Puppet MastersS


Magic Wand

'Iran is completely different from Iraq, Syria and Libya! This time, US-led regime change will work out just great!'

Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin Johnstone Rogue Journalist
Fri, 11 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Chalie Brown football
There's a running gag in the comic strip Peanuts in which a balding depressive child named Charlie Brown is talked into trying to kick a football by his sadistic neighbor, Lucy. Charlie Brown always initially declines Lucy's offer, because he remembers that whenever Lucy talks him into trying to kick the football she yanks it out of the way at the last minute, sending him flying into a heap of pain and humiliation. But, ever the sucker, he always eventually succumbs to Lucy's convincing assurances that this time will be completely different.

That gag always pops into my mind when Trump supporters assure me that US-led regime change in Iran will be completely different from Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya.


Comment: It would be interesting to know just what percentage of Trump supporters, and Americans in general, actually support this disastrous idea!

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Star of David

Netanyahu's eternal whine to Putin: 'Iran threatens Israel' - pulls Holocaust card for good measure


Sputnik
Fri, 11 May 2018 19:58 UTC
netanyahu putin
© Sputnik / Ramil SitdikovThe meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized on Wednesday the need to fight back an ideology which might lead to Nazism and Holocaust while naming Iran as a country posing threat to Israel.

On May 9, Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and attend the Victory Day Parade in Russia. During the talks with Putin, the Israeli prime minister thanked his counterpart for the invitation as well as for separate mentioning of Holocaust in his speech. According to Netanyahu, this is another evidence of close relations between the peoples of Russia and Israel.

Putin, in his turn, noted that Moscow and Tel Aviv shared memories of World War II and were united in their attitude to Nazism. In commemoration of the victims of the war, the leaders laid wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Comment: Putin is an enormously patient man, but his patience is not endless. For the sake of larger concerns though, Putin will likely have to endure periodic visits from this piece of vermin for a while longer.

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Arrow Down

The EU will ditch Iran and the JCPOA, here's why...

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Fri, 11 May 2018 03:17 UTC
MerkMayMacron
© YouTubeChancellor Merkel • UK Prime Minister May • France President Macron
Ever since Donald Trump's announcement that the US would pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action ("JCPOA") with Iran and would unilaterally impose across-the-board sanctions on that country, a procession of European leaders including the leaders of the US's most powerful European allies - Britain, France and Germany - have publicly declared their intention to stand by the JCPOA.

There is also brave talk of the EU creating safeguards for European companies which in defiance of the US continue to trade or do business with Iran.

President Rouhani of Iran - who has a big personal stake in the JCPOA, which he personally negotiated - has for his part said that Iran will for the time being abide by the terms of the JCPOA whilst it waits to see how Europe will react.

In the meantime the talk of the EU standing up to the US over the JCPOA has increased talk - or hope - that a corner in US-EU relations has been turned, and that the EU will henceforth increasingly defy the US, making Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the JCPOA a further step in the decline of US power.

Comment: Has the US' pullout from the JCPOA crippled its EU relations? Mercouris presents a plausible argument in favor of an EU default to US will; but consider the appeal of detente within the persuasions of an EU-Russia-China economic reboot. In this bigger picture, Iran is the designated touchstone, the pivot point of potentially shifting sands.

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Footprints

It could be great news that Trump pulled out of the Iran deal

Andrew Korybko
Eurasia Future
Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Trump IranDocument
© Cyprus Business Mail
The fear and fury that have gripped the Alt-Media Community since Trump's announcement yesterday that he was pulling out of the Iran deal are totally misplaced and triggered by a lack of understanding over what the most likely consequences of this move will be.

Confusion, Nothing But Confusion

From a cursory glance at social media, it looks like the entire Alt-Media Community is suffering from severe bouts of fear and fury in equal measure after Trump's predicted announcement that he'll be pulling the US out of the Iranian nuclear deal, with people truly terrified about what will come next. Some, utterly shocked by the disappointment that this move brings, have expressed themselves in insincere and slightly snarky ways by pretending to feel sorry for the US' international reputation while nevertheless consoling one another with wishful thinking about how the deal that many of them lauded nearly three years ago apparently wasn't even all that much in Iran's interests.

