Another marker for today: Yesterday, after the U.S. military’s strike on more than 85 targets at four facilities in Syria and three in Iraq used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the militant groups it sponsors, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby was clear that there would be additional responses to the attacks on U.S. troops.
From what I’ve heard, the attacks were carefully measured and focused on taking out capabilities (logistics, launchers, etc). This seems like the right approach, which minimizes escalation and maximizes the cost to the supporters of the bad guys.
I can't help but hear resonating in my mind "and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways." Which one drives our policy?
Is it really so hard to see? I'm sure there are smart people in Washington who are quite aware, that the attacks would stop if the West would stop the genocide in Gaza.
How much longer do you all think you can dance around that fat, white elephant in the room? It has taken up pretty much all of the space.
War is hell, but what's going on in Gaza is not genocide. It is a military operation against a truly genocidal Hamas that promises to kill all Jews starting with the ones in Israel, using tunnels under and among civilian infrastucture to attack Israelis. We wouldn't be in this horrific situation if Hamas would have used the billions in aid aid it gets each year to build civillian projects instead of military ones.
Jerry, there have been so many missed opportunities for peace between Israel and the Palestinians over the years, each side apparently preferring all or nothing to actual peace negotiated by their leaders, that it is very hard to blame today's Israelis and Palestinians for the chicken or the egg conundrum they find themselves in, given how poorly past leaders on all sides have performed. Both sides are led by terrorists now.
Yes. It's fruitless to point fingers and think the "bad guy" can be identified, since the leadership of both sides have done horrible things. Putting international pressure on both is probably the only way to get these two sides to change their ways. In the meantime, the weapons industry is stuffing their pockets while people die.
Until Netanyahu's leadership, the movement towards peace from either side were not equal. Isrsel was the side leaning into peace more than the Arab side. Under Netanyahu's leadership, conditions compatible with a 2 state solution have deteriorated.
It's not just a bipolar situation. On the Arab side are all the Arab countries surrounding Israel who, until relatively recently, have been supporting "from the river to the sea" ideology even as they did nothing to help Palestinians.
David, the New York Times Magazine cover today is about the main article that goes back to 1948. I haven't read it yet, but I am hoping it sheds some more light on this very complex issue.
As I said yesterday, we need a smart, common sense wise woman leader to help lead. Where is Hanan Ashrawi when we need her? She's a "Palestinian educator, legislator, and spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the early 1990s.Jan 1, 2024"
Really, him the ICJ calls it genocide and anyone who knows what genocide calls it genocide. We would not be in this hell if the US stopped sending weapons and was not run by the military industrial complex and AIPAC.
I recommend that you read the dissent in the ICJ opinion registered by the Ugandan judge. I think she got it spot on and, considering the political pressure to blame everything on the Israelis, a very brave thing to write.
Actually the ICJ did not conclude that it is genocide but did heavily criticize Israel for the extensive damage and called on Israel to curtwil actions that foukd be construed as genocidal. It also said Israel must prosecute citizens who spout genocidal rhetoric, which some in Netanyahu's coalition have been doing. I think the ICJ got it right.
"Run by the military industrial complex and AIPAC"?? AIPAC??? That's a bullshit conspiracy theory. AIPAC is a political action committee like other PACs. They all use donations to gain access and influence. But they don't write laws or make decisions about national policy. Or isdo you find it ominous because it's a Jewish organization?
How can Hamas even dream of committing genocide when the Israelis are pretty much protected through the Iron Dome - only their own stupidity and incompetence let Hamas succeed in October. Do you guys ever implement your brain before you hit the keys?
How can they dream of genocide? Great question. But dream they do. Just read their charter. Just look up the history of Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, most occurring after Israel withdrew from within the borders of Gaza in 2005.
We do engage our brain as we look at the broader situation with eyes wide open.
What, other than your opinion, makes you believe it's not genocide? Blowing up civilian targets is a war crime, but blowing up many civilian targets is genocide.
Sending rockets into civilian targets and doing it from civilian areas and expecting no retaliation is a war crime. Defending yourself by blowing up your enemy's centers of operation, even if it's in a civilian area, especially after giving warning to residents I the area and time to get away is not a war crime you shoot at me, I will shoot back. you would be free to whine to others who refuse to look at the whole picture that I'm being mean.
As Tom Friedman pointed out a few weeks ago, when Israel voluntarily--voluntarily--left Gaza in 2005, there was no border fence. Thousands of Gazans went to Israel for work every day. The Israelis left behind at least one working factory and a number of farms/greenhouses that supplied fruits and vegetable to Israeli and European markets. The accession of Hamas ended all that. The factory was turned to making munitions, and the greenhouses destroyed. Friedman compared Gaza to Dubai, a similarly-sized enclave that, at about the same time, decided to become a center for trade and development. Gaza was in an even better position to do the same, being situated on the Mediterranean, rather than the more remote Gulf of Oman. But Hamas was dedicated first and foremost to the extermination of Israel and the Jews. So it is more accurate to say that the Gazans locked themselves in their outdoor prison.
I heard a BBC radio program interview Thursday with a woman attending the recent Israeli conference calling for the resettlement of Gaza and for the " encouragement" of all Palestinians to relocate to a friendly country. The vitriol coming from her was ghastly and convinced me that the Israelis have become the evil empire. May god have mercy on them for their immorality. The following link is to a different news video from NBC showing the darkness and rage that has engulfed many Israelis:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfeLzXqL-nI . What lesson did they take from the Holocaust?
Sadly, the recent Hamas atrocities have totally shaken Israel's foundations. With that psychological upheaval, normally sanguine and sardonic Israelis have trouble shaking off their anger Netanyahu, like Trump, is dependent on that anger for his very survival. The BBC likes to highlight the worst segments of Israel, like Fox News likes to highlight the foibles of Democrats. Still, it's a useful exercise to criticize a country. Israelis criticize each other all the time, and international reporters are there to record all of it. It's weird, though, that you don't hear any criticism of Hamas repeated to any reporter. What's going on?
But back to your point: Israelis have to work through their anger to return to a constructive place. I'm not at all saying that Hamas should be forgiven or the Oct 6 attack be forgotten, just that they have a large challenge in getting back to a new normal.
Maybe destruction of Hamas's terrorism capability will help that. I hope that will be enough. I also hope that Arab countries step up and actually help more than enriching Hamas leaders in Qatar and sending thoughts and prayers for the Palestinians.
A 2 State settlement is the best solution to this holy war. Biden must be strong on that and not surrender his soul as has happened with Netanyahu, many other Israelis, Arabs, and Palestinians.
Pro-Palestinian civilian; anti-Palestinian terrorist; pro-Israeli civilian; anti-Netanyahu and his aggressive settler coalition who have no interest in a two-state solution.
Netanyahu is the "spiritual" brother of Donald Trump and would love nothing more than his winning the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. Nothing President Biden does will affect the actions of Netanyahu, who regards him as his enemy. Not voting for Biden (including voting “none of the above”) makes a Trump Presidency more likely. Whatever Biden's fault in the entire Gaza abomination, Trump is incomparably worse. He is, personally, as demonstrated by his entire life, a moral abomination, and helping him is morally unsupportable.
Ah, the lesser evil, save democracy hypocrisy, taken to new heights by deflecting from the complicity Joe Biden owns in the perpetuation of a genocide. Moral abominations abound these days.
The attacks would stop if Hamas would release all the hostages and if Hamas stopped their attacks and surrendered. That said, I can't think of anyone who is anything but horrified by the suffering of all - the Gazans and the Israelis (who are not all Jewish). Hamas brought this on; Netanyahu saw it as an opening to strike, despite tons of warnings to not fall into Hamas's trap. He needs the right to stay in power; Hamas uses every penny they can get their hands on to fortify and arm themselves while letting Gazans pay the price.
By putting pressure on the Israeli regime, by stopping delivering weapons and ammunition, by reinstating support of UNRWA, by stopping to dehumanise the Palestinians ... the list of things to work towards ceasefire is huge.
It seems to me that we have tried repeatedly to get the Israelis to stop & nothing has worked. However, as long as Hamas is heavily fortified by other combative countries to the U.S., I don’t see how it would even be possible to expect
the U.S. to intervene. That said, as a result of hostile nations recent action of murdering our “bystander” soldiers, as well as showing anyone who tries to interfere with commerce, worldwide, just what to expect from the USA, I believe the USA acted in good faith & the rest of the world IS watching.
Yes, all good suggestions. But as long as so many people, in particular men, who lead these two sides, continue to behave like children, we will be unsuccessful in fixing this kind of problem. Despite the trappings of technological progress, and the veneer of 'civilization" so many of us still operate like prehistoric people, relying mostly on their limbic systems and not their frontal lobes.
The West could start by getting rid of the Yahoo who no one likes anyway. He's the Israeli equivalent of tRUMP and the extremists who pull his strings. Then threaten to stop sending military stuff (and money) to Israel and, with like minded ME countries, declare a cease-fire. As long as Israel goes on bombing Gaza, their war against Hamas is mostly a genocide against Gaza women and children. They can't surrender.
He definitely is the Israeli equivalent of tffg. However did they give him back such power??
Hopefully the US of A can learn from that!!
However, in a democracy (Israel, like us, is barely holding onto that title) it’s up to the people to get rid of their own yahoo. We would do well to keep our own yahoos out of power. Just because our yahoos have often interfered in other democracies is not a reason to keep doing it.
I do agree that we need to support democracies that already exist, no matter how fragile they are. The world becomes so much smaller every passing year.
No they won’t. They were happening to some degree all along. The situation in Gaza is just giving reason to ramp up. It’s why Hamas did the Oct 7 thing anyway: to set a match to tinder.
First not genocide, second those terrorist groups do not need a reason to stick it to the West. They are willing to pay, with their lives and the lives of others just as Hamas was more than willing to sacrifice 10s of thousands of Palestinian lives that they could not care one hoot about for they KNEW what the Israelis would do after their massacre and hostage-taking. The cost of Palestinian lives is horrific and for the most part inexcusable. An overreaction most likely and it is the cost of electing extremists which Israel is paying dearly, especially in world opinion.
Yes and, as an investor in the shipping industry, I heartily concur; however, the companies I invest in do not constitute a greater need for humanitarian aid than our brothers and sisters under siege. Which will have the greater voice in guiding our national policy?
Both. Remember the chaos when the shipping was disrupted during covid? Also. We are woefully ignorant as Americans of the ways of the world when it comes to the extremely complicated matters of war, logistics, politics, culture etc. etc etc. Trying to simplify any foreign affairs matters into a single issue is a self-defeating approach.
It is a humanitarian matter to make sure shipping occurs.
“We are woefully ignorant as Americans of the ways of the world when it comes to the extremely complicated matters of war, logistics, politics, culture etc. etc etc.”
Yes! Thank you!! 👏🏼👏🏼
And obviously so! And I would add we are brainwashed in whichever direction our emotions lead us to as being a huge factor. Objectivity is hard to come by after thousands of years of war and hate and oppression on both sides. Oh, but let us just elect another war mongering bully like tffg by not voting (or by voting for some third party that doesn’t have a chance in hell), because the current administration is not doing exactly what my ignorant and emotional mind wants them to. It’s very hard to stick to the path to peace, because it is not going to happen overnight. Surely handing power to the egomaniac is the better choice, ya think?? (I don’t!! But it appears the rest of the world is not in agreement)
You really got me thinking on that one. I think it’s more about the avoidance of cognitive dissonance that blocks progress? Isn’t it more that people’s fragile egos cannot tolerate a challenge to their core beliefs so they deny the truth? 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ Maybe that was what you intended to communicate 🤷🏻♀️?
“Cognitive dissonance is the unpleasant mental state that may result if someone really does have certain beliefs but thinks or acts in a way that contradicts them.”
Seems many folks cannot tolerate an a unpleasant mental state, ergo the denial and conspiracies?
RFKJR will get us out of the wars and he has just as much a chance as President Biden. If Biden loses, it will be because he failed to convince voters , his own fault and not that of RFKJR. He is in it to win and well on his way. If people would stop watching news stations that are ignoring RFkjr they could see the truth.
RFKjr backs Israel and even his own advisors are appalled with that. I agree that ignoring his popularity is a ridiculous approach. As a president he will have zero support from congress to enact his programs. AIPAC is investing in beating all the progressives. Who else might vote otherwise. By not engaging in midterm and local elections the public has not done the work necessary to enable a 3rd party candidate to do anything beyond executive orders.
Biden is foolish to not stand strongly against Netanyahus war of revenge. It very well may be what gives us another round of Trump. RFKjr or Biden are not the worst thing that can happen- Trump is.
I prefer the term peace keeping or protector of children. But, it only works if we elect compassionate leaders and not the war mongering, Bush, Cheney and Trumpsters
Commerce, without a doubt in my mind. Of course, with the aim of stopping the attacks. Like oil, US national interests include international economic sinews. Americans are neither the majority users of the waterways or oil.
The slaughter on innocents (Israeli or Palestinian) is disgraceful. Somewhat like the Russian attacks on churches, schools, hospitals in Ukraine. Religious/political factions are the worst with no regard for anyone (especially women). Every thing is all about me and power. I suspect religion has very little to do with anything.
Could you please provide evidence that Russians attack churches, schools and hospitals in Ukraine?
The Ukrainian defenders shoot anti-missiles that either intercept the Russian missiles, scattering explosive debris; or the anti-missiles miss and come down and explode randomly.
I remember the story about Saddam Hussein's soldiers dumping babies in the hospital out of incubators onto the floor to die. This story inflamed the whole country, including me, and helped justify our war against Iraq. Then, afterwards, it was widely reported that the story was a bare-faced lie.
I have seen much of the same in the barrage of propaganda against Russia, but I have no doubt that some of the stories of atrocities are true.
