by Oui
Wed May 16th, 2018 at 08:55:45 AM EST
The great ally for decades of the United States. Only George Herbert Bush with Secretary of State James Baker III and Barack Obama with John Kerry had the courage to follow through on Internationl Law and the UN Security Council resolutions to confront the state of Israel. Both the Republicans and Democrats lost the the next bid for presidency in the election. For President Bush it was more clear-cut due to a sluggish economy and his broken promise of no tax cut than it was for the surprise defeat of Hillary Clinton after wasting an 19 points lead from mid-August.
Bush's most publicized successes as President came in foreign policy. In an almost bloodless campaign, he authorized the use of military force to remove Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega from power. And when in 1990 Saddam Hussein annexed Kuwait as a possible prelude to invading Saudi Arabia, rather than fulfilling Margaret Thatcher's fears that he might "go wobbly", Bush instead put together a domestic and international political and military coalition that drove Hussein out of Kuwait in less than a month of combat and with a minimal loss of American lives.
Removing the Democrats from power became a major goal for PM Netanyahu, Israel lobby groups and to undo the nuclear deal with Iran sealed by the UN Security Council. The US has become itself a pariah state within the global community of nations and spreading terror across te Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
In the next decade, Europe will need to adjust its reliance on the capital infrastructure which has it embeded in Wall Street, trade treaties and the financial banking system. A next step will be to remove the dominant US dollar currency in favor of a basket of foreign valutas. The Brexit should expediate the separation of mainland Europe with the AngloSaxon empire of pure capitalism, warmongering and policy of regime change by force as seen during the last twenty years.
Continued below the fold ...
Afghanistan: the longest military engagement of the US Forces
The U.S. has been in Afghanistan for 16 years now, making it the longest war in our history, and still many Americans support the presence. Why? Because they fear that if we leave, Islamic terrorists will come back and threaten us again -- basically, the fear of another 9/11. Here's why that thinking is misguided.
1. US Presence Has No Effect: Set aside ego and look at the situation objectively. 16 years of US presence, 2300 dead US soldiers, 20,000 wounded, and $800 billion later ... the effort to contain Taliban and Islamic terrorists has been an abysmal failure. Taliban now controls larger areas today than in 2001. And guess who else is there now that wasn't there before? ISIS. Third, Afghanistan's opium production is at record level. So, more Islamic terrorism and more drugs after 16 years. This is not working. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
Fighting Israel's war of attrition following the PNAC project leads to further isolation of the Jewish State ...
○ Completing the Neocon PNAC Project
○ #HimToo - Iran Deal Scrapped
Family mourns baby killed by Israeli tear gas | The National - UAE |
In her final embrace, Mariam Al Ghandour hugs the tiny body of her daughter Leila tight, tears rolling down her face.
The health ministry in Gaza say baby Leila, only eight months old, died after inhaling tear gas along the border with Israel on Monday as major protests escalated into the bloodiest day in years, with at least 61 Palestinians killed.
The vast majority have been killed by live ammunition fired by Israeli snipers but Leila was caught up in a cloud of tear gas, only temporarily painful for adults but potentially more dangerous for infants.
Mariam, herself only 17, explained that she had a dentist appointment "so I left Leila with my brothers at home. My little brother took her and went to the border ..."
[I have no idea if this is a true story or part of propaganda - Oui]
World community slams Israel's barbarity in Gaza | Gulf News |
Thousands protest across the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nakba | Mondoweiss |
BETHLEHEM -- Thousands of Palestinians across the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip participated in massive demonstrations on Tuesday, the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe", when an estimated 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes when the state of Israel was established in 1948.
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Over a million Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel in the wars of 1948 and 1967. (Photo: gnuckx / Flickr)
In the West Bank, Israeli forces suppressed protests largely with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and sound bombs, though some cases of live ammunition were reported.
"We will never give up our right of return"
In the southern occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, around 600 Palestinian protesters marched peacefully from the southern end of the city until they reached the Israeli separation wall and a permanent military base and watchtower on the northern end of the city.
Protesters waved palestinian flags and black flags with images of keys saying "return," as they chanted slogans saying "America is the head of the snake," and "Jerusalem is Palestinian, and will stay that way forever."
Dozens of Israeli soldiers were deployed outside the wall, and almost immediately dispersed the protesters with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Protesters remained in the area for hours, as some youth burned tires and through stone at the soldiers.
Israeli Brown-Shirts "Celebrate" Jerusalem Day | Tikun Olam |
Jerusalem is one of the strangest cities in the world. Let's leave aside all the tourist promotion about "Jerusalem of Gold" and "a city holy to three religions." And the Israeli claim that it is "Israel's capital, eternal and undivided." All that is window dressing for what Jerusalem really is. A city which has been fought over for thousands of years by scores of armies fighting on behalf of scores of religions and nations. It's possible that over time more blood has been shed over the city than any other in the history of the world. And now, it is a city filled with hatred, with extremists eager to kill the Other. It is a city divided as few other cities in the world today are.
Frankly, I'm not sure it's worth it. In David's day it was a small city inhabited by Jebusites, who were eventually exterminated. Possibly, located high in the Judean desert, it made for a good defensive position. But how did it become what it is today: an icon of religious hatred and strife?
I question the ultimate point of all this suffering over this city, as someone who's lived in Jerusalem, studied at its universities, worshiped at the Western Wall, shopped in its markets, walked its streets, davened at its shuls, spoken its language, celebrated its holidays. Nevertheless, I come back to my oft-repeated response to this veneration of the Holy City. Jews were never much for worshipping stones and ruins. Jews, especially those in the Diaspora, were far more taken up with finding modes of survival outside Israel.
Forgetting 70 years of occupation and land theft on the West Bank. The deft of US Ambassador Nikki Halley to defend acts of inhumanity that should be condemned by people of good will ...
○ Nikki Haley Speaks at UN Security Council Meeting Before Walking Out - US Vetoes Resolution for an Independent Investigation
○ Israel massacres almost 60 Palestinians in Gaza | Electronic Intifada |
