War front updates: America opposes war on Iran

 

A war protest in New York last month. (Headline in Washington Post)

Americans have little appetite for sending troops to Iran, polls show

• Only 14% of Americans favor sending ground troops into Iran, while 62% oppose this. Almost all Democrats and 66% of Independents oppose sending in ground troops, while Republicans are divided, with 30% in favor and 37% opposed. 
• In the DC mental asylum, they dreamt up the concept of "Greater North America". In addition to the USA, it includes Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the Caribbean countries. US Defence Secretary and professional drunkard, Pete Hegseth, displayed a map on which these regions are unified. Hegseth did not explain how these countries are supposed to be united, but emphasized: "Trump has drawn a new strategic map". 

• Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto: Israel has lost its mind and its humanity. 

• According to NPR, a 2nd E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft was damaged in the Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Previously images showed how one E-3 AWACS was destroyed beyond repair. 

• German airline Lufthansa may temporarily ground between 20 and 40 aircraft due to the jet fuel crisis stemming from the war in the Middle East. The increase in jet fuel prices in March will add €1.4 billion to its annual scheduled fuel cost budget. Since the start of the war, jet fuel prices in Europe have more than doubled, reaching record highs of over US$1,700 per metric ton. 
• Indonesia has introduced fuel rationing and required civil servants to work from home as it tries to conserve energy supplies amid rising global prices linked to the Iran war. 
• The UK will send Sky Sabre air defense systems to Saudi Arabia, extend the deployment of Typhoon jets in Qatar, and integrate a Lightweight Multirole Launcher into Bahrain’s defenses. Nearly 1,000 British troops are expected to be deployed to help install, operate, and support these systems. 
• About 348 US Army personnel have been injured so far, from Iranian attacks — CBS
• Israel bombed & destroyed one of Iran’s largest manufacturers for anti-cancer medicine, in Tehran’s Chitgar area. 
• Video reportedly showing an Iranian missile striking very close to U.S. troops in the Middle East. Notice the American accents. 

• Reporter: When will the U.S. be done with the war in Iran? Trump: I think in two or three weeks. We will leave.
• Professor John Mearsheimer on the Iran War: He (Trump) can't get out. He's stuck. He's escalating. He's looking for a way to win this. The problem is, he can't fix it. Once you climb the ladder of escalation, it's very difficult to climb back down. I don't see how he's going to get out of this without doing something about those ground troops.
• It was recently published showing Palestinian detainees in harsh detention conditions, with Hebrew text visible on the screen saying: "The time for (human) conditions is over, enter the cages". 

• Argentine bootlicker Javier Milei designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. 
• Haaretz, citing sources: The Israeli army is barely catching its breath in southern Lebanon, and its resources are lower than in the previous round of fighting.
• Prime Minister of Japan: “We have agreed with France to work closely to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.”
• Trump adviser to Axios: “This is not a three-dimensional chess game—it’s a 12-dimensional one. He constantly contradicts himself, so no one knows what he’s thinking. He does that on purpose.”
• Lebanese Interior Minister: “Lebanon is facing devastating Israeli attacks as part of a war imposed upon it.”
• The Israeli army has acknowledged that 48 officers and soldiers were injured in the past 24 hours on the ground front with Hezbollah. It also acknowledged that 309 officers and soldiers have been injured, including 23 in critical condition, since the start of ground invasion attempts in southern Lebanon. (They don't announce how many IDF have died.) 

• According to the Wall Street Journal, citing officials: The UAE is preparing to assist U.S. and allied efforts to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially making it the first Gulf state to directly enter combat following Iranian attacks. Officials say the UAE is pushing for a UN Security Council resolution authorizing such action and advocating for a multinational coalition to secure the waterway, even hinting at U.S. control over key islands in the strait.
• Arrival of U.S. ground-attack aircraft at a British base: 12 A-10C Thunderbolt II planes were spotted at RAF Lakenheath, used to support ground forces. 

• Prime Minister of Spain: “23 years ago, you dragged us into the war against Iraq, and no weapons of mass destruction were found. You cannot deceive us twice!.. You monsters!”
• United States: The U.S. announces its support for the law permitting the execution of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The U.S. State Department spokesperson stated: “The United States respects Israel’s sovereign right to determine its own laws and penalties for individuals convicted of terrorism,” adding, “We are confident that any such action will be carried out under a fair trial.”
• The Yemeni Armed Forces will not allow the Red Sea to become a base for military operations against Iran and Hezbollah. In this round of the war, Yemen will use new weapons. If Israel does not surrender and the international community fails in its duty to stop crimes against the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran, we have many other options.”
• Professor Jeffrey Sachs – Trump & Netanyahu steering globe to tectonic economic breakdown. The US government is “in complete breakdown,” led by “gangsters who are completely out of their depth.” He warns that the professionals in the US government “are either crushed, forced to leave, thrown out, threatened or resigned.” The consequences, according to Sachs, may be “a complete collapse of the world energy supply.”

Film coming to Brunswick (Maine): Earth's Greatest Enemy

 U.S. cannot afford wars for empire

Pentagon climate crimes documented

By Lisa Savage 

Along the way in my development as an antiwar organizer, I began to think about a strategy shift from “wars for empire are morally wrong” (which propaganda prevents most in the U.S. from understanding) to “the U.S. cannot afford wars for empire.” After the crash of 2008 my target audience — U.S.ians who could be persuaded to oppose wars and militarism — was struggling economically. Still, as we waged the Bring Our War $$ Home campaign, I continued to notice that younger people mostly were not interested in resisting U.S. wars.

Here’s what they were concerned about and active around: climate crisis. 

It was about this time I learned that the Kyoto protocols exempted military emissions from being counted in a nation’s total. Because the atmosphere is patriotic? (Incidentally, this presaged the triumph of politics over scientific reasoning that the U.S. is experiencing on many fronts today.)

I compiled reports and research in English about the harms to climate of the U.S. military at a website I called Maine Natural Guard. Many signed a pledge to help connect the dots between “security” via warplanes and climate crisis. When I heard that Abby Martin of Empire Files was preparing a documentary on this subject, I gave a little seed money to the film “Earth’s Greatest Enemy.”

Now I’m excited to have helped organize a showing of the film next month in Brunswick, Maine.

Tickets are available on the Eveningstar Cinema website.

Tickets are free (must register in advance) but donations at the event will be welcome. We expect a full house so reserve your tix early if you plan to attend. 

We’re excited for the opportunity to zoom with producer/director Abby Martin following the screening.

Hope to see you there!