Isolated acts by military units are different from a systematic policy. I have been taking a wait-and-see attitude, remembering how we all got brainwashed in the past.
Regarding the "kidnapped" children, I remember reading that Russia relocated orphans from a war zone to safety in Russia. What's the true story, and how do we find out?
Why are you even on this Substack newsletter? No one reads your bullshit. They see your name, “John Schmuck”, and skip your posts. Please go away. What a nuisance you are (which I guess is the whole point- similar to the tactics of GOP fascism).
NYT, Barrons, Axios, CNN (their numbers were too wild), NPC, NBC, Business Insider, AP news, Aljazeeera, Forbes, BBC and interviews from kidnapped children nd people working to retrieve them were my sources. Nothing showed up from Epoch, Briebart, Newsmax, and Fox.
Kidnapped children 16,000 taken from parents, orphanages, tricked into going to "summer" camps. Some are adopted by Russian parents and indocrinated (sp) into the ways of Russia. Some of the older ones who got Russian citizenship got apartments. Parents got up to$1,000 per child when they got citizenship. The some older children didn't want to return. They were settle in and basically alienated from Ukraine. How long before they are used for Russian cannon fodder?
Around 1,500 civilian structures were destroyed including 23 hospitals, 330 schools, and numerous homes. A lot in Mariupol and Donsk area. There was satellite imagery BUT investigations need to be done to see if they used the Hamas technique of hiding things in civilian buildings.
I am amateur at the computer and don't know how to link. BUT I did read several articles (I mentioned above) and the numbers of kidnapped children varied. The point all of these articles is that children were kidnapped except for the one coming from the Russian officials . Humanitarian reasons they gave (which I can understand) but to take children and never return them, turn them into Russians, I am not comfortable with that. Sorry for the delay-broken computer
Darling, the "bad guys" is us - if we stop supporting the genocide in Gaza, we may have again a chance on the high horse of righteousness, currently we're down on our backsides.
I think war is the natural inbreeding of our species. Even in Biblical days, we were fighting, Trojan War, Odysseus, French and Indian War, Revolutionary war, Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, WWI, WWII, WIII (oops not there yet). Consider the big stink about women in the military, most of the war involve men. Hence my comment: too much testosterone.
Once upon a time, in the garden of innocence Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That’s when the jig was up. Oneness fractured into separate things and separate individuals who could know stuff, who could do stuff, who could own stuff, who could be better than other people. Each one had a name and a detailed story about ‘who they are’ One could assert that the advent of words was the beginning of war.
Well, they already are, aren't they? Hamas offered to release them Netanyahu denied a deal. Don't know what the deal was supposed to look like, though, but obviously the hostage families thought it was good enough, else they wouldn't have attacked Netanyahu in the Knesset, I suppose.
I think the bad guys are 1. The leaders of Hamas and whoever chose the actions of October 6th. 2. Then, Netanyahu and his far right cronies put themselves on the list of bad guys with further decisions to raze Gaza rather than focus on Hamas bad actors. 3. The human race is only at fault for tolerating criminal behavior of these individuals for so long. In my opinion. Why are you so hesitant to focus on the decision makers with direct involvement?
I was born German and the first half of my life, it was drilled into us what a horrible thing the Holocaust was, that we are all responsible to prevent it ever happening again, etc etc.
Now I observe to my utter astonishment that the whole thing is repeating - once again an extremely right-wing demagogue dehumanises an entire nation, the Palestinians, for years (Israel does it actually since decades) now pronounces and starts to action genocide (let's see how he now start the threatened famine) and the West is more than happy to comply, agree and support. The utter, horrific ridiculousness of Germany currently pulling the annual Holocaust-show and fight against fascism in their own country, while happily allowing it to be committed by Israel in Gaza.
Also stunning, scary and fascinating to watch how Israel has the entire Western media by the short and curlies - don't dare to criticise Israel or else. Palestinians have seized to exist in Western Media, except as the bad guys. The minor detail that already nearly 30,000 of them have been killed, 10,000 children, no more hospitals left etc etc doesn't count for the West.
However, the West may portrait Hamas as "terrorists" (a term that surely would fit for the IDF just as much), the support for Hamas has trippled in the last month, and most likely the majority of people currently on this planet do not share the Wests view of things. It's going to be interesting times. If the whole thing blows up the West is as much to blame as Hamas is, we'll reap what we did sow.
Destroying the Hamas seems to be very similar to destroying ISIS or the Taliban. Yet here they still are. The retaliation is overkill. Hamas pushed first-yes, but the Israelis have shoved the Palestine people (not Hamas) off a cliff. I do not claim to know anything about the Mid east except they have oil and can control merchant trade waters., but my first thought is just to leave them to fight it out among themselves. Like I said the terrorist groups are still there. We hadn't launched our last plane out of Afghanistan and the Taliban had taken over.
Seriously? So because our murdering appears mathematically correct, the "bad guys" (who are the peanuts on the world block yet are passionately distraught and defensive over the genocide of their Palestinian neighbors by that arrogant Israeli colonialist Zionist thuggery) will say to themselves, "well, we won't feel incensed because that super arrogant nation was so precise in their attempted destruction of us, we'll let it go." Americans, the citizenry, appear blind to or unbelievably naive about the moral depravity (vacuity?) of Biden's decision to help slaughter the Palestinians. How is that not analogous to helping the Southern plantation owners slaughter their Black slaves for trying to escape? or helping the Nazis slaughter the Jews in Buchenwald for trying to escape?
Seriously? So because our murdering appears mathematically correct, the "bad guys" (who are the peanuts on the world block yet are passionately distraught and defensive over the genocide of their Palestinian neighbors by that arrogant Israeli colonialist Zionist thuggery) will say to themselves, "well, we won't feel incensed because that super arrogant nation was so precise in their attempted destruction of us, we'll let it go." Americans, the citizenry, appear blind to or unbelievably naive about the moral depravity (vacuity?) of Biden's decision to help slaughter the Palestinians. How is that not analogous to helping the Southern plantation owners slaughter their Black slaves for trying to escape? or helping the Nazis slaughter the Jews in Buchenwald for trying to escape?
Seems like all of a sudden we’re bombing Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Does the War Powers Act even exist anymore? I guess the war powers act is rendered moot with a dysfunctional Congress. Asking for a friend.
We are not bombing the people and attacking the governments of Iraq, Yemen and Syria (which then might generate a War Powers discussion), we are attacking terrorists who are located there because those governments are unwilling/unable to expel the terrorists who are killing innocent people and committing piracy on the high seas, thus no need to consider War Powers Act.
Exactly Annie. Gaza is just the rallying cry de jure for the terrorists. As for Yemen and Syria, the last thing those governments want to see is American military focusing on their decrypt corrupt governments. Trump pulling out of the JCPOA for NO REASON when Iran was in full compliance did not exactly enhance our standing in the region!
Thank you for remembering the chump contribution to this mess. If he worms his way back in, he, Putnik and Netanyahu will celebrate like never before. Think about that, you Joe bashers…
Trump is like an STD, 'the gift that keeps on giving'! "Militias like Kata’ib Hizbollah, part of the umbrella group blamed by Washington for the drone strike that killed three US soldiers, have their own animus against America — their leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was killed in the US strike in 2020 that assassinated Qassem Soleimani, the Qods Force leader." Financial Times Feb.3rd.
Joe bashers? To criticize the actions of this administration is our duty as informed citizens. President Biden should have called for a ceasefire months ago. He and his advisors blew it. They are feeling the pushback now from loyal Democrats. If he loses this election and throws this country to Trump and his cult, it will be because of his mishandling of this war.
Really? So you think they're picking a fight with the world largest army, that never holds back swinging its big dick around given the opportunity, just for the fun of it? Do you think they're drunk or just stupid? You may want to consider that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
lol just said that myself, though i think you're overstating it's genocide in Gaza, even if there is likely no lack of Israeli religious who might by now be thinking that. 28000 dead is 1% of the Gazan population, but certainly no small number, and it makes you wonder if there couldn't have been a better way.
I wouldn't count on that... remember those massive demonstrations against Israel, not so long ago? "muslim brotherhood" even if in this case Palestinians are mainly sunnite, though Hezbollah are also shiite (Iran connection)
Come on now. In bombing any people or structures in any country without the authorization of that country ahead of time, we are attacking that country.
Plain and simple. And who came down from Mt. Olympus to piously declare who in this scenario are terrorists, and followed it up with an Orwellian justification waiving all otherwise applicable laws and norms?!?
The War Powers Act should be invoked forthwith.
The only thing more pressing than that is for US to turn off the financial and military spigot supporting the IDF's ongoing genocide in Gaza
Iran has publicly said they no can no longer control the actions of their pet terrorists, Hamas and Ansar Allah. Presumably the Iranians have stopped giving them money. The government of Yemen, currently in exile, has been begging for help against the Houthis for years and years. Why would you think Yemen would object to any steps anyone takes to reduce the Houthi stranglehold on Yemen? I expect Iraq and Syria also have no objections to someone else rooting out pockets of radical aggression on their ground. What do you think is going on here?
If Iran is no longer subsidizing Hamas, great. The "government " of Yemen you refer to is a dissolute, corrupt tool of the House of Saud. The Houthis have the legitimate claim to running Yemen. Also, let us not forget that the Saudis committed ghastly war crimes, including starvation against the Yeneni people, aided to a certain disgraceful degree by US.
Iraq has already protested our actions.
In any case, my larger point was that the purposefully promiscuous use of the term "terrorists " here is inappropriate.
It connotes a Cowboys and Indians-like cartoonish version of things.
Not saying Hamas is not a terrorist organization, as it clearly is. Yet, how is slaughtering close to 30,000 Palestinians not an act of terror?! Shouldn't the current government of Israel, openly racist and just as religiously fanatical as Hamas be deemed terroristic as well?
Iraq and Syria want Americans to leave. The United States currently holds the border crossing between Iraq and Syria, on behalf of Israel, to get in the way of Iranian shipments of things that blow up.
Not picking up Houthi's/ militant Shiites' causes here, but those we call "terrorists" are someone else's "freedom fighters". This is a case of asymmetric warfare.
Reasonable distinction. Depending upon how things go over the next couple months, the governments of Iraq, Yemen, and Syria may have more to say about this.
Ah, the old “stateless terrorists” excuse for bypassing the war powers act which has been our guiding principle since 9/11 and amplified by Obama in the droning of those on his kill list.
I hope you're right. I think that it's too early to tell. If he were to declare that we need a ceasefire in Gaza, I'd feel a bit more confident that it might be possible to de-escalate.
In case you haven't noticed, there are numerous articles about the United States working with Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Egypt to come up with a workable long-term ceasefire, coupled with international recognition of a Palestinian state at the end of hostilities BEFORE the negotiations with Israel over a two state solution. This would present the Israelis with a fait accompli, meaning they would have to negotiate how to deal with something that already exists. The US is also throwing support to the Israeli opposition to Netanyahu. When the sanctions were imposed on the four biggest settler criminals, there was discussion of also including Itamar Ben Gvir and Smotrich, the two settler extremists in the government. So now they are on notice.
Admirable collection job TC - bravo. And as you would know, those are just the 'knowables' in play; I'm only anxious to see how it plays out. Waging peace, is complicated.
Chump knows how to wage his kind of peace, roll over and show your belly to Vlad, like in Helsinki. He and Netanyahu were like twins, and will be joined again if he has the chance. No wonder the extremists smell blood. Go Joe
I don't know what putting Ben Gvir and Smotrich "on notice" means. Do they, or the West Bank settlers, care? As long as we don't stop sending them money and munitions, they, and Netanyahu think that they are immune to any threats. Until Biden joins those who are publicly calling for a ceasefire, they will, I'm afraid, continue to ignore him.
They know they were on the list for sanctions and were then removed - meanig they know they can end up there - Smotrich is already saying it shows what a w"warrior for Israel" he is, that the US doesn't like him
All good. Happy to hear that we and others are continuing to work on a “workable long-term ceasefire”. Meanwhile, Israel continues to murder innocent Palestinian civilians and incinerate Gazan infrastructure.
Who gives away their entire plan and strategy Betsy ? There are far too many players with other aims watching and meddling in the middle east for their own ends; that happens everywhere - even in this space on this page. Why would one show all their cards ?
William, tell your friend there are at least eight (8) countries involved in the military action targeting Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the principals being the UK & the US but, significant tactical support & intelligence operations are being provided by (n alphabetical order: Australia, Bahrain, the US has a strategic Naval Base in Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands (high quality intelligence) & New Zealand. So eight (8) national making up HCR's "coalition".
The "85 +" targets are in eastern Syria & western Iraq but, not in Lebanon & not in Iran at this stage of the spreading regional warfare.
Thank you, I’ll pass this along to her. Meanwhile, would you care to opine on the percentage of these military actions which are impliedly in support of Israel, and which are actually intended to protect commercial shipping involving worldwide commercial interests?
Morning here on the West Coast William. On Sundays, I recommend a professional communicator who has worked for six (6) Presents JEN PSAKI. Jen's Sunday Show, "INSIDE WITH JEN PSAKI" on MSNC at NOON Eastern and is aimed at a broad audience, high-schoolers to retired Trial Attorneys.
Pay attention to Jen's asides which act something like a footnote to discussed in more detail on her Monday evening Shows of the same name name "Inside with Jen Psaki" preceding Rachel Maddows' production which offers full situational & historical context
I favor links that educate me. I can get enlightened conversation on the YouTube platform for free that I otherwise would have to pay to subscribe to. Since I don’t have the funds to subscribe to every writer I would like, it’s an invaluable resource, for me.
Additionally, linking those sources via YouTube probably brings more subscribers, who might not have been aware of their existence otherwise.
As a truth and justice guy, I don’t care how I receive ‘the word’, platform wise.
