump, but the question remains, did he act on behalf of Israel – as many analysts suspect?

After a public mourning of Major General Soleimani, Iran launched missiles against US military bases in Iraq wounding at least 110 troops. Deaths were not officially reported.

Over the past several decades Israeli provocations on Iran abounded no end. Israel’s intent is to wipe out Iran as part of its “master plan” towards “Greater Israel”, and control of the Gulf of Hormuz with access to the Arabian Sea – and ultimately Asia. And in the north, where Israel is currently attempting to brutally genociding Palestinians – evicting them from their homeland, an atrocious slaughter supported by most western un-human leaders (sic).

This is not only Apartheid “social cleansing” – it is also taking possession – stealing – of tens or hundreds of billions worth of Gazan off-shore gas reserves.

To be sure, Israel is an illegal state, on Palestinian land stolen through the 1917 UK-sponsored Zionist-initiated Balfour Declaration, with the support in 1948 of the then 52-member young US-dominated United Nations. See this.

——–

For the past 100 years or so, Washington was – and still is – tacitly as well as openly manipulated by a strong worldwide Zionist movement. Zionists control the world’s – at least the western world’s – financial system, Big Finance, Wall Street, and not least the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in Basle Switzerland, also called the Central Bank of all central banks, controlling about 90% of the worldwide monetary flow. All in Zionists command.

There is a strong symbiotic relationship, an interdependence between the Zionists, today’s Israel, and the US. The Zionists, the self-declared Chosen People, wield the scepter of Big Finance, aspiring for world domination through Greater Israel (see provisional map, below), with the might of military power by the United States.

Iran is the major stumbling block for Israel’s Zionists to achieve their goal. Once Iran is conquered, they dream, Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States will fall in place.

Zionist-Israel has been allowed by the discreet influence of the US and UK secret services to become a “clandestine” nuclear power. They know they can count not only on the US tax-payers financial support, but more importantly, also with the Pentagon’s military might. By the way, US tax-payers have been footing a considerable portion of Israel’s budget for its 75-year existence.

Sounds controversial, doesn’t it – with the Zionists in control of worldwide Big Finance.

Israel’s provocations on Iran are openly or tacitly supported or even encouraged by Washington. The Washington war-mongers would love to go to war with Iran, a military and economic heavy weight, way beyond the Middle East.

And now, as a new BRICS member (BRICS-plus 5 [the sixth nation, Argentina, dropped out]), Iran’s strength has expanded almost exponentially, with such heavy-weight allies like China and Russia.

——

Israel’s assault on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, may have been the spark that lit the fire. The extent of the “fire” cannot be assessed yet, as it will depend on clear-thinking and levelheadedness – or not – of western decision makers – specifically NATO countries.

President Biden has been clear, so western media: “Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”

How serious is this American promise? – There is more at stake than words, especially considering Israel’s ever deeper falling within the world’s sympathy for her non-stop onslaught against Gaza and Palestine in general – having killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, about 70% of whom are women and children.

Strategically speaking, can the US afford this “unwavering” support for an outright genocide nation? And secondly, Washington knows that Iran has full support from Russia and China, Iran’s BRICS allies. BRICS association has similar meaning to that of NATO’s: Attack one country means you attack them all – and retaliation may be massive.

Are there still a few clear-thinking western political human strategists left, not to risk total destruction of civilization as we know it? – As President Putin has warned on several occasions, A Third World War, turning nuclear has no winner.

Let us hope reason and the sense for Peace will prevail.

————

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

 

Five Nations Attack Zion

Forgive the young man, radiant and exuding like the Sun. We were all firebreathers once. He doesn’t realize this is round one. Last night, the messianic midgets received the biggest gift of their foreshortened lives; they will run with it now, fully suiciding USUK and the demented Old Order….

Hamas Imposes A Gaza Withdrawal

War Update with Jon Elmer at The Electronic Intifada

Jon Elmer details the complex resistance ambush that chased the Israeli military from Khan Younis. Nora Barrows-Friedman, Asa Winstanley, Ali Abunimah and Jon Elmer of The Electronic Intifada were joined by independent investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein, on the day 187 livestream.

Defeats Foretold

the main discussion begins around 30 min; the preamble is worthwhile too. He discusses the first glimmers of dawning realization of absolute defeat in the messianic madmen — a Haaretz article from yesterday (paywall). Nothing new to the “Reality-based” but the limits appear to have been reached in saner liberal quarters — beyond the cope of drugs, hedonism and mindless chest-thumping.

What happens when conventional means are no longer sufficient, effective attrition and siege have been laid, and one’s sugar daddy is shown to be a naked, flaccid and geriatric dementia-patient long denied admittance to the padded sanitary homes for the criminally insane?? We are about to find out…….

Israel Has Been Defeated – a Total Defeat
The war’s aims won’t be achieved,
the hostages won’t be returned through military pressure,
security won’t be restored
Israel’s international ostracism won’t end

@KevorkAlmassian

Eurasia versus NATOstan

In this interview, we are joined by the renowned geopolitical expert Pepe Escobar, who delves into the pages of his latest book “Eurasia v. NATOstan”. Brace yourself for an insightful exploration of the imminent collision between the Western Empire of Chaos and the emerging multipolar world order led by Eurasia. @SyrianaAnalysis

Swine Lake

A Brief History of Bullshit in America – Everything, that is EVERYTHING, is presented counter to reality. There aint NO Money for nothin’ and NO chicks for free. And that’s the whole enchilada …

with thanks from FiveGunsWest and penned by Bones!

Judge Napolitano: “I told Trump, ‘you promised you would release the records of the JFK assassination.’ He said to me ‘If they showed you what they showed me, you wouldn’t have released it either.’ I said ‘Who’s they? What did they show you?’ Trump said “Someday when we’re not on the phone and there aren’t 15 people listening to the call, I’ll tell you.'”

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: “It has been said that after the Kennedy assassination, there has been no president. They have only been factotums of the system since then.”

Lake Flaccid

Notes on the Magic Christian

Guy Grand, an eccentric billionaire prankster, is rich enough to do whatever he likes. And what he likes is to carefully execute projects where he can cauterize by ridicule what the rest of the world ignores: complacency, greed, corruption, and idiocy.

Determined to “make it hot for people,” Grand spends his billions staging a series of hilarious, sometimes bewildering stunts, lampooning along the way the American holy cows of money, status, power, beauty, media, and stardom.

Concocting deliciously perverse mayhem, he throws a million one-hundred-dollar bills into an enormous vat of steaming offal, proving just what people will do for money, and he promotes a new silky shampoo that turns hair to wire and a deodorant that becomes a time-released stench-bomb.

He inserts subliminally suggestive and perverse images into well-loved classic films, takes a howitzer on safari, and brings a panther to a kennel club dog show.

His most elaborate adventure is an ultra-exclusive cruise aboard the S.S. Magic Christian, where elite passengers are treated to a series of madcap indignities.

The Jackal Gargles With Plasma

A Brief Review of ‘A Brief History of Bullshit in America’

Bullshit can be so many things. It could be anything from a degree in Gender Studies to something simple as a three-word campaign slogan, or even something as complicated as our nation’s 6,550-page tax code.

Political speeches, self-help books, marketing, press conferences, tax code, song lyrics, conspiracy theories, many college majors, Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the multi-billion-dollar diet industry, medicine, and even the Constitution of the United States itself are all some form of bullshit in one way or another.

Bullshit is everywhere all around us. It influences the clothes we wear, shapes our political views, and even determines what food we eat.

Bullshitters are beautiful highly intelligent individuals, and they play a vital role in our world.

They start almost all of our wars, make our drugs, sell us our cars, raise and lower our taxes, regulate our economy, they tell us what to wear, and in many instances what to believe. You should develop some basic bullshit strategies that you can use in your own life as well.

April is Confederate History Month.

‘Good Foot in Heaven, Bad Foot in Hell’

Musings of a Crippled Writer Concerning Post-Modern Mesmerism with our hero James LaFond

Lori, a physical therapist of 30 years, choked back tears as she told me, “You are strong, but you have a serious injury. We can’t have you do anymore work then you are doing until the spinal specialist examines you… In the mean time, when taking the stairs, remember this, ‘Good foot in heaven, bad foot in Hell.’ It’s easy to remember that way. Put the weight on the good foot.”

In the week since then, as I have crawled, shrimped, crab walked, crutched, used a walker, wall walked and counter crawled around the Brickmouse House, and out at my mother’s house whom I visited in Whitebreadistan, I had a prawn’s eye view of the world passing bye. The news is all positively delusional and has the same exact messages as the ball games, the TV dramas, the movies and the commercials.

Everything, that is EVERYTHING, is presented counter to reality.

Worried about crime?

The news profiles dangerous white supremacists being brought to justice on hate crime charges. The news paints a picture of the last likely type of American violence, Ghost on Gawd, as the most likely.

Back to school shopping?

Well, the commercials depict the most common concerned parent, a black man shopping for his son. Would you like to vacation on a ranch in your four-wheel drive vehicle? Black cowboys will be there wrangling cattle.

Is there a threat to world peace?

No, it is not the nation that has 931 military bases in other countries. It is the nation that is the largest exporter of fuel and grain to less well off nations, ruled by a cartoon dictator, who makes all military decisions based on how mean and cruel the result would be for enemy civilians.

The news broadcast to the people of Goodland, is full of images of tyrannical nations that are utterly evil threatening world peace. Materialism, or utility, having the best most recent gadget, serves as a great handle for inculcating falsehoods, such as most cowboys, combat soldiers, and truck drivers are black and most violent criminals are white.

The Magic Christian is a 1969 British satirical black comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with appearances by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Raquel Welch, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel of the same name by American author Terry Southern, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with McGrath.

Here’s the whole enchilada …

James continued …

… WWII was so expensive, that it cost so much valuable time and material to be spent on wiping out not enough working class Аrуаns to achieve hive stability, that the Plutocrats decided that war on human flesh and artifacts would only be a stage prop in the real war waged to control the human mind.

When I see the ridiculous news that Doctor Evil is targeting, not tanks and soldiers with his missiles, but “blood banks” “hospitals” and “civilians,” it is clear that the phony war is the one where Eastern Europeans are actually getting killed, and the real war is on the TV and the Smartphone.

 

Sharp Boomerangs of Lost Wars

Tremendous weakening of the combined West in the Holy Land and the Ukraine has already led to unraveling of odious UNSC sanctions and their enforcement against North Korea, ridiculing of unilateral threats vis-a-vis Russia, and pitiful kowtowing to China in order to obtain breathing room anywhere. The Imperial Vampire Ball transitions to the Danse Macabre

Our Uncles Lavrov and Wang Yi palaver in Beijing

Just a couple of adults in a room in Beijing..

with appreciation to Dr. Karl at karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium.

Today Lavrov finished two days of intensive talks with the Russian delegation’s counterparts in Beijing, intensive because there’s so much to cover in such a short time. Further work will be done by Deputy Ministers between now and the next major meeting that will likely be a Putin/Xi Summit. What follows are two documents, a statement by Wang Yi, “the ‘Five Always’ of China-Russia Relations,” followed by Lavrov’s remarks to the press and short Q&A session:

On April 9, 2024, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister of the Communist Party of China, jointly met with reporters after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing.

Wang Yi said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. Over the past three-quarters of a century, China-Russia relations have gone through ups and downs, endured strength, and become increasingly mature, tenacious and deep. The two sides regard each other as priority cooperative partners, uphold the spirit of permanent good-neighborliness, friendship and comprehensive strategic coordination, elevate bilateral relations to the highest level in the history of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era, and set an example of friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation between major countries and neighboring countries. Looking back on the past and looking forward to the future, in order to further consolidate and develop Sino-Russian relations, we must achieve “five always”:

The two sides should always follow the strategic guidance of the diplomacy of the heads of state. President Xi Jinping and President Putin have grasped and mapped China-Russia relations from the depth of history and the height of the times, and have continuously injected new impetus into the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination in the new era. This year, the two heads of state will continue to maintain close exchanges through various means, and the two sides will follow the consensus reached by the two heads of state as the fundamental principle to promote the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations.

The two sides should always adhere to the principle of “non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of any third party”. China and Russia have gone through ups and downs, and the two sides have summed up historical lessons and found a correct path to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. Today’s good relations between China and Russia are not easy to come by, and they deserve to be cherished and meticulously safeguarded by both sides.

The two sides must always stick to the right path in the face of major issues of right and wrong. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major emerging powers, China and Russia should take a clear-cut stand on the side of historical progress and fairness and justice, actively respond to the universal aspirations and legitimate concerns of the people of all countries, advocate that all countries follow a new path of state-to-state exchanges based on dialogue, non-confrontation and partnership, oppose all acts of hegemony and bullying, oppose the Cold War mentality and inciting division and confrontation, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The two sides should always pursue win-win results in cooperation. China and Russia will more actively seek the convergence of the interests of the two countries, give full play to their respective advantages, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, and achieve mutual achievements. China and Russia will continue to focus on the well-being of the two peoples, advocate inclusive economic globalization, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, oppose “building walls and barriers” and “decoupling and breaking chains”, work together to maintain the stability of international industrial and supply chains, and cultivate new drivers for global development and progress.

The two sides should always promote a multipolar world in an equal and orderly manner. Both China and Russia believe that the current world is undergoing great changes and the “Global South” is gaining momentum, and that it is necessary to uphold the equality of all countries, big or small, oppose hegemonism and power politics, oppose the monopoly of international affairs by a few countries, and earnestly promote the democratization of international relations. Both China and Russia support the central position of the United Nations in the global governance system, and the two sides will further strengthen international cooperation. Russia will assume the chairmanship of the BRICS this year, and China will take over the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year. The two sides will support each other’s presidency and light up the “South moment” of global governance.

We should all hope that the progress to the “South moment of global governance” isn’t derailed by the Zionist megalomaniacs and their sponsors who through their sponsorship have revealed what they really are and their true values. Now for Lavrov’s statement:

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to once again express my gratitude to my colleague and friend, Foreign Minister Wang Yi of the People’s Republic of China, for the invitation and warm welcome to our delegation.

Yesterday and today, we held detailed and specific talks on a wide range of issues of mutual interest. As Minister Wang Yi has just noted, we paid special attention to the schedule of contacts at the highest level, since the diplomacy of the leaders, without exaggeration, is the central element of the Russian-Chinese comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation. It is thanks to the diplomacy of the leaders (first of all) that bilateral relations have reached an unprecedentedly high level and continue to develop dynamically in a very difficult situation in the world.

As I have already said, the focus was on the schedule of contacts at the highest level, the upcoming meetings of our leaders on the sidelines of various international events, including the BRICS summit in Kazan in October of this year and the SCO summit in Astana in June of this year.

We talked about contacts between the Foreign Ministry. In your presence, we have just signed another plan for inter-ministerial consultations for 2024 and briefly touched upon certain issues of intergovernmental cooperation in practical areas. This set of tasks will be considered in more detail during the upcoming five intergovernmental commissions headed by deputy prime ministers this year in preparation for the next regular meeting of the heads of government.

The issues that we are addressing in the economy, trade, investment, and the introduction of new technologies are directly related to the struggle to establish a just multipolar world order, where there is no place for dictates, hegemony, neocolonial and colonial practices, which are now being used with might and main, by the United States and the rest of the “collective West,” which has unquestioningly submitted to the will of Washington.

China and Russia will continue to advocate the need to rectify this situation in international economic relations, advocate the democratization of these relations and a return to the principles that were once proclaimed and consist in the need to respect market processes, fair competition, the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence and many other things, which the West is now grossly undermining with its practical steps in imposing illegal sanctions against a number of countries, including Russia. But the same policy is beginning to be actively applied to the People’s Republic of China. In particular, in the desire to limit its opportunities for economic and technological development, or, to put it simply, for the sake of eliminating competitors.

We reviewed the upcoming Russia-China Cross Years of Culture. Their opening is expected in the very near future. We also talked about other areas of humanitarian cooperation, including the preparation of new events, such as the Intervision International Song Contest, the Open Eurasian Film Award and a number of sporting events. Following the Games of the Future held in Kazan in February-March of this year, where Chinese athletes took an active part (a Chinese delegation was sent), the BRICS Sports Games, the Children of Asia Games, and the World Friendship Games will be held. There are many sporting events that, unlike some others, will be based on the very ideals of Olympism that are enshrined in the Olympic Charter and which the current leadership of the International Olympic Committee, to its shame (I hope), despises and tramples on in favor of the same hegemons who are trying to preserve this role of hegemons by hook or by crook.

As dear Minister Wang Yi mentioned, we talked about the upcoming 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. Let me remind you that the Soviet Union was the first to recognise the People’s Republic of China literally the day after its formation and actively cooperated in resolving the issue of restoring the Chinese state. We have agreed to prepare a series of events for this anniversary. We also discussed possible events for the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory over German Nazism and Japanese militarism next year. The peoples of the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China made a decisive contribution to the defeat of Germany and militarist Japan.

For obvious reasons, we devoted a lot of time to coordinating our actions in the international arena. This coordination is based on a broad convergence of interests and approaches to key international issues. In the light of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship, we focused on the prospects for the further development of this association, taking into account the inclusion of new members, the formation of a new category of partner countries and, in general, the prospects for the summit in Kazan, which will be held in October this year. We will consider the key issues that are being submitted for consideration by our leaders.

We talked about cooperation within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where, following Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China will assume the chairmanship in June of this year. There are good prospects for harmonizing the agendas of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on the development of this vast Eurasian region, on the one hand, and the BRICS programmes, which promote the same ideals and principles at the global level. In fact, it is promoting the interests of the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America at a time when globalization, created according to the model of the West, is degrading and completely discrediting itself.

Of course, we discussed our cooperation at other venues, including the UN, the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Everywhere we have established close, useful and productive ties.

We talked about the current state of affairs around the Ukrainian crisis. We are grateful to our Chinese friends for their objective and balanced position and for their readiness to play a positive role in the political and diplomatic settlement. The well-known “12 points” that China singled out in 2023 clearly formulate the need, firstly, to take into account the root causes of this conflict, and secondly, to seek to eliminate these causes in the efforts to resolve them, primarily in the context of ensuring equal and indivisible security, including in Europe and in the world as a whole.Our Chinese friends clearly state the need to take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties involved, primarily in the field of security. In this context, together with our Chinese colleagues, we confirmed the conclusion that any international events that not only do not take into account Russia’s position, but completely ignore it and promote the absolutely empty, ultimatum “Vladimir Zelensky’s peace formula” and thus are completely detached from any realities.

We talked a lot about the tasks of ensuring security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the US policy of creating closed military-political alliances of a narrow size there. They have an openly anti-Chinese and anti-Russian orientation and, among other things, are aimed at breaking the security architecture that has been developing around ASEAN for many decades within the framework of the very formats that this association has proposed to its partners, and which are based on inclusiveness, consensus, mutual respect and the rejection of unilateral actions. All this does not suit the United States and its allies. As I have already said, they are promoting bloc approaches here and declaring the need to introduce the North Atlantic Alliance into this region.

With regard to the situation around Taiwan, which is an inalienable part of China, we are united with Beijing in rejecting any outside interference, since this is an internal affair of the People’s Republic of China. We talked about the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We are interested in peace and stability in this region, as are our Chinese friends.

We discussed in detail the Middle East settlement and what is happening around the Gaza Strip. We also have common positions here, which we defend in the UN Security Council.

In a broader context, we exchanged views on the prospect of forming a new security structure in Eurasia against the backdrop of complete stagnation and self-destruction of Euro-Atlantic mechanisms.

The talks were held in the traditional atmosphere of friendship in Russian-Chinese relations and once again demonstrated the commonality of our countries’ views on the main global processes and our desire to strengthen bilateral ties in the interests of peace and stability in the region and on the planet as a whole. We will continue the dialogue on the basis of the plans that we have just approved in your presence. Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to our Chinese friends.

Question: The “collective West” uses aggressive methods of “dual deterrence” against Russia and China in order to prevent their development and prevent the implementation of sovereign policy. Are you and your Chinese partners considering “double counteraction” retaliatory measures? What are these steps?

Sergey Lavrov: I won’t tell you a big secret – yesterday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came up with the formula “double counteraction against dual deterrence.” Our leaders, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, have repeatedly emphasised the determination of Russia and China to resist attempts to slow down the formation of a multipolar world and the long-overdue processes of democratisation and justice that are knocking on the door of the modern world order. The United States and its allies, in an effort to perpetuate their unjust position in the international system, are trying to stop us and the Global South. We remember how our leaders formulated the task of standing “back to back” and “shoulder to shoulder” in the path of attempts to slow down the objective course of history.

My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO. At a time when the United States and its satellites can at any time bring down stable financing chains, logistics, transport and investment chains, it is time to address the issue of ensuring that all these tasks can be considered and resolved within other structures – the transition to national currencies, talks about the need to create alternative payment platforms, including the decisions taken in this regard within the framework of BRICS. the activities of regional organizations, such as the SCO and CELAC, mentioned today.

The West has proved that the system of functioning of global financial and economic relations that it has created and offered to the rest of the world is unreliable. Because at any moment, while leading and holding the levers of this system in his hands, he can begin to “punish” anyone who disagrees with his neocolonial policy.

