Hedges: Need to look at the rupturing of social bonds....
January 14 interview of Chris Hedges by Jimmy Dore.
Why are people on the left cheering on the quickening loss of our civil liberties?
Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing and the state of America's declining empire....
With a new administration in Washington it will be a challenge to get the 'liberals' to hold Biden-Harris to the few 'progressive promises' they made during their campaign. Biden is bringing back many of Bush & Obama's neo-cons to head his foreign policy. I'll be on this case without hesitation.
January 14 interview of Chris Hedges by Jimmy Dore.
Why are people on the left cheering on the quickening loss of our civil liberties?
Israel & United States Unite Efforts In Large-Scale Strikes On Iranian Infrastructure In Syria
South Front
The first two weeks of 2021 have, so far, been marked by an incredible increase in Israeli activity in the skies over Syria.
The most intense strike took place on January 13 morning hitting multiple Syrian and Iranian-affiliated targets in the province of Deir Ezzor, including the underground base of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Corps near al-Bukamal.
The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Israeli strikes have killed 57 and wounded another 37. Pro-government sources confirmed only 5 casualties.
The airstrikes were so numerous that even Abu Yatem al-Katrani – the commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) 4th Brigade was killed in an airstrike.
The Israeli operations were carried out with the assistance of the United States – it provided intelligence and Israeli struck on them. Former CIA Director, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was reportedly discussing the airstrikes with Yossi Cohen, chief of Israel’s spy agency Mossad.
The US support of Tel Aviv’s aerial raids is a clear message to Iran, and is a very open support to Israel’s undeclared war against Iran, which it has been waging in Syria since hostilities began.
All of the airstrikes in the first two weeks of 2021 are the most significant by Israel, and over all, since the beginning of the war in Syria. They were so significant, that Damascus even accused Tel Aviv of carrying out the strikes in very open support of ISIS militants which the Syrian Arab Army is hunting.
Meanwhile, there appears to be a sense of urgency, or a sense of danger in the air, as the United States reinforced its troop positions in the Omar oil fields with artillery pieces and other equipment.
The US troops, together with their local proxies also hold frequent drills in the area, to keep ready, for some future unknown escalation.
Prior to New Year’s Eve, Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was assassinated, in what Tehran claimed to be an elaborate Israeli operation.
Additionally, since around the same time, a farewell strike on Iran has been expected from US President Donald Trump, and the general chaos in the US ahead of Joe Biden stepping into office has been used by Israel as a chance to inflict as much damage as possible on Tehran and its allies.
Russia, at the same time, appears to also be preparing for an escalation of some sort, by building up its forces and is lying in wait.
Israel appears dead set on continuing its crusade against Iran and its allies in Syria. An urgency is felt, since Biden is unlikely to support Tel Aviv as much as Trump did, and every possible chance should be used. This is all in spite of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu removed the photo of Donald Trump from his Twitter, but all is fair in love and war.
Finally, both the American and Russian forces appear to be biding their time, waiting for an escalation that, with tensions at the breaking point appears closer than ever.
The year began with terrorist attacks in Syria, increased Israeli strikes, Iran threatening against any aggression against it, and the two most significant players in the face of Moscow and Washington are expecting an escalation, and no amount of preparation would be enough for the incoming storm.
Former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-NJ), a longtime expert on Russia and a sober-minded policy analyst, said he was deeply troubled at the relentless expansion of NATO.
In a Jan. 23, 2008 talk before the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, he sounded a disconsolate note, describing NATO expansion a “terribly sad thing … a blunder of monumental proportions… .“ As tensions increased with Russia, Bradley added, “Right now we are confronted with something that could have easily been avoided.”
These words above are by Ray McGovern (former CIA analyst) in a new article about Biden's appointment of William Burns to head the CIA. Very interesting and instructive - see it here.
There are less than two weeks until the World Says No to War on Yemen Global Day of Action and we need your help reaching every corner of the globe! Please share this event as far and wide as you possibly can. You can start by sending it to your mailing lists and putting it on your website, sharing it on your social media accounts, reaching out to fellow organisations and even just talking with your friends and family.
Over 230 organisations from 17 countries have signed up for a call to action against the war on Yemen so far, making this the biggest international anti-war coordination since the campaign against the Iraq war. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic many of the planned physical protests have had to be postponed but our global movement will not be silenced.
The under-reported war in Yemen has led to the death of 250,000 people and created the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world according to the UN. They estimate that more than 24 million people in the country, which was already one of the poorest on the planet prior to the war, will need humanitarian assistance in 2021.
The foreign aggression is led by Saudi Arabia, with the involvement of the UAE, but it is backed by some key Western powers – the US, the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Canada. In particular, the US and the UK have maintained unquestioning support for Saudi Arabia since the war began and are both participants in the war.
This protest is timed to take place just days after the inauguration of Joe Biden, who has promised to end US support for the war. This is our one central aim – to hold him to his word and force fellow governments to follow suit. The day of action is also timed for the eve of the Saudi Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.
For the World Says No to War on Yemen Global Online Rally we have brought together a group of prominent voices from across the world to speak out against this utterly brutal war and call for its immediate end.
Among those joining us Monday, January 25, at 11am PST / 2pm EST / 7pm GMT / 10pm Yemen:
Ahmed Al-Babati (British-Yemeni Soldier)
Jeremy Corbyn (UK Member of Parliament)
Danny Glover (Actor)
Tawakkol Karman (Yemeni Nobel Peace Laureate)
Daniele Obono (French National Assembly Member)
Yanis Varoufakis (MeRA25 Secretary-General)
Link to the event, where you and your contacts can register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_a1UiRQgwS_Kk-sBG86bv-A
Thank you for your support!
Are we heading for civil war in America? Increasingly I observe that many voices are saying they think such a violent divide is coming. Wouldn't the corporate oligarchs that really run America be quite happy if that was so? Divide and conquer.
I've been sifting my way through many articles and social media postings to try to get a feel for where people's heads are at. Below are just a few samplings of what some folks are writing. I'd be interested to hear what you think about this question....
Bruce