But, this isn't a war. The Saudi's have been bombing Yemen since before Trump took office and we have sent in drones there as well. A co-worker's son is a Navy Seal and although they can't talk about their actions, sometimes there's nothing else going on in the news besides an explosion at a military base or taking out someone like Bin Laden.
Would you prefer that Presidents wait for our do nothing that will make Biden look good Congress to vote on whether or not a retaliatory strike takes place?
It's been 102 days now since Biden requested funding for Ukraines and Israel and the do-nothing Republicans have done nothing yet.
In the meantime, Gym Jordan, Comer, MTG and others are working to impeach Biden and Mayorkis for nothing they have been able to prove.
C’mon. Dysfunctional Congress is not the problem. The Trump Know-Nothing faction is the problem. Is it possible to forget Boss Trump’s degenerate, transactional "foreign policy" undercuts our allies, derailing international cooperation against thugs and tyrants? And let’s stop calling Trump’s know-nothing faction the Republican Party. It is pure RINO. There is no Free World George Kennan to be found anywhere in the dark rants of Trump, Stefanik, Kushner, MTG and little Leninist Bannon. Pure blather. C’mon. Vote and generously support Democratic grass roots campaigns & voter registration. Embrace your inner Taylor.
William, Congress gave up on the "war powers" act with the Korean conflict, and has not issued a declaration of war since 1942. Truman through Biden, all world "conflicts" (AKA Wars) have not been declared by congress, but permitted the nation to go forward with wars in everything but declaration (Korea, Vietnam, the assortment of conflicts that made up the Global War on Terrorism). Why would they start now? <sarcasm font>.
As for me? I would be taking a hard look at why our soldiers are providing targets for terrorists in the Middle East. And if we’ve stuck our soldiers there, why they lacked adequate protection from attack.
There is the idealist in me who would love to see the US completely leave the Middle East in a military sense. Our invasions (they call them wars when there could be two legitimate sides to the conflict) of Afghanistan and Iraq were nuts. And cost trillions that could be solving a lot of American problems right now. A lot.
But if we step away now, if we were to remove all our influence in the region tomorrow, you know who would fill the gap immediately. And they are not the friends of anyone. They are brutal opportunists - which we have been. But they are way more ruthless. It is a delicate juggling act. And I wake up every day relieved that we have President Biden at the helm. In this case, age and experience are a feature. So are restraint and carefully calculated responses.
So philosophically, I ask the same question that you do. But practically speaking, it's important to imagine how people like Putin and Xi think. Americans are arrogant and make a lot of mistakes. But it is not our basic goal to dominate the entire world and lay waste to everything in our way.
The point to remember: if we step away from our current role in foreign affairs, that role will be filled, and we (the US) will never be able to return to that role.
Bill Alstrom with a pair of head-in-the-sand fallacies:
"Our invasions...of Afghanistan and Iraq were nuts."
"But it is not our basic goal to dominate the entire world and lay waste to everything in our way."
Our invasion of Afghanistan served to deny, for two decades, China's main route for its Belt-and-Road Initiative, the old Silk Road.
Our invasion of Iraq served to stop Iraq's rapid-pace industrialization in its tracks, deliberately and willfully laying waste to the industrial potential that Saddam Hussein was building up, in an extended war crime:
Do you think my expertise would have been better than Bush’s was when he invaded Iraq?
Better than LBJ’s was when he escalated in Vietnam based on the Tonkin lie?
Better than Obama’s was when he wrecked Libya?
Better than Clinton’s when he reneged on the promise not to expand NATO?
I opposed them all. So yes, my foreign policy expertise has exceeded that of every POTUS in my lifetime, with the possible exception of JFK, because I fully grasp the concepts of empire, propaganda, and narrative, and oppose the pursuit of American hegemony at the behest of both capitalists and the national ‘security’ state.
Keep being a lapdog for American Empire if you wish to stand on that polluted ground. Just accept the apt descriptor of Ugly American when thrown your way by those who recognize hypocrisy when the words like freedom, liberty, and democracy are thrown around, and the accompanying actions are the antithesis of the words.
This week in Tel Aviv, protesters have been demanding the ouster of Netanyahu and I am right there with them. On top of fighting with the Houthis, our military says we are avenging the killings of our three patriotic soldiers but we are, along with our continued efforts to protect the seas, making certain goods get to and from ports. I wish I didn’t feel this sense of vigilantism, but I do. I desperately want the hostages released, if there are any left, and I want Hamas to pay dearly for the revolting barbarity they committed. Netanyahu has to be stopped as he is a madman just like the rest of his ilk.
Not a madman, just a criminal. Netanyahu’s motivation is clear, he is willing to do anything he thinks will enable him to stay out of jail. That is immoral, stupid, and hopefully incorrect, but not crazy.
Of three branches of our government, only the Executive Branch is performing as expected. In fact very well. The other two, the Justice and the Congress, are under siege of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans, weakening the country. A sad situation.
I am age 75, when I was born so was the state of Israel. There was a lot of shooting then and the same continues to this day. And now , we have a new weapon, the remotely controlled drone, which makes warfare easier , cheaper and without putting the lives of your own troops at risk, or so it seems. The counter attack by the US, was essential, yet nobody believes that will be the end. It will take a huge effort to avoid a much larger regional war. Can the leaders find the wisdom and strength to keep this from escalating? The history says no.
What are you suggesting - to kill all Israelis via drone strikes? That seems pretty harsh. Because surely you can't talk about the Palestinians - at a total murderrate of over 30,000, among them 12,000 children - a new record - all in 3 months, the efficiency can make us quite proud, don't you think? All hospitals bombed to the ground, at last count 6 ambulances for 2 million people. Aren't we heroes! No medical supplies for them terrorists, no Sir, children are to be operated on without anaesthetics! That's the defence spirit!
Because of oooooh, the horrors of Hamas, only because we dehumanise and oppress the Palestinians since decades. And of course all my friends in the West know. But Hamas now has 3 times the support it had a 2 months ago, and in the rest of the world the Palestinians interpretation as freedom fighters is adopted more and more.
No, no, no. I am not suggesting killing all Israelis. I am very sympathetic to the horrors that the Palestinians have faced for decades. All I am saying is that drones make it too easy to kill, it is warfare converted into a video game. To me the response by Israel has been grotesque. Killing civilians wholesale will not neutralize Hamas. And that quote from Netanyahu of” from the river to the sea” does not offer much hope for peace. It is a very one sided war with Israel having a large mechanized army, a modern air force and the Palestinians have none of those weapons.
You're so pro-terrorist and pro-Hamas Sabine and think Americans are such War Mongers why don't you just go join a Terrorist Cell and start fighting for them dear? You know we hadn't been involved in a conflict in the middle east until Terrorist bombed us on our own soil on 9/11. Then George Bush screwed up and bombed the wrong country. If we had gotten Osama bin Laden when we first tried we would have never been over there trying to do Nation building for twenty years. A huge mistake. We have no business in the middle east period. I agree with you on that, however we are not trying to make war! We are trying to to make peace and keep our troops safe. What happened is happening with Hamas has nothing to do with the Palestinians or Isreal, the Palestinians are being used as tools. Hamas doesn't care about them! Are you so obtuse that you don't get that? They are not the great defenders of Palestine. They are a Terrorist group. You don't sit down and negotiate with Terrorists.
Jack A Roe, and remote controlled/ push of a button warfare doesn't force those doing so, to see and feel the inhumanity, abject cruelty, suffering, death, and destruction first hand like face to face combat does. It removes them from fully witnessing and experiencing the war insanity.
The men who fought in WW1 said, never again, never again, because they tasted, smelt, touched, saw , and heard all the horrors of war and it hurt them deeply to their souls. Remote controlled wars may seem like human advancements, but are they? They may prevent some lives being lost, but do they keep us from learning what we need to learn?
Your last paragraph is a zinger. Keep in mind that we now have essentially two generations that grew up with more and more advanced video games that are now converted to drone/remote deployment of military munitions.
War is an academic exercise from a distance; it is not the face to face combat that was seen up through WWII (which was ended by the ultimate "drone strike" of history, but I digress). Yes there has been face to face combat in all the "conflicts" we've had since WWII, but as you said, I suspect what we're seeing today is more and more "advancements" that keep us from learning what we need to learn and keep refusing to learn in the name of "right".
Ally House (Oregon), that is a good point that about two generations have over time been acclimated and conditioned by video games to accept the use of remote controlled weapons. Very sad.
And I agree that we humans justify things not so right, as right. We've been conditioned throughout human history to do so. But I think all the present and future violence in the world is and will force an awakening in many people because emotional suffering is/will be so heavy. I think we can make a giant leap forward in human evolution with growing consciousness globally.
Does anyone hear the drumbeats of war? As I trust most of you know, the Military Industrial Complex demands to be fed. For those who don't know what I'm referring to, here is President Eisenhower speaking about the need to guard against its unchecked power during his Farewell Address to the nation on January 17, 1961... shortly before John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President. Kennedy - a man of peace - didn't live to see his dream pursued beyond preventing war with the USSR over Cuba.
Let's not go down the Conspiracy Theory Military Industrial Complex rabbit hole, it does not need more business. It is backordered and can not fulfill the demands of Ukraine while the GOP continually increases the Defense Budget. Anyone who thinks Biden and his advisors are trying to gin up business for the Military Industrial Complex, in my opinion, is as wacky as the MAGAs.
You misread my comment. Not surprising, since you reference Biden rather than the world. Eisenhower knew the global war machine was real. He lived through its most terrible accomplishment. Don’t forget there were very important Americans who were on Hitler’s side. (See Rachel Maddow’s recent podcast and book).
The machine that needs to be fed is not in America alone. We have lived in a global world for decades. If you cannot see this, I invite you to open your eyes.
You are right about living in a global world, only we haven’t figured out how to do it. Still tribal bull Schitt all around. Joe is trying to put out many fires while so many (friends and foes alike), pour gasoline. Chump is waiting and hoping to live in a worldwide Putnik peace (with a cadre of billionaire supporters). Bring on the alien invasion. Unite us like Japan did.
Yep, behind every war is money, lots of it. The war is terrible but the profits are astounding, because every nation will spend with abandon to protect their borders and go on to win. Sadly, the Middle East is in a perpetual war.
Having valued Letters from an American for essential historical information and analysis, it is disappointing and disconcerting to read commentary on U.S. military action in Ukraine and the Middle East with such a lack of historical context and understanding.
With yesterday and today, Professor Richardson is "throwing down markers" to denote the events that have transpired on both of those days. No assessment, no analysis, no dissection of thought, no in-depth research...just "markers".
Give the Professor a break; she's written just about non-stop Letters for over two weeks at this point. No "take a night off" pictures since January 23rd (even then, it was a marker talking about Nicki Haley's success in the New Hampshire Primary).
She also freely admits that she is an expert in 19th Century American History. There are few parallels to be found in that area of expertise when you look at the global community that exists today. She also has said, repeatedly, that when she is writing on "current events" she is doing so with an eye to future historians who will be studying this period of history and might find useful an historian's perspective.
I love Heather's newsletter... learned a lot about parallels in American history. But as you say, she admits to being an expert in 19th Century American History. She has not studied globally interrelated crime... what Sarah Kendzior refers to as a "transnational crime syndicate". We are mistaken if the only viewpoint we have is of what is happening here in America. www.sarahkendzior.com
I read that one sentence post as critical of the Letter, and not of today's commentary (which in and of itself was rather taken over by some of the "one trick pony" commenters that seem to be "flooding the zone" as of late.)
Fully aware of your references. Your concerns were accurate for WBush and Dick 'Halliburton' Cheney, LBJ the liar who set up the fake attack at Tonkin Bay. But today in Middle East....nah.
That we’re again engaged in conflict in the Middle East is deeply concerning. And yet, it’s interesting how the Biden administration’s military agenda and actions are in such stark contrast to that of tfg’s.
May tfg inch ever closer to the big house rather than to our White House. And may God protect our troops.
Thank you Professor. I’m sorry that I’m sounding sarcastic and I don’t take these things slightly because I don’t like war and all the fighting and I know that there’s way more involved in this that I’m not smart enough to make a change but I bet if they had more trees and grass over there it’d be a little bit different, sometimes laughter helps you through the pain of what we do to each other in this world. Peace all. Love and compassion. I know it’s not that simple.
Trees (discounting nuisance trees - and there are such things) make everything better.
Sadly in that region it's hard to keep goats from eating newly planted trees, and if saplings do have a chance to grow, people are so poor that they cut the wood for warmth and cooking. I wish I knew a solution, but I don't.
Trees, grass and bombs? If only our earth had a chance. “The most notorious environmentalists in history were the German Nazis.” A blurb from Google about NAZI ecology. Sounds like an oxymoron to me. What is not, these days??
'Another marker for today:' Thank you for this succinct declaration, Heather Cox Richardson, about this time of conflict in our lives, for our country and for earth, itself.
You remind us of character: the mental and moral qualities that we seek for ourselves, our children, our compatriots, leaders and humankind.
Agree with you Fern and Ally. I appreciate Mr. Biden’s administration’s relative moderation and precision in response to the Red Sea attacks. I hope this steady, measured response will have the desired effect. But whether it does or not, it will not create peace. That requires an entirely other strategy—a strategy that calls for us and other coalition partners to begin and to consistently commit overwhelming acts of peace. Initially, simply affirming the humanity of Palestinians (a thing Netanyahu’s war cabinet seems incapable of doing). Immediately providing food, water, doctors, shelter—even if a few scraps of that aid, despite our best efforts, go astray, it is more important that we serve the needs of the great majority of the population. If not, how will they ever come to see we are not the enemy? Then, perhaps, beginning to replace infrastructure, or perhaps beginning a truth commission a la South Africa post-apartheid. At some point, to succeed in our quest for peace, we must acknowledge that both Palestinians and Israelis have been deeply wounded — over the course of centuries, in the last few decades, in the current horrific conflict, and often by each other. Understanding how deep the wounds are, and yet how closely this family is bound together, can we give each other the gifts of peace we so desperately seek for ourselves?
