Sorry, but your, and Heather’s, praise for both diplomacy and international rules-based order is a sham, couched in a propagandized, post-WWII desire for American hegemony. Every mention of rules-based order should be more accurately referred to as the American rules-based order, for that is what we seek. We look to the UN for a resoluti…
Sorry, but your, and Heather’s, praise for both diplomacy and international rules-based order is a sham, couched in a propagandized, post-WWII desire for American hegemony. Every mention of rules-based order should be more accurately referred to as the American rules-based order, for that is what we seek. We look to the UN for a resolution to bomb Yemen, but veto one for a Gaza ceasefire. We value commerce, not the lives of people. There’s your American diplomacy. There is where America is. You’re right, that’s our choice.
Genocide Joe and Butcher Blinken have bombed Syria, Iraq, and Yemen now, in order to keeping letting Israel continue to bomb and slaughter Palestinians in Gaza. American rules-based order. Oh yes, and American diplomacy. But hey, it’s cool if war breaks out; we’ll just blame it on Iran, or Russia, or China. Because we’re the good guys, right?
“What Biden does not mention in his statement about his administration’s “response” to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea is the fact that those Red Sea attacks are themselves a response to Israeli crimes against humanity in Gaza. Also unmentioned is the fact that the strikes took place after the first day of proceedings in the International Court of Justice in which Israel stands accused by South Africa of committing a genocide in Gaza.
So the US and the UK just bombed the poorest country in the middle east for trying to stop a genocide. Not only that, they bombed the very same country in which they just spent years backing Saudi Arabia’s genocidal atrocities which killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2015 and 2022 in an unsuccessful bid to stop the Houthis from taking power.”
"diplomacy, the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war or violence."
You are angry. There is certainly a cause for anger. Diplomacy is anger management.
“Perhaps the greatest canard of all in this briefest of trips by Blinken is the continued, now absurd claim, that Washington is committed “to working with partners to set the conditions necessary for peace in the Middle East, which includes comprehensive, tangible steps towards the realization of a future Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, with both living in peace and security.”
In his remarks to President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Blinken showed the hardened ignorance that will ensure the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue in some form. In his mind, a “reformed” Palestinian Authority will take over the reins of a ruined Gaza (“effective responsibility”) whatever the residents of Gaza think.
Palestinians will never, given current conditions, be permitted sovereignty and anything remotely resembling a thriving, viable state. Israel, whose very existence is based on predation, dispossession and war, will never permit a Palestinian entity to be given equal standing at the diplomatic or security table. The US, in the tatty drag of an independent broker, will go along with the pantomime, promoting, as Blinken is, a sham, counterfeit form of autonomy, one forever subject to conditions, demarcations and restraints. And one thing is almost certain about any future rump Palestinian entity: it will be deprived of any right to defend itself.”
There is cause for Tom's anger (see my response to him). It is paralyzing to watch Israel actively conducting genocide on the Palestinians (the army have been passing out rifles to the settlers on the West Bank) after what the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. Diplomacy here is simply a dance on hot coals. Bibi HAS to be taken out....
Yes. I am glad you came right out with that. It was the same belief as in 2016. Elect Trump and let things get bad enough. But it didn't grind to a halt did it? It got worse. And at the expense of our most vulnerable neighbors, fragile planet, and endangered democracy.
Trump's abandonment of the Palestinians IS the most proximal reason for their violence in an attempt to bring the focus back onto their valid concerns.
Trump did not just abandon any hope for justice for Palestinians. Trump embraced and encouraged - put America's imprimatur on - the worst abuses of the racist right wing religious extremist Netanyahu regime. Trump, his Evangelical base, and AIPAC. The worst 'friends' Israel could have.
I am torn...probably in the same way Biden is. Here you have bully Bibi and his rabid right-wingers not only bent on wiping out Hamas, but as his blatant actions show, to annihilate all Palestinians whether by killing them or shoving them out of Israel. The world response is pure horror. I felt the same when Biden declared that we would back Israel and "my friend Bibi" 100%. The Houthis have clearly stated that they would stop their attacks the minute Israel stops theirs on Gaza. The US has now pulled back on their "100%" support. Blinken is between a rock and a hard place. So Tom, other than diplomacy, what would you do if you were in his position as you watch ships carrying needed goods being attacked, knowing that genocide against Gaza will continue as long as Bibi is in control (other than suspending their annual allowance in the millions)? It is he who needs to be wiped out....
I have stated many times here, Biden needs to do what Reagan did as a response to Israel bombing a refugee camp in Lebanon in the 80s. He got the Israeli PM on the phone and said knock it off, or the military aid we provide will come under serious scrutiny. Israel complied.
But we have to mean it. If Bibi ignored the threat, and he very well might, we have to be willing to turn off the spigot.