These processes are taking place in almost all spheres of public life. This applies to both the economy and security issues. We have a common goal of strengthening security in Eurasia. For a long time, there was a Euro-Atlantic security structure in the form of NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They are removing themselves from the list of relevant structures within which it is possible to conduct meaningful negotiations and agree on something on the basis of a balance of interests.

The task of forming Eurasian security suggests itself. President Vladimir Putin mentioned this in his address to the Federal Assembly. We have agreed with our Chinese friends to start a dialogue on this issue with the involvement of other like-minded people.

Question: I would like to focus on Ukraine’s drone strikes on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The situation clearly calls for decisive action. What could be the answer?

Sergey Lavrov: As for another terrorist attack by the Ukrainian regime, this time on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Statements were made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our representative to the IAEA, and our representative to the UN Security Council. We are bringing this issue to special meetings of the IAEA Executive Board and the UN Security Council. We will insist on the need to get a direct assessment of the actions of the Ukrainian regime without any prevarications.

When we agreed to the permanent presence of IAEA experts at the ZNPP, we were guided, among other things, by the need to give an objective assessment of what is happening there, how the plant is managed, and how nuclear and security is ensured. We proceeded from the assumption that such attacks against the largest nuclear power plant in Europe would be recorded. Until now, provocations on the part of the Ukrainian regime, to our great regret, have only caused “regret” and “concern” in the statements of IAEA Director General Robert Grossi and his staff, without stating the obvious – where and by whom the terrorist strikes were prepared and carried out. I think that this time it will not be possible to evade responsibility.

We are interested in cooperation with the IAEA and the UN Secretariat, but we will seek from them an honest recognition of what is happening not only around the ZNPP, but also around Ukraine as a whole.

Until now, international officials’ assessments of all aspects of what is happening around this country and within the framework of the special military operation in response to the hybrid war unleashed against us by the West at the hands of Ukrainians have been, to put it mildly, one-sided. This position needs to be corrected. Regrettably, it reflects the situation when the secretariats of many intergovernmental and interstate organizations are becoming subordinate to the West and oversaturated with employees of Western countries to the detriment of the equitable geographical representation of the world’s majority countries. This issue was raised last year. We will actively promote the reform of this system. [My Emphasis]

What we’re seeing in too many areas is the increasing “privatization” [Lavrov’s term] of the UN that continues despite major Global South resistance. Do note Lavrov’s language use: “My colleague spoke at length about the specific economic problems created by the illegal policy of unilateral sanctions. We will resolve them within the framework of BRICS and the SCO.” That informs us about the current focus of work being done at those two organizations. The other key initiative is Global Security and how the members of such a structure are to be treated equally regardless of size, while no one nation of group of nations will act as hegemons. As I’ve written before, to make such a structure reality means two Blocs will be formed as it cannot be avoided due to the clear resistance shown by the Outlaw US Empire, its vassals, and their hegemonic structures—NATO, etc. This would appear to go against the need to move beyond the “Cold War Mentality,” of Bloc confrontation, but reality dictates its inevitability. IMO, over time realistic geoeconomic forces will cause the NATO/EU hegemonic structures to fracture and eventually dissolve. Yes, that will take time, and I see no way of its avoidance. IMO, the Global Majority’s peoples have learned to be patient as through their trials and struggles to defeat colonialism, which isn’t quite finished although the term Neocolonialism’s now being used; the reality is it’s that same old deal using somewhat newer tools.

As I alluded to above, the great danger currently comes from the megalomaniac Zionist peoples in West Asia as they’re clearly out-of-control. Somehow that conflict must be solved and the megalomaniac peoples neutralized so they no longer pose a threat to Humanity. I wish Lavrov or Yi had elaborated more on their discussions of that crisis, but all we’re told is they share the same position, although that position must have changed with the further gross violation of international law by the Genocidalists.

≈≈≈

The adults in the room.
Will engage together on Eurasian security.
Will go for “dual opposition” to the West’s “dual deterrence”.
Will be countering attempts to “slow down the natural course of history”.
Putin and Xi will hold at least two bilaterals in 2024.
At the SCO summit in June and the BRICS summit in October.
The dogs of Forever Wars bark while the Eurasian caravan marches on.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination for a New Era

Impossible not to see the writing on the wall – not to mention the painting…

Anglo-Zionists Sack Gaza Hospitals

War Update: Destroying life-supporting healthcare institutions were the key “military objectives” from Day 01 of the invasion

Images from: https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/1/the-destruction-of-gazas-al-shifa-hospital

Daily Chronicles … OT April 06

TOTAL WAR VICTORY EDITION.
Total Defeat in the Donbass — the part of 404 that matters — dawns for a combined West out of tricks, with the imminent fall of Chasov Yar….

“Little pig, little pig, let me come in.”
“No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.”

On top of the rich black soil of Novorossiya was built the stoutest house of bricks…

@geopolitics_live:
Why Chasov Yar is the key to liberating the Donetsk People’s Republic

“The one who controls Chasov Yar receives a very serious advantage in the entire surrounding area,” Sergey Poletaev, a political and military analyst, told Sputnik. “It is a defense hub [for the Ukrainian military]. Whoever controls it actually controls everything – the entire defense in the northern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”

Chasov Yar is located on a hill seven kilometers west of Artemovsk (also known as Bakhmut) which was liberated by Russia in May 2023. The city’s geographical position makes it important from a strategic standpoint, as it overlooks the surrounding area for many miles.

The Russian military is now less than a mile from the city, adviser to the head of the DPR Igor Kimakovsky told Sputnik on April 2. As the Russian forces are getting closer to Chasov Yar, taking the main roads running into the city under their control, the importance of the settlement as a Ukrainian military hub is fading, according to Kimakovsky.

Presently, the so-called Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration – an elongated, almost continuous line of cities – remains under the control of Ukraine, Poletaev noted. This chain of cities has been Ukraine’s main defense line in Donbass since 2014.

“Accordingly, in order to liberate Donbass, we need to take it,” the military analyst said. “This is a very serious operation. With the exception of the February 2022 op, we have not yet carried out strategic operations of that scale. Thus, it is necessary to create conditions for accomplishing this task. One of these conditions will be the liberation of Chasov Yar.”

---

April 07

@DDGeopolitics:
Ukrainian Armed Forces drones attacked Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant; a kamikaze drone was detected in the canteen area, reported the station.

20 minutes before the attack, an IAEA expert inspection was underway according to the plan.

Another Ukrainian Armed Forces drone arrival in the ZNPP territory was recorded near the cargo port

@Sputnik Africa:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to discuss the Palestine’s request for full membership in the organization on April 8

The presidency of the UNSC will hold consultations to discuss further actions on Palestine’s request at 10:00 am local time (14:00 GMT) on Monday, the schedule read. At 12:00 local time, the presidency will convene the council’s closed meeting to confirm receipt of Palestine’s letter and transfer it to the relevant committee.
UNSC members are not expected to make any statements at the meeting.
Currently, Palestine has only an observer status at the UN.

---

April 06

This is literally how the nuclear apocalypse movie startshttps://t.co/g28nCvn3cO

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2024

@Intel Slava Z:
American entrepreneur Elon Musk believes that Ukraine’s entry into NATO will be the beginning of a film about a nuclear apocalypse.

“This is literally the beginning of a movie about a nuclear apocalypse,” he wrote on the social network X under a post with a video recording of a speech by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, during which the head of the State Department said that Ukraine “will become a member of NATO.”

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called for the transfer of all Patriots in the world to Kyiv. The head of the department, Dmitry Kuleba, during a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, called for the transfer of all Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in the world to Kyiv. The diplomat noted that all Patriot systems that could be transferred to Ukraine should be delivered as soon as possible. According to him, there is no more necessary place for them.

Denmark’s defense chief has been fired for covering up an incident involving a ship that took part in an operation against the Houthis.

What happened:

1. The Houthis launched four drones at the Danish frigate. A little and non-aggressive (not missiles after all).
2. The air defense system of the Danish frigate said that it had a System Error for a while and froze. Somehow something was fired, more than half of the shells turned out to be ineffective and exploded in the air.
3. The frigate gave in and began to repair the air defense system, to which it replied that it had gone to work in System Error mode on a permanent basis.
4. The frigate (very courageously, of course) sped off to Denmark away from these dangerous Houthis.
5. The undaunted Danish defense chief made a wise decision and did not upset the defense minister with this story.

Moldova could become the starting point for NATO’s offensive strategy in Odessa and Crimea after the collapse of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, – Stephen Bryan, an employee of the Washington Center for Security Policy. Chisinau has already been allocated €41 million from the EU to support the Armed Forces, and former NSDC Secretary Danilov, famous for his relentless rudeness and fabulous cuts, was also sent there. NATO will not so easily give up its dream of Bessarabia, which would open the way to Asia and control over the northern Black Sea region and Crimea.

@DDGeopolitics:
Over the last 10 days, about 16 thousand Russians have signed contracts to participate in the SMO – the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Since the beginning of this year, more than 100 thousand people have already entered military service under contract in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Every day, up to 1,700 people come to contract selection centers across the country to enlist in the military.
Possibly not the outcome Ukraine was hoping for

“…since 1884…” a historical heartbeat before the inaugural First Zionist Congress, Basel, 1897.

Me acaba de informar Alicia Bárcena, nuestra secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores que policías de Ecuador entraron por la fuerza a nuestra embajada y se llevaron detenido al exvicepresidente de ese país quien se encontraba refugiado y tramitando asilo por la persecución y el acoso…

— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) April 6, 2024

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/mexico-anuncia-suspension-relaciones-ecuador-20240406-0002.html

The Ecuadorian satrapy of USUK just shredded the Old Order a little further! Their new regime starts to atone for hosting Assange in their London Embassy for so long, by openly savaging the Mexican Embassy in their country! It had been refuge for another political persecutee, the Vice Prez at the time Assange was granted amnesty in London. The Vienna Conventions is dead.. be warned, O Aussie Cossack! Monsters rule the Interregnum.

Btw, this indirectly confirms that USUK supported the Zionist bombing of the Iranian Embassy in Syria with deliberation, or less likely, made use of a useful crisis to escape legal gridlock everywhere. But do the lunatics comprehend they make their fate even more dire by trying to unleash a world functioning according to rules of the Jungle? They no longer enjoy military supremacy, nor the dominant MIC, assured logistics or Sea Lanes, nor petrodollar/sanctions fear for much longer — and most importantly the fear factor given rage and contempt since Gaza! They merely accelerate the Fall

Descent into Savagery

‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.’
King Henry V, 1415, the Hundred Years War.

By Pepe Escobar at Strategic Culture Foundation.

The Mechanism: how the “order” based on made-up rules is descending into savagery

As the de facto North Atlantic Terror Organization celebrates its 75th birthday, taking Lord Ismay’s motto to ever soaring heights (“keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down”), that thick slab of Norwegian wood posing as Secretary-General came up with a merry “initiative” to create a 100 billion euro fund to weaponize Ukraine for the next five years.

Translation, regarding the crucial money front in the NATO-Russia clash: partial exit of the Hegemon – already obsessing with The Next Forever War, against China; enter the motley crew of ragged, de-industrialized European chihuahuas, all in deep debt and most mired in recession.

A few IQs over average room temperature at NATO’s HQ in Haren, in Brussels, had the temerity to wonder how to come up with such a fortune, as NATO has zero leverage to raise money among member states.

After all, the Europeans will never be able to replicate the time-tested Hegemon money laundering machine. For instance, assuming the White House-proposed $60 billion package to Ukraine would be approved by the U.S. Congress – and it won’t – no less than 64% of the total will never reach Kiev: it will be laundered within the industrial-military complex.

Yet it gets even more dystopic: Norwegian Wood, robotic stare, arms flailing, actually believes his proposed move will not imply a direct NATO military presence in Ukraine – or country 404; something that is already a fact on the ground for quite a while, irrespective of the warmongering hissy fits by Le Petit Roi in Paris (Peskov: “Russia-NATO relations have descended into direct confrontation”).

Now couple the Lethal Looney Tunes spectacle along the NATOstan front with the Hegemon’s aircraft carrier performance in West Asia, consistently taking its industrial-scale slaughter/starvation Genocide Project in Gaza to indescribable heights – the meticulously documented holocaust watched in contorted silence by the “leaders” of the Global North.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese correctly summed it all up: the biblical psychopathology entity “intentionally killed the WCK workers so that donors would pull out and civilians in Gaza could continue to be starved quietly. Israel knows Western countries and most Arab countries won’t move a finger for the Palestinians.”

The “logic” behind the deliberate three tap strike on the clearly signed humanitarian convoy of famine-alleviating workers in Gaza was to eviscerate from the news an even more horrendous episode: the genocide-within-a-genocide of al-Shifa hospital, responsible for at least 30% of all health services in Gaza. Al-Shifa was bombed, incinerated and had over 400 civilians killed in cold blood, in several cases literally smashed by bulldozers, including medical doctors, patients and dozens of children.

Nearly simultaneously, the biblical psychopathology gang completely eviscerated the Vienna convention – something that even the historical Nazis never did – striking Iran’s consular mission/ambassador’s residence in Damascus.

This was a missile attack on a diplomatic mission, enjoying immunity, on the territory of a third country, against which the gang is not at war. And on top of it, killing General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, his deputy Mohammad Hadi Hajizadeh, another five officers, and a total of 10 people.

Translation: an act of terror, against two sovereign states, Syria and Iran. Equivalent to the recent terror attack on Crocus City Hall in Moscow.

The inevitable question rings around all corners of the lands of the Global Majority: how can these de facto terrorists possibly get away with all this, over and over again?

The sinews of Liberal Totalitarianism

Four years ago, at the start of what I later qualified as the Raging Twenties, we were beginning to watch the consolidation of an intertwined series of concepts defining a new paradigm. We were becoming familiar with notions such as circuit breaker; negative feedback loop; state of exception; necropolitics; and hybrid neofascism.

As the decade marches on, our plight may at least have been alleviated by a twin glimmer of hope: the drive towards multipolarity, led by the Russia-China strategic partnership, with Iran playing a key part, and all that coupled with the total breakdown, live, of the “rules-based international order”.

Yet to affirm there will be a long and winding road ahead is the Mother of All Euphemisms.

So, to quote Bowie, the ultimate late, great aesthete: Where Are We Now? Let’s take this very sharp analysis by the always engaging Fabio Vighi at Cardiff University and tweak it a little further.

Anyone applying critical thinking to the world around us can feel the collapse of the system. It’s a closed system alright, easily definable as Liberal Totalitarianism. Cui bono? The 0.0001%.

Nothing ideological about that. Follow the money. The defining negative feedback loop is actually the debt loop. A criminally anti-social mechanism kept in place by – what else – a psychopathology, as acute as the one exhibited by the biblical genocidals in West Asia.

The Mechanism is enforced by a triad.

1. The transnational financial elite, the superstars of the 0.0001%.

2. Right beneath it, the politico-institutional layer, from the U.S. Congress to the European Commission (EC) in Brussels, as well as comprador elite “leaders” across the Global North and South.

3. The former “intelligentsia”, now essentially hacks for hire from media to academia.

This institutionalized hyper-mediatization of reality is (italics mine), in fact, The Mechanism.

It’s this mechanism that controlled the merging of the pre-fabricated “pandemic” – complete with hardcore social engineering sold as “humanitarian lockdowns” – into, once again, Forever Wars, from Project Genocide in Gaza to the Russophobia/cancel culture obsession inbuilt in Project Proxy War in Ukraine.

That’s the essence of Totalitarian Normality: the Project for Humanity by the appallingly mediocre, self-appointed Great Reset “elites” of the collective West.

Killing them softly with AI

A key vector of the whole mechanism is the direct, vicious interconnection between a tecno-military euphoria and the hyper-inflationary financial sector, now in thrall with AI.

Enter, for instance, AI models such as ‘Lavender’, tested on the ground in the Gaza killing field lab. Literally: artificial intelligence programming the extermination of humans. And it’s happening, in real time. Call it Project AI Genocide.   — Sidebar:  [01] [02] [03] [04] [background]

Another vector, already experimented, is inbuilt in the indirect assertion by toxic EC Medusa Ursula von der Lügen: essentially, the need to produce weapons as Covid vaccines.

That’s at the core of a plan to use funding of the EU by European taxpayers to “increase financing” of “joint contracts for weapons”. That’s an offspring of von der Lügen’s push to roll out Covid vaccines – a gigantic Pfizer-linked scam for which she is about to be investigated and arguably exposed by the EU’s Public Prosecutor Office. In her own words, addressing the proposed weapons scam: “We did this for vaccines and gas.”

Call it Weaponization of Social Engineering 2.0.

Amidst all the action in this vast corruption swamp, the Hegemon agenda remains quite blatant: to keep its – dwindling – predominantly thalassocratic, military hegemony, no matter what, as the basis for its financial hegemony; protect the U.S. dollar; and protect those unmeasurable, unpayable debts in U.S. dollars.

And that brings us to the tawdry economic model of turbo-capitalism, as sold by collective West media hacks: the debt loop, virtual money, borrowed non-stop to deal with “autocrat” Putin and “Russian aggression”. That’s a key by-product of Michael Hudson’s searing analysis of the FIRE (Finance-Insurance-Real Estate) syndrome.

Ouroboros intervenes: the serpent bites its own tail. Now the inherent folly of The Mechanism is inevitably leading casino capitalism to resort to barbarism. Undiluted savagery – of the Crocus City Hall kind and of the Project Gaza Genocide kind.

And that’s how The Mechanism engenders institutions – from Washington to Brussels to hubs across the Global North to genocidal Tel Aviv – stripped down to the status of psychotic killers, at the mercy of Big Finance/FIRE (oh, such fabulous seafront real estate opportunities available in “vacant” Gaza.)

How can we possibly escape such folly? Will we have the will and the discipline to follow Shelley’s vision and, in “this dim vast vale of tears”, summon the transcending Spirit of Beauty – and harmony, equanimity and justice?

Echolalia in Western Echochambers

A sweet & succinct debunking of perennial Anglo-Zionist wetdream meme of the “irreplaceability of Russian/Iranian generals” — as rationale for engaging in self-defeating terrorism against potent civilizational-states. Meanwhile, the latter remain focused and busy burying the sinking Legion.

by Julian Macfarlane at News Forensics

Ritter? Wrong?
When experience and training trip you up

I read Scott Ritter a lot and regard him as an intelligent and well-informed reporter of events. On occasion, however, his analyses are somewhat lacking – not that my own aren’t also.

Most recently, he was interviewed by Danny Haiphong about the Israel strike on the Iranian embassy— as well as the WCK humanitarian convoy atrocity.

The American military is an authoritarian top-down system with great emphasis on seniority rather than competence. If Lloyd Austin were assassinated, things might actually improve with the US military! But he will be protected at all costs. And keep on doing stupid stuff.

In other countries, military leadership is different. Russia has lost a lot of generals who are expected to lead from the front, exposing themselves to risk – something that does not happen with Western militaries.

When a Russian general is killed, he is replaced by either his second-in-command which is often an improvement because these people are used to handling the details of command rather than executing policy as it’s handed down from above—or a younger commander who may not have years but has demonstrated real ability. The leadership in either case often turns out to be pragmatic, practicable, and innovative.

Ritter is wrong about the Iranian generals being “irreplaceable”.

Command will shift to capable leaders who may not have been drinking tea with Hezbollah leaders for 20 years—but are knowledgeable, flexible and motivated— and can cooperate tactically and think strategically. That’s what the Quds Force is all about.

The Americans may be sending the Israelis long-range F-15 fighters to threaten Iran —but these aircraft cannot change the military balance in a conventional war between Iran and Israel, given Iran’s rapidly developing air defense system and its strategic position.

It’s a bit like sending F-16s to Ukraine. Good for the US defense industry – but nothing else.

In a worst-case scenario, the Iranians will close down Persian Gulf—which could precipitate an economic crisis that would sink the American economy already dog paddling frantically.

As I said before, Israel is surrounded. Its economy is already tanking and it’s managing its two-front war with Hamas and Hezbollah very badly.

So far, the Russians do not use their air defense systems – such as the S 400 – in Syria except to protect their own bases. But their attitudes towards the Israelis are hardening— as we can see with the new treaty between Russia and Iran. The Russians can use proxies, too.

Sorry Scott – this aint 1995.

As for the attack on the humanitarian convoy, Larry Johnson has the best take on that! It’s obvious that Israeli commanders knew what they were doing. It is also unlikely that they shared this information with the US – any more than they would share information on other atrocities.

As I and many others have pointed out, the faux mea culpa of Israel rings quite hollow because this kind of criminal behavior has been a Standard Operating Procedure of Israel since the start of hostilities on October 7. The following video is quite good. Looks like some key Brits are now pissed off enough that they will pressure the Rishi Sunak’s Government to cut off aid to Israel.

The US will keep on doing what it’s doing – or rather what is not doing. Because it really doesn’t allow itself any options. The Israelis will keep on doubling down on stupid.

The Axis of Resistance will continue doing what it’s doing. But with an up side.

Yes, a lot of Palestinians are dying and things may get worse before they get better. But Palestinians have been dying since 1948. They have nothing to lose – and everything to gain through resistance. At some point, the international community will step in and there will be elections in Palestine – which will confirm the will of the Palestinian people 20 years ago – that Hamas is the rightful government.

Israel is by definition a rogue state—determined not to abide by the UN’s 1967 resolutions. But, by the time Palestine achieves statehood – which appears inevitable – it will also be a failed state.