Were tragedy to strike down President Biden and Vice President Harris, Mike Johnson, as House speaker, would become president of the United States.
Based on character, judgment, and accomplishments Nancy Pelosi is in the Pantheon of Great Speakers.
Based on character, judgment, and accomplishments, Mike Johnson ranks with his namesake, Andrew Johnson, who became president after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination: bottom of a rancid barrel.
Johnson, when he slithered into the speakership, was having his testicles squeezed by the House F++ked Up Caucus. This led to legislative downs unlike anything I have witnessed in 90 years.
Funding for Israel—initially linked to a takeaway from IRS funding. The latest iteration is a separate House bill in which Israel would get $3,000,000,000 added to the administration’s October request for $14 billion, with no clear accountability for how Israel spends these funds.
The October, 2023 request for $61,000,000, 000 for urgent aid to courageous Ukraine, as it stands tough against Putin’s ‘Greater Russia’ invasion, is in House limbo. Speaker Johnson, with a slimmest of majorities, has pronounced NYET to any Ukrainian aid until/unless there is a massive change in immigration border policy.
When Mike the Knife was an obscure Louisiana congressman, he spoke frequently of the need for major ameliorations of America’s immigration policies. [He came to Congress in the 2016 election and Trump did not listen to this pipsqueak.]
Now Mike vacillates between wild immigration proposals and a Dead on Arrival response to a bipartisan bill that is simmering in the Senate.
Between its many vacations, the Republican House seems fixated on impeachments. Though some of the relatively ‘moderate’ Republican Congressmen point out that it is helpful to have specific charges prior to pursuing the impeachment route, Johnson, whose testicles are now being squeezed by Trump, is making a travesty of the constitutional impeachment procedure.
MUDDLED AND MAUDLIN MIKE IS SECOND IN LINE TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
The hypocrisy is staggering. I feel ill. Bomb the last supposed safe place in Gaza. Bomb the Houthis for trying to stop the massacre in Gaza. A fraction of a percent of aid workers with the UNRWA may have helped Hamas, so stop all funds to the only group helping the Palestinians, who depend on them for food, water, medicine, painkillers, shelter, hospitals, schools. Of course hospitals, schools, housing, mosques, etc. have already been gleefully destroyed by the vicious genocidal Zionists. Happening now. US funded genocide and clearing of their land so that Israel can steal it. This they openly admit, but sure, let's send billions and billions of dollars because our citizens don't need that money here and Israel and the weapons manufacturers really do.
Lisa Spot on! Most recently I am appalled by the suspension, by the US and others, because of Israeli info that 12 of the 13,000 Palestinian members of UNRWA participated in the brutal Hamas October 7th massacre.
UNRWA has been a food and services life line for Gazan Palestinians. Netanyahu has strongly opposed UNRWA and has sought to eliminate it.
Why is the US complicate in shutting down UNRWA which is the most important vehicle for collecting and delivering essential food and social services.
12 out of 13,000 employees? Get real—security clearances for UNRWA employees providing food is not as intense as at other levels.
We have come a long way from the end of WWII, when we largely threw Jews to the wolves in the Middle East, and the Sunday School president’s Camp David Accords that brought together peoples with such a fractured history.
One difference today, with Joe Biden, is he is actively engaged in the present, using all the tools at hand, neither ignoring threats to our future, whether at home or abroad, nor steps that need to be taken, even before breakfast.
Of all the presidents you might think to compare him with, only the first comes to the fore, whether in war or in peace.
Washington visited every state, even Rhode Island where I now live, the folks who took so long to ratify the Constitution, not holding the delay against them. Indivisible we were. Considering the transportation differences between then and now, 21st century presidents can get around so much more easily, as Joe has.
Did Biden and the American people elect Netanyahu? There is nothing Biden would like more than this clown to leave the scene, we are stuck with him and his antics because we support Israel and its people who were attacked by terrorists who would seek the genocide of Israelis. After terrorists round up you Sabine and your family and neighbors, rape and kill them, take some hostage, I'd like to hear your opinion on this matter.
Massively disproportionate response. They admit they want the Pals GONE and won't stop until they are. It was all Palestinian land 75 years ago. Netanyahu supported Hamas in order to avoid having two states. He ignored plenty of intelligence about this attack.
Netanyahu is a disaster. He promotes Trump over Biden and embarrassed Obama/Biden directly while sucking up to the GOP. That Biden is getting crap for being a stooge of Netanyahu these days is a bit 'rich', I'm sure Biden would like to see both Trump and Netanyahu in jail. I agree Lisa the response is disproportionate it seems. I don't know how you remove 400 miles of tunnels and tons of rockets weapons and 35,000 terrorist fighters sitting in those tunnels and I have been waiting for someone to recommend a better alternative, there must be one. A giant refugee camp for 1.5M people in Egypt for women of kids under 18yo prior to invasion?
I don't believe there are 35,000 terrorists sitting in tunnels. In fact, l don't believe a single word Israel says. This is their big opportunity to literally erase Palestine and its people from the map after claiming it never existed for the 75 years since they violently stole their homes and land.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! Bibi must be ousted and I am certain those words or similar ones have been said by Biden. Israelis cannot stand him or the horrid Likud Party.
Judging from the number of States who have passed "loyalty oaths" on their citizens not to criticize the Israeli government or suggest divestment or sanctions, the two political cartel parties already put Netanyahu in charge of governing our citizens. I'd like to hear your opinion on what other other nations' governments you advocate be able to demand American citizens sign loyalty oaths to them and be made by our politicians to give up chunks of their constitutional rights too. So far, your hypothetical "terrorists" have not been granted authority to govern us, but one certainly has.
Oh, the horrors of Hamas! Attacking Israel only because it dehumanises and oppresses Palestinians since decades - with the full knowledge and support of its Western allies! How dare they! (hold up banners with "Holocaust" and "Antisemitism" and "Never again")
Guess what - Hamas support has drippled in the last month - and so does the support around the world - the West is in the minority about 1 billion - if lucky - against 7.5 billion.
Where we come back to Jemen et al.
So - once again time, US, to drag out that good ol' military dick and swing it around.
You ignore the documented History of Arab attacks on Jewish settlers in the early 1900's, when Jews were trying to settle on inferior purchased, not stolen, land. Purchased from Arab landowners.
You ignore the documented Arab rejection of the UN partition and subsequent attack on the fledgeling Israel. Arab counties lost that war, and a lot of land that goes with the loss. That theme of Arabs losing a war and losing more land was repeated in 1967 and 1973. They were repeatedly offered peace and statehood and they repeatedly rejected the offer, each one less than before. Istead they launched the 1st and 2nd Intifadas.
You ignore the documented 2005 withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and subsequent incessant rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel by Hamas since 2006.
You think that popularity indicates righteousness? Where the f is your indignation of Arab on Arab atrocities? Yemen? Sudan? Syria? Iraq?
1. Israel faces an existential crisis as soon as the U.S. "aid spigot" gets cut off for whatever reason (including possible American political or economic crisis).
2. Any viable solution must enable Israel to be secure without constant infusions of American aid.
3. This requires peace with Israel’s neighbors, including Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
4. This requires undoing the Nakba terrorist atrocity and withdrawing to the U.N.-mandated pre-1948 borders.
5. This can only be done in the context of peaceful economic integration throughout the region, for the benefit of all. A lasting peace must be guaranteed individually by each permanent member of the U.N. Security council, and endorsed by Israel’s neighbors.
6. The recent Hamas atrocities were sparked by provocations (yet again) at the Dome of the Rock. The dream of rebuilding the Temple of Herod must be given up and replaced by the will to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in its correct location.
And by the way, dear - the Israelis sit snug as a bug on a rug under their Iron Dome (thank you, sugar daddy US) so there is not much risk of genocide. They had theirs 80 years ago, currently it's Palestine's turn.
You fail to distinguish between the Palestinians, which frankly are screwed stuck in the middle between Hamas and Israeli military and on average are 15yo kids, and Hamas the terrorists with 400 miles of underground tunnels which are an enduring threat to Israel and use the kids as shields. Frankly the clown responsible for this clusterphuck is W. Bush, who insisted Gaza be returned to Palestinians and elections be held which led first to Palestinian Authority cheating in the elections and then a Hamas takeover.
Snug as a bug in a rug? Tell that to Israeli residents who have had to run to safe rooms when the warning siren sounds. Yes, Israel invests in infrastucture to protect its citizens. In contrast, Hamas invests in military infrastructure within schools and hospitals and uses it to send rockets into Israel.
If you shoot at me while you're standing next to your children, after enough times, I will shoot back. The deaths of Gaza residents are on Hamas's head.
Michael. President Biden’s ability to influence Netanyahu so far seems close to zero. Actions would be more effective than words—cut off funds. Replacing Israeli armaments surreptiially is not impartial.
I think they would, but I don't think Netanyahu is interested, just like he is not interested in having the hostages released (hence the hostage families yelling at the Knesset at Netanyahu) because they deliver him arguments for his genocide on the Palestinians.
From what I’ve heard, the attacks were carefully measured and focused on taking out capabilities (logistics, launchers, etc). This seems like the right approach, which minimizes escalation and maximizes the cost to the supporters of the bad guys.
And protects civilians hopefully.
I can't help but hear resonating in my mind "and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways." Which one drives our policy?
Is it really so hard to see? I'm sure there are smart people in Washington who are quite aware, that the attacks would stop if the West would stop the genocide in Gaza.
How much longer do you all think you can dance around that fat, white elephant in the room? It has taken up pretty much all of the space.
War is hell, but what's going on in Gaza is not genocide. It is a military operation against a truly genocidal Hamas that promises to kill all Jews starting with the ones in Israel, using tunnels under and among civilian infrastucture to attack Israelis. We wouldn't be in this horrific situation if Hamas would have used the billions in aid aid it gets each year to build civillian projects instead of military ones.
Jerry, there have been so many missed opportunities for peace between Israel and the Palestinians over the years, each side apparently preferring all or nothing to actual peace negotiated by their leaders, that it is very hard to blame today's Israelis and Palestinians for the chicken or the egg conundrum they find themselves in, given how poorly past leaders on all sides have performed. Both sides are led by terrorists now.
Yes. It's fruitless to point fingers and think the "bad guy" can be identified, since the leadership of both sides have done horrible things. Putting international pressure on both is probably the only way to get these two sides to change their ways. In the meantime, the weapons industry is stuffing their pockets while people die.
Until Netanyahu's leadership, the movement towards peace from either side were not equal. Isrsel was the side leaning into peace more than the Arab side. Under Netanyahu's leadership, conditions compatible with a 2 state solution have deteriorated.
It's not just a bipolar situation. On the Arab side are all the Arab countries surrounding Israel who, until relatively recently, have been supporting "from the river to the sea" ideology even as they did nothing to help Palestinians.
David, the New York Times Magazine cover today is about the main article that goes back to 1948. I haven't read it yet, but I am hoping it sheds some more light on this very complex issue.
As I said yesterday, we need a smart, common sense wise woman leader to help lead. Where is Hanan Ashrawi when we need her? She's a "Palestinian educator, legislator, and spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in the early 1990s.Jan 1, 2024"
I wouldn't call Abbas a terrorist.
Really, him the ICJ calls it genocide and anyone who knows what genocide calls it genocide. We would not be in this hell if the US stopped sending weapons and was not run by the military industrial complex and AIPAC.
I recommend that you read the dissent in the ICJ opinion registered by the Ugandan judge. I think she got it spot on and, considering the political pressure to blame everything on the Israelis, a very brave thing to write.
Actually the ICJ did not conclude that it is genocide but did heavily criticize Israel for the extensive damage and called on Israel to curtwil actions that foukd be construed as genocidal. It also said Israel must prosecute citizens who spout genocidal rhetoric, which some in Netanyahu's coalition have been doing. I think the ICJ got it right.
"Run by the military industrial complex and AIPAC"?? AIPAC??? That's a bullshit conspiracy theory. AIPAC is a political action committee like other PACs. They all use donations to gain access and influence. But they don't write laws or make decisions about national policy. Or isdo you find it ominous because it's a Jewish organization?
No, it does not. Precision is important here.
Truth. And the bravest response on the page.
We wouldn’t be in this position if Zionist Jews and European antisemites hadn’t massacred Palestinians and stole their land.
How can Hamas even dream of committing genocide when the Israelis are pretty much protected through the Iron Dome - only their own stupidity and incompetence let Hamas succeed in October. Do you guys ever implement your brain before you hit the keys?
They not only dream of it, they do everything they can to commit it. That’s what October 7 was about.
How can they dream of genocide? Great question. But dream they do. Just read their charter. Just look up the history of Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, most occurring after Israel withdrew from within the borders of Gaza in 2005.
We do engage our brain as we look at the broader situation with eyes wide open.
I am not so sure the Houthi attacks would end even if the Israel/Hamas war did. I ran and the Houthis have a larger goal in mind.
Recently, the Iron Dome has been a bit leaky.
What, other than your opinion, makes you believe it's not genocide? Blowing up civilian targets is a war crime, but blowing up many civilian targets is genocide.
Sending rockets into civilian targets and doing it from civilian areas and expecting no retaliation is a war crime. Defending yourself by blowing up your enemy's centers of operation, even if it's in a civilian area, especially after giving warning to residents I the area and time to get away is not a war crime you shoot at me, I will shoot back. you would be free to whine to others who refuse to look at the whole picture that I'm being mean.
Yeah they needed to dress up the outdoor prison Israel has locked them in -Gaza.