We have been playing Manichaean checkers in the Middle East, especially since the coup in Iran since ‘53, instead of chess.
““Strategic cooperation” in the Persian Gulf led to U.S.-Israeli agreement on prepositioning U.S. military weaponry and medical gear in Israel; the U.S. Sixth Fleet’s use of Israeli ports; and the formation of a committee to arrange joint military exercises. The Reagan administration even resumed the delivery of cluster bombs to the Israeli Defenses Forces (IDF); the Carter administration had stopped such deliveries because Israel was using these weapons illegally against civilians. The Reagan administration increased military assistance to Israel, and concluded a trade agreement with Israel that gave it preferential treatment.
Fast forward to the present, and we find the United States trying to pull Israeli chestnuts out of a genocidal fire that the IDF has set in Gaza. U.S. weapons are central to the bombing campaign against Gaza, which has killed more than 23,000 civilians, devastated the elementary infrastructure that exists there, and annihilated more than 200 aid workers and journalists, and in some case their entire families. It took the Israeli killing of three Israeli hostages to make the international community aware of Israel’s total disregard for human life. And now South Africa has taken the case of Israeli war crimes to the International Court of Justice at the Hague, which is one of the more incredible ironies of this miserable tragedy.”
Tom HIGH, the Houthi are fighting for Gaza by disrupting international commerce? Sounds like Terrorism to me. Chaos by non state pirates applied to ships not involved with Gaza
Your problem here, Dave, is that you have a propagandized, simplistic definition of terrorism.
Your inability to recognize American terrorism, by both military and diplomatic means, is what is twisted. Your pretzel is hurl worthy, but certainly not unique.
Sorry, but your, and Heather’s, praise for both diplomacy and international rules-based order is a sham, couched in a propagandized, post-WWII desire for American hegemony. Every mention of rules-based order should be more accurately referred to as the American rules-based order, for that is what we seek. We look to the UN for a resolution to bomb Yemen, but veto one for a Gaza ceasefire. We value commerce, not the lives of people. There’s your American diplomacy. There is where America is. You’re right, that’s our choice.
Genocide Joe and Butcher Blinken have bombed Syria, Iraq, and Yemen now, in order to keeping letting Israel continue to bomb and slaughter Palestinians in Gaza. American rules-based order. Oh yes, and American diplomacy. But hey, it’s cool if war breaks out; we’ll just blame it on Iran, or Russia, or China. Because we’re the good guys, right?
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/western-empire-bombs-yemen-to-protect
“What Biden does not mention in his statement about his administration’s “response” to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea is the fact that those Red Sea attacks are themselves a response to Israeli crimes against humanity in Gaza. Also unmentioned is the fact that the strikes took place after the first day of proceedings in the International Court of Justice in which Israel stands accused by South Africa of committing a genocide in Gaza.
So the US and the UK just bombed the poorest country in the middle east for trying to stop a genocide. Not only that, they bombed the very same country in which they just spent years backing Saudi Arabia’s genocidal atrocities which killed hundreds of thousands of people between 2015 and 2022 in an unsuccessful bid to stop the Houthis from taking power.”
"diplomacy, the established method of influencing the decisions and behaviour of foreign governments and peoples through dialogue, negotiation, and other measures short of war or violence."
You are angry. There is certainly a cause for anger. Diplomacy is anger management.
Your diplomacy here is a sham. And is genocide complicity; nothing more.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/12/tall-tales-and-murderous-restraint-blinken-on-gaza-and-israel/
“Perhaps the greatest canard of all in this briefest of trips by Blinken is the continued, now absurd claim, that Washington is committed “to working with partners to set the conditions necessary for peace in the Middle East, which includes comprehensive, tangible steps towards the realization of a future Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, with both living in peace and security.”
In his remarks to President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Blinken showed the hardened ignorance that will ensure the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will continue in some form. In his mind, a “reformed” Palestinian Authority will take over the reins of a ruined Gaza (“effective responsibility”) whatever the residents of Gaza think.
Palestinians will never, given current conditions, be permitted sovereignty and anything remotely resembling a thriving, viable state. Israel, whose very existence is based on predation, dispossession and war, will never permit a Palestinian entity to be given equal standing at the diplomatic or security table. The US, in the tatty drag of an independent broker, will go along with the pantomime, promoting, as Blinken is, a sham, counterfeit form of autonomy, one forever subject to conditions, demarcations and restraints. And one thing is almost certain about any future rump Palestinian entity: it will be deprived of any right to defend itself.”
More horseshit.
""mansplaining" historian revisionist history."
Yikes! WTW?