Maybe the US will give Israel Rhode Island.

Ticking Anglo-Zionist Timebombs

O Mockers, ‘Ask not for whom the Bell tolls, it tolls for thee!’

Pepe begins ~38th min; Prof Marandi at ~1:19 min.

The entire is worthwhile, especially the introduction putting Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital barbarity into perspective.

Rubicons were crossed on one-way paths…. The absolutely shocking events of last week harken and were last seen during the open Drang of the Third Reich against mankind; Pax Judaica presented its calling card back-to-back-to-back with the annihilation of historic Al Shifa Hospital, the missiling of the sacrosanct Iranian Embassy of Damascus, immediately followed by the measured triple-tap droning of the caravan of the western aid workers. Quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi? Urbi et Orbi on Pax Judaica? We are all guilty of lèse-majesté, or are we? We shall see. The Fat Lady hasn’t sung.

Regardless, it is the End of the Line for the Old Order — in every way on every theater of confrontation, internal and external. Note Pepe’s sense of indignities suffered by all BRICS and the SCO through the savage attack on the Iranian Embassy in Syria. Responses are now due from the Axes of Civilization of this joined Global-SMO.

A Bridge too Far

Qui bono?

By Peter Koenig
3 April 2024

The collapse, at about 1 AM on 26 March 2024, of the Francis Scott Key Bridge (FSB) in Baltimore, spanning the 2.4 km large Patapsco River, is a mystery as of this day. The river is used by massive cargo ships from Baltimore Harbor to reach the Chesapeake Bay and then the Atlantic Ocean and in reverse.

The story goes that the downfall of the bridge was caused by the container ship “The Dali” hitting one of the bridges two main pilons – in the deep of night, 1 AM, when few witnesses were around.

And one may question, who made the endlessly shown same video of the collapse?

The Merchant Vessel (MV) “The Dali”, Singapore-registered, was apparently headed for Sri Lanka, coming from the Baltimore harbor, the 14th largest in the US, but the nation’s largest and most important port for specialized cargo and passenger facilities. See this.

The Dali is about 300 meters long, can carry 10,000 standard-size containers (6 m long) and weighs empty 95,000 tons. The ship was carrying about 4,700 containers with an average weight of 2.5 tons / container, total cargo weight approximately 12,000 tons. The sluggishly slow speed of The Dali, about 14 km/h, with its total weight of roughly 110,000 tons supposedly rammed one of the main pillars of the FSB, and brought the entire bridge down within seconds. The entire structure collapsed as if it was made of matchsticks.

The Dali is owned by Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. It is managed by Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., also based in Singapore. The MV Dali was built in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, and completed in 2015, for Oceanbulk Container Management of Greece.
As of March 2024, the vessel is chartered by Maersk (Danish). The captain of The Dali, when it hit the bridge was supposedly Ukrainian.

Protocol demands that a Chesapeake Bay pilot is on board to guide large vessels in and out of the harbor. Was this the case with MV Dali?
Strangely, The Dali ship’s black box has 2-minutes of missing data right before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. How convenient.

And there it is…

The Dali ship’s black box has 2 minutes of missing data right before it crashed into the Francis Scott Key bridge

How convenient pic.twitter.com/x75WUJecek

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) March 28, 2024

Synergy Marine Group is said to have strong business links to China, though no further explanations are given, other than apparently a growing number of Synergy Marine Group’s managed vessels are owned by China, and secondarily, because a large portion of Dali’s cargo from-and-to is between China and the United States.

There is no clear evidence on either. The destination of The Dali, leaving Baltimore harbor at mid-night was supposedly Sri Lanka.

See this. Joe Hoft, author of this article, also claims that China specializes in “Remote System Monitoring”, meaning in straight language “cyber-attacks”. But again, no justification for this accusation is given.

The complexity of flag-registration, ownership, management, construction, destination after construction, ship-chartering, is so confusing and complex that most readers will roll their eyes and stop thinking.

The first reaction by General Mike Flynn was that “the accident” was a Black Swan event, similar to 9/11 – with financial and political implications way beyond what meets the eye.

“Black Swan” means an extremely negative event that suddenly appears from nowhere, unpredicted, and unstoppable. The term is most often used in the world of finance. See this interview by “Redacted”.

Currently an almost uncountable number of rumors, “conspiracy theories”, accusations, innuendos, are making the round. None are fully substantiated.

“China Did It”

One that could immediately be expected is, China Did It. That stems from another pretense without proof, that it was a cyber-attack, and China apparently is specialized in cyber-science, leading to “cyber-attacks”; pure western hypothesis and unproven accusation.

Geopolitical analyst, Lara Logan from “Real America’s Voice”, refers to inside information (no source given, though) to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) being behind this attack. When asked whether it was a terrorist group or a state actor, she said clearly, “100% a state actor” – and meant China. But nothing is substantiated.

Lara Logan on the bridge collapse:

"This is what you call death by a thousand cuts. It's an absolutely catastrophic impact on critical infrastructure and you cannot see it because a cyberattack is unseen, just like the attack on 2020 on the voting machines that you cannot see." pic.twitter.com/NCiLKR1ppJ

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 27, 2024

China is a logical target for western blames. It is either – Russia, Russia, Russia! – or – China, China, China! – Most often there is no proof, just western propaganda-indoctrinated hatred. As so often, Tavistock at its best.

BOMBSHELL REPORT: Exclusive intel reveals that the attack on Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge was a TERRORIST ATTACK launched by the Chinese Communist Party on American soil, using “remote towing” technology on the  “The DALI”.

DEVELOPING..pic.twitter.com/Ug2tEcTYUi

— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) March 31, 2024

Tavistock is a UK-based agency known for its science of social engineering and mind manipulation, perfected during the last about eight decades. Tavistock is closely linked to the Pentagon thinktank, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

Tavistock is responsible for many, if not most of the lies with which western societies have been brainwashed over the past decades, to believe the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) and the UN Agenda 2030 deception theories for world dominance, by a One World Order or a One World Government, is a good thing; that the elite’s silly-sounding, non-explicit slogan, of “build back better”, is good for society. It never says, what needs to be built back better, first must be destroyed, clearly expressed by the Club of Rome’s “First Global Revolution” (1991).

——-

Most westerners do not know, that an aggressive act like the downing of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, is not China’s way. Historically and philosophically, China does not know aggression western style. China is reserved, discrete, diplomatic, mediating, and does not mingle in other countries’ business and politics. China can de facto and de jure be excluded from the list of potential suspects.

Operation Bridge Takedown

More plausible versions are to be looked for “US-internally”, as in “false flag”. If it was indeed a cyber-attack that knocked out the ships navigation system and replaced it with remote cyber-guidance, one would have to ask, who has control of cybersecurity in the port?

CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) oversees cyber security. According to Whitney Webb, CISA is controlled by Israel’s Mossad with CIA and MI6. Just like 9/11, the Deep State intelligence cartel.

See also this transcript of a podcast of Whitney Webb and Clayton Morris on Redacted, discussing Cyberreason, an outfit with close ties to Israeli Intelligence and its role in CISA activities.

CISA was created in November 2018 by then President Trump. The law was enhanced by President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity” in May 2021.

Cybereason is an Israeli / Zionist agency – renown for doing “election simulations”, but being closely linked to CISA.

CISA works under the Coast Guard and CG is under the military’s oversight – so CISA (Israel) and the US military are working together. CISA is the “Deep State”, the Cabal’s cyber agency, embedded everywhere.

Journalist Whitney Webb is also referring to a Klaus Schwab (WEF) quote of a few years ago, when he talked about a coming “cyber pandemic”; and also, to the 2023 Obama produced movie “Leave this World Behind” – “predictive planning”, exactly what a diabolical Cult needs to do for its success.

See trailer (2-min clip) of “Leave this World Behind” –

and this, ending scene of “Leave this World Behind” (3-min clip)

Here is yet another theory. The taking down of the FSB is another 9/11. This interview with Ann Vandersteel, from Peak Prosperity, is pretty revealing.

She says it is not the Russians or the Chinese. The southern border crisis and destruction of borders globally is part of the One World Government agenda. It is not a war on the US specifically; she says the US is just “in the way”.

They discuss “The Declaration of North America,” signed by Biden, Trudeau (Canada) and Obrador (Mexico) in Jan. 2023, basically a revival of the Amero idea, no borders between Canada, the US and Mexico.

The collapsed bridge and the ensuing consequences is a needed disruption in American life – a borderless world, beginning with a borderless North America. It would be yet another step towards a One World Order (OWO).

All of this leads to believe the “accident” with the container cargo vessel “The Dali” ramming into one of the key pilons of the Francis Scott Key Bridge Baltimore, was not really an accident, but an event of auto-destruction, comparable to 9/11 – with economic and political implications way beyond US borders.

Now comes the bombshell

The State of the Nation says, “hard evidence is now pouring in which conclusively proves that the staged Baltimore Bridge collapse after the cargo ship hit was a deliberate sabotage carried out by all the usual suspects.”

The video shows explosives going off all over the bridge exactly at the time when The Dali hit one of bridge’s the pillars.

If this video proofs true – if ever any evidence of truth emerges – an auto-coup, self-destruction to build back better – the effects are going to be indeed similar to 9/11 – with implications worldwide.

Just look at the physical similarity. Airplanes hit the World Trade Towers. A cargo vessel hits a key pilon of an important bridge. Transportation and Trade in both cases.

Remarkably, Peggy Hall of TheHealthyAmerican, points to the strangeness of the FSK Bridge collapse. Her video, the one forever repeated video, of the sluggish moving MV Dali in direction of the bridge, what looks to be a sharp turn towards the pilon, shows that the moving 110,000 ton vessel leaves no ripples in the water, no splashing from the bow of the ship, the vessel looks like gliding over a mirror, and the splashes when Dali hits the pilon are relatively minor, as well as the immediate collapse of the entire bridge – like built on matchsticks – all very unusual.

She says the video appears like a very poorly made video game. See this 8-minute video-clip with Peggy Hall commenting. At the end she promises continuing her investigation and publish the research.

Maybe her next video will also show the explosives going off all over the bridge – reminiscent of the explosives going off under the structures and in the lower walls of the World Trade Center towers, when the supposed airplanes hit the buildings.

Supply Chain Failures

This attack on the FSK Bridge is also an attack on the Baltimore harbor, meaning an economic disaster, a supply chain disruption for the US and worldwide – food shortages, possibly famine – playing right into the Great Reset’s and the UN Agenda’s 2030 depopulation agenda.

The Baltimore port is one of the busiest on the US East Coast and the most important one for special cargos. It connects any point of the US East Coast through highway I-95 that runs all the way from Florida to Canada.

With the Baltimore port out of container service at least for several years – who knows for how long? – cargo vessels may have to be rerouted via New York, and other East Coast Sea ports, a massive cost to the US economy and a supply chain disruption affecting the world beyond the US.

In the United States, the bridge collapse may be the beginning of a series of cyber-based “false flags” – possibly leading to Biden declaring Martial Law, suspending the 2024 Presidential elections.

The globalist Deep State cabal, seeking desperately to install the New World Order, needs to sow disorder, confusion, disruption, chaos, in every sphere of western life. It must destroy to build back better, according to the wishes of a small elite that pretends to rule the new world, with a drastically reduced population. This is their goal, after implementation of their long-planned Reset which is congruent with the United Nation’s Agenda 2030.

Just to know, the UN has long ceased to be what it was created for – an institution to promote and work for Peace in the World.

As a reminder – this nefarious Dark Cult has an iron rule to follow. For their success, they must tell us in advance – in any confusing way they want – what they are planning to do. We were warned about cyber-attacks, we were warned about virus “X”, we were warned about “global climate change”, meaning in clear text, but not said, geoengineered weaponized extreme weather patterns throughout the world.

They have stuck to that rule, like an iron fist hitting for the future. So far, we just have not cared taking it seriously.

We the People, MUST resist this planned diabolical takeover.

—-

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

The Rise of Hezbollah

The Lebanese resistance has utterly gutted Israel’s years-long strategy of denying its access to weapons. Tel Aviv’s strikes on Syria have failed to impede Hezbollah’s arms, which grow qualitatively and quantitatively with each passing day, and are now produced en masse domestically.

by Khalil Nasrallah at The Cradle.

Israel’s ‘battle between wars’ has failed

Work is ongoing to open new warehouses and bring in new land, sea, and air missiles that are more accurate and of higher quality. What we used to store in six months before 7 October, we now restock in a month.

So said Hezbollah resource and border official Nawaf al-Musawi, one of the Lebanese resistance’s strategic minds and a former deputy in Lebanon’s parliament. His 26 March disclosure carries significant weight amid the ongoing war in Gaza and notable escalations between Hezbollah and the Israeli forces, particularly along the southern Lebanese front, where events inch closer to full-scale warfare.

Musawi’s big reveal is evidence that Israel has not only failed to prevent the supply of quality weapons to Hezbollah but that the resistance group has managed to accelerate its accumulation of armaments in the past half year.

More importantly, it demonstrates that Tel Aviv’s escalated strikes on Syria have failed altogether. Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the Israeli attacks, described by Tel Aviv as the “battle between wars,” had several objectives, foremost among them to prevent the arrival – via Syrian territory – of a “balance-breaker” weapon that could surprise or even cripple Israel’s defenses. And, of course, to impede the quantitative flow of arms to the Lebanese resistance.

To grasp the significance of war developments since 7 October, it’s imperative to delve into the historical context of the “battle between wars” strategy initiated by Israel in Syria. Through this campaign, Tel Aviv has tried to prevent the growing armament capabilities of the resistance across various domains, thereby securing its own superiority in multiple spheres and pre-empting Hezbollah’s ability to dictate qualitative terms even in the event of a full-scale war.

Syria’s ‘battle between wars’

Following the civil war in Syria in 2011 and the influx of western–Arab–Turkish-backed armed extremists to overthrow the Syrian government, concerns arose within Israel about the potential transfer of advanced weaponry from Damascus to the Lebanese resistance.

Concurrently, Tehran’s involvement in Syria, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) working to enhance Hezbollah’s precision weapons, drones, and air defenses, further heightened these apprehensions.

In turn, Israel initiated the “battle between wars” aimed at preventing the transfer of “game-changing” weapons to Hezbollah – including precision armaments, air defense systems, seaborne missiles, advanced drones, military techniques, and manufacturing technologies – disrupting the supply route to the Lebanese resistance, undermining the Syrian army’s armament and capabilities, keeping Iran away from occupied-Palestine’s borders and establishing a “security belt” extending 40 to 80 kilometers into the occupied Syrian Golan.

To achieve these objectives, the campaign in Syria unfolded in stages. Initially, it involved supporting armed groups with the support of the US and Persian Gulf states. They aimed to gain control over southern Syria and dismantle Syrian air defense units, thereby granting Israel unhindered access to the country’s airspace.

This strategy proved successful until 31 January 2013, when Israel directly intervened by launching the first attack conducted by the Israeli Air Force, targeting the Scientific Research Center in the Jamraya area of the Damascus countryside. Israeli media portrayed this strike as disrupting a convoy purportedly bound for Lebanon.

Since then, Israel has repeatedly violated Syria’s sovereignty, having conducted 288 air operations in Syria on thousands of assets that Tel Aviv describes as arms shipments, air defense systems, “Syrian, Iranian positions,” infrastructure, high-quality weapons stores, scientific research centers, radar sites, civilian and military airports, and other sites.

In response to Israel’s aggression and the stated objectives of its Syria campaign, Hezbollah and its allies embarked on a fierce security war, succeeding in disrupting Tel Aviv’s objectives.

Furthermore, Hezbollah has embarked on a project to domestically manufacture missiles and drones within Lebanon, a fact acknowledged by Israeli political circles, research institutes, and former generals. In this context, Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly characterized the so-called battle between wars as a failure.

In a 2022 address, Nasrallah stated: “I tell the Israelis that what they call a ‘battle between wars’ has turned the threat into an opportunity for the resistance.”

“We now possess the ability to transform our thousands of rockets into precision-guided missiles,” Nasrallah added.

After Operation Al-Aqsa Flood

Which brings us to the present day. Following the Palestinian resistance’s 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood operation, the Israeli Prime Minister declared a state of war, igniting the war front in southern Lebanon the very next day and plunging all of West Asia into a state of insecurity.

In response, Israel hurriedly launched strikes in Syria, disrupting Aleppo International Airport and Damascus Airport on 12 October 2023. These preemptive actions were driven by fears that the Axis of Resistance could utilize these airports to transport weaponry and fighters.

Over the past six months, Israel has conducted 30 attacks targeting more than a hundred sites across various regions of Syria, including the north, south, east, and center. These strikes encompassed assassinations and the targeting of Iranian advisors involved in supporting the resistance, notably General Razi Mousavi, responsible for aiding the resistance front in Syria, and most recently, the 1 April strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing senior Iranian military advisors safeguarding the Quds Force, led by Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.

An analysis of the nature of these attacks reveals Tel Aviv’s strategic maneuvers to circumvent wartime constraints, including on the Lebanese front, albeit within certain limitations. These strikes were aimed at disrupting the resistance’s armaments in Lebanon, weakening resistance positions in Syria, and exacting reprisals against Iranian figures supporting the resistance forces.

Hezbollah brings out the big guns

Amidst the ongoing confrontation, the resistance has showcased several types of advanced weaponry, signaling its preparedness and capabilities and warning off the enemy by forcing its military to step back and recalibrate its attainable objectives.

Since 8 October, those reveals have included the Almas – or “Diamond” – missile, which carries a camera in its head, hits fixed and moving targets, has a range of more than ten kilometers, and has been used in several operations, most notably hitting the “Meron” base and successfully penetrating Israeli tank defenses.

Precision-hit drones have also been used in several operations, including targeting Israel’s Northern Command headquarters, its army positions, armored vehicles, and tanks.

We have also seen unidentified Hezbollah air defense missiles successfully intercepting Israeli drones, such as the Hermes 450, and neutralizing others flying over border areas, as confirmed by resistance statements. In addition, we have seen modified Burkan and Falaq-1 rockets with high destructive capabilities, targeting Israeli military sites, troop gatherings, and illegal settlements.

While these revelations represent only a fraction of the resistance’s arsenal, they illustrate its success in accumulating weaponry deemed by Israelis as destabilizing the regional balance. Hezbollah’s ability to procure and potentially domestically manufacture and develop such armaments over preceding years is further proof of its strategic prowess.

A losing ‘battle’

It is undeniable that Israeli actions have resulted in casualties within the ranks of the resistance, particularly evident in their constant violations of Syria’s sovereignty, using it as a battleground to settle scores against Iran.

Nevertheless, the strategic implications of these actions have not halted the resilience of the resistance. Despite the ongoing conflict, the resistance accumulates capabilities and bolsters its qualitative armament in unprecedented numbers.

Ali Haidar, an expert on Israeli affairs, informs The Cradle that Hezbollah’s ongoing arming during the current war signifies the failure of Israel’s “battle between wars” strategy. He emphasizes that Hezbollah’s continued accumulation of weaponry illustrates the enduring effectiveness of its deterrence umbrella over strategic facilities.

According to Haidar, “There is a new phase that Hezbollah has risen to, which constitutes an additional challenge to the enemy entity and its will to confront.”

The group’s uninterrupted accumulation of weapons during these years, Haidar says, shows that:

Hezbollah’s deterrence strategy continues to protect its strategic facilities, and that this umbrella is very effective, contrary to the impression created by Israel carrying out some strikes here and there. This is also reflected in the level of development reached by the resistance in expertise and production and its determination to improve those capabilities.

The ongoing battle between wars has seen the resistance in Lebanon significantly augmenting its weapons capabilities in terms of quantity, quality, and diversity. This represents a substantial strategic setback for Israel, which has expended vast sums on its strategy in Syria without achieving its objectives.

The impact of Hezbollah’s significant armament operation will undoubtedly influence Israeli war calculations, especially if Tel Aviv’s War Council favors stepping up hostilities against Lebanon. The ramifications of these efforts in terms of armaments during the war will be keenly felt as the battle edges closer to war.

Anglo-Zionists bombed Iran’s Damascus EMBASSY!

Crocus Terror: USUK points back at itself!