As Tom Friedman pointed out a few weeks ago, when Israel voluntarily--voluntarily--left Gaza in 2005, there was no border fence. Thousands of Gazans went to Israel for work every day. The Israelis left behind at least one working factory and a number of farms/greenhouses that supplied fruits and vegetable to Israeli and European markets. The accession of Hamas ended all that. The factory was turned to making munitions, and the greenhouses destroyed. Friedman compared Gaza to Dubai, a similarly-sized enclave that, at about the same time, decided to become a center for trade and development. Gaza was in an even better position to do the same, being situated on the Mediterranean, rather than the more remote Gulf of Oman. But Hamas was dedicated first and foremost to the extermination of Israel and the Jews. So it is more accurate to say that the Gazans locked themselves in their outdoor prison.
Thank you.
Yes it is genocide
I heard a BBC radio program interview Thursday with a woman attending the recent Israeli conference calling for the resettlement of Gaza and for the " encouragement" of all Palestinians to relocate to a friendly country. The vitriol coming from her was ghastly and convinced me that the Israelis have become the evil empire. May god have mercy on them for their immorality. The following link is to a different news video from NBC showing the darkness and rage that has engulfed many Israelis:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfeLzXqL-nI . What lesson did they take from the Holocaust?
Sadly, the recent Hamas atrocities have totally shaken Israel's foundations. With that psychological upheaval, normally sanguine and sardonic Israelis have trouble shaking off their anger Netanyahu, like Trump, is dependent on that anger for his very survival. The BBC likes to highlight the worst segments of Israel, like Fox News likes to highlight the foibles of Democrats. Still, it's a useful exercise to criticize a country. Israelis criticize each other all the time, and international reporters are there to record all of it. It's weird, though, that you don't hear any criticism of Hamas repeated to any reporter. What's going on?
But back to your point: Israelis have to work through their anger to return to a constructive place. I'm not at all saying that Hamas should be forgiven or the Oct 6 attack be forgotten, just that they have a large challenge in getting back to a new normal.
Maybe destruction of Hamas's terrorism capability will help that. I hope that will be enough. I also hope that Arab countries step up and actually help more than enriching Hamas leaders in Qatar and sending thoughts and prayers for the Palestinians.
A 2 State settlement is the best solution to this holy war. Biden must be strong on that and not surrender his soul as has happened with Netanyahu, many other Israelis, Arabs, and Palestinians.
Hamas wouldn't have been in a position to attack without Netanyahu funneling them billions in aid:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
Extremists supporting their extremist enemies to bury the possibility of dialogue and peace.
I will suggest that Netanyahu continues to survive because he has the backing of powerful Americans.
Sabine,
May I propose this underlaying evaluation:
Pro-Palestinian civilian; anti-Palestinian terrorist; pro-Israeli civilian; anti-Netanyahu and his aggressive settler coalition who have no interest in a two-state solution.
Netanyahu is the "spiritual" brother of Donald Trump and would love nothing more than his winning the 2024 U.S. Presidential election. Nothing President Biden does will affect the actions of Netanyahu, who regards him as his enemy. Not voting for Biden (including voting “none of the above”) makes a Trump Presidency more likely. Whatever Biden's fault in the entire Gaza abomination, Trump is incomparably worse. He is, personally, as demonstrated by his entire life, a moral abomination, and helping him is morally unsupportable.
Ah, the lesser evil, save democracy hypocrisy, taken to new heights by deflecting from the complicity Joe Biden owns in the perpetuation of a genocide. Moral abominations abound these days.
It is not genocide. But then, mere truth of accuracy don't mean a lot to you.
The attacks would stop if Hamas would release all the hostages and if Hamas stopped their attacks and surrendered. That said, I can't think of anyone who is anything but horrified by the suffering of all - the Gazans and the Israelis (who are not all Jewish). Hamas brought this on; Netanyahu saw it as an opening to strike, despite tons of warnings to not fall into Hamas's trap. He needs the right to stay in power; Hamas uses every penny they can get their hands on to fortify and arm themselves while letting Gazans pay the price.
Please watch, and come to a more sensible understanding of the conflict.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjl145xMvxM&t=16s
I’m curious, just how would “the west stop the genocide?”
By putting pressure on the Israeli regime, by stopping delivering weapons and ammunition, by reinstating support of UNRWA, by stopping to dehumanise the Palestinians ... the list of things to work towards ceasefire is huge.
It seems to me that we have tried repeatedly to get the Israelis to stop & nothing has worked. However, as long as Hamas is heavily fortified by other combative countries to the U.S., I don’t see how it would even be possible to expect
the U.S. to intervene. That said, as a result of hostile nations recent action of murdering our “bystander” soldiers, as well as showing anyone who tries to interfere with commerce, worldwide, just what to expect from the USA, I believe the USA acted in good faith & the rest of the world IS watching.
Yes, all good suggestions. But as long as so many people, in particular men, who lead these two sides, continue to behave like children, we will be unsuccessful in fixing this kind of problem. Despite the trappings of technological progress, and the veneer of 'civilization" so many of us still operate like prehistoric people, relying mostly on their limbic systems and not their frontal lobes.
Thank you for your comments, Sabine.
Exactly Sabine!
The West could start by getting rid of the Yahoo who no one likes anyway. He's the Israeli equivalent of tRUMP and the extremists who pull his strings. Then threaten to stop sending military stuff (and money) to Israel and, with like minded ME countries, declare a cease-fire. As long as Israel goes on bombing Gaza, their war against Hamas is mostly a genocide against Gaza women and children. They can't surrender.
He definitely is the Israeli equivalent of tffg. However did they give him back such power??
Hopefully the US of A can learn from that!!
However, in a democracy (Israel, like us, is barely holding onto that title) it’s up to the people to get rid of their own yahoo. We would do well to keep our own yahoos out of power. Just because our yahoos have often interfered in other democracies is not a reason to keep doing it.
I do agree that we need to support democracies that already exist, no matter how fragile they are. The world becomes so much smaller every passing year.
By stopping the funding and supply of arms. Or credibly threatening to.
Don’t threaten. Cut off all arms support to Israel now - today.
I very much doubt that.
No they won’t. They were happening to some degree all along. The situation in Gaza is just giving reason to ramp up. It’s why Hamas did the Oct 7 thing anyway: to set a match to tinder.
First not genocide, second those terrorist groups do not need a reason to stick it to the West. They are willing to pay, with their lives and the lives of others just as Hamas was more than willing to sacrifice 10s of thousands of Palestinian lives that they could not care one hoot about for they KNEW what the Israelis would do after their massacre and hostage-taking. The cost of Palestinian lives is horrific and for the most part inexcusable. An overreaction most likely and it is the cost of electing extremists which Israel is paying dearly, especially in world opinion.
I read more up on the Houthies and can now understand why people would doubt that they would stick to their word. Of cause, that thought was naive.
Still - the way we're currently going we're just expanding the whole, messy, cruesome etc Middle East Conflict over the whole world.
This famous rock song is actually about Israel and the Palestinians:
"Crazy, but that's how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe it's not too late
To learn how to love
And forget how to hate"
https://youtu.be/tMDFv5m18Pw?si=kNd4ZpFhoKXS3eWQ
Wouldn't that be so wonderful!
My understanding/belief is that it is just not for the benefit of our commerce but also but for that of our allies and NATO countries.
Yes and, as an investor in the shipping industry, I heartily concur; however, the companies I invest in do not constitute a greater need for humanitarian aid than our brothers and sisters under siege. Which will have the greater voice in guiding our national policy?
Are Israelis under siege?
Not hardly now.
Both. Remember the chaos when the shipping was disrupted during covid? Also. We are woefully ignorant as Americans of the ways of the world when it comes to the extremely complicated matters of war, logistics, politics, culture etc. etc etc. Trying to simplify any foreign affairs matters into a single issue is a self-defeating approach.
It is a humanitarian matter to make sure shipping occurs.
“We are woefully ignorant as Americans of the ways of the world when it comes to the extremely complicated matters of war, logistics, politics, culture etc. etc etc.”
Yes! Thank you!! 👏🏼👏🏼
And obviously so! And I would add we are brainwashed in whichever direction our emotions lead us to as being a huge factor. Objectivity is hard to come by after thousands of years of war and hate and oppression on both sides. Oh, but let us just elect another war mongering bully like tffg by not voting (or by voting for some third party that doesn’t have a chance in hell), because the current administration is not doing exactly what my ignorant and emotional mind wants them to. It’s very hard to stick to the path to peace, because it is not going to happen overnight. Surely handing power to the egomaniac is the better choice, ya think?? (I don’t!! But it appears the rest of the world is not in agreement)
PS it’s obviously not just us Americans.
Cognitive dissonance underminds progress.
You really got me thinking on that one. I think it’s more about the avoidance of cognitive dissonance that blocks progress? Isn’t it more that people’s fragile egos cannot tolerate a challenge to their core beliefs so they deny the truth? 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️ Maybe that was what you intended to communicate 🤷🏻♀️?
“Cognitive dissonance is the unpleasant mental state that may result if someone really does have certain beliefs but thinks or acts in a way that contradicts them.”
Seems many folks cannot tolerate an a unpleasant mental state, ergo the denial and conspiracies?
By the way, I block trolls and conspiracy theorists. Truth is essential.
I like that second "f" in "tffg."
I adopted it years ago from a commenter here on LFAA. 😃😃
RFKJR will get us out of the wars and he has just as much a chance as President Biden. If Biden loses, it will be because he failed to convince voters , his own fault and not that of RFKJR. He is in it to win and well on his way. If people would stop watching news stations that are ignoring RFkjr they could see the truth.
John Daigle-
RFKjr backs Israel and even his own advisors are appalled with that. I agree that ignoring his popularity is a ridiculous approach. As a president he will have zero support from congress to enact his programs. AIPAC is investing in beating all the progressives. Who else might vote otherwise. By not engaging in midterm and local elections the public has not done the work necessary to enable a 3rd party candidate to do anything beyond executive orders.
Biden is foolish to not stand strongly against Netanyahus war of revenge. It very well may be what gives us another round of Trump. RFKjr or Biden are not the worst thing that can happen- Trump is.
The world is full of jokers and RFKJR is batman
America is, after all, the self-appointed world's policeman.
I prefer the term peace keeping or protector of children. But, it only works if we elect compassionate leaders and not the war mongering, Bush, Cheney and Trumpsters
Obama was the drone king. Take off the blue blinders.
You prefer security state propaganda. Peace keeping or protector of children? Now that, was hilariously absurd.
Obama and Hillary butchered Libya.
By acclamation, not self-appointed per se. The Bretton Woods Agreement, July 1944. Worth a dive to learn about it. You could start, for example, with https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/brettonwoodsagreement.asp. Peter Zeihan is even better.
But didn't Reagan and his ilk kill off most of the Bretton Woods agreement, and Trump hoping to destroy the rest?
On 'self-appointed', I keep going back to the aggression actions of the Dulles brothers in State and the CIA. They must not have gotten the message.
Many supplies are life sustaining.
Both. The waterways are used by many countries and support crucial goods and economies of many nations. Food and fuel.
Need you ask? We've obviously known the locations, but it only became important when it threatened profitability.
Commerce, without a doubt in my mind. Of course, with the aim of stopping the attacks. Like oil, US national interests include international economic sinews. Americans are neither the majority users of the waterways or oil.
Of course that's what everyone is after.
Ain't capitalism grand?
Commerce first, military lives second.
The slaughter on innocents (Israeli or Palestinian) is disgraceful. Somewhat like the Russian attacks on churches, schools, hospitals in Ukraine. Religious/political factions are the worst with no regard for anyone (especially women). Every thing is all about me and power. I suspect religion has very little to do with anything.
Could you please provide evidence that Russians attack churches, schools and hospitals in Ukraine?
The Ukrainian defenders shoot anti-missiles that either intercept the Russian missiles, scattering explosive debris; or the anti-missiles miss and come down and explode randomly.
I remember the story about Saddam Hussein's soldiers dumping babies in the hospital out of incubators onto the floor to die. This story inflamed the whole country, including me, and helped justify our war against Iraq. Then, afterwards, it was widely reported that the story was a bare-faced lie.
I have seen much of the same in the barrage of propaganda against Russia, but I have no doubt that some of the stories of atrocities are true.
Isolated acts by military units are different from a systematic policy. I have been taking a wait-and-see attitude, remembering how we all got brainwashed in the past.
Regarding the "kidnapped" children, I remember reading that Russia relocated orphans from a war zone to safety in Russia. What's the true story, and how do we find out?
Why are you even on this Substack newsletter? No one reads your bullshit. They see your name, “John Schmuck”, and skip your posts. Please go away. What a nuisance you are (which I guess is the whole point- similar to the tactics of GOP fascism).
So you don't have an answer my question, but you do have ddismissive trollish sneers, as if you're trying to hide something.
Your wise remarks just guaranteed more from Mr Schmuck.
Trolls talking about wisdom...
NYT, Barrons, Axios, CNN (their numbers were too wild), NPC, NBC, Business Insider, AP news, Aljazeeera, Forbes, BBC and interviews from kidnapped children nd people working to retrieve them were my sources. Nothing showed up from Epoch, Briebart, Newsmax, and Fox.
Kidnapped children 16,000 taken from parents, orphanages, tricked into going to "summer" camps. Some are adopted by Russian parents and indocrinated (sp) into the ways of Russia. Some of the older ones who got Russian citizenship got apartments. Parents got up to$1,000 per child when they got citizenship. The some older children didn't want to return. They were settle in and basically alienated from Ukraine. How long before they are used for Russian cannon fodder?
Around 1,500 civilian structures were destroyed including 23 hospitals, 330 schools, and numerous homes. A lot in Mariupol and Donsk area. There was satellite imagery BUT investigations need to be done to see if they used the Hamas technique of hiding things in civilian buildings.
Could you please provide a link to document anything you said?
I am suspicious of wild-eyed claims with no link.