There is cause for Tom's anger (see my response to him). It is paralyzing to watch Israel actively conducting genocide on the Palestinians (the army have been passing out rifles to the settlers on the West Bank) after what the Jews experienced during the Holocaust. Diplomacy here is simply a dance on hot coals. Bibi HAS to be taken out....
Please.......South Africa wants to use the term "genocide" but lots of countries not buying it. netanyahu maybe .
Those countries are either fearful or compliant with American hegemony.
Your knowledge of the definition of genocide, and the criteria necessary for its applicable accusation, is deficient. Study up.
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-case-for-genocide/comments
Are the attacks on Gaza anger management? What about those on the houthi? Just asking.
No. By definition.
They are both military attacks. And they ought not be equated.
Yes. I am glad you came right out with that. It was the same belief as in 2016. Elect Trump and let things get bad enough. But it didn't grind to a halt did it? It got worse. And at the expense of our most vulnerable neighbors, fragile planet, and endangered democracy.
Trump's abandonment of the Palestinians IS the most proximal reason for their violence in an attempt to bring the focus back onto their valid concerns.
Trump did not just abandon any hope for justice for Palestinians. Trump embraced and encouraged - put America's imprimatur on - the worst abuses of the racist right wing religious extremist Netanyahu regime. Trump, his Evangelical base, and AIPAC. The worst 'friends' Israel could have.
You explained my reasoning behind my assertion. Thank you.
Truth!
I am torn...probably in the same way Biden is. Here you have bully Bibi and his rabid right-wingers not only bent on wiping out Hamas, but as his blatant actions show, to annihilate all Palestinians whether by killing them or shoving them out of Israel. The world response is pure horror. I felt the same when Biden declared that we would back Israel and "my friend Bibi" 100%. The Houthis have clearly stated that they would stop their attacks the minute Israel stops theirs on Gaza. The US has now pulled back on their "100%" support. Blinken is between a rock and a hard place. So Tom, other than diplomacy, what would you do if you were in his position as you watch ships carrying needed goods being attacked, knowing that genocide against Gaza will continue as long as Bibi is in control (other than suspending their annual allowance in the millions)? It is he who needs to be wiped out....
As with Trump, Bibi is the personification of the problem. The domination of government by racist right wing religious extremists.
Who've learned that in unity there is strength and voting is the path to power.
Agree with removing Netayahu. ("wiping out?? .....not the language you want to use unless you are stirring up emotional reactions.....similar to Tom).
ThankYou Kathy.
Yeah, why get emotional about a genocide, right, Kathy?
I have stated many times here, Biden needs to do what Reagan did as a response to Israel bombing a refugee camp in Lebanon in the 80s. He got the Israeli PM on the phone and said knock it off, or the military aid we provide will come under serious scrutiny. Israel complied.
But we have to mean it. If Bibi ignored the threat, and he very well might, we have to be willing to turn off the spigot.
We have been playing Manichaean checkers in the Middle East, especially since the coup in Iran since ‘53, instead of chess.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/12/the-united-states-and-the-middle-east-hoist-on-its-own-petard/
““Strategic cooperation” in the Persian Gulf led to U.S.-Israeli agreement on prepositioning U.S. military weaponry and medical gear in Israel; the U.S. Sixth Fleet’s use of Israeli ports; and the formation of a committee to arrange joint military exercises. The Reagan administration even resumed the delivery of cluster bombs to the Israeli Defenses Forces (IDF); the Carter administration had stopped such deliveries because Israel was using these weapons illegally against civilians. The Reagan administration increased military assistance to Israel, and concluded a trade agreement with Israel that gave it preferential treatment.
Fast forward to the present, and we find the United States trying to pull Israeli chestnuts out of a genocidal fire that the IDF has set in Gaza. U.S. weapons are central to the bombing campaign against Gaza, which has killed more than 23,000 civilians, devastated the elementary infrastructure that exists there, and annihilated more than 200 aid workers and journalists, and in some case their entire families. It took the Israeli killing of three Israeli hostages to make the international community aware of Israel’s total disregard for human life. And now South Africa has taken the case of Israeli war crimes to the International Court of Justice at the Hague, which is one of the more incredible ironies of this miserable tragedy.”
No, South Africa has lodged its complaint with he UN. Get your facts straight.
Tom HIGH, the Houthi are fighting for Gaza by disrupting international commerce? Sounds like Terrorism to me. Chaos by non state pirates applied to ships not involved with Gaza
Your pretzel is uniquely twisted
Your problem here, Dave, is that you have a propagandized, simplistic definition of terrorism.
Your inability to recognize American terrorism, by both military and diplomatic means, is what is twisted. Your pretzel is hurl worthy, but certainly not unique.
You've been reading too much Chomsky. Did you know that he advocates stateless communism? Dave Dalton is right.
Horseshit.