Terror Attack on Moscow & Why the US Stands as the Prime Suspect

US use of terrorism to advance foreign policy objectives is based on decades of evidence and includes support for militants in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union, Chechen separatists inside Russia in the 1990s and 2000s, and Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria against Syrian, Iranian, and Russian forces;

More recently, US foreign policymakers have laid out plans to use listed terrorist organizations as proxies to carry out attacks in targeted nations like Iran and Pakistan;

Ukraine has already carried out an extensive terror campaign aimed at Russian civilians deep within Russian territory including in Belgorod, St. Petersburg, and Moscow;

US media admits collaboration between US intelligence and Ukrainian intelligence from 2014 onward while also admitting Ukraine has carried out a number of attacks on civilians inside Russia including Darya Dugina and Vladen Tatarsky;

US media also admits that despite the US claiming to have warned Russia of an impending terrorist attack, information was withheld due to the “adversarial relationship” between the US and Russia;

Leading up to the deadly Moscow attack, US foreign policymakers had repeatedly stated the need to make ordinary Russians “feel the pinch” of the conflict;

References:
NYT – Why Russia’s Vast Security Services Fell Short on Deadly Attack (March 28, 2024)
RAND Corporation – Extending Russia (2019)
The New Yorker – The Redirection, by Seymour Hersh (2007)
NYT – C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian Opposition (2012)
NYT – Arms Airlift to Syria Rebels Expands, With Aid From C.I.A. (March 2013)
Washington Post – ‘Al-Qaeda is eating us’: Syrian rebels are losing out to extremists (2017)
BBC – Islamic State and the crisis in Iraq and Syria in maps (2018)
Brookings Institution – Which Path to Persia? (2009)
BBC – US removes Iran group MEK from terror list (2012)
Foreign Policy – Two Cheers for Syrian Islamists (2012)
Russia Matters – Claim (in 2004, 2015 and 2017): The U.S. government supported Chechen separatism
RFE/RL – Chechen Separatist Fighters Defend Ukraine Against ‘Common Enemy’ Russia (November 2022)
NY Times – Why Russia’s Vast Security Services Fell Short on Deadly Attack (March 28, 2024)
NYT – U.S. Believes Ukrainians Were Behind an Assassination in Russia (October 2022)
NYT – The Spy War: How the C.I.A. Secretly Helps Ukraine Fight Putin (February 2024)

Where to Find My Work:

• Website: https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/
• Telegram: https://t.me/brianlovethailand
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianJBerletic

Sitting US Congressman: Nuke Gaza and Russia

First the local zionists last Fall, who knew the daunting and impossible guerrilla war confronting them, and now the Big Daddy in the Land of the Free and Brave… these are no mere slips of the tongue. Intent is openly declared. Little good it will do those guaranteed of defeat at this point.

Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 7th district from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023. As the longest tenured member from Michigan, Walberg is the current Dean of its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life, education, and early career
Walberg was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Alice Ann and John A. Walberg. His paternal grandparents were Swedish. In 1964, Walberg served the Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign as a volunteer. Walberg graduated from Thornton Fractional North High School in 1969 and briefly served the U.S. Forest Service. From 1973 to 1977, Walberg served as pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in New Haven, Indiana.

Foreign Policy
In March 2024, responding to a question about “why are we spending our money to build a port for them,” referring to the Biden Administration’s plan to build a temporary port off the coast of Gaza to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid in the Israel-Hamas War, Walberg told the crowd the U.S. “shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid” and instead “should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a U.S.-based Muslim civil rights group, condemned Walberg’s comments as a “clear call to genocide.” In response, Walberg denied advocating the use of nuclear weapons, claiming that he was merely referring to the need for Israel to win “as swiftly as possible.”

Walberg also opposes humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War. “Instead [of] 80 percent in Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80 to 100 percent to wipe out Russia — if that’s what we want to do.” Walberg also voted against aid to Ukraine in 2022.

Epic Lone Wolf in the West Bank

On the day of the Crocus terrorist massacre in Moscow, lost in the global outrage, one Palestinian warrior in the West Bank single handedly helped collapse Zionism a little more.. courage, honor and self-sacrifice appeared from the very bastion of the traitorous compradore special forces of the Palestinian Authority! Woe to the alien invasive species of the Imperial settler-state. Their future is written in stone.

@Resistance News Network:
Armed clashes are continuing between one or more resistance fighters and zionist forces following a shooting operation targeting a settler vehicle in “Dolev,” west of #Ramallah.

The IOF has deployed a helicopter and drone to search for the fighters, and the zionist forces opened fire on journalists. Zionist media reports that War Minister Benny Gantz is on his way to the location.
The heroic “Dolev” operation shows what the determined, resistant Palestinian is capable of achieving.

Early before sunrise, Mujahid Barakat Mansour lay waiting in the hills west of #Ramallah, near the settlement of “Dolev.” Evidence shows us that he had prepared for this moment: From a fortified point he had established for himself, he rang in the dawn of a blessed Friday with bullets and fire from his rifle, targeting a vehicle carrying settlers.

Occupation forces responded swiftly to the area, precisely as Mansour had expected. Contrary to what the invading soldiers believed, the incident was far from over. Mansour, from his fortified point in the hills, opened fire on the soldiers. Having trained as part of the Palestinian Presidential Guard, rejecting the security coordination, betrayal, and failure of the Palestinian Authority, he was prepared for this moment. From his fortified perch, he shot swiftly and accurately, waging a clash against soldiers through the harsh terrain for over five hours.

Seven occupation soldiers were wounded, some critically, before they gave up their fight. Refusing to meet the dignified Palestinian on the battlefield, they dispatched drones and began targeting Mansour. Rather than give up the fight, Mansour managed to escape to an even more fortified position he had prepared in advance. He continued shooting at soldiers and even downed one of the drones that was sent to kill him.

In the end, the cowardly occupation was forced to fire missiles at Mujahid Mansour by way of Apache helicopter, having failed to target him through any other means. He ascended to martyrdom after leaving his permanent mark on the occupation. One determined Palestinian fighter, waging combat from the land which he belongs to, proved that heroes are made in Palestine, and that no foreign usurper can ever put a stop to the resistance.
The executor of the heroic shooting operation in “Dolev,” west of #Ramallah, is the martyr Mujahid Barakat Mansour (32 years old) from the village of Deir Ibzi’, west of Ramallah.

After targeting a settler vehicle, he clashed for nearly 5 hours with IOF soldiers who failed to reach him, leaving 7 of them wounded, and downed an IOF drone according to eyewitnesses, before a zionist helicopter launched a missile towards him.

Mujahid is a retired military officer in the Presidential Guard, having retired years ago. He is also a freed prisoner who was previously held in zionist prisons.

His name, Mujahid Mansour, means victorious fighter.

Glory to the heroic martyr.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades:
—
“Then let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the Hereafter. And whoever fights in the way of Allah and is killed or achieves victory – We will bestow upon him a great reward.”

With great pride and honor, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades exalt their heroic fighter who carried out the heroic Ramallah operation, and salute the sons of our nation rising up in an intifada in all arenas.

On the path of the first martyrs and on the road of struggle and resistance, and in victory for Gaza and the sufferings of the prisoners in the enemy’s jails, and in response to the crimes of the occupation against our people everywhere, the fighters of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades continue their heroic operations against the occupation forces and their settler gangs as part of the battle of Al-Aqsa Flood, to affirm that the volcano of the West Bank will not be extinguished and that the blood of our people in Gaza, our prisoners, and our Al-Aqsa is a red line.

As part of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades’ responses to the ongoing aggression of the occupation, one of our fighters attacked a number of settlers’ cars and military reinforcements that came to their rescue near the settlement of “Dolev” west of the city of Ramallah this morning, Friday, 12 Ramadan 1445 AH / corresponding to 22-03-2024, and the clash lasted for more than 4 continuous hours, resulting in 7 zionists wounded with serious and critical wounds, ascending to the highest, the hero of this operation:

The martyr and liberated prisoner fighter, Mujahid Barakat Mansour (31 years old) from the town of Deir Ibza’ – west of Ramallah

As the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades declare their responsibility for this heroic operation, they affirm the following:

Firstly: This operation is a continuation of what the fighters of its brigades started in Nablus and Tubas this morning, where they confronted with all courage and capability the incursions of the zionist occupation forces into their cities with machine guns and explosive devices.

Secondly: This operation is part of a series of operations responding to the continuous aggression of the occupation against our steadfast people in Gaza and our brave prisoners, the latest of which were the operations of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Gaza, Jenin, Al-Khalil, Tubas, and Nablus, over the past days, resulting in a number of dead and wounded.

Thirdly: We salute the sons of our nation rising up in an intifada in all areas of our revolutionary [West] Bank, who have written an epic in the past days in steadfastness and confrontation against this criminal enemy, especially in Nour Shams camp, Nablus, Jenin, Al-Khalil, and Tubas.

Fourthly: The continuation of the enemy’s aggression and its persistence against our people in Gaza, our Al-Aqsa, and our prisoners will ignite a fire that disperses its security and shakes its foundations.

Fifthly: The attempts and targeting of the enemy against our people’s fighters will not succeed in stopping our resistance, and the enemy’s incursions into our areas and camps will be an opportunity – by Allah’s will – for our fighters’ rifles and their explosives to reap more lives of the occupation soldiers and settlers. What is coming is more severe and greater.

And it is a revolution until victory, until victory, until victory…

Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – The military wing of the Fatah movement

Friday, 12 Ramadan 1445 AH / corresponding to 22 March 2024

@Strategika51:
For four hours, hundreds of Israeli soldiers, special forces and reservists have been battling a lone Palestinian resistance fighter who attacked an Israeli car in #WestBank .

The Israeli army used an AH-64/D #Apache helicopter gunship armed with anti-tank missiles in the area for the first time in 20 years.
The gunman pursued by hundreds of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank was killed by three Air to-Ground #missiles fired by an attack #helicopter and an armed #drone

March 31, 1814: Paris was Conquered

The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the expulsion of the invaders from Russia (Napoleon’s army apart from its French troops also included units from all across continental Europe) and served as a prologue to the so-called Big European War of 1812-1815 with the capture of Paris by the Russian army on March 31, 1814, as one of its major highlights.

This campaign came to be known among Russian historians as the Foreign Campaigns of the Russian Army. Together with its allied armies, namely Prussia, Austria, Sweden, and Great Britain, Russia liberated European countries from the French oppression.

When the Russian Army entered France in December 1813, Emperor Alexander I issued an order. Here’s a quote from it:

“Warriors! You have already saved your Motherland and brought it glory, and enabled Europe to recover its liberty and independence. Crowning this feat with the much-desired peace is all that remains.”

With Paris seized by the Russians, Napoleon abdicated in Fontainebleau on April 6 under pressure from his marshals, and was exiled to the Island of Elba off the Italian coast.

Russia played an instrumental role in France’s remaining within its pre-war borders, and took French cities under its protection by preventing Prussian and Austrian troops from pillaging them. Following Alexander I’s orders, the Russian troops also ensured that the collections of the Louvre and other French museums, as well as historical monuments, remained intact.

On June 9, 1815, a new European security architecture was established a the Vienna Congress, which became one of the main outcomes of Russia’s Foreign Campaigns.

“We honour the memory of our heroic ancestors, finding strength and inspiration in their valorous deeds. We’d like to advise the contemporary Western leaders and the emerging “Napoleons” who once again harbour intentions of sending troops eastward to remember the lessons of history”

From Maria Zakharova’s briefing:

“These days we mark the 210th anniversary of the triumphant conclusion of the Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army of 1813-1814. Following the defeat of Napoleon’s Grande Armée during the Patriotic War of 1812, Russian forces, bearing the banner of freedom for the nations and peoples of Europe from Napoleonic tyranny, embarked on a journey of thousands of kilometres from the scorched walls of Moscow. After intense battles, they reached the French capital, which capitulated to the mercy of the victors on March 31, 1814. We suggest honouring this event with well-researched historical narratives.

The Paris Peace Treaties and the Congress of Vienna delineated the political and diplomatic trajectory following a quarter-century of incessant wars that ravaged Europe. Thus, less than two years after the grandiose announcement of the campaign against Russia by French propaganda, France was defeated. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Napoleon abdicated the throne.

As we revisit this illustrious chapter in Russian history, juxtaposed with the ignominious one in French history, we honour the memory of our heroic ancestors, finding strength and inspiration in their valorous deeds. We’d like to advise the contemporary Western leaders and the emerging “Napoleons” who once again harbour intentions of sending troops eastward to remember the lessons of history and not to forget how the aspirations of their predecessors to inflict a strategic defeat on our country always ended.”

Lessons in Niger for the Ukraine

The broken relationship between the United States and Niger reveals U.S. grand strategy as well as policy towards Russia. The policy failed to isolate Russia in the Global South. The denial of Niger’s right to choose its own partners uncovers the lie behind America’s stated objectives in Ukraine.

By Ted Snider at Antiwar.com

What Does the Coup in Niger Tell Us about the War in Ukraine?

On July 28, 2023, a coup led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani kicked out the democratically elected government of Niger. On March 16, 2024, the coup government kicked the United States out of Niger.

Niger, and a cooperative government in Niger, are important to the United States. “Niger is a strong ally of western nations, especially France, the U.S. and the European Union in fighting insurgency and curbing illegal migration to Europe,” according to Olayinka Ajala, senior lecturer in politics and international relations at Leeds Beckett University. The New York Times has called Niger “a centerpiece of American efforts to combat surging Islamist militancy in the Sahel region” and “the main U.S. counterterrorism ally in the region.” Niger’s vast uranium and oil reserves also give it an economic importance to the United States.

That partnership was threatened by the July 2023 coup. The United States was sluggish in calling the coup a coup because such a recognition would force the U.S. to suspend military aid and limit the ability of the U.S. military to operate in Niger. The State Department did eventually make that decision and suspended aid. The United States did not, however, withdraw their forces from Niger and soon resumed flights of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance drones.

The Defense Department says that the U.S. currently has “approximately 1,000” troops in Niger. They are “consolidating” to U.S. Air Base 201, “the linchpin of the U.S. military’s archipelago of bases in North and West Africa.” The $110 million base is key to U.S. intelligence in the region, including satellite communications and a fleet of drones that includes armed Reapers.

The March 16 statement by the coup government in Niger ended those drone flights and that military partnership and kicked those American forces out of Niger.

Niger’s military spokesman, Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane, announced on television that, “The government of Niger, taking into account the aspirations and interests of its people, decides with full responsibility to denounce with immediate effect the agreement relating to the status of military personnel of the United States and civilian employees of the American Department of Defense in the territory of the Republic of Niger.” The agreement for U.S. forces and civilian personnel to be hosted in Niger has been revoked.

The decision came just days after a U.S. delegation traveled to Niger to “continue ongoing discussions… with leaders of the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP) regarding Niger’s return to a democratic path and the future of our security and development partnership.”

Those discussions, for a number of reasons, reportedly went very badly. Those unsuccessful talks contain a number of lessons, not only on failed American foreign policy in Africa, but on the war in Ukraine.

Alex Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati and a specialist in the politics of northwest Africa, says there are reports that American officials were criticizing Niger’s turn towards Russia. The State Department says that, while exchanging “views on how to chart a new path of cooperation forward,” the “U.S. delegation met with Nigerien officials, expressing concerns over Niger’s potential relationships with Russia.”

In a March 18 briefing, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh again referred to “direct conversations about some of our concerns, about some of their, you know, pursuing relationships with Russia.” She also raised concerns over the fact “that Russia has, certainly, a presence within the region from, you know, they continue to pursue ties to African nations to deepen their security cooperation.”

The American delegation’s warnings about Russia outraged Niger. Abdramane said, “Niger regrets the intention of the American delegation to deny the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships. Also, the government of Niger forcefully denounces the condescending attitude accompanied by the threat of retaliation from the head of the American delegation towards the Nigerien government and people.”

The American effort in Niger is crucial for the hypocrisy it reveals in American foreign policy. On March 21, 2022, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price explained that one of the “core principles at the heart of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine” is that

“each and every country has a sovereign right to determine its own foreign policy, has a sovereign right to determine for itself with whom it will choose to associate in terms of its alliances, its partnerships, and what orientation it wishes to direct its gaze.”

The United States was prepared to risk a war with Russia, a third world war, a potential nuclear war, and the injury and death of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers for a “core principle” that it does not subscribe to: at least not when it comes to Africa or when it does not convenience the United States. The U.S. “den[ies] the sovereign Nigerien people the right to choose their partners and types of partnerships.”

The pressure brought to Niger reveals that Washington is supporting the war against Russia for reasons other than the right of Ukraine to choose its partners and join NATO, or that that right only applies when the partner being chosen is the United States and NATO but not Russia. The core principle, then, is not the right of a sovereign nation to choose its partner, but the right of a sovereign nation to partner with the United States.

The American attitude toward Niger and Russia reveals a second lesson. A key response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine was to isolate Russia and reinforce the U.S.-led unipolar world. It has not worked.

The United States has expressed concern that the “Russian Federation is really trying to take over central Africa as well as the Sahel.” Thurston told me that the U.S. is “very worried about Russian influence throughout the Sahel, and it has a particular sting in Niger given the previous closeness of the relationship.”

He added that the United States “seems to regard competition with Russia in Africa as zero-sum; whereas, most African governments don’t see things that way.” And that is the hallmark of the emerging multipolar world that the U.S. is trying to hold back. Saudi Arabia has said “we do not believe in polarization or in choosing between sides.” India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, in his book, The Indian Way, describes the new multipolar world as one in which countries deal “with contesting parties at the same time with optimal results” for their “own self-interest.”

Africa has rejected America’s “zero-sum” framing of partnerships. Not one country in Africa has joined the U.S.-led sanctions on Russia. Instead, Africa has asserted its sovereign right not to be forced to choose sides in a world where you can partner with many factions in pursuit of your own national interest. So, Niger stands up to American pressure and asserts its “right to choose their partners and types of partnerships.”

The broken relationship between the United States and Niger is important for what it reveals about America’s foreign policy in Africa and the future of its footprint on the continent. But it is also important for what it reveals about U.S. grand strategy and its policy towards Russia. American fears and concerns about Russia’s strengthening relationships in Africa reveal its fears about the failure of its policy of isolating Russia. And, most importantly, the denial of Niger’s right to choose its own partners uncovers the lie behind America’s stated objectives in Ukraine.

Ted Snider is a regular columnist on U.S. foreign policy and history at Antiwar.com and The Libertarian Institute. He is also a frequent contributor to Responsible Statecraft and The American Conservative as well as other outlets. To support his work or for media or virtual presentation requests, contact him at tedsnider@bell.net.

War Updates: Al Shifa Hospital & Syria

Jon Elmer of the Electronic Intifada with his weekly update, focused on guerrilla war around Al Shifa Hospital. Kevork Almassian, originally from Aleppo, Syria, reviews the Anglo-Zionists’ return to bombing Aleppo in coordination with Al-Qaeda, Jordan, and the US base at Al Tanf; back to the sordid future! Does a criminal ever deviate far from a favored MO? Will it matter in the end, as during the last decade?

The World sees the Outlaw US Empire

Why the USA is an Outlaw

with thanks to Dr. Karl at karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium.

It’s been brought to my attention that the reasons WHY the USA is an Outlaw relative to International and its own Domestic Law isn’t clear enough. First we’ll begin with the UN Charter:

Article 2

“The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.”

1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
2. All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.
5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the present Charter and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter Vll.

The most common violation is interference in the internal/domestic affairs of member nations. Most grievous is violation of Article 4. Upon the Charter’s entering into legal force on 24 October 1945, the USA was in the process of interfering in the domestic affairs of the USSR and numerous other member nations. It was also providing aid to known Nazi elements in Soviet Ukraine and aiding known Nazi War Criminals to escape justice for the crimes they committed. As such, the USA was also in violation of Articles 2, 3, 4, and 5. Those violations continued unabated and others were added as time moved forward.

In relation to the USA violating its own Domestic Law of the Land, the 1787 Constitution, what’s known as the Supremacy Clause—Article VI, Clause 2—makes it mandatory that any ratified treaty becomes incorporated into the Law of the Land:

“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.”

The UN Charter is a treaty signed by President Truman and ratified by the Senate on 28 July 1945 by a vote of 89-2. Thus, the UN Charter is part of the US Constitution. Upon ratification, Truman said: “The action of the Senate substantially advances the cause of world peace.” The actual truth as he spoke those words was the USA was already involved in aiding the OUN—Ukrainian Nazis—and helping Nazi war Criminals avoid being caught by helping them escape to the USA, Canada, and many South American nations, which were violations of their domestic affairs by introducing the grossest of criminal elements into their societies which enabled Nazism to remain alive and terrorize today’s world.

The actions of the United States before, during and after the legal founding of the UN Charter have made it an international outlaw and violator of its own Law of the Land, which every President swears to defend and uphold and is its primary job as Chief Magistrate. That such illegality is allowed to continue unabated makes the Outlaw US Empire a serial lawbreaker of the worst sort when we look at the millions of people it has killed and displaced in its criminal behavior. Yet millions of US citizens, including members of Congress, the Executive, the Military, appear to be 100% ignorant of the fact that they abet an international serial criminal of the worst sort.

The evidence for US lawbreaking is present within the US government’s own archives and has been subjected to Congressional inquiry; yet, such inquiry avoided the conclusion that the US government is a serial lawbreaker needing serious remediation and constant monitoring of its behavior along with the elimination of the institutions responsible for the lawbreaking.

Submitting ZOG & UNSC

The public humiliations being experienced by both USUK and the UNSC are astonishing! The first video makes clear the Zionist Occupation Government (ZOG) is turned into a global pariah against its own interests, domestic laws and the future of the Democratic party.. the second video makes clear the same process as done to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is underway at the UNSC: binding demands to cease and desist from unfathomable crimes against humanity are not merely ignored but escalated with open sense of contemptuous impunity. What will these actions do to the Old Order largely crafted by the 1941 Atlantic Charter system? How to return international law to primacy in the face of nuclear powers turned rogue parasited entities? For now, it appears only regional solutions are available — for those willing to fight to the death for dignity and liberty.

Terror in Moscow: what went down

Ukraine, ISIS, and the Moscow Concert Attack: What really happened? Pepe Escobar joins us to examine the complicated spider web of connections between Ukrainian intelligence, jihadist groups, and Western governments.

hosted by Dimitri Simes Jr. at the New Rules.

Ukraine, ISIS, and the Moscow Concert Attack: What really happened?