I am amateur at the computer and don't know how to link. BUT I did read several articles (I mentioned above) and the numbers of kidnapped children varied. The point all of these articles is that children were kidnapped except for the one coming from the Russian officials . Humanitarian reasons they gave (which I can understand) but to take children and never return them, turn them into Russians, I am not comfortable with that. Sorry for the delay-broken computer
Agreed!
And demonstrates the amazing technology of our military.
Which we are rapidly depleting; we just used up the limited supply of precision munitions that we had set aside to help Israel with Hezbollah.
Time for a budget supplement -- Hello, Congress? Anybody in the House?
Darling, the "bad guys" is us - if we stop supporting the genocide in Gaza, we may have again a chance on the high horse of righteousness, currently we're down on our backsides.
Darling, (Sabine) the "bad guys" is the human race. People always do horrible things, to each other, the environment, wildlife, etc., etc.
Yes, the USA should do better...but that makes no guarantees the world will follow.
I think war is the natural inbreeding of our species. Even in Biblical days, we were fighting, Trojan War, Odysseus, French and Indian War, Revolutionary war, Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, WWI, WWII, WIII (oops not there yet). Consider the big stink about women in the military, most of the war involve men. Hence my comment: too much testosterone.
Once upon a time, in the garden of innocence Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That’s when the jig was up. Oneness fractured into separate things and separate individuals who could know stuff, who could do stuff, who could own stuff, who could be better than other people. Each one had a name and a detailed story about ‘who they are’ One could assert that the advent of words was the beginning of war.
Do we abandon the hostages?
Well, they already are, aren't they? Hamas offered to release them Netanyahu denied a deal. Don't know what the deal was supposed to look like, though, but obviously the hostage families thought it was good enough, else they wouldn't have attacked Netanyahu in the Knesset, I suppose.
I think the bad guys are 1. The leaders of Hamas and whoever chose the actions of October 6th. 2. Then, Netanyahu and his far right cronies put themselves on the list of bad guys with further decisions to raze Gaza rather than focus on Hamas bad actors. 3. The human race is only at fault for tolerating criminal behavior of these individuals for so long. In my opinion. Why are you so hesitant to focus on the decision makers with direct involvement?
I was born German and the first half of my life, it was drilled into us what a horrible thing the Holocaust was, that we are all responsible to prevent it ever happening again, etc etc.
Now I observe to my utter astonishment that the whole thing is repeating - once again an extremely right-wing demagogue dehumanises an entire nation, the Palestinians, for years (Israel does it actually since decades) now pronounces and starts to action genocide (let's see how he now start the threatened famine) and the West is more than happy to comply, agree and support. The utter, horrific ridiculousness of Germany currently pulling the annual Holocaust-show and fight against fascism in their own country, while happily allowing it to be committed by Israel in Gaza.
Also stunning, scary and fascinating to watch how Israel has the entire Western media by the short and curlies - don't dare to criticise Israel or else. Palestinians have seized to exist in Western Media, except as the bad guys. The minor detail that already nearly 30,000 of them have been killed, 10,000 children, no more hospitals left etc etc doesn't count for the West.
However, the West may portrait Hamas as "terrorists" (a term that surely would fit for the IDF just as much), the support for Hamas has trippled in the last month, and most likely the majority of people currently on this planet do not share the Wests view of things. It's going to be interesting times. If the whole thing blows up the West is as much to blame as Hamas is, we'll reap what we did sow.
Destroying the Hamas seems to be very similar to destroying ISIS or the Taliban. Yet here they still are. The retaliation is overkill. Hamas pushed first-yes, but the Israelis have shoved the Palestine people (not Hamas) off a cliff. I do not claim to know anything about the Mid east except they have oil and can control merchant trade waters., but my first thought is just to leave them to fight it out among themselves. Like I said the terrorist groups are still there. We hadn't launched our last plane out of Afghanistan and the Taliban had taken over.
Indeed, I concur.. that is what I would expect from Biden-approved operation.
Unlike the Israeli method of killing civilians and destroying their homes and all infrastructure. We must stop supplying the one-way Israel.
Good! I try to beat our swords into ploughshares, but we are not fools.
I hope you are correct
Seriously? So because our murdering appears mathematically correct, the "bad guys" (who are the peanuts on the world block yet are passionately distraught and defensive over the genocide of their Palestinian neighbors by that arrogant Israeli colonialist Zionist thuggery) will say to themselves, "well, we won't feel incensed because that super arrogant nation was so precise in their attempted destruction of us, we'll let it go." Americans, the citizenry, appear blind to or unbelievably naive about the moral depravity (vacuity?) of Biden's decision to help slaughter the Palestinians. How is that not analogous to helping the Southern plantation owners slaughter their Black slaves for trying to escape? or helping the Nazis slaughter the Jews in Buchenwald for trying to escape?
Seriously? So because our murdering appears mathematically correct, the "bad guys" (who are the peanuts on the world block yet are passionately distraught and defensive over the genocide of their Palestinian neighbors by that arrogant Israeli colonialist Zionist thuggery) will say to themselves, "well, we won't feel incensed because that super arrogant nation was so precise in their attempted destruction of us, we'll let it go." Americans, the citizenry, appear blind to or unbelievably naive about the moral depravity (vacuity?) of Biden's decision to help slaughter the Palestinians. How is that not analogous to helping the Southern plantation owners slaughter their Black slaves for trying to escape? or helping the Nazis slaughter the Jews in Buchenwald for trying to escape?
I hope this is true.
Thank you Heather for the short and to the point markers as you call them
Seems like all of a sudden we’re bombing Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Does the War Powers Act even exist anymore? I guess the war powers act is rendered moot with a dysfunctional Congress. Asking for a friend.
We are not bombing the people and attacking the governments of Iraq, Yemen and Syria (which then might generate a War Powers discussion), we are attacking terrorists who are located there because those governments are unwilling/unable to expel the terrorists who are killing innocent people and committing piracy on the high seas, thus no need to consider War Powers Act.
Exactly right. And I’m pretty sure the Houthi’s don’t care a whit about the Palestinians.
Exactly Annie. Gaza is just the rallying cry de jure for the terrorists. As for Yemen and Syria, the last thing those governments want to see is American military focusing on their decrypt corrupt governments. Trump pulling out of the JCPOA for NO REASON when Iran was in full compliance did not exactly enhance our standing in the region!
Thank you for remembering the chump contribution to this mess. If he worms his way back in, he, Putnik and Netanyahu will celebrate like never before. Think about that, you Joe bashers…
Trump is like an STD, 'the gift that keeps on giving'! "Militias like Kata’ib Hizbollah, part of the umbrella group blamed by Washington for the drone strike that killed three US soldiers, have their own animus against America — their leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was killed in the US strike in 2020 that assassinated Qassem Soleimani, the Qods Force leader." Financial Times Feb.3rd.
Considering the communications and transactions being revealed, more like "the grift that keeps on grifting"
..,and the beat goes on….
Joe bashers? To criticize the actions of this administration is our duty as informed citizens. President Biden should have called for a ceasefire months ago. He and his advisors blew it. They are feeling the pushback now from loyal Democrats. If he loses this election and throws this country to Trump and his cult, it will be because of his mishandling of this war.
Jeri Chilcutt is a local Biden thug enforcer.
With "the region" you mean "the planet"?
Really? So you think they're picking a fight with the world largest army, that never holds back swinging its big dick around given the opportunity, just for the fun of it? Do you think they're drunk or just stupid? You may want to consider that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
I think you need to educate yourself about the middle east my dear.
You think so, luv? Via Fox?
Here is something that may help you understand a little better. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1134686
oh, and re education - you may find this informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2tKwj4GNYI
lol just said that myself, though i think you're overstating it's genocide in Gaza, even if there is likely no lack of Israeli religious who might by now be thinking that. 28000 dead is 1% of the Gazan population, but certainly no small number, and it makes you wonder if there couldn't have been a better way.
Sabine some of your comments crack me up. A little humor helps with the horror (big dick). Thanks.
I was beginning to think they are the only ones who appear to care at all about the Palestinians.
I wouldn't count on that... remember those massive demonstrations against Israel, not so long ago? "muslim brotherhood" even if in this case Palestinians are mainly sunnite, though Hezbollah are also shiite (Iran connection)
Come on now. In bombing any people or structures in any country without the authorization of that country ahead of time, we are attacking that country.
Plain and simple. And who came down from Mt. Olympus to piously declare who in this scenario are terrorists, and followed it up with an Orwellian justification waiving all otherwise applicable laws and norms?!?
The War Powers Act should be invoked forthwith.
The only thing more pressing than that is for US to turn off the financial and military spigot supporting the IDF's ongoing genocide in Gaza
Iran has publicly said they no can no longer control the actions of their pet terrorists, Hamas and Ansar Allah. Presumably the Iranians have stopped giving them money. The government of Yemen, currently in exile, has been begging for help against the Houthis for years and years. Why would you think Yemen would object to any steps anyone takes to reduce the Houthi stranglehold on Yemen? I expect Iraq and Syria also have no objections to someone else rooting out pockets of radical aggression on their ground. What do you think is going on here?
If Iran is no longer subsidizing Hamas, great. The "government " of Yemen you refer to is a dissolute, corrupt tool of the House of Saud. The Houthis have the legitimate claim to running Yemen. Also, let us not forget that the Saudis committed ghastly war crimes, including starvation against the Yeneni people, aided to a certain disgraceful degree by US.
Iraq has already protested our actions.
In any case, my larger point was that the purposefully promiscuous use of the term "terrorists " here is inappropriate.
It connotes a Cowboys and Indians-like cartoonish version of things.
Not saying Hamas is not a terrorist organization, as it clearly is. Yet, how is slaughtering close to 30,000 Palestinians not an act of terror?! Shouldn't the current government of Israel, openly racist and just as religiously fanatical as Hamas be deemed terroristic as well?
Iraq and Syria want Americans to leave. The United States currently holds the border crossing between Iraq and Syria, on behalf of Israel, to get in the way of Iranian shipments of things that blow up.
Does this definition not apply to Hamas and Houthis as well?
If you're referring to "terroristic", it certainly applies to Hamas.
Not picking up Houthi's/ militant Shiites' causes here, but those we call "terrorists" are someone else's "freedom fighters". This is a case of asymmetric warfare.
My guess is you can bomb the Red Sea up and down as long as you want, chances are you'll win a fight, but you'll lose (once again, btw) the war.
Reasonable distinction. Depending upon how things go over the next couple months, the governments of Iraq, Yemen, and Syria may have more to say about this.
Ah, the old “stateless terrorists” excuse for bypassing the war powers act which has been our guiding principle since 9/11 and amplified by Obama in the droning of those on his kill list.
Details matter, thanks 100.
Great question, that leads to other questions. I'm sure Biden and team are walking a high wire all around. Damn he's good.
I hope you're right. I think that it's too early to tell. If he were to declare that we need a ceasefire in Gaza, I'd feel a bit more confident that it might be possible to de-escalate.
In case you haven't noticed, there are numerous articles about the United States working with Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Egypt to come up with a workable long-term ceasefire, coupled with international recognition of a Palestinian state at the end of hostilities BEFORE the negotiations with Israel over a two state solution. This would present the Israelis with a fait accompli, meaning they would have to negotiate how to deal with something that already exists. The US is also throwing support to the Israeli opposition to Netanyahu. When the sanctions were imposed on the four biggest settler criminals, there was discussion of also including Itamar Ben Gvir and Smotrich, the two settler extremists in the government. So now they are on notice.
Admirable collection job TC - bravo. And as you would know, those are just the 'knowables' in play; I'm only anxious to see how it plays out. Waging peace, is complicated.
Chump knows how to wage his kind of peace, roll over and show your belly to Vlad, like in Helsinki. He and Netanyahu were like twins, and will be joined again if he has the chance. No wonder the extremists smell blood. Go Joe
Yes, it certainly is.
I don't know what putting Ben Gvir and Smotrich "on notice" means. Do they, or the West Bank settlers, care? As long as we don't stop sending them money and munitions, they, and Netanyahu think that they are immune to any threats. Until Biden joins those who are publicly calling for a ceasefire, they will, I'm afraid, continue to ignore him.
They know they were on the list for sanctions and were then removed - meanig they know they can end up there - Smotrich is already saying it shows what a w"warrior for Israel" he is, that the US doesn't like him
Put them back on the list of sanctions. They have been waging war on peace for a damn long time.
All good. Happy to hear that we and others are continuing to work on a “workable long-term ceasefire”. Meanwhile, Israel continues to murder innocent Palestinian civilians and incinerate Gazan infrastructure.
Who gives away their entire plan and strategy Betsy ? There are far too many players with other aims watching and meddling in the middle east for their own ends; that happens everywhere - even in this space on this page. Why would one show all their cards ?
William, tell your friend there are at least eight (8) countries involved in the military action targeting Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the principals being the UK & the US but, significant tactical support & intelligence operations are being provided by (n alphabetical order: Australia, Bahrain, the US has a strategic Naval Base in Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands (high quality intelligence) & New Zealand. So eight (8) national making up HCR's "coalition".
The "85 +" targets are in eastern Syria & western Iraq but, not in Lebanon & not in Iran at this stage of the spreading regional warfare.
Thank you, I’ll pass this along to her. Meanwhile, would you care to opine on the percentage of these military actions which are impliedly in support of Israel, and which are actually intended to protect commercial shipping involving worldwide commercial interests?
Morning here on the West Coast William. On Sundays, I recommend a professional communicator who has worked for six (6) Presents JEN PSAKI. Jen's Sunday Show, "INSIDE WITH JEN PSAKI" on MSNC at NOON Eastern and is aimed at a broad audience, high-schoolers to retired Trial Attorneys.
Pay attention to Jen's asides which act something like a footnote to discussed in more detail on her Monday evening Shows of the same name name "Inside with Jen Psaki" preceding Rachel Maddows' production which offers full situational & historical context
Go deeper.