Pepe Escobar joins us to examine the complicated spider web of connections between Ukrainian intelligence, jihadist groups, and Western governments.
#NewRulesPodcast @RealPepeEscobar pic.twitter.com/oiNQgd7eLP

— NewRulesGeopolitics (@NewRulesGeo) March 28, 2024

#NewRulesPodcast

 

Plucked Peacocks in Françafrique..

Lost in the thunder of the two incendiary battlegrounds of the Ukraine and the Holy Land, the end of the western Age of Plunder is vividly demonstrated in the West African Sahel. Calm business arrangements are conducted with friendly states, even as the last US garrisons are dismantled, one by one.


@Intel Slava Z:
SENEGAL: how Russia is destroying French neocolonialism

Historical events are brewing in another West African country, Senegal. Getting rid of the country’s neocolonial dependence on its former official metropolis – France.

Over the weekend, presidential elections took place here, in which the opposition candidate Bashiru Jumaye Faye is confidently leading (and may even win them in the first round, which will become known tomorrow), who, as part of his election promises, promised to review oil and gas deals with Western campaigns, including agreements with British Petroleum, Endeavor Mining and Kosmos Energy.

He also advocates a radical revision of relations between Senegal and France. And as part of this, Faye is going to follow neighboring Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to leave the French currency system (by abandoning the CFA franc). And the French military will have to leave the country. By the way, sensing something was wrong, Paris had already announced a little earlier that it was sharply reducing the military contingent in the country (probably so that it would not be so shameful later). In return, he promises to take a course towards rapprochement with Russia.

Thus, France’s next major foreign policy defeat on the African continent looms on the horizon. Moreover, Senegal was a key player in the issue of the blockade of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, which had previously freed themselves from the influence of Paris. And the departure of Senegal from the CFA franc zone puts a final and fat cross on this system (which brought huge profits to France) and on which the entire system of French neocolonialism was essentially built.

And hence all of Macron’s current anti-Russian hysteria. He, like a plucked rooster, understands that he is losing to Russia and therefore becomes hysterical. And Ukraine for him is the last chance to spoil Moscow. But I think he will be disappointed here too.

@Russian MFA:
  President Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone with President of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland of the Republic of Niger Abdourahamane Tchiani, who expressed solidarity with the Russian people and heartfelt condolences over the numerous victims of the heinous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

In discussing the bilateral agenda, the Leaders expressed determination to step up political dialogue and develop mutually beneficial cooperation in various spheres.

They also exchanged views on the developments in the Sahel-Sahara region with an emphasis on coordination of security and counterterrorism efforts. 

@Sputnik Africa:
  US will plan for the “disengagement” of troops from Niger after its military pact with Washington ends, Niger’s interior minister says.

The statement was published on social media after Mohamed Toumba hosted US Ambassador Kathleen FitzGibbon for talks.

A spokesperson for the Nigerien military said in mid-March that the country’s transitional government, which took power in a coup last July, ended the agreement with immediate effect, citing the interests of the Nigerien people.

@Africa Intel:
  Putin discusses security cooperation with West and Central African leaders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed security and economic cooperation with Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goita by phone on Wednesday, both countries said, a day after Putin held a similar call with the junta leader in neighbouring Niger.

“We discussed bilateral issues, particularly the security and economic areas,” Goita said. “We agreed to cooperate further in the fight against terrorism.” The Kremlin confirmed.

The call appeared to be part of a round of diplomatic exchanges Putin has made with West and Central African leaders since his re-election earlier this month.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday Putin and the leader of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, had agreed in a phone call to deepen political, economic and humanitarian ties.

On Tuesday, Putin spoke by phone with Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tiani and discussed a need to reinforce their security cooperation, according to Nigerien state television.

@Arab_Africa:
The US is worried that Niger will replace its military with Russian mercenaries

This was stated by the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers, at a hearing on the US military posture in the Middle East and Africa.

According to him, the recent expulsion of the US military from Niger may be linked to security talks with Iran and Russia that took place the day before.

“It looks like Niger will soon join Mali, Libya, Sudan, Mozambique and Burkina Faso in welcoming Russian troops and mercenaries into their country,” Rogers suggested. He also noted that China is at the same time seeking to expand its military presence beyond the PLA naval base in Djibouti.

“And they set up bases on the west coast to give the PLA strategic access to the Atlantic. China has already built and currently operates several major trading ports along the west coast of Africa,” the Republican reported.

Finally, Rogers warned that the US could lose the initiative due to inaction on the continent.

“Africa is of vital strategic importance to the United States. We cannot allow China or Russia to become their preferred security or business partner,” the American worries.
#нувыпонимаете
LOL

@Sputnik Africa:
“Atomexpo-2024,” the largest international forum on nuclear energy, was held on March 25-26 in Russia. Here are our publications not to be missed
Atomexpo-2024 nuclear industry forum breaks attendance record;
Rosatom signs roadmaps for developing cooperation on nuclear energy with Mali, and Burkina Faso and Algeria; NOTE: the first two are members of the Sahelian Junta Belt..
“Russia will be able to better support Burkina Faso towards its energy independence,” a Burkinabe minister reveals details of the roadmap with Rosatom;
“Gold mined in Mali should be processed in Mali,” Malian minister of mines comments on the gold processing plant project with Russia;
Cooperation with Russia can help eliminate power shortages in Africa and advance Zimbabwe’s healthcare system, says minister;
Russia attracted Africans’ interest in nuclear energy because it’s a reliable partner, says a Rosatom official;
With the help of the agreements with Rosatom, Burundi intends to have a nuclear power plant that will help launch the country into industrial production, says a minister from the African country.

West’s Geoeconomic Gamble behind Gaza Genocide

After blocking Russian and Iranian gas pipelines to Europe and working to decouple from China, the combined West put their eggs into the Leviathan basket off Gaza and the IMEC connectivity corridor over the revitalized ancient Silk Roads…

To Rafah, or not to Rafah, that is the question

All eyes are on Rafah as Israel prepares to mount an invasion to expel Palestinians or decimate them. It is this pivotal battle that will either force Israel into a ceasefire or thrust the region into an all-out, multi-front war.

By Tawfik Chouman at The Cradle.

The Battle of Rafah: a short step to regional war

The temporary truce struck on 24 November between the Hamas resistance movement and the Israeli government could have paved the way toward successive truces and potentially a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

But the opportunity was squandered by Tel Aviv, who viewed the continuation of its genocidal war as a means to reshape Gaza’s political and security landscape under the guise of ‘restoring deterrence’ and mitigating domestic fallout from Hamas’ 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood Operation.

Now, nearly six months since the commencement of what Israel calls a ‘war of survival and existence’ against Gaza, it has become clear that the occupation state’s military aggression cannot unseat Hamas from either the Strip or the broader Palestinian political arena.

The recent flurry of indirect Hamas–Israel negotiations held in Paris, Cairo, and Doha have revealed a stark political reality: Hamas is the primary Palestinian negotiating party where Gaza is concerned. This tacit acknowledgment by Tel Aviv marks the strategic failure of one of Israel’s dual objectives set forth last October, aimed at eradicating Hamas and its allied resistance factions in the Strip.

Bibi’s political interests v domestic backlash

This reality raises questions about the potential pathways available to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he struggles with immense international pressure to stop the carnage. Will he persist with the war on Gaza and risk global pariah status, or will he be compelled to pursue a politically costly settlement? The latter option, it should be noted, will not be an easy fix. It could potentially unleash a storm of domestic backlash within Israel, with various political factions eager to hold him accountable from multiple angles.

Since Netanyahu abandoned the truce in November, prominent Israeli political commentators and even former prime ministers have been surprisingly unanimous in their assessment. They argue that Netanyahu’s decision to prolong the war serves mainly his personal political interests, allowing him to project an illusion of victory while evading political, security, and judicial scrutiny.

Accordingly, Netanyahu’s stance remains firmly opposed to a war settlement. He has instead doubled down on the necessity of eliminating the military capabilities of Hamas and its allies, and is ostensibly pursuing an ‘absolute victory’ through total war.

The prime minister’s roadmap hinges on continuing the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. In this scenario, he envisions the Battle of Rafah as the decisive climax that will definitively render the already terminal ‘two-state solution’ obsolete and permanently sever any ties between Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Battle of Rafah thus emerges as a pivotal juncture, delineating two competing trajectories: one driven by regional and international efforts towards a negotiated settlement, and the other dictated solely by Netanyahu’s ambitions.

Regional ramifications and Egypt’s dilemma

This raises complex questions about whether Netanyahu can prolong the war and influence regional and international actors – to buy time, if you will – all while factoring in the delicate balance of power involving Egypt and the wider regional war against other members of the Axis of Resistance.

Indeed, the Battle of Rafah presents a multi-level challenge for Egypt, encompassing political, security, and popular dimensions. Should the Israeli army invade Rafah, it will have significant implications for Cairo’s relations with Tel Aviv, in addition to severely impacting Egypt’s domestic security landscape.

A recent poll by the Washington Institute for Near East Studies revealed that three-quarters of Egyptians view Hamas positively. This popular sentiment influences Egyptian policy regarding potential Israeli actions in Rafah.

On 10 March, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported warnings from Egyptian officials on the potential suspension of the Camp David Accords if Israel were to attack Rafah.

Diaa Rashwan, head of the Egyptian Information Service, emphasized the seriousness of Israel’s occupation of the Philadelphi Corridor – a buffer zone on the Sinai–Gaza border designated by the Camp David agreement – stating it poses a grave threat to Cairo–Tel Aviv relations.

Dealing with the potential mass influxes of Gazan civilians seeking refuge and Palestinian fighters crossing into Egyptian territory also poses significant logistical and security challenges. This scenario also raises questions about the Israeli army’s potential incursions into Egyptian territory and how the Egyptian military would respond.

Moreover, any intensification of pressure on Rafah or a full-scale Israeli invasion will lead to widespread regional ramifications, potentially including the unraveling of the Abraham Accords. The Axis of Resistance has made it clear that the elimination of Hamas is unacceptable and, if threatened, may trigger a regional war.

Complicating matters further is the lack of substantive US pressure on Israel to halt its actions in Gaza. While the Biden White House seeks a ‘credible operational plan,’ it has not unequivocally opposed an attack on Rafah. This ambivalence enables and even emboldens Netanyahu to continue his military operations.

Rafah could reshape the region 

Regardless of the outcome of the Battle of Rafah, both Israeli and US perspectives interpret it as a campaign directed against Hamas, which they view as an extension of Iranian influence in the region. This narrative aligns with what Thomas Friedman, writing for the New York Times, referred to as the new “Biden Doctrine,” which emphasizes confronting Iran and its allies in West Asia. This marks a significant shift in US strategy since 1979.

The convergence of US and Israeli interests casts suspicion on ongoing efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire, with all eyes focused on the current round of talks in Doha. Amos Harel, writing for Haaretz, frames the discussions as a race toward either a negotiated ceasefire or a potentially expansive regional conflict involving multiple fronts.

Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, which last week expanded its naval operations into the Indian Ocean, has issued a stark warning against a Rafah invasion, threatening a sharp escalation in both sea and air operations, including the closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Similarly, the Lebanese front remains sensitive to developments in Rafah. Despite the northern front’s expansion since the onset of 2024, recent Israeli attacks targeting Baalbek, over 100 kilometers from the southern border, suggest Tel Aviv’s misguided willingness to escalate.

This possibility could spill over into reality if Israel invades Rafah, as the occupation army may resort to preemptive actions to mitigate perceived threats from Lebanese resistance forces.

Overall, the Battle of Rafah will likely reshape the regional conflict, adding new layers to existing pressure fronts. Importantly, it challenges the notion that Hamas stands alone, abandoned in Rafah, as various regional actors, including Iran and its allies, are closely watching and prepared to intervene.

Geoengineering – Weapon of Mass Destruction

Solving the ‘Climate Crisis’ is Bad for Business and Worse for Politics

For GlobalSouth.co by Peter Koenig
25 March 202

The article “Harvard Shuts Geoengineering Project” by Cauf Skiviers, explains Bill Gates, funder of the project, stopping Harvard from carrying out the study to Preserve the Climate Narrative.

How is this relevant?

That Bill Gates calls the shots on what should and should not go forward, is nothing new. Surprising is that he was willing to finance such a study in the first place. – Why?

The honest results of the research would have shown the outright “climate change” fraud humanity has been exposed to for more than three decades.

The study’s outcome would have gone in the complete opposite direction of the current western globalist plan, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Great Reset and the UN Agenda 2030, One World Order, One World Government. Their success being largely based on the ”climate” lie.

Geoengineering serves two purposes, falsely demonstrating the Green Agenda’s fake CO2 emissions-based climate change, and – of equal importance – making weather and climate into Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The outcome of the study would have been against those who want to destroy the world’s economy and social structure as we know it – to rebuild it afresh, according to the elites’ desire. See Club of Rome’s “First Global Revolution” (1991); and this.

The revelation of the now canceled Harvard research, would have allowed just about anyone marginally aware of what is happening to Mother Earth’s climate, to see through the scam. It would have been difficult to avoid leaking the study’s outcome of such a hyped-up topic, like “climate change”, to the public.

Imagine! – Harvard research would destroy a political agenda, as well as Big Business. It would reveal that the climate narrative of the “Green Agenda”, is a lie, and that the weather almost everywhere on the globe is manipulated – or to use the scientific term “geoengineered”.

More than three decades of intense “fake science” and media manipulation about humans’ CO2, methane, and similar greenhouse gas emissions, is the culprit for “climate change”, have left most people, even non-active, often “bought”, so-called scientists, under the impression that doomsday is just around the corner, if we keep using hydrocarbons (oil and gas) to fuel our economy and keep using agriculture to feed humanity.

These alarm bells are constant calls to decarbonize civilization. Yet, the use of hydrocarbons (mostly oil and gas) to run the world’s economies has hardly changed in the last three decades. In the early 1990s about 87% of all energy used worldwide came from oil and gas. The figure is almost the same today.

It is a big lie. The climate is NOT changing, at least not more than it has always changed over the past 4 billion years – normally by small increments, so that life on earth can adapt and adjust.

According to Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Spanish Acronym – AEMET), there are currently more than 50 countries which have at least some technologies to change the weather and climate. See this.

Those with the most sophisticated knowledge are the United States, Russia, and China.

It is fair to assume that the 50-plus nations are “modifying” the weather or climate according to what benefits them most. It is also fair to assume that today there is worldwide almost no weather completely natural, but influenced either directly, or indirectly, through modified weather patterns elsewhere in the world, the collateral effect of geoengineering.

In olden times, it was called “the butterfly effect” – meaning the butterfly flaps its wings and will have an effect somewhere in the world. You do not know where and what. With geoengineering that can be very dangerous.

Obviously, weather modifications, so far, serve primarily the fake climate change agenda. When a super hurricane hits the Caribbean, or a prolonged Monsoon floods and destroys two thirds of Pakistan, including her economy, it exponentially exceeds the “normal”. Blame it on “climate change”.

But most often there is an economic and / or political agenda behind it. Take Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans on 29 August 2005. Some 1,800 people died. With 230 km / hour, Katrina made landfall in Southeast Louisiana and destroyed New Orleans.

While the State of Louisiana evacuated about 1.5 million people before the hurricane hit, 150,000 to 200,000 stayed behind, mostly black people in “old” New Orleans, often run-down, but potential prime real estate for developers; was to be razed for luxury-style rebuilding.

The original owners were later force-evacuated to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) provided “emergency” camps (shacks), all over the country. So, the force-refugees could not organize. The properties were taken over by the state and city. – This served both, an economic and political agenda.

In June through August and into September 2022, Pakistan received about three times as much rain as normal. The deadly disaster was blamed on “climate change”. See this.

In reality, the catastrophe is suspected of having been geoengineered, and had a political agenda. On 10 April 2022, the popular, democratically and by a landslide elected President, Imram Khan, was ousted through a parliamentary non-confidence vote, instigated and “influenced” by the US, because Mr. Khan refused to follow orders from Washington, but instead intended to be President for an independent Pakistan and for the People of Pakistan.

For weeks people took to the streets by the millions, creating national unrest, wanting their President Imram Khan back. Creating or geoengineering the destructive Monsoon floods was a means to stop the social upheaval, so that the country could follow the western / Washington imposed political agenda, which meant foremost no political or business relations with China.

This is weaponized geoengineering.

When geoengineering serves as a weapon for Super-Powers, the dangers may be equivalent or worse than from nuclear weapons. Because most people have no clue that these weather “disturbances” and climate disasters are manmade and targeted for specific purposes at an “enemy”.

To get this right, geoengineering is NOT manmade in terms of what the Green Agenda interprets manmade “climate change”, as in CO2 emissions, greenhouse gases and more of the like. Geoengineering is dangerous. The Green Agenda climate change claims are sheer bullsh*t.

Geoengineering has been developed since the early 1940s. It started out with simple cloud-seeding, to prompt rainfall, mostly for agricultural purposes. It then moved to more sophisticated weather and climate manipulations, using the infamous chemtrails, white “vapor” stripes emanating from airplanes, crisscrossing the blue skies, disseminating poisonous chemicals and microscopic heavy metal particles, to influence the climate – but also, and possibly more important, to affect people’s health in very negative ways.

There are hundreds if not thousands of patents out there for these chemicals and heavy metals coming down from the planes into the ground, into the water, into plants and vegetables and finally into our bodies, killing our Pineal Gland and gradually weakening our bodies.

Geoengineering also includes the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) and similarly sophisticated technologies. HAARP, created by the Pentagon-linked thinktank, DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), is controlled by the US Airforce. HAARP is possibly the world’s most capable high-power, high-frequency electromagnetic waves transmitter, acting on the ionosphere.

HAARP technologies often applied from satellites, can emit electromagnetic waves piercing deep into the earth, creating earthquakes. It is suspected that HAARP technologies were used to cause the 6 February 2023 Turkey – Syria earthquake of 7.8 Richter scale strength, killing more than 60,000 people.

The seism happened shortly before Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected in May 2023 as President of Turkey. The earthquake’s epicenter was in Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province, with seismic movement taking place along the Conjugated Tectonic Faults. Strangely and remarkably, however, the tremors defied the natural patterns and do not fit into the usual mainshock–aftershocks sequence.

This was also the time when President Erdogan refused to approve Sweden and Finland into NATO, despite the tremendous pressure of all 29 other NATO countries – to put NATO even closer to Russia, the western-made non-conform enemy that needed to be “subdued.”

This would be weaponized political geoengineering, with an economic side effect.

The 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake of 7.0 magnitude, left the capital city, Port-au-Prince, devastated and killed about 220,000 people. Sizable off-shore oil and gas deposits are all over the Caribbean, and also off-shore of Port-au-Prince.

These petrol reserves, are so deep that it is uneconomical to exploit them at current depths. A seismic event will break the tectonic plates, so that the earth’s core pressure pushes the oil to higher levels, where exploitation is easier and more economical.

Haiti has been in chaos ever since. The Clinton Foundation set up allegedly to help rebuild Haiti, has been a disaster, causing more harm than good, and making the Clintons richer. Destabilizing the country is a good reason for the US to maintain steady control.

Haiti is the world’s first and only country inhabited by black slaves that fought for and obtained independence 220 years ago (January 1, 1804). Washington pretends, Haiti could become a national security threat – like Cuba! – and must be controlled. See this.

The giant Haiti tremor also served two interests: Economics, as in oil; and politics, as in control.

Geoengineering is a convenient and highly effective weapon to dominate or coerce countries into submission. The geo-weapon’s potential could explode exponentially during the coming years, decades, if people remain ignorant about its menace for humanity.

A Harvard study divulging what geoengineering does and can do would not only derail the entire fake “climate change” narrative, but might also risk taking steam out of the growing geo-weapons industry.

Therefore, “Solving the ‘Climate Crisis’ is indeed Bad for Business- and bad for Politics”, and even worse for strategic warfare planning. So, Bill Gates was right in stopping the Harvard Geoengineering Project. Geoengineering may, therefore, prosper, bringing rain, shine and – war.

—-

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

Guys, We’re a Terrorist Nation

“We have met the enemy and it is us”

The Nuland – Budanov – Tajik – Crocus connection

The Russian population has handed to the Kremlin total carte blanche to exercise brutal, maximum punishment – whatever and wherever it takes.

By Pepe Escobar at Strategic Culture Foundation.

Let’s start with the possible chain of events that may have led to the Crocus terror attack. This is as explosive as it gets. Intel sources in Moscow discreetly confirm this is one of the FSB’s prime lines of investigation.

December 4, 2023. Former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen Mark Milley, only 3 months after his retirement, tells CIA mouthpiece The Washington Post: “There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night (…) You gotta get back there and create a campaign behind the lines.”

January 4, 2024: In an interview with ABC News, “spy chief” Kyrylo Budanov lays down the road map: strikes “deeper and deeper” into Russia.

January 31: Victoria Nuland travels to Kiev and meets Budanov. Then, in a dodgy press conference at night in the middle of an empty street, she promises “nasty surprises” to Putin: code for asymmetric war.

February 22: Nuland shows up at a Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) event and doubles down on the “nasty surprises” and asymmetric war. That may be interpreted as the definitive signal for Budanov to start deploying dirty ops.

February 25: The New York Times publishes a story about CIA cells in Ukraine: nothing that Russian intel does not already know.

Then, a lull until March 5 – when crucial shadow play may have been in effect. Privileged scenario: Nuland was a key dirty ops plotter alongside the CIA and the Ukrainian GUR (Budanov). Rival Deep State factions got hold of it and maneuvered to “terminate” her one way or another – because Russian intel would have inevitably connected the dots.

Yet Nuland, in fact, is not “retired” yet; she’s still presented as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and showed up recently in Rome for a G7-related meeting, although her new job, in theory, seems to be at Columbia University (a Hillary Clinton maneuver).

Meanwhile, the assets for a major “nasty surprise” are already in place, in the dark, and totally off radar. The op cannot be called off.

March 5: Little Blinken formally announces Nuland’s “retirement”.

March 7: At least one Tajik among the four-member terror commando visits the Crocus venue and has his photo taken.

March 7-8 at night: U.S. and British embassies simultaneously announce a possible terror attack on Moscow, telling their nationals to avoid “concerts” and gatherings within the next two days.

March 9: Massively popular Russian patriotic singer Shaman performs at Crocus. That may have been the carefully chosen occasion targeted for the “nasty surprise” – as it falls only a few days before the presidential elections, from March 15 to 17. But security at Crocus was massive, so the op is postponed.

March 22: The Crocus City Hall terror attack.

ISIS-K: the ultimate can of worms

The Budanov connection is betrayed by the modus operandi– similar to previous Ukraine intel terror attacks against Daria Dugina and Vladimir Tatarsky: close reconnaissance for days, even weeks; the hit; and then a dash for the border.

And that brings us to the Tajik connection.

There seem to be holes aplenty in the narrative concocted by the ragged bunch turned mass killers: following an Islamist preacher on Telegram; offered what was later established as a puny 500 thousand rubles (roughly $4,500) for the four of them to shoot random people in a concert hall; sent half of the funds via Telegram; directed to a weapons cache where they find AK-12s and hand grenades.

The videos show that they used the machine guns like pros; shots were accurate, short bursts or single fire; no panic whatsoever; effective use of hand grenades; fleeing the scene in a flash, just melting away, almost in time to catch the “window” that would take them across the border to Ukraine.

All that takes training. And that also applies to facing nasty counter-interrogation. Still, the FSB seems to have broken them all – quite literally.

A potential handler has surfaced, named Abdullo Buriyev. Turkish intel had earlier identified him as a handler for ISIS-K, or Wilayat Khorasan in Afghanistan. One of the members of the Crocus commando told the FSB their “acquaintance” Abdullo helped them to buy the car for the op.

And that leads us to the massive can of worms to end them all: ISIS-K.

The alleged emir of ISIS-K, since 2020, is an Afghan Tajik, Sanaullah Ghafari. He was not killed in Afghanistan in June 2023, as the Americans were spinning: he may be currently holed up in Balochistan in Pakistan.

Yet the real person of interest here is not Tajik Ghafari but Chechen Abdul Hakim al-Shishani, the former leader of the jihadi outfit Ajnad al-Kavkaz (“Soldiers of the Caucasus”), who was fighting against the government in Damascus in Idlib and then escaped to Ukraine because of a crackdown by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – in another one of those classic inter-jihadi squabbles.

Shishani was spotted on the border near Belgorod during the recent attack concocted by Ukrainian intel inside Russia. Call it another vector of the “nasty surprises”.

Shishani had been in Ukraine for over two years and has acquired citizenship. He is in fact the sterling connection between the nasty motley crue Idlib gangs in Syria and GUR in Kiev – as his Chechens worked closely with Jabhat al-Nusra, which was virtually indistinguishable from ISIS.

Shishani, fiercely anti-Assad, anti-Putin and anti-Kadyrov, is the classic “moderate rebel” advertised for years as a “freedom fighter” by the CIA and the Pentagon.

Some of the four hapless Tajiks seem to have followed ideological/religious indoctrination on the internet dispensed by Wilayat Khorasan, or ISIS-K, in a chat room called Rahnamo ba Khuroson.

The indoctrination game happened to be supervised by a Tajik, Salmon Khurosoni. He’s the guy who made the first move to recruit the commando. Khurosoni is arguably a messenger between ISIS-K and the CIA.

The problem is the ISIS-K modus operandi for any attack never features a fistful of dollars: the promise is Paradise via martyrdom. Yet in this case it seems it’s Khurosoni himself who has approved the 500 thousand ruble reward.

After handler Buriyev relayed the instructions, the commando sent the bayat – the ISIS pledge of allegiance – to Khurosoni. Ukraine may not have been their final destination. Another foreign intel connection – not identified by FSB sources – would have sent them to Turkey, and then Afghanistan.

That’s exactly where Khurosoni is to be found. Khurosoni may have been the ideological mastermind of Crocus. But, crucially, he’s not the client.

The Ukrainian love affair with terror gangs

Ukrainian intel, SBU and GUR, have been using the “Islamic” terror galaxy as they please since the first Chechnya war in the mid-1990s. Milley and Nuland of course knew it, as there were serious rifts in the past, for instance, between GUR and the CIA.

Following the symbiosis of any Ukrainian government post-1991 with assorted terror/jihadi outfits, Kiev post-Maidan turbo-charged these connections especially with Idlib gangs, as well as north Caucasus outfits, from the Chechen Shishani to ISIS in Syria and then ISIS-K. GUR routinely aims to recruit ISIS and ISIS-K denizens via online chat rooms. Exactly the modus operandi that led to Crocus.

One “Azan” association, founded in 2017 by Anvar Derkach, a member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir, actually facilitates terrorist life in Ukraine, Tatars from Crimea included – from lodging to juridical assistance.

The FSB investigation is establishing a trail: Crocus was planned by pros – and certainly not by a bunch of low-IQ Tajik dregs. Not by ISIS-K, but by GUR. A classic false flag, with the clueless Tajiks under the impression that they were working for ISIS-K.

The FSB investigation is also unveiling the standard modus operandi of online terror, everywhere. A recruiter focuses on a specific profile; adapts himself to the candidate, especially his – low – IQ; provides him with the minimum necessary for a job; then the candidate/executor become disposable.

Everyone in Russia remembers that during the first attack on the Crimea bridge, the driver of the kamikaze truck was blissfully unaware of what he was carrying,

As for ISIS, everyone seriously following West Asia knows that’s a gigantic diversionist scam, complete with the Americans transferring ISIS operatives from the Al-Tanf base to the eastern Euphrates, and then to Afghanistan after the Hegemon’s humiliating “withdrawal”. Project ISIS-K actually started in 2021, after it became pointless to use ISIS goons imported from Syria to block the relentless progress of the Taliban.

Ace Russian war correspondent Marat Khairullin has added another juicy morsel to this funky salad: he convincingly unveils the MI6 angle in the Crocus City Hall terror attack (in English here, in two parts, posted by “S”).

The FSB is right in the middle of the painstaking process of cracking most, if not all ISIS-K-CIA/MI6 connections. Once it’s all established, there will be hell to pay.

But that won’t be the end of the story. Countless terror networks are not controlled by Western intel – although they will work with Western intel via middlemen, usually Salafist “preachers” who deal with Saudi/Gulf intel agencies.

The case of the CIA flying “black” helicopters to extract jihadists from Syria and drop them in Afghanistan is more like an exception – in terms of direct contact – than the norm. So the FSB and the Kremlin will be very careful when it comes to directly accusing the CIA and MI6 of managing these networks.

But even with plausible deniability, the Crocus investigation seems to be leading exactly to where Moscow wants it: uncovering the crucial middleman. And everything seems to be pointing to Budanov and his goons.

Ramzan Kadyrov dropped an extra clue. He said the Crocus “curators” chose on purpose to instrumentalize elements of an ethnic minority – Tajiks – who barely speak Russian to open up new wounds in a multinational nation where dozens of ethnicities live side by side for centuries.

In the end, it didn’t work. The Russian population has handed to the Kremlin total carte blanche to exercise brutal, maximum punishment – whatever and wherever it takes.

Double Crossing of the Red Line

Moscow’s Terror Explosion – Macron’s NATO Troops to Ukraine

Peter Koenig
23 March 2024

Automatic gun-shooting by 5 men in black took place Friday evening 22 March in the Crocus City Concert Hall, attached to a shopping mall, at the outskirts of Moscow. The terror attack preceded a concert. The hall was therefore crowded with people, panicking for leaving it. The assault was followed by a massive explosion.

The official fatality as of 23 March stands at 133. Dozens of people were injured.

The Islamic State (IS) – a CIA creation – claimed credit for the attack.

However, the political end of this attack is more complex.
On March 7, 2024, the US Embassy in Russia warned Moscow that a terror attack may take place in Moscow within the next few weeks. No further details.

Is it one of the now fashionable “predictive planning” stunts?

On the same day, the same US Embassy in Moscow warned US citizens in Moscow not to visit shopping malls. How much did the US know?

Speculations abound. Was this an empty warning to destabilize Russia and Russian elections? Or was it one more provocation to pull Russia into a larger conflict?

On the day of the attack, John Kirby, spokesman for National Security at the White House said in a Press Conference that there were no indications that Ukraine had anything to do with the attack. In early March Washington just had some indications that a terror assault may hit Moscow.

“Some indications”? – Why then the warning on the same 7 March to US citizens in Moscow not to visit any shopping malls?

It could not be more obvious that a hidden agenda is being played by Washington – and, may be added, by NATO and Europe?

Whether the Islamic State, Al Qaeda or another CIA / MI6 terror creation – or even Kiev directly, was involved in this mass-killing is irrelevant, because whoever acted, did so on behalf of US / NATO and the collective West.

It is no coincidence that French President Macron practically simultaneously sends officially 2,000 French NATO troops to Ukraine. “Officially”, because western / NATO military advisers, trainers and coaches for Kiev’s Nazi-military have been in Kiev for quite a while.

Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski has called it an open secret that Western soldiers are in Ukraine. German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz said, “there are already some troops from big countries in Ukraine.” (See this)

This is clearly the crossing of President Putin’s Red Line. Mr. Macron knows it, those who mandate the crossing of the Red Line, like the WEF and those dark Deep State Cult forces behind the WEF, know it – and Moscow knows that they know it.

Is it a provocation to pull Moscow into a hot war?
And the Moscow Concert Hall assault being a doubling-up of the Red-Line crossing?

This happening in the Ides of March, and just after the confirmed landslide re-election of President Putin on 17 March 2024.

Ides of March, is the day in the ancient Roman calendar that falls approximately on Mid-March and is associated with misfortune and doom. The date is also known as the date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Most US wars were initiated in March. Is it a symbolic cult ritual of the west?

It would perfectly fit into the Death Cult of the Great Reset (WEF) and the UN Agenda 2030, which are currently plaguing humanity – worldwide.

There are other non-coincidences. The 24 March 2024 is the 25th anniversary of the 1999 US-NATO assault on Yugoslavia (Ides of March) – currently being commemorated by a three-day Conference 22-24 March 2024, in Belgrade.

The destruction and dismembering of Yugoslavia were also planned by a long hand. After Josip Tito’s death in May 1980 (he served in several leadership positions of Yugoslavia from 1943 – 1980) – there were some lesser communist successors, who were vulnerable to western / NATO “pressures”, and let what was a solid Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) deteriorate, western-style.

In 1990 Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia became de facto President of the SFR Yugoslavia attempting to hold the federation together – which in the ten years after President Tito’s departure was financially destabilized by the west. In the 1990s the SFR Yugoslavia was one of the first “cases” where the World Bank, IMF Washington Consensus was applied full-scale – indebting to destabilize, create internal unrest – and divide.

Mr. Milošević was captured, detained at the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prison in The Hague. He was poisoned on March 11, 2006 in his prison cell – shortly before his scheduled appearance at the International Criminal Tribunal on Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Once divided with constant civil unrest, there was “justification” for western rescue, i.e., bombing Yugoslavia literally into bits and pieces – leaving what we have today, numerous so-called independent former Yugoslavian Federal States – being economically and with “sanctions” controlled by the west.

This is the strategy Washington wants to apply to the Russian Federation – destabilizing it, fracturing it, Regime Change, and then taking it over.

Imagine! – The world’s biggest riches in the world’s largest country, absorbed or subdued by the (still) wannabe US Empire – and its European vassals.

It looks like the west wants a hot war with Russia, come hell or high water. Yes, it would be hell for Europe – for the third time in just over 100 years, and three-times for the same purpose – taking control of Russia, WWI, WWII and now WWIII?

A war – possibly nuclear – of which nobody can predict the outcome. As President Putin repeatedly said – there will be no winners, just absolute destruction.

Under no circumstances will Russia allow a take-over by an arrogant, criminal west. With Russian military’s far-superiority over US and NATO forces, this will not happen.

In the current Middle-East scenario, western leaders are supporting and funding the Israeli-Zionists, literally destroying and mass-killing – wiping out – Palestine, depicting an arrogance blinded by the zest for unlimited might, possibly driving humanity into a bottomless abyss.

A cleansing of this genocidal western “superiority” may bring birth of a new civilization – an evolution to a more spiritual and less material humanity.

—-

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for online journals and is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and  co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020)

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

Fallout from Moscow’s Crocus City Hall

Was the US behind the Moscow terror attack? The US and Ukraine will pay a high price. And that, I have been reliably informed, will extend to our Arab world.

By Abdel Bari Atwan at Rai Al Youm.

The Ukraine war could be poised to take a dramatic new turn

The terrorist operation in Moscow’s Crocus City Hall centre, which killed 143 people and injured hundreds of others, mostly concertgoers, was clearly carried out by a group that had been given serious military training. It could mark a paradigm shift in the Ukraine war presaging a strategic escalation and NATO’s official entry into the war.

Two weeks earlier, the US embassy in Moscow had warned its citizens that extremists were planning imminent attacks on large gatherings, including concerts, in the Russian capital, and warned them to stay away. That foreknowledge of the planning and execution of the operation raised suspicions about a degree of complicity. Washington’s denunciation of the atrocity, and swift disavowal of involvement, cannot be taken at face value.

When the initial warning was made, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova remarked that if the US had information about terrorist actions of such enormity, it should have shared it with Russia. That was the first official hint from Moscow of suspected American complicity.

Two years into the Ukraine war, the US has begun to sense defeat. Russia has made a succession of gains, taking control of the Donbas region and annexing it after holding referendums.

Large-scale US and NATO intervention — on the material, military, and intelligence fronts — failed to achieve any major success. Russia did not collapse under the weight of draconian sanctions. Its economy remains strong. The predicted colour revolution never happened, nor the anticipated military coup to depose Putin.

The opposite occurred, with the Russian president getting re-elected with an 87% majority on a 74% turnout.

The resort to terrorist attacks in Moscow could be a mark of the US’ frustration and a response aimed at expanding the scope of the war. But that would not only be a losing bet. It could bring the prospect of a catastrophic nuclear war closer.

Putin announced on Saturday night that the eleven people involved in the attack, including four direct participants, had been apprehended.
Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of the Russia Today broadcast network, Margarita Simonyan, published video excerpts of the interrogation of one of the suspects. He identified himself as Feredoun Shamsedin, born in 1988, who arrived in Russia from Turkey on 4 March. He said he had been recruited via Telegram after following an extremist preacher, by someone who offered him 5 million roubles ($5,000) to conduct a mass killing in Moscow. Half of the money was transferred to him in advance.

I met Ms. Simonyan when I visited Moscow recently. She was constantly accompanied by a security detail because she had been subjected to death threats. She said she believed the Crocus atrocity was masterminded by the Ukrainian regime, rather than by ISIS as the US media were claiming. Putin’s subsequent assertion that the perpetrators were arrested while heading towards the Ukrainian border reinforced that accusation.

Russia’s fingers of blame pointed at Ukraine were a portent of fierce retaliation. It seems to have already begun. Former president and current deputy national security chief Dmitri Medvedev warned immediately after the massacre that Russia would hunt down any Ukrainian leaders proven to have been involved.

Reading between the lines, that may imply that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky could be top of the target list.

Two days before the Crocus attack, Putin threatened Ukraine with ”war’—abandoning the term special military operation’ — in response to French President Emanual Macron’s hint that NATO could send 90,000 fully equipped troops to Ukraine. Under Russian military doctrine, a declaration of war authorises the use of all available means, including nuclear weapons.

The US administration, disoriented and defeated in Ukraine and (so far) the Middle East, is fueling this escalation against Russia. It is the primary beneficiary of the Crocus attack. Not just to destabilise Russia by stoking ethnic tensions, but also to divert international attention away from its collusion in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and the failure of its cynical attempt at the UN Security Council to sustain it under the guise of favouring (but not actually calling for) a cease-fire.

Putin won’t forgive this assault on his capital while it was celebrating the renewal of his presidential term. He is likely to make the US and Ukraine pay a high price. And that, I have been reliably informed, will extend to our Arab world.

VVP’s Announced Telephone Conversations in Last Two Days

Per Newton’s third law, Hell cometh to the demented Anglo-Zionist satanists in Greater Syria….

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.

The President of the Republic of Belarus expressed his heartfelt condolences on the monstrous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, conveyed words of sympathy and support to the victims’ families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured, emphasising that the people of Belarus stand together with the people of Russia in this time of sorrow.

Alexander Lukashenko offered any assistance that may be needed, and expressed his confidence that the organisers and perpetrators of this heinous crime will face inevitable punishment.

For his part, Vladimir Putin informed his counterpart about the detention of the terrorists directly involved in the attack, as well as about the ongoing investigation.

Both leaders expressed mutual readiness to continue close cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

During his telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed his deep condolences over numerous victims of the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, stressing that he resolutely condemns this barbaric crime, and asked to convey words of sympathy and support to the victims’ families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.

Both Leaders reaffirmed their intention to step up anti-terror cooperation.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Shavkat Mirziyoyev strongly condemned the heinous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, expressed his sincere condolences in connection with the tragedy, and asked to convey words of support to the victims’ families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.

Both Sides reaffirmed their intention to continue close cooperation to counter terrorism.

On March 23, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone conversation.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered his deep and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the heinous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. He noted that the Republic of Türkiye stands with the people of Russia in this dark hour.

Vladimir Putin emphasised that Russia appreciates the support of the Turkish people and informed his Turkish counterpart on the status of the investigation into the terrorist attack.

During the conversation, the Turkish Leader stressed the urgent need for closer bilateral cooperation in the fight against the terrorist threat.

President Putin expressed gratitude for the condolences and supported the idea of stepping up cooperation in countering terrorism.

On March 23, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the Syrian Arab Republic Bashar al-Assad held a telephone conversation.

The President of Syria strongly condemned the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, stressing that Syrian citizens share the pain and grief of the Russian people. He wished fortitude to the victims’ families and friends and a speedy recovery to the injured.

Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad discussed the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the current situation in Syria, which is directly facing the terrorist threat.

The Leaders agreed to intensify contacts both in addressing counterterrorism and in all other areas of bilateral cooperation.

ADDENDUM:

President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon telephoned Vladimir Putin to express deep condolences and solidarity with the Russian people over the death of innocent civilians in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. The President of Tajikistan emphasised that there was no nor could not be any justification for that crime.

During the conversation, Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon noted that the security services of Russia and Tajikistan were working closely together to counter terrorism and that they would build up their cooperation.

Tajikistan’s President Rahmon during phone conversation with Russia’s Putin condemns terrorist attack in Russia, says terrorists have neither nationality nor religion

During the conversation, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev strongly condemned the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, which claimed the lives of over 100 innocent civilians, expressed deep condolences to their families and friends, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Ilham Aliyev stressed that the people of Azerbaijan stand together with the Russian people on this day of national mourning and expressed confidence that the severe punishment of the criminals and those who masterminded that crime was unavoidable.

Vladimir Putin thanked the President of Azerbaijan for his words of support and expressed readiness to further strengthen practical interaction in the spirit of strategic partnership and alliance between Russia and Azerbaijan.

The Day the combined West committed Suicide

Twenty-five years ago, NATO started bombing Yugoslavia

On March 24, 1999, Western countries launched a series of devastating airstrikes on Belgrade, the capital of the sovereign nation of Yugoslavia, which had been already suffering from a political crisis. The US and its allies declared that the Noble Anvil military op was motivated by “humanitarian” reasons and targeted only the military – but in reality, NATO airstrikes killed at least 2,500 people, ruined national infrastructure and sped up the disintegration of Yugoslavia.
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Sergey Lavrov at the UNSC

Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Sergey Lavrov’s address to the President of the Security Council (March 24, 1999)

The Russian Federation is profoundly outraged at the use by the NATO of military force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Those who are involved in this unilateral use of force against the sovereign Federal Republic of Yugoslavia — carried out in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and without the authorization of the Security Council — must realize the heavy responsibility they bear for subverting the Charter and other norms of international law and for attempting to establish in the world, de facto, the primacy of force and unilateral diktat.

The members of NATO are not entitled to decide the fate of other sovereign and independent States. They must not forget that they are not only members of their alliance, but also Members of the United Nations.

Attempts to justify the NATO strikes with arguments about preventing a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo are completely untenable.

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Attempts to apply a different standard to international law and to disregard its basic norms and principles create a dangerous precedent that could cause acute destabilization and chaos on the regional and global level.

The fact that NATO has opted to use force in Kosovo raises very serious questions about the sincerity of the repeated assurances that that alliance was not claiming the role of the world’s policeman and was prepared to cooperate in the interests of common European security.