Go deeper? Jen Psaki? Surely you jest. Psaki is a mouthpiece for the corporate state, nothing more.
If one wants deeper, one has to go beyond cable news corporate media, whether MSNBC, CNN, or Fox.
Example here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RuqwtoiaPE
Tom, I disfavor Links that take defined "Readers" OFF the Platform under Substack Inc's 2023 Terms of Use (TOU).
One can cité sources whose Cred or lack thereof & body of work can be outlined for Readers who can then make their own decisions..
A' Reader can be their own algorithm & chose who to network with or "follow" a sub-Substack. : )
I favor links that educate me. I can get enlightened conversation on the YouTube platform for free that I otherwise would have to pay to subscribe to. Since I don’t have the funds to subscribe to every writer I would like, it’s an invaluable resource, for me.
Additionally, linking those sources via YouTube probably brings more subscribers, who might not have been aware of their existence otherwise.
As a truth and justice guy, I don’t care how I receive ‘the word’, platform wise.
FYI - Check the top two videos on Psaki from this link - https://www.youtube.com/@GlennGreenwald/search?query=jen%20psaki
But, this isn't a war. The Saudi's have been bombing Yemen since before Trump took office and we have sent in drones there as well. A co-worker's son is a Navy Seal and although they can't talk about their actions, sometimes there's nothing else going on in the news besides an explosion at a military base or taking out someone like Bin Laden.
Would you prefer that Presidents wait for our do nothing that will make Biden look good Congress to vote on whether or not a retaliatory strike takes place?
It's been 102 days now since Biden requested funding for Ukraines and Israel and the do-nothing Republicans have done nothing yet.
In the meantime, Gym Jordan, Comer, MTG and others are working to impeach Biden and Mayorkis for nothing they have been able to prove.
Well parried... a dysfunctional Congress manifests itself in many ways... executive orders is one.
C’mon. Dysfunctional Congress is not the problem. The Trump Know-Nothing faction is the problem. Is it possible to forget Boss Trump’s degenerate, transactional "foreign policy" undercuts our allies, derailing international cooperation against thugs and tyrants? And let’s stop calling Trump’s know-nothing faction the Republican Party. It is pure RINO. There is no Free World George Kennan to be found anywhere in the dark rants of Trump, Stefanik, Kushner, MTG and little Leninist Bannon. Pure blather. C’mon. Vote and generously support Democratic grass roots campaigns & voter registration. Embrace your inner Taylor.
I will suggest that Trump's know-nothing faction is actually a symptom.
AIPAC owned Congress would approve it anyway.
Too bad executive authority doesn't extend to providing emergency funding for Ukraine weaponry et al.... or..... could it!
William, Congress gave up on the "war powers" act with the Korean conflict, and has not issued a declaration of war since 1942. Truman through Biden, all world "conflicts" (AKA Wars) have not been declared by congress, but permitted the nation to go forward with wars in everything but declaration (Korea, Vietnam, the assortment of conflicts that made up the Global War on Terrorism). Why would they start now? <sarcasm font>.
So you're aware of the involvement of the Gang of Eight?
What would you do when our soldiers are killed?
As for me? I would be taking a hard look at why our soldiers are providing targets for terrorists in the Middle East. And if we’ve stuck our soldiers there, why they lacked adequate protection from attack.
There is the idealist in me who would love to see the US completely leave the Middle East in a military sense. Our invasions (they call them wars when there could be two legitimate sides to the conflict) of Afghanistan and Iraq were nuts. And cost trillions that could be solving a lot of American problems right now. A lot.
But if we step away now, if we were to remove all our influence in the region tomorrow, you know who would fill the gap immediately. And they are not the friends of anyone. They are brutal opportunists - which we have been. But they are way more ruthless. It is a delicate juggling act. And I wake up every day relieved that we have President Biden at the helm. In this case, age and experience are a feature. So are restraint and carefully calculated responses.
So philosophically, I ask the same question that you do. But practically speaking, it's important to imagine how people like Putin and Xi think. Americans are arrogant and make a lot of mistakes. But it is not our basic goal to dominate the entire world and lay waste to everything in our way.
The point to remember: if we step away from our current role in foreign affairs, that role will be filled, and we (the US) will never be able to return to that role.
Might not be our goal, but it pretty much might as well be, based on results.
Bill Alstrom with a pair of head-in-the-sand fallacies:
"Our invasions...of Afghanistan and Iraq were nuts."
"But it is not our basic goal to dominate the entire world and lay waste to everything in our way."
Our invasion of Afghanistan served to deny, for two decades, China's main route for its Belt-and-Road Initiative, the old Silk Road.
Our invasion of Iraq served to stop Iraq's rapid-pace industrialization in its tracks, deliberately and willfully laying waste to the industrial potential that Saddam Hussein was building up, in an extended war crime:
https://archive.org/details/firethistimeuswa00clar
Fair points. And I suspect they are. I'm going to trust the professionals here.
Trusting our ‘professionals’ is a mistake.
I'm sure your expertise would be much better.
Let me ask you something, Mr. Sarcasm Pants.
Do you think my expertise would have been better than Bush’s was when he invaded Iraq?
Better than LBJ’s was when he escalated in Vietnam based on the Tonkin lie?
Better than Obama’s was when he wrecked Libya?
Better than Clinton’s when he reneged on the promise not to expand NATO?
I opposed them all. So yes, my foreign policy expertise has exceeded that of every POTUS in my lifetime, with the possible exception of JFK, because I fully grasp the concepts of empire, propaganda, and narrative, and oppose the pursuit of American hegemony at the behest of both capitalists and the national ‘security’ state.
Keep being a lapdog for American Empire if you wish to stand on that polluted ground. Just accept the apt descriptor of Ugly American when thrown your way by those who recognize hypocrisy when the words like freedom, liberty, and democracy are thrown around, and the accompanying actions are the antithesis of the words.
"Trust the professionals":
https://archive.org/details/firethistimeuswa00clar
This week in Tel Aviv, protesters have been demanding the ouster of Netanyahu and I am right there with them. On top of fighting with the Houthis, our military says we are avenging the killings of our three patriotic soldiers but we are, along with our continued efforts to protect the seas, making certain goods get to and from ports. I wish I didn’t feel this sense of vigilantism, but I do. I desperately want the hostages released, if there are any left, and I want Hamas to pay dearly for the revolting barbarity they committed. Netanyahu has to be stopped as he is a madman just like the rest of his ilk.
Not a madman, just a criminal. Netanyahu’s motivation is clear, he is willing to do anything he thinks will enable him to stay out of jail. That is immoral, stupid, and hopefully incorrect, but not crazy.
Sounds a little familiar.
Yes, exactly. All around the world, people need to stop voting criminals into positions of power.
A lot familiar. Shorter name, but yeah, familiar.
It reminds me of a certain candidate for President here..l
Of three branches of our government, only the Executive Branch is performing as expected. In fact very well. The other two, the Justice and the Congress, are under siege of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans, weakening the country. A sad situation.
I am age 75, when I was born so was the state of Israel. There was a lot of shooting then and the same continues to this day. And now , we have a new weapon, the remotely controlled drone, which makes warfare easier , cheaper and without putting the lives of your own troops at risk, or so it seems. The counter attack by the US, was essential, yet nobody believes that will be the end. It will take a huge effort to avoid a much larger regional war. Can the leaders find the wisdom and strength to keep this from escalating? The history says no.
What are you suggesting - to kill all Israelis via drone strikes? That seems pretty harsh. Because surely you can't talk about the Palestinians - at a total murderrate of over 30,000, among them 12,000 children - a new record - all in 3 months, the efficiency can make us quite proud, don't you think? All hospitals bombed to the ground, at last count 6 ambulances for 2 million people. Aren't we heroes! No medical supplies for them terrorists, no Sir, children are to be operated on without anaesthetics! That's the defence spirit!
Because of oooooh, the horrors of Hamas, only because we dehumanise and oppress the Palestinians since decades. And of course all my friends in the West know. But Hamas now has 3 times the support it had a 2 months ago, and in the rest of the world the Palestinians interpretation as freedom fighters is adopted more and more.
Tough times for Israel
No, no, no. I am not suggesting killing all Israelis. I am very sympathetic to the horrors that the Palestinians have faced for decades. All I am saying is that drones make it too easy to kill, it is warfare converted into a video game. To me the response by Israel has been grotesque. Killing civilians wholesale will not neutralize Hamas. And that quote from Netanyahu of” from the river to the sea” does not offer much hope for peace. It is a very one sided war with Israel having a large mechanized army, a modern air force and the Palestinians have none of those weapons.
You're so pro-terrorist and pro-Hamas Sabine and think Americans are such War Mongers why don't you just go join a Terrorist Cell and start fighting for them dear? You know we hadn't been involved in a conflict in the middle east until Terrorist bombed us on our own soil on 9/11. Then George Bush screwed up and bombed the wrong country. If we had gotten Osama bin Laden when we first tried we would have never been over there trying to do Nation building for twenty years. A huge mistake. We have no business in the middle east period. I agree with you on that, however we are not trying to make war! We are trying to to make peace and keep our troops safe. What happened is happening with Hamas has nothing to do with the Palestinians or Isreal, the Palestinians are being used as tools. Hamas doesn't care about them! Are you so obtuse that you don't get that? They are not the great defenders of Palestine. They are a Terrorist group. You don't sit down and negotiate with Terrorists.
Well, you clearly have no problem with by now 12,000 killed children - I do.
If you think that Hamas is saving children lives you are naive.
Sabine, I am not immune to the tragedies of war and the innocent victims. I just don't support terrorist networks.
Jack A Roe, and remote controlled/ push of a button warfare doesn't force those doing so, to see and feel the inhumanity, abject cruelty, suffering, death, and destruction first hand like face to face combat does. It removes them from fully witnessing and experiencing the war insanity.
The men who fought in WW1 said, never again, never again, because they tasted, smelt, touched, saw , and heard all the horrors of war and it hurt them deeply to their souls. Remote controlled wars may seem like human advancements, but are they? They may prevent some lives being lost, but do they keep us from learning what we need to learn?
Your last paragraph is a zinger. Keep in mind that we now have essentially two generations that grew up with more and more advanced video games that are now converted to drone/remote deployment of military munitions.
War is an academic exercise from a distance; it is not the face to face combat that was seen up through WWII (which was ended by the ultimate "drone strike" of history, but I digress). Yes there has been face to face combat in all the "conflicts" we've had since WWII, but as you said, I suspect what we're seeing today is more and more "advancements" that keep us from learning what we need to learn and keep refusing to learn in the name of "right".
Ally House (Oregon), that is a good point that about two generations have over time been acclimated and conditioned by video games to accept the use of remote controlled weapons. Very sad.
And I agree that we humans justify things not so right, as right. We've been conditioned throughout human history to do so. But I think all the present and future violence in the world is and will force an awakening in many people because emotional suffering is/will be so heavy. I think we can make a giant leap forward in human evolution with growing consciousness globally.
When will it ever end….
Never. Other than disease, humans must be their own natural predators:(
Does anyone hear the drumbeats of war? As I trust most of you know, the Military Industrial Complex demands to be fed. For those who don't know what I'm referring to, here is President Eisenhower speaking about the need to guard against its unchecked power during his Farewell Address to the nation on January 17, 1961... shortly before John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President. Kennedy - a man of peace - didn't live to see his dream pursued beyond preventing war with the USSR over Cuba.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyBNmecVtdU
Let's not go down the Conspiracy Theory Military Industrial Complex rabbit hole, it does not need more business. It is backordered and can not fulfill the demands of Ukraine while the GOP continually increases the Defense Budget. Anyone who thinks Biden and his advisors are trying to gin up business for the Military Industrial Complex, in my opinion, is as wacky as the MAGAs.
You misread my comment. Not surprising, since you reference Biden rather than the world. Eisenhower knew the global war machine was real. He lived through its most terrible accomplishment. Don’t forget there were very important Americans who were on Hitler’s side. (See Rachel Maddow’s recent podcast and book).
The machine that needs to be fed is not in America alone. We have lived in a global world for decades. If you cannot see this, I invite you to open your eyes.
You are right about living in a global world, only we haven’t figured out how to do it. Still tribal bull Schitt all around. Joe is trying to put out many fires while so many (friends and foes alike), pour gasoline. Chump is waiting and hoping to live in a worldwide Putnik peace (with a cadre of billionaire supporters). Bring on the alien invasion. Unite us like Japan did.
I'm afraid that is what it will take. To quote from the movie I mentioned yesterday: "Mankind... that sure has a different meaning for us today".
"Putting out fire...with GASOLINE!"
https://youtu.be/m0ODoeBc04g?si=e-IpIZcWZOpAkTyf
Yep, behind every war is money, lots of it. The war is terrible but the profits are astounding, because every nation will spend with abandon to protect their borders and go on to win. Sadly, the Middle East is in a perpetual war.
Having valued Letters from an American for essential historical information and analysis, it is disappointing and disconcerting to read commentary on U.S. military action in Ukraine and the Middle East with such a lack of historical context and understanding.
With yesterday and today, Professor Richardson is "throwing down markers" to denote the events that have transpired on both of those days. No assessment, no analysis, no dissection of thought, no in-depth research...just "markers".
Give the Professor a break; she's written just about non-stop Letters for over two weeks at this point. No "take a night off" pictures since January 23rd (even then, it was a marker talking about Nicki Haley's success in the New Hampshire Primary).
She also freely admits that she is an expert in 19th Century American History. There are few parallels to be found in that area of expertise when you look at the global community that exists today. She also has said, repeatedly, that when she is writing on "current events" she is doing so with an eye to future historians who will be studying this period of history and might find useful an historian's perspective.