The Russian Federation vehemently demands the immediate cessation of this illegal military action against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Read in full

Nuremberg and the Crime of Wars of Aggression

“To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”

Primakov’s ‘U-Turn over Atlantic’

How Russian PM Primakov showed Moscow won’t be US satellite

On March 24, 1999, Yevgeny Primakov’s plane was en route to the US where the then-Russian prime minister was due to discuss an IMF loan to the tune of $5 billion for his country. But after then-US Vice President Al Gore told Primakov about NATO starting to bomb Yugoslavia, he decided to turn his plane around and go back to Moscow.

Despite Gore’s desperate attempts to persuade Primakov to backtrack on his decision and come to Washington, the Russian prime minister was undeterred.

“If I had accepted Gore’s terms, I would have been a real traitor,” Primakov later said.

Dr. Samuel Hoff, a professor of history and political science at Delaware State University, points to the significant expansion of NATO after the March 1999 incident.

“It is a fact that in 1999, NATO had 16 countries. And as we sit here in 2024, there are 32 members,” Hoff notes in an interview with Sputnik.

Peter Kuznick, a professor of history at the American University, tells Sputnik that Primakov’s U-turn over the Atlantic added significantly to tarnishing the already “strained” US-Russian relations at the time.

Referring to current “terrible” ties between Moscow and Washington, “the lack of trust” and a bilateral “polarization,” the professor says that one is “beginning to see signs of that certainly with Primakov’s mission in 1999.”

“So it certainly can be seen as an important turning point in terms of the deterioration of potential friendship between the US and Russia and creating a much more positive kind of multipolar world,” he concludes.

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NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia: A ‘culmination of negligence’ that opened Pandora’s box

Twenty-five years ago, NATO kicked off its 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. According to various sources, up to 2,500 people were killed and over 6,000 more injured during the bombing, which was not approved by the UN.

In an interview with Sputnik, Dr. Stevan Gajic, a Balkans expert and research associate at the Belgrade-based Institute of European Studies, says that the beginning of NATO’s “illegal attack” against Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999, was “a precedent that opened Pandora’s box.”

“It was a culmination of negligence of the international law that started since the end of the Cold War. Absolutely, [the] 1999 [NATO campaign] was a precedent. We can even say that the international law was in a way abolished at that moment and, of course, after that chaos was introduced into the system of international relations,” Gacic points out.

The expert also didn’t rule out launching a “real investigation against NATO crimes” in Yugoslavia, which he says can only happen after the serious geopolitical changes following the collapse of NATO in one way or the other. He was echoed by Dr. Srdjan Sljukic, a professor of sociology at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, who tells Sputnik that “NATO aggression against Yugoslavia” reflected “two sorts of crimes,” such as “breaking the international law” and “bombing civilian objects and killing many civilians.”

Sljukic also warns that “as long as the key Western countries are ruled by the current liberal elites, NATO countries will not be put on fair trial because of their crimes in Yugoslavia and all over the world.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Statement in connection with the 25th anniversary of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia

History knows many events which, by virtue of their profound impact on the international order, marked a change of eras.

The NATO attack on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999 is certainly one such event. It went beyond being a tragic milestone in the life of the Serbian people with thousands of ruined lives and desecrated national dignity, and included a devastating blow to international law and European security foundations that had been laid after World War II. The United States and the EU got finally convinced in their own impunity and moral superiority which was bad news for those who prefer to choose their own path rather than become someone’s tool in their efforts to realise their own interests. The strategic balance of power collapsed, and a drawn-out crisis of international relations ensued which continues to worsen.

The US and its allies who assaulted a peaceful European country trampled on the UN Charter and the CSCE/OSCE principles, and desecrated the very notion of sovereignty. They have thus made it clear that they will stoop to anything, including radioactive contamination of vast swathes of land, to achieve global dominance. The widespread use of depleted uranium munitions by NATO has led to a multifold increase in cancer cases in that region, contaminated the environment where millions of people had lived for many years, and went down in history as a separate dark chapter on the list of NATO crimes.

During the 78 days of military aggression 14,000 bombs were dropped on Yugoslavia and over 2,000 missiles were fired, including cluster and demolition shells. Under the mocking front of a “humanitarian intervention,” mostly civilian targets were hit, including residential districts, hospitals, schools, bridges, mass transit vehicles, and refugee convoys. Thousands of civilians were killed, including 89 children, whom the Western coalition cynically referred to as “collateral damage.” No one has ever been held accountable for these atrocities, and international justice turned a deaf ear to the suffering of the Serbs and let NATO atrocities go unnoticed.

Not only the bombed-out buildings of the Yugoslav General Staff and Defence Ministry in central Belgrade which irritate the US officials to this day remind us of those terrible days. Serbia has many other unhealed wounds. A portion of the country’s ancestral territory, Kosovo and Metohija, has been forcibly taken away. The West has taken under its wing terrorists from the Kosovo Liberation Army, gave the province the status of a pseudo-state, and encourages the expulsion of the indigenous Serbian population.

This inevitably begs the question: was the “Kosovo project” worth the sacrifice and destruction that the alliance brought upon Yugoslavia? Has the self-proclaimed “republic” added stability or prosperity to the Balkan region?

There is no doubt that the United States’ concern for the rights of Kosovo Albanians is a fake claim from the get-go. It is nothing but a false pretext for the crackdown on Serbs.

The West’s goal was to turn the provisional self-governing bodies in Pristina into a tool for anti-Serb ethnic cleansing and a festering trouble spot to put pressure on Belgrade. At the end of the day, the Kosovo settlement is in a deadlock, and the situation on the ground threatens to escalate into an armed conflict.

This is what the Western “peacemaking” is all about. Its disastrous ramifications can now be seen in Ukraine, where a neo-Nazi regime has been nurtured on the basis of Washington and its supporters’ rejection of the principles of equality and mutual respect in international affairs, a regime that committed genocide against the Russian population and plunged the country into a military face-off.

We can hear the US and the EU increasingly call on Serbs to “turn the page” and forgive NATO for the invasion that took place 25 years ago. On top of that, they lay the bulk of the blame on the Serbs for the dramatic events during the breakup of Yugoslavia, including the 1999 bombing attacks. I’d be hard pressed to find proper words to describe the extent of Western shamelessness and lack of self-criticism.

The Alliance will never be able to wash off the shame of war crimes. No one believes its demagoguery about defending freedom and democracy anymore. The United States and the rest of NATO have no right whatsoever to talk about implementing an obscure new “rules-based order.” Their every effort to put together some kind of “global security architecture” is by definition malevolent and toxic, and aimed solely at perpetrating the neocolonial hegemony of the West.

Russia and its partners in Belgrade will continue to oppose the attempts to distort the history of the Yugoslav crisis and to shift the emphasis to demonising Serbs and justifying the 1999 aggression. The attempts to insult the memory of the innocent victims of NATO hangmen are unacceptable.

Turkey takes its Seat in Rules-based Terrorism Inc.

Turkey starts to drift into view, as NATO becomes officially activated in Europe.. Turkish elites, in spite of antipathy of its working peoples for post-modern western values, remain at the heart of NATO.

To woo Washington, Erdogan will sell out Palestine

After Ankara and Washington successfully swapped Sweden’s NATO accession for an F-16 fighter jet deal, Turkiye is focused on accelerating that rapprochement and is willing to sweep divisive issues – like genocide in Gaza – under the rug.

By Mohamad Hasan Sweidan at The Cradle.

On 7–8 March, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Washington. The trip garnered attention as it marked Turkiye’s first official visit to the US following the conclusion of the ‘Sweden for F-16’ deal, whereby Ankara accepted Stockholm’s accession to NATO in exchange for US Congressional approval of the sale of 40 F-16s to Turkiye.

During the visit, the two Turkish officials met with their US counterparts Antony Blinken and William Burns, along with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and their respective foreign ministers chaired the seventh meeting of the US–Turkiye Strategic Mechanism.

US–Turkish rapprochement

The thaw in US–Turkish relations has been palpable, as noted by Jeff Flake, the US Ambassador to Ankara, during a televised interview: “Especially in recent months, the two countries have developed shared areas. We observe improvements in defense, trade, and interpersonal relations.”

A closer examination of the joint statement released following the meeting illustrates the transition of Turkish–American relations into a more favorable and cooperative phase.

Established in 2021 and inaugurated on 4 April 2021 amidst escalating discord between Turkiye and the US, the strategic mechanism was conceived to address and improve the strained bilateral relations.

The joint statement issued by the Strategic Mechanism this month included several crucial points, each carrying significant implications:

Both parties addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine, condemning Russia’s actions as ‘unacceptable’ while emphasizing the importance of upholding Ukraine’s unity and sovereignty. However, it is worth noting that Ankara’s endorsement of the statement’s rhetoric aligns more closely with Kiev’s perspective, a deviation from Turkiye’s previous neutral stance. This marked shift will undermine President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aspirations to mediate the conflict impartially.

Playing to the audience

On Israel’s brutal military assault in Gaza, the statement merely referred to an “ongoing crisis” and “underlined the importance of finding a path towards ending the conflict and addressing the humanitarian crisis immediately.” This is a war that Erdogan has, on the record, framed as a “genocide” and called its aggressors in Tel Aviv “war criminals.”

While both parties expressed support for the “two-state solution” as an end goal to the war, the statement’s release coincided with a fiery speech by Erdogan in Istanbul in which he attacked Israel, calling it “the Nazis of our time.” The contrast between the two statements is a real-time reflection of how Turkiye addresses its different target audiences.

On the issue of combating terrorism, the statement endorses joint US–Turkish efforts against organizations like the PKK, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda across regions spanning from Africa to Central Asia. They also recommitted to counterterrorism consultations and discussions on the Syria file, including the adherence to UN Resolution 2254 and supporting a “Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political process.”

The two parties addressed a multitude of regional issues in West Asia and Africa in alignment with the broader US strategy outlined by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, which focuses on partnership-building, deterrence, diplomacy, regional integration, and “democracy promotion” in these geographies.

This includes cooperation in military industry, energy, and trade development, reflecting the existing $30 billion trade volume between Washington and Ankara.

Significantly, the parties discussed leveraging financing opportunities under the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership – a western initiative intended to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This partnership includes the controversial India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and economic development very much to the benefit of Israel.

New Turkish military action in Syria and Iraq?

As the municipal elections in Turkiye draw near – with Erdogan seeking to reclaim his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) control of Istanbul and Ankara after notable previous losses – there’s a tangible resurgence in Turkish rhetoric advocating for military action in northern Syria and Iraq.

According to reports from the Turkish news agency T24, the Turkish armed forces are gearing up for an operation against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) inside its neighboring states following local elections on 31 March.

After a 4 March cabinet meeting, Erdogan spoke of Turkiye’s readiness for a comprehensive operation against the Kurdish separatist groups and reiterated Ankara’s objective of establishing a security corridor spanning 30 to 40 kilometers along the Turkish–Syrian border.

Although the military rhetoric is undoubtedly influenced by Erdogan’s bid to attract nationalist voters in the upcoming elections, it is also connected to the recent Turkish–Iraqi diplomatic breakthrough following a high-level Turkish delegation’s visit to Baghdad.

The meeting in the Iraqi capital led to a security deal in which both countries committed to take action against the PKK. A joint statement read:

Both sides stressed that the PKK organization represents a security threat to both Turkiye and Iraq, and it is certain that the presence of the organization on Iraqi territory represents a violation of the Iraqi constitution … Turkiye welcomed the decision taken by the Iraqi National Security Council to list the PKK as a banned organization in Iraq. The two sides consulted on the measures that must be taken against the organization and its banned extensions [PKK’s alleged offshoots] that target Turkiye from within Iraq’s territory.

Fidan’s senior adviser, Nuh Yilmaz, praised the move, saying, “Turkiye and Iraq decided for the first time to fight jointly against PKK terrorism.” In a post on platform X, he added: “A decision that will mark a turning point! We will see results gradually!”

Strategic interests come first 

According to a well-informed Turkish source:

Turkey’s main purpose is very clear. The presence of the PKK in Metina and Gara [in northern Iraq] has the potential to seriously threaten the Iraq Development Road Project … We both would like to remove PKK from these two areas as well as secure the area for the construction of the project, reaching both objectives in one step.

Ankara and Baghdad seek to counter any threat to this development road project, a land corridor linking the port of Faw in Basra to the Turkish border and from there to Europe.

In this context, Erdogan is expected to visit Baghdad for the first time since 2012, where, some speculate, he will try to conclude a border control security agreement with the Iraqi government and seek to convince Baghdad to support future Turkish military operations against the PKK.

Despite Turkiye and Erdogan’s vocal criticism of Israeli atrocities in Gaza, recent interactions between Ankara and Washington indicate a pragmatic approach in their dealings, through which Turkiye hopes to be reinstated as an important US strategic partner.

While the Turkish president is stepping up anti-Zionist rhetoric on his domestic front, his administration maintains substantial economic ties with Israel, exporting various vital goods and services to the occupation state.

Although a Washington–Ankara rapprochement is still in its nascent stage, recent developments reveal the old allies are on a positive trajectory to repair bilateral relations after a period of strained diplomatic ties.

Erdogan’s foreign policy approach – as exemplified by his rhetorical Gaza stance and material support for Israel – makes clear Turkiye’s shift toward prioritizing strategic interests over ideological ones.

≈≈≈

Nuclear Threat, World War III and Turkey: Balance Policy or a Game?

Is Turkey’s rhetorical stance of “balancing” a genuine attempt at strategic equilibrium, or merely an endeavor to occupy multiple positions simultaneously?

By Erkin Öncan at Strategic Culture Foundation.

Alexander Stubb, the newly elected president of Finland, has made several noteworthy statements regarding the current geopolitical climate. He emphasized the escalating tensions amidst discussions of a World War III. Stubb, representing the center-right National Coalition Party, expressed openness to the possibility of allowing the transportation and storage of U.S. nuclear weapons in Finnish territory, branding them as a “guarantee of peace.” This stance remained consistent throughout his election campaign and was reiterated upon assuming office. Stubb underscored the necessity for Finland to possess a tangible nuclear deterrent force, citing NATO membership as pivotal in providing multiple layers of deterrence, including military, munitions, and nuclear deterrence from the USA. He further asserted that Finland’s alignment with NATO signifies a definitive step towards embracing Western values, a sentiment echoed by the inclusion of Turkey as an enthusiastic participant in the anticipated third major conflict.

However, Finland’s enthusiasm for NATO membership has not gone unnoticed by Russia, which shares a significant border with the country. In response to Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, Russian President Putin announced plans to bolster military presence along the Western borders to counteract perceived threats stemming from NATO’s eastward expansion. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov conveyed Moscow’s acknowledgment of the democratic choice made by the Finnish people but indicated pessimism regarding potential improvements in Russo-Finnish relations.

The most explicit reaction to Stubb’s nuclear policy came from Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mariya Zakharova. Addressing the issue during a weekly press conference at the World Youth Festival in Sochi, Zakharova outlined Russia’s stance on the placement of U.S. nuclear weapons in Northern Europe. She asserted that such deployments would be considered a direct threat and would consequently be designated as legitimate targets in the event of a direct military conflict between Russia and NATO. Zakharova underscored Russia’s awareness of the desires of the United States and its allies in this regard.

The primary source of concern regarding nuclear capabilities is now widely recognized to stem from the potential for World War III to be nuclear in nature. When discussing nuclear power, the focus often turns to Russia, acknowledged as the “world’s largest nuclear power”.

Western media consistently highlights the perceived “nuclear threat emanating from the authoritarian Kremlin”. However, to truly address the concept of a “nuclear danger”, it is essential to consider the United States, which has transformed Europe into a depot for nuclear weapons, rather than Russia, which does not maintain nuclear forces beyond its borders, apart from the neighboring Belarus.

The United States and its NATO allies do not disclose precise figures regarding the stockpiles deployed in Europe. Nevertheless, estimates from the U.S.-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in 2021 suggest that around 100 U.S. nuclear weapons are stored across six bases in five NATO member countries.

These weapons are kept in inactive states within underground vaults at national air bases. Notably, the “permissive action link” (PAL) codes required to activate these weapons are under American control. In the event of their use, the weapons would be loaded onto warplanes designated by NATO.

This situation is intricately tied to the “modernization” efforts undertaken by nations operating F-35A, F-18 Super Hornet, or Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.

U.S. nuclear weapons have been stationed in Europe since the mid-1950s, authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower for storage at NATO bases on the continent as a deterrent against the Soviet Union.

Stored in warehouses across Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and other countries, these weapons are maintained for potential deployment when required. Additionally, countries such as Czechia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Romania participate in SNOWCAT operations, facilitating NATO partner involvement in nuclear missions.

Meanwhile, Finland, under the leadership of Stubb, is positioning itself as a significant player in the ongoing ’nuclear preparedness’ measures originally aimed at countering the USSR and persisting in response to Russia.

This dynamic persists alongside ongoing military actions initiated by NATO against Russia. Notably, the commencement of Steadfast Defender-24, hailed as NATO’s largest military exercise since the Cold War, marks a significant development. This exercise aims to test the transfer of military forces to Eastern Europe and beyond, encompassing regions where Russia’s influence is perceived as encroaching.

This exercise constitutes a series of 15 maneuvers rather than a singular major military operation.

Steadfast Defender encompasses various other exercises conducted at national or regional levels, including Joint Warrior, Solid Approach, Arctic Dolphin, Northern Response, Immediate Response, Brilliant Jump, Movable Defender, Slovak Shield, Saber Strike, Trojan Trail-24, and Spring Storm.

Turkey actively participates in these exercises, with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) playing a pivotal role in Brilliant Jump, Nordic Response, Saber Strike, and Immediate Response exercises.

Turkey’s involvement extends beyond military participation; it also hosts one of NATO’s most crucial commands. The permanent headquarters of NATO Land Forces, known as Allied Land Command (LANDCOM), is situated in Izmir.

Decisions regarding NATO’s land maneuvers are made at the command post within the General Vecihi Akın Barracks in Buca, Izmir. Given its historical significance, Izmir, where the first shot was fired against invaders a century ago, could potentially be remembered as the site where the decision to initiate the first shot of a world-engulfing war was made if a new global conflict were to erupt on Russia’s borders.

This prompts consideration of Turkey’s rhetorical stance of “balancing”. Is it a genuine attempt at strategic equilibrium, or merely an endeavor to occupy multiple positions simultaneously?

Gaza Update: Anglo-Zionist Pier & Bifurcation Road

Along with the latest news from the resistance in Gaza and the West Bank, Jon Elmer takes a look at the US military operation to build a pier in Gaza City and how that plan lines up with Israel’s ongoing construction of a highway south of Gaza City that will divide the Strip between north and south.

It’s War: The Real Meat Grinder Starts Now

“Rules-based Terrorism” Returns to Moskau. No more shadow play. It’s now in the open. No holds barred.

By Pepe Escobar at Strategic Culture Foundation.

Exhibit 1: Friday, March 22, 2024. It’s War. The Kremlin, via Peskov, finally admits it, on the record.

The money quote:

“Russia cannot allow the existence on its borders of a state that has a documented intention to use any methods to take Crimea away from it, not to mention the territory of new regions.”

Translation: the Hegemon-constructed Kiev mongrel is doomed, one way or another. The Kremlin signal: “We haven’t even started” starts now.

Exhibit 2: Friday afternoon, a few hours after Peskov. Confirmed by a serious European – not Russian – source. The first counter-signal.

Regular troops from France, Germany and Poland have arrived, by rail and air, to Cherkassy, south of Kiev. A substantial force. No numbers leaked. They are being housed in schools. For all practical purposes, this is a NATO force.

That signals, “Let the games begin”. From a Russian point of view, Mr. Khinzal’s business cards are set to be in great demand.

Exhibit 3: Friday evening. Terror attack on Crocus City, a music venue northwest of Moscow. A heavily trained commando shoots people on sight, point blank, in cold blood, then sets a concert hall on fire. The definitive counter-signal: with the battlefield collapsing, all that’s left is terrorism in Moscow.

And just as terror was striking Moscow, the US and the UK, in southwest Asia, was bombing Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, with at least five strikes.

Some nifty coordination. Yemen has just clinched a strategic deal in Oman with Russia-China for no-hassle navigation in the Red Sea, and is among the top candidates for BRICS+ expansion at the summit in Kazan next October.

Not only the Houthis are spectacularly defeating thalassocracy, they have the Russia-China strategic partnership on their side. Assuring China and Russia that their ships can sail through the Bab-al-Mandeb, Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with no problems is exchanged with total political support from Beijing and Moscow.

The sponsors remain the same

Deep in the night in Moscow, before dawn on Saturday 23. Virtually no one is sleeping. Rumors dance like dervishes on countless screens. Of course nothing has been confirmed – yet. Only the FSB will have answers. A massive investigation is in progress.

The timing of the Crocus massacre is quite intriguing. On a Friday during Ramadan. Real Muslims would not even think about perpetrating a mass murder of unarmed civilians under such a holy occasion. Compare it with the ISIS card being frantically branded by the usual suspects.

Let’s go pop. To quote Talking Heads: “This ain’t no party/ this ain’t no disco/ this ain’t no fooling around”. Oh no; it’s more like an all-American psy op. ISIS are cartoonish mercenaries/goons. Not real Muslims. And everyone knows who finances and weaponizes them.