I love Heather's newsletter... learned a lot about parallels in American history. But as you say, she admits to being an expert in 19th Century American History. She has not studied globally interrelated crime... what Sarah Kendzior refers to as a "transnational crime syndicate". We are mistaken if the only viewpoint we have is of what is happening here in America. www.sarahkendzior.com
Ally,
I thought Arlene was referring to the folks here who comment, not Heather's today letter.
I read that one sentence post as critical of the Letter, and not of today's commentary (which in and of itself was rather taken over by some of the "one trick pony" commenters that seem to be "flooding the zone" as of late.)
Fully aware of your references. Your concerns were accurate for WBush and Dick 'Halliburton' Cheney, LBJ the liar who set up the fake attack at Tonkin Bay. But today in Middle East....nah.
We will have to agree to disagree.
PS You continue to reference only American presidents.
Good night. ☯️☮️
Thank you Heather.
That we’re again engaged in conflict in the Middle East is deeply concerning. And yet, it’s interesting how the Biden administration’s military agenda and actions are in such stark contrast to that of tfg’s.
May tfg inch ever closer to the big house rather than to our White House. And may God protect our troops.
Thank you Professor. I’m sorry that I’m sounding sarcastic and I don’t take these things slightly because I don’t like war and all the fighting and I know that there’s way more involved in this that I’m not smart enough to make a change but I bet if they had more trees and grass over there it’d be a little bit different, sometimes laughter helps you through the pain of what we do to each other in this world. Peace all. Love and compassion. I know it’s not that simple.
If we're talking about Gaza, Israel has purposely destroyed innumerable ancient olive groves.
Trees (discounting nuisance trees - and there are such things) make everything better.
Sadly in that region it's hard to keep goats from eating newly planted trees, and if saplings do have a chance to grow, people are so poor that they cut the wood for warmth and cooking. I wish I knew a solution, but I don't.
Trees, grass and bombs? If only our earth had a chance. “The most notorious environmentalists in history were the German Nazis.” A blurb from Google about NAZI ecology. Sounds like an oxymoron to me. What is not, these days??
Wow - just Wow.
Horton hears a Houthi
Sweet sound .. this phrase .. light in such darkness in my heart..fear, anger, sadness
Childish .
lol Wilburp
'Another marker for today:' Thank you for this succinct declaration, Heather Cox Richardson, about this time of conflict in our lives, for our country and for earth, itself.
You remind us of character: the mental and moral qualities that we seek for ourselves, our children, our compatriots, leaders and humankind.
Fern, sadly there are a handful of subscribers who do not understand this. I really apprecitate your clear and succinct assessment of today's LFAA.
Agree with you Fern and Ally. I appreciate Mr. Biden’s administration’s relative moderation and precision in response to the Red Sea attacks. I hope this steady, measured response will have the desired effect. But whether it does or not, it will not create peace. That requires an entirely other strategy—a strategy that calls for us and other coalition partners to begin and to consistently commit overwhelming acts of peace. Initially, simply affirming the humanity of Palestinians (a thing Netanyahu’s war cabinet seems incapable of doing). Immediately providing food, water, doctors, shelter—even if a few scraps of that aid, despite our best efforts, go astray, it is more important that we serve the needs of the great majority of the population. If not, how will they ever come to see we are not the enemy? Then, perhaps, beginning to replace infrastructure, or perhaps beginning a truth commission a la South Africa post-apartheid. At some point, to succeed in our quest for peace, we must acknowledge that both Palestinians and Israelis have been deeply wounded — over the course of centuries, in the last few decades, in the current horrific conflict, and often by each other. Understanding how deep the wounds are, and yet how closely this family is bound together, can we give each other the gifts of peace we so desperately seek for ourselves?
Dear Ally, I always hear the music of depth, clarity and connection with your thoughts. Thank you.
A CHILLING THOUGHT
Were tragedy to strike down President Biden and Vice President Harris, Mike Johnson, as House speaker, would become president of the United States.
Based on character, judgment, and accomplishments Nancy Pelosi is in the Pantheon of Great Speakers.
Based on character, judgment, and accomplishments, Mike Johnson ranks with his namesake, Andrew Johnson, who became president after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination: bottom of a rancid barrel.
Johnson, when he slithered into the speakership, was having his testicles squeezed by the House F++ked Up Caucus. This led to legislative downs unlike anything I have witnessed in 90 years.
Funding for Israel—initially linked to a takeaway from IRS funding. The latest iteration is a separate House bill in which Israel would get $3,000,000,000 added to the administration’s October request for $14 billion, with no clear accountability for how Israel spends these funds.
The October, 2023 request for $61,000,000, 000 for urgent aid to courageous Ukraine, as it stands tough against Putin’s ‘Greater Russia’ invasion, is in House limbo. Speaker Johnson, with a slimmest of majorities, has pronounced NYET to any Ukrainian aid until/unless there is a massive change in immigration border policy.
When Mike the Knife was an obscure Louisiana congressman, he spoke frequently of the need for major ameliorations of America’s immigration policies. [He came to Congress in the 2016 election and Trump did not listen to this pipsqueak.]
Now Mike vacillates between wild immigration proposals and a Dead on Arrival response to a bipartisan bill that is simmering in the Senate.
Between its many vacations, the Republican House seems fixated on impeachments. Though some of the relatively ‘moderate’ Republican Congressmen point out that it is helpful to have specific charges prior to pursuing the impeachment route, Johnson, whose testicles are now being squeezed by Trump, is making a travesty of the constitutional impeachment procedure.
MUDDLED AND MAUDLIN MIKE IS SECOND IN LINE TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Keith, that thought is never far from my mind.
Terrifying, isn’t it?
That’s a frightening thought
The hypocrisy is staggering. I feel ill. Bomb the last supposed safe place in Gaza. Bomb the Houthis for trying to stop the massacre in Gaza. A fraction of a percent of aid workers with the UNRWA may have helped Hamas, so stop all funds to the only group helping the Palestinians, who depend on them for food, water, medicine, painkillers, shelter, hospitals, schools. Of course hospitals, schools, housing, mosques, etc. have already been gleefully destroyed by the vicious genocidal Zionists. Happening now. US funded genocide and clearing of their land so that Israel can steal it. This they openly admit, but sure, let's send billions and billions of dollars because our citizens don't need that money here and Israel and the weapons manufacturers really do.
Lisa Spot on! Most recently I am appalled by the suspension, by the US and others, because of Israeli info that 12 of the 13,000 Palestinian members of UNRWA participated in the brutal Hamas October 7th massacre.
UNRWA has been a food and services life line for Gazan Palestinians. Netanyahu has strongly opposed UNRWA and has sought to eliminate it.
Why is the US complicate in shutting down UNRWA which is the most important vehicle for collecting and delivering essential food and social services.
12 out of 13,000 employees? Get real—security clearances for UNRWA employees providing food is not as intense as at other levels.
It's unbelievable how heartless people can be.
We have come a long way from the end of WWII, when we largely threw Jews to the wolves in the Middle East, and the Sunday School president’s Camp David Accords that brought together peoples with such a fractured history.
One difference today, with Joe Biden, is he is actively engaged in the present, using all the tools at hand, neither ignoring threats to our future, whether at home or abroad, nor steps that need to be taken, even before breakfast.
Of all the presidents you might think to compare him with, only the first comes to the fore, whether in war or in peace.
Washington visited every state, even Rhode Island where I now live, the folks who took so long to ratify the Constitution, not holding the delay against them. Indivisible we were. Considering the transportation differences between then and now, 21st century presidents can get around so much more easily, as Joe has.
May he continue to do so for another four years.
Peace
John Harwood
Thank you John.
... another idea would be of course to stop the attack on Gaza, wouldn't it? But hey, we won't go that far, will we?
Biden has been trying to stop both sides from fighting.
Really? Did he? Did he stop weapon deliveries?
Did Biden and the American people elect Netanyahu? There is nothing Biden would like more than this clown to leave the scene, we are stuck with him and his antics because we support Israel and its people who were attacked by terrorists who would seek the genocide of Israelis. After terrorists round up you Sabine and your family and neighbors, rape and kill them, take some hostage, I'd like to hear your opinion on this matter.
Massively disproportionate response. They admit they want the Pals GONE and won't stop until they are. It was all Palestinian land 75 years ago. Netanyahu supported Hamas in order to avoid having two states. He ignored plenty of intelligence about this attack.
Netanyahu is a disaster. He promotes Trump over Biden and embarrassed Obama/Biden directly while sucking up to the GOP. That Biden is getting crap for being a stooge of Netanyahu these days is a bit 'rich', I'm sure Biden would like to see both Trump and Netanyahu in jail. I agree Lisa the response is disproportionate it seems. I don't know how you remove 400 miles of tunnels and tons of rockets weapons and 35,000 terrorist fighters sitting in those tunnels and I have been waiting for someone to recommend a better alternative, there must be one. A giant refugee camp for 1.5M people in Egypt for women of kids under 18yo prior to invasion?
Thank you for reminders that people would rather forget.
I don't believe there are 35,000 terrorists sitting in tunnels. In fact, l don't believe a single word Israel says. This is their big opportunity to literally erase Palestine and its people from the map after claiming it never existed for the 75 years since they violently stole their homes and land.
Thank you thank you THANK YOU!! Bibi must be ousted and I am certain those words or similar ones have been said by Biden. Israelis cannot stand him or the horrid Likud Party.
Biden is a stooge of American Empire. Fify.
Judging from the number of States who have passed "loyalty oaths" on their citizens not to criticize the Israeli government or suggest divestment or sanctions, the two political cartel parties already put Netanyahu in charge of governing our citizens. I'd like to hear your opinion on what other other nations' governments you advocate be able to demand American citizens sign loyalty oaths to them and be made by our politicians to give up chunks of their constitutional rights too. So far, your hypothetical "terrorists" have not been granted authority to govern us, but one certainly has.
Oh, the horrors of Hamas! Attacking Israel only because it dehumanises and oppresses Palestinians since decades - with the full knowledge and support of its Western allies! How dare they! (hold up banners with "Holocaust" and "Antisemitism" and "Never again")
Guess what - Hamas support has drippled in the last month - and so does the support around the world - the West is in the minority about 1 billion - if lucky - against 7.5 billion.
Where we come back to Jemen et al.
So - once again time, US, to drag out that good ol' military dick and swing it around.
You ignore the documented History of Arab attacks on Jewish settlers in the early 1900's, when Jews were trying to settle on inferior purchased, not stolen, land. Purchased from Arab landowners.
You ignore the documented Arab rejection of the UN partition and subsequent attack on the fledgeling Israel. Arab counties lost that war, and a lot of land that goes with the loss. That theme of Arabs losing a war and losing more land was repeated in 1967 and 1973. They were repeatedly offered peace and statehood and they repeatedly rejected the offer, each one less than before. Istead they launched the 1st and 2nd Intifadas.
You ignore the documented 2005 withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and subsequent incessant rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel by Hamas since 2006.
You think that popularity indicates righteousness? Where the f is your indignation of Arab on Arab atrocities? Yemen? Sudan? Syria? Iraq?
Sorry, darl, I don't really care about whatever silly history at the moment - 12,000 children were killed just now, catches my attention.
btw "whataboutism" is a sign you lost the argument
Here is my peace plan for the Middle East:
1. Israel faces an existential crisis as soon as the U.S. "aid spigot" gets cut off for whatever reason (including possible American political or economic crisis).
2. Any viable solution must enable Israel to be secure without constant infusions of American aid.
3. This requires peace with Israel’s neighbors, including Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
4. This requires undoing the Nakba terrorist atrocity and withdrawing to the U.N.-mandated pre-1948 borders.
5. This can only be done in the context of peaceful economic integration throughout the region, for the benefit of all. A lasting peace must be guaranteed individually by each permanent member of the U.N. Security council, and endorsed by Israel’s neighbors.
6. The recent Hamas atrocities were sparked by provocations (yet again) at the Dome of the Rock. The dream of rebuilding the Temple of Herod must be given up and replaced by the will to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in its correct location.
And by the way, dear - the Israelis sit snug as a bug on a rug under their Iron Dome (thank you, sugar daddy US) so there is not much risk of genocide. They had theirs 80 years ago, currently it's Palestine's turn.
You fail to distinguish between the Palestinians, which frankly are screwed stuck in the middle between Hamas and Israeli military and on average are 15yo kids, and Hamas the terrorists with 400 miles of underground tunnels which are an enduring threat to Israel and use the kids as shields. Frankly the clown responsible for this clusterphuck is W. Bush, who insisted Gaza be returned to Palestinians and elections be held which led first to Palestinian Authority cheating in the elections and then a Hamas takeover.
Snug as a bug in a rug? Tell that to Israeli residents who have had to run to safe rooms when the warning siren sounds. Yes, Israel invests in infrastucture to protect its citizens. In contrast, Hamas invests in military infrastructure within schools and hospitals and uses it to send rockets into Israel.
If you shoot at me while you're standing next to your children, after enough times, I will shoot back. The deaths of Gaza residents are on Hamas's head.
You're talking to a Terrorist sympathizer.
That won’t stop the attacks. I respect your anger, but your viewpoint seems quite simplistic.
Like hell he has. Only way is to cut them off. Otherwise Netya will never stop until all the Pals are GONE.
Michael. President Biden’s ability to influence Netanyahu so far seems close to zero. Actions would be more effective than words—cut off funds. Replacing Israeli armaments surreptiially is not impartial.
Do you honestly believe your last statement that stopping the attack on Gaza will fix the problem?
Do you think Hamas will stop?
I think they would, but I don't think Netanyahu is interested, just like he is not interested in having the hostages released (hence the hostage families yelling at the Knesset at Netanyahu) because they deliver him arguments for his genocide on the Palestinians.
But Hamas started it. They took hostages the first day. What do you think is their goal?
Good grief.
No grief is good Tom.
Tell that to Bibi.
And return the hostages?