That leads to the most possible scenario, before the FSB weighs in: ISIS goons imported from the Syria battleground – as it stands, probably Tajiks – trained by CIA and MI6, working on behalf of the Ukrainian SBU. Several witnesses at Crocus referred to “Wahhabis” – as in the commando killers did not look like Slavs.

It was up to Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic to cut to the chase. He directly connected the “warnings” in early March from American and British embassies directed at their citizens not to visit public places in Moscow with CIA/MI6 intel having inside info about possible terrorism, and not disclosing it to Moscow.

The plot thickens when it is established that Crocus is owned by the Agalarovs: an Azeri-Russian billionaire family, very close friends of…

… Donald Trump.

Talk about a Deep State-pinpointed target.

ISIS spin-off or banderistas – the sponsors remain the same. The clownish secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, was dumb enough to virtually, indirectly confirm they did it, saying on Ukrainian TV, “we will give them [Russians] this kind of fun more often.”

But it was up to Sergei Goncharov, a veteran of the elite Russia Alpha anti-terrorism unit, to get closer to unwrapping the enigma: he told Sputnik the most feasible mastermind is Kyrylo Budanov – the chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

The “spy chief” who happens to be the top CIA asset in Kiev.

It’s got to go till the last Ukrainian

The three exhibits above complement what the head of NATO’s military committee, Rob Bauer, previously told a security forum in Kiev: “You need more than just grenades – you need people to replace the dead and wounded. And this means mobilization.”

Translation: NATO spelling out this is a war until the last Ukrainian.

And the “leadership” in Kiev still does not get it. Former Minister of Infrastructure Omelyan: “If we win, we will pay back with Russian oil, gas, diamonds and fur. If we lose, there will be no talk of money – the West will think about how to survive.”

In parallel, puny “garden-and jungle” Borrell admitted that it would be “difficult” for the EU to find an extra 50 billion euros for Kiev if Washington pulls the plug. The cocaine-fueled sweaty sweatshirt leadership actually believes that Washington is not “helping” in the form of loans, but in the form of free gifts. And the same applies for the EU.

The Theater of the Absurd is unmatchable. The German Liver Sausage Chancellor actually believes that proceeds from stolen Russian assets “do not belong to anyone”, so they can be used to finance extra Kiev weaponizing.

Everyone with a brain knows that using interest from “frozen”, actually stolen Russian assets to weaponize Ukraine is a dead end – unless they steal all of Russia’s assets, roughly $200 billion, mostly parked in Belgium and Switzerland: that would tank the Euro for good, and the whole EU economy for that matter.

Eurocrats better listen to Russian Central Bank major “disrupter” (American terminology) Elvira Nabiullina: The Bank of Russia will take “appropriate measures” if the EU does anything on the “frozen”/stolen Russian assets.

It goes without saying that the three exhibits above completely nullify the “La Cage aux Folles” circus promoted by the puny Petit Roi, now known across his French domains as Macronapoleon.

Virtually the whole planet, including the English-speaking Global North, had already been mocking the “exploits” of his Can Can Moulin Rouge Army.

So French, German and Polish soldiers, as part of NATO, are already in the south of Kiev. The most possible scenario is that they will stay far, far away from the frontlines – although traceable by Mr. Khinzal’s business activities.

Even before this new NATO batch arriving in the south of Kiev, Poland – which happens to serve as prime transit corridor for Kiev’s troops – had confirmed that Western troops are already on the ground.

So this is not about mercenaries anymore. France, by the way, is only 7^th in terms of mercenaries on the ground, largely trailing Poland, the US and Georgia, for instance. The Russian Ministry of Defense has all the precise records.

In a nutshell: now war has morphed from Donetsk, Avdeyevka and Belgorod to Moscow. Further on down the road, it may not just stop in Kiev. It may only stop in Lviv. Mr. 87%, enjoying massive national near-unanimity,  now has the mandate to go all the way. Especially after Crocus.

There’s every possibility the terror tactics by Kiev goons will finally drive Russia to return Ukraine to its original 17^th century landlocked borders: Black Sea-deprived, and with Poland, Romania, and Hungary reclaiming their former territories.

Remaining Ukrainians will start to ask serious questions about what led them to fight – literally to their death – on behalf of the US Deep State, the military complex and BlackRock.

As it stands, the Highway to Hell meat grinder is bound to reach maximum velocity.

How could Russia respond to NATO invasion?

Will France/NATO invade Ukraine? How will Russia respond?

Will France invade Ukraine? How will Russia respond?

Scott Ritter goes nuclear on French President Emmanuel Macron, Poland, and the Baltic States (“over-fed chihuahuas”). Don’t watch this episode if you’re a NATO fanboy! #NewRulesPodcast pic.twitter.com/Zb3s90VxES

— NewRulesGeopolitics (@NewRulesGeo) March 21, 2024

In this week’s episode of the New Rules podcast, we’re discussing the potential of a French/NATO military intervention in Ukraine. Longtime friend of the program, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter goes NUCLEAR on French President Emmanuel Macron, Poland, and the Baltic States.

“France is the equivalent of an overfed Chihuahua, and you don’t want to get in the ring with the really beefed up Rottweilers, especially when they’ve been trained to eat overfed Chihuahuas their entire life,” he told the New Rules podcast.

 

Yemen’s Indian Ocean Checkmate

Ansarallah has single-handedly disrupted global shipping power dynamics. Yemen is launching attacks against Israeli-linked vessels deep into the Indian Ocean to cut off the last waterway route to the occupation state.

By Khalil Harb at The Cradle.

Our people are ready to send hundreds of thousands of mujahideen to Palestine. Okay, geography might pose a problem. It could be a problem for our people to go there in large numbers. Nevertheless, and despite all the obstacles, we will not hesitate to do whatever we can. We are completely coordinated with our brothers in the Jihad and resistance front to do anything and everything that we can do.  — Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, 10 October 2023

Since Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s proclamation three days after the launch of the Palestinian resistance’s 7 October Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, under his leadership, has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Ansarallah’s maritime reach has surpassed all initial expectations, now extending to the distant shores of the Indian Ocean in its ambitious plan to besiege Israel by targeting the occupation state’s shipping interests.

Yemen’s strategic position not only serves as a beacon of hope for Palestinians enduring Israel’s brutal military assault on their lives, homes, and livelihoods but has also become a crucial pillar in the Axis of Resistance’s fight against US hegemonic machinations in West Asia.

In late February, al-Houthi vowed to expand the scope of attacks against Israel-linked vessels, stating, “We have surprises that the enemies do not expect at all,” before announcing the successful testing of a new hypersonic missile.

This stands in stark contradiction to western narratives trumpeting their own containment efforts to encircle Yemen and thwart its ability to intercept Israel-bound vessels. If anything, the naval operations undertaken by the Ansarallah-aligned armed forces are instead rippling outward, spanning a remarkable distance of over 6,000 kilometers from the Yemeni coast to the Indian Ocean.

Failure of ‘Prosperity Guardian’

Crucially, Yemen’s defiance has drawn widespread, popular support from its once-warring nationals, not just in support of Gaza and the Israeli blockade but also against the relentless US and British airstrikes launched under the fig leaf of Operation ‘Prosperity Guardian‘ – an extrajudicial imperial project which aims to cripple Ansarallah’s military capabilities under the guise of securing international shipping and trade routes.

Yet al-Houthi’s unequivocal declaration on barring the passage of ships associated with Israel, or those engaged in commercial ties with it, from traversing the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope shows that Washington and London have been dealt a resounding strategic defeat.

By targeting these two new critical waterway passages, Yemen imposes a new reality on global shipping routes. This phase of the naval battle presents a significant threat to the world’s established maritime corridors, compelling commercial vessels traveling to and from Southeast Asia to navigate lengthier and more costly routes around the southern tip of Africa to reach the Mediterranean Sea.

Iran’s partner, not a proxy

Al-Houthi’s message is clear: “Do the Americans, British, and the Zionists expect that any aggressive act against Yemen will distract us from defending Gaza?” Ansarallah recently announced the targeting of over 70 commercial ships with ties to Israel, alongside military battleships across the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and the Indian Ocean.

Moreover, Yemen’s stance challenges western reports of secret talks brokered by Oman between the US and Iran, purportedly aimed at containing the conflict, preventing it from spreading further from the ‘Yemeni front.’

Despite Washington’s announcement that it has released $10 billion in frozen Iranian funds and its ferocious intimidation and enticement maneuvers behind the scenes, Sanaa’s strategic move towards the Indian Ocean should dismiss any rumors about an impending ‘US–Iran deal.’

Instead of acquiescing to US pressure, Tehran is working to maintain stability and avert all-out war through its ‘support fronts’ in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. The escalation in Yemen poses a greater regional challenge, overshadowing any temporary truces in Iraq by some factions.

While the Biden administration attempts to portray its diplomatic efforts as successes, particularly through indirect negotiations with Tehran and plans to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, the situation in Yemen remains a humiliating inconvenience for a White House heading into an election cycle. This comes against the backdrop of a White House also frantically trying to manage the Iraqi and Lebanese arenas, which are equally pushing back against US hegemonic interests.

As the spokesman for the Iraqi resistance Al-Nujaba movement, Dr Hussein al-Musawi, tells The Cradle:

Our principles are clear and firm regarding the American presence on Iraqi soil, which is a complete exit without any interference in our political, economic, and other affairs; ending its control over the aspects of Iraq’s politics; and liberating its land and wealth; and political and economic independence.

Economic ramifications for Israel 

Sanaa’s strategic maneuvering in the Red Sea–Gulf of Aden–Indian Ocean corridor not only poses a distraction for US and British naval forces but also presents unforeseen challenges. While US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Israel after announcing his ‘Guardian of Prosperity’ operation, the Yemeni resistance was busy adding millions of square kilometers to their area of missile confrontation.

The 12 percent of global trade passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has already suffered a blow to the core. The resulting disruptions, including increased shipping costs and insurance premiums, are anticipated to fuel inflation and potentially paralyze Israeli ports such as Eilat and decrease traffic in Haifa.

While the full extent of damage to Israel’s foreign trade remains unclear, initial estimates suggested losses exceeding $180 billion, considering pre-existing trade figures from 2022.

Yemen’s growing naval capabilities

Simultaneously, the question arises: how will the ‘Guardian of Prosperity’ forces, previously tasked with monitoring just the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to counter Yemeni missile threats, manage the vast expansion required to monitor the thousands of ships traversing to and from the Cape of Good Hope across the Indian Ocean?

While the US and UK do not reveal the number of naval vessels assigned to their almost impossible mission, numbers circulating claim the participation of several US battleships, including the USS Laboon, USS Carney, and USS Mason – and from the British, the destroyer HM Diamond. Greece is estimated to have one frigate involved, France contributes naval vessels under US command, and Italy claims to have a frigate that operates outside the operation’s banner. Although the coalition publicly announced the inclusion of more than twenty countries in its mission, the actual naval commitment from its members appears negligible.

Furthermore, it’s hard not to notice the fundamental inefficiencies inherent to the western naval operation: the US “is launching $2 million defense missiles to stop $2,000 Houthi drones.” It was no surprise then when a Pentagon spokesman acknowledged a few days ago that despite ongoing western strikes on Yemen, Ansarallah’s capabilities have not been undermined.

And then Abdul-Malik al-Houthi comes along and adds the Indian Ocean to the US’ horror scenario with an area exceeding 70 million square kilometers.

Ali al-Qahum of Ansarallah’s Political Bureau characterizes this expansion as a “shocking and unexpected surprise” for the resistance’s adversaries. At the same time, it amplifies Yemen’s globally strategic significance as a military force – one that can successfully execute a comprehensive siege on Israel.

It is not clear whether the announcement of including the Indian Ocean in the Yemeni naval operations is related to the tests of the hypersonic missile. It would make Yemen one of only a small handful of nations to possess this unique military capability – Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

Regardless, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi’s ability to take the enemy by surprise showcases Yemen’s capacity to disrupt established power dynamics, particularly in the West Asian region. By supporting Gaza unequivocally, the Yemeni front within the Resistance Axis is further diminishing US influence amid the waves of the Indian Ocean, unless a lasting ceasefire is imposed in Gaza.

Humiliating the US President

Netanyahu’s slap to Biden. The humiliated US president will continue arming Israel despite his show of dissent

By Abdel Bari Atwan at Rai Al Youm.

Tuesday’s early morning Israeli airstrikes on Rafah — which killed 14 people, including three women and three children — were Benjamin Netanyahu’s reply to Joe Biden’s request, in a phone conversation the previous evening, not to invade the city or foil the talks aimed at reaching a truce agreement.

Netanyahu deliberately set out to humiliate the US president, and not just with the airstrikes. In an address to Israeli legislators, he declared that Hamas could only be destroyed by an all-out invasion of Rafah and that he had informed the US president of his determination to proceed with that operation. His stance was echoed by other members of his government.

Biden, leader of the world’s greatest superpower, has clearly lost his verbal standoff with his servant/master Netanyahu. The latter showed that it is he who calls the shots in Washington. He trashed the undertaking he supposedly made in that phone call, and went ahead with preparations for invading Rafah by ordering the airstrikes and storming Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

An early result of Netanyahu’s slap to Biden’s face will be to scupper the negotiations in Doha between the intelligence chiefs of the US, Egypt, and Israel and the prime minister of Qatar. Biden and his administration had been counting on them to produce a three-stage truce agreement that would include prisoner exchanges and end Israel’s war on Gaza.

Netanyahu clearly demonstrated that he does not want any such deal. He first restricted the mandate of the Mossad chief who was taking part in the talks, and then recalled him.

Biden is unlikely to respond to these slaps. He is terrified and intimidated by Netanyahu. His only reaction will be to support the assault under the table by sending more military and financial aid to Israel and maintaining the flow of arms that has sustained its war on Gaza. Since it started the US has delivered it around 300 planeloads, 50 shiploads, and 35,000 tons of ammunition and equipment.

A ground assault on Rafah will not succeed in destroying the infrastructure of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip. It will cause major losses for the Israeli army. The resistance will not stand idly by. It has prepared well for such an offensive and set many traps and ambushes for the invading forces.

The statements Netanyahu made at the start of the war about destroying the resistance and freeing the hostages are identical to those he is making now in response to the US’ show of dissent and to justify an assault on Rafah — the supposed’safe haven’ where he had forced the residents of northern Gaza to relocate.

The Resistance brigades, which have stood fast for more than five months against the biggest Israeli war of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the history of the conflict and the region, will certainly survive an assault on Rafah — the city that brought Ariel Sharon to his knees and became a graveyard for his soldiers after the 1967 occupation.

The Israeli army did not manage to impose its control on Jabaliya or the north, and similarly failed in Deir al-Balah, Mughazi, Nusseirat, Khan Younis, and Abasan, where the resistance remains active. Why would it succeed in Rafah? And what will it do with its 1.5 million inhabitants and displaced people? Send them to Mars, or exterminate them all?

An invasion would not only be a defiance of the US and the hypocritical West that revolves in its orbit, but also of Egypt and its president Abdelfattah as-Sisi.

It would mean taking over the Salaheddin (Philadelphi) border corridor, decoupling Egypt from Palestine geographically, and closing the Rafah crossing for good. It would pose a direct threat to Egypt’s national security, wreck the country’s standing in the Arab world and internationally, and infuriate one hundred million Egyptians who are already enraged at the genocidal war being waged on their Palestinian brothers and sisters.

I said from the start of the ground operation that Israel would be defeated and the resistance would emerge victorious, the more so the longer the war lasts. I repeat that assertion with the start of the Rafah assault. Who had expected back then that the Yemeni navy would close the Red Sea and make its approaches unsafe for the US navy and its aircraft carriers; or that the Lebanese front would ignite and send 150,000 Israeli settlers packing; or that the Islamic resistance in Iraq would strike Israeli infrastructure and bases?

Netanyahu will end up digging the grave of the Zionist enterprise and deepening it, and hasten the onset of the one-state solution: the state of Greater Palestine.

Dien Bien Phools

We Won’t Get Dien Bien Phooled Again! Once the French have defeated Russia, they will attack all of Europe. France cannot be allowed to win!

with gratitude to FiveGunsWest and penned by Bones!

Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys

I must have every book about Dien Bien Phu there is. I also have the French Communist Party books on this topic and various and sundry others of the time, and Bernard Fall’s books as well.

‘A Street Without Joy’ is the benchmark of French military decline and the onset of loss of empire for the country that has gone from a lion, De Gaulle, to a mouse, Micron. And now the mouse that roars.

The history of Dien Bien Phu is a study in miscalculation multiplied Force Ten. Fuck up after fuck up. Cascading idiocy. They so underestimated their enemy that they didn’t even dig in their gun emplacements. The man in charge of the artillery discovered his mistake as 100s of projectiles per minute rained down on the camps and took out the artillery. Despondently, he went down into his bunker sleeping quarters, pulled the pin on a grenade and placed it over his heart. He was such a larger than life individual and an inspiration to the men that the ‘overseer’s of the men’, the officers, lied to them and told them that he’d fallen on the field of honor. There is no honor in a colonial war for the occupier.

The artillery stood exposed. No sandbags. They disdained the abilities of the eventual victors so much that they stupidly held their last stand in a valley surrounded by mountains riddled with caves. They thought the Vietminh couldn’t shoot straight. Turns out they were crack shots, sighting through the barrels of their guns in the high caves surrounding Frenchy and Heinz.

Most of the “French” troops at Dien Bien Phu were former SS Nazi storm troopers. I guess the US took the cream of the NAZI crop. General Gehlen who set up our Gestapo Security State. Mr. Werner “I just make the mizziles, vhere they come down izz not my koncern” Von Braun. Eva wasn’t available.

The rank and file SS troops wound up in Vietnam, getting their asses shot off by the Vietminh and their ashes hauled in the official French brothels that always traveled with the troops. This practice is still current. They come to San Francisco once a year for fleet week. You can see the prostitutes. Some whores got the Croix de Guerre for ‘services above and beyond the call of booty’.

@robertjames6640 1 year ago:

“An amazing movie. I served with men who fought at Dien Bien Phu and they held the greatest of respect for the Vietnamese people who defeated them. Vietnam and its people are resilient, hard working and truly delightful.”

The Frogs Made It Personal For Giap

In the late 1930s, Giap married a fellow member of the party, whom he had met in prison years earlier. She gave birth to a daughter, Hong Anh, in 1940. Four months later, the party’s central committee decided to send him to join Ho, who was living in exile in China, where he was preparing plans for the revolution he intended to launch.

Soon after Gen. Giap left for China, his wife was taken into custody by French authorities. She died in prison, either by suicide or while being tortured. Because of the intervening world war, it was years before Gen. Giap learned of his wife’s death. In 1947, his father also died while in French custody, refusing to publicly denounce his son, although he never agreed with his communist ideology.

“He carries in his soul wounds that even time cannot heal,” Hong Anh told biographer Currey of her father.

It’s not my intention to recap history on this fascinating and well deserved defeat of the French who were ferreted out of their holes and FROG MARCHED off to a POW camp as they should have been, but to rub this humiliating defeat in their faces as they consider war with Russia. I consider them stupid like the rest of the crime syndicate of the Western satellite colonies of the former US empire.

The Frogs Can’t Get Enough

The Dien Bien Phools can’t get enough humiliation, death and defeat. Now they want to send their children to Ukraine to kill Russians for Joe Biden’s corrupt regime, all the while blathering on about freedom and democracy, meaningless crap that Ukraine doesn’t have or represent. They are fighting for western leaders endless supply of Merck cocaine and children to rape and abuse. They may not know it, but that is the reality.

The rank and file French soldier has no idea what they’re fighting for and for the most part, they never have. Remember, once invaded by the Nazis in WW2 they sided with the NAZIs and became Vichy France. The French Foreign legion … the former SS Nazis … didn’t care what they fought besides the kicks they got out of usual frolics colonial powers derive from killing the natives who have no standing army, navy or airforce. A turkey shoot as it’s called. Once again they’ve sided with the Nazis to boot.

That said, US troops have no idea what the fuck they’re doing from moment to moment. They’re a largely uneducated rabble and the non-coms are just as bad. An immoral uneducated rabble using the military as a jobs program in much the same way as a corrupt Congress critter uses the arms manufacturing as a jobs program bringing money into their coffers and sharing a little with the community. The last thing the US military wants to do? Their jobs.

Most of the world is watching Russia systematically destroy what was by far the largest most capable and equipped NATO-commanded army in the world (the Ukrainian army), understanding that what is unfolding is Washington’s Waterloo.

The US general stuff are all rear echelon muthafuckas

So drive on, it don’t mean nuthin’

Larch445:

“When or where have the French been correct in their strategic judgment?
SE Asia? Algeria? Sahel? West Africa? Central Africa? NATO? WWII?
Where or when?
They always get it wrong.”

smoothieX12:

“Yes, some imbeciles in Paris think so, but considering the level of French Armed Forces–they will be hunted down and killed.

What Paris is going to do about it? Right–nothing. France’s nuclear deterrent is dwarfed by Russia’s conventional, let alone nuclear capability–so, does Macron and his buddies want to die?

They will. So will France as a whole. Hey, French voted for this. Time to face consequences. And here is the funny thing–France is alone in all that.”

Bones:

“I predict popcorn shortages. Be sure to lay in a big supply. Enough to binge eat for a couple of days. ‘French cooking’ will not take that long. If US enters the fray, it may take a week to fry and die. They haven’t met Mr. Thermobaric. Have fun guys. Ta Ta.”