Others, however, are more nuanced, having warned from the beginning that this would happen because of an old scenario plan by the Brookings Institute that called for a deal to be offered to Iran and then broken in order to manufacture widespread public consent for a forthcoming war against the Islamic Republic. That analysis has its merits in principle, but it exaggerates the influence that the masses have over the US and other Western "deep states" (permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies) and is therefore impractical. While the manipulation of public opinion is important, it isn't the ultimate determinant over whether a war goes ahead or not.

Comment: What this strategy may not consider is the currently unfolding situation with Israel alongside the insane need for the US/NATO to encircle Russia and China. Israel is not going to quietly slip into a stupor because Trump tossed the deal - it sees it as a brass ring to increase chances of war with Iran, using the US as its proxy army. Hence the latest uptick in bombings and missile strikes in Syria to draw Iran into a conflagration.

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Snakes in Suits

Britain issues an apology for 'appalling treatment' of terrorist Abdel Hakim Belhaj and his wife

Ian Cobain, Owen Bowcott
The Guardian
Thu, 10 May 2018 14:49 UTC
Belhaj, wife, son
© Middle East Eye/Bangkok PostAbdel Hakim Belhaj • Fatima Boudchar and son Abderrahim Belhaj
Theresa May has issued an unprecedented apology for Britain's role in the "appalling" treatment of a Libyan dissident and his wife, who were victims of a rendition operation mounted with the help of MI6.

The prime minister wrote to Abdel Hakim Belhaj and his wife, Fatima Boudchar, to apologise unreservedly on behalf of the government for its failings over the case and missed opportunities to end their ordeal.

The attorney general, Jeremy Wright, read out May's letter in the Commons as he announced that Boudchar, who was pregnant when the couple were kidnapped, would receive £500,000 compensation for the UK's role in her treatment. Belhaj has neither sought, nor received, a financial settlement.

Boudchar and their 13-year-old son Abderrahim travelled to London and watched from the public gallery as Wright told MPs that, after mediation, the government had reached a full and final settlement with the couple, who had withdrawn their legal claim.

In her letter, May admitted the UK should have done more to reduce the risk that the couple could be mistreated, and had wrongly missed opportunities to help them once they were held in the prisons of the former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

She acknowledged that Britain should have realised sooner that its allies were involved in unacceptable practices, implying criticism of Libya for torture and the CIA's practice of rendition.

Comment: There is more to this case than MSM is willing to tell. From Libyan War The Truth, a trusted source, comes the Libyan perspective on the deeds and function of Belhaj - a very different story of a terrorist leader that is still operating today. What is the real game afoot? See: The Brits apologize to known terrorist; Libyan people respond

See also: For a disturbing description of Fatima Boudchar's torture in Thailand at a black site run by Gena Haspel:

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Attention

Trump and Bolton speak of peace but really call for regime change in Iran


RT
Thu, 10 May 2018 23:47 UTC
Protester WH
© Leah Mills/Reuters
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton says the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal is not a step towards a policy of regime change in Tehran. His own record and President Donald Trump's words suggest otherwise.

Those who believe that pulling out of the nuclear deal is a precursor for US boots on the ground in Iran "would be badly mistaken," Bolton said at a White House press briefing on Tuesday, just minutes after Trump's announcement that the US would be leaving the 2015 agreement.

The morning after, however, Bolton was accusing Iran of provoking a war, accusing Tehran of deploying missiles in Syria that could hit Israel.

"I think Iran is bringing us close to war with its belligerent activity in Iraq and Syria," he told CBS This Morning on Wednesday. "It's that aggressive militaristic behavior by Iran on the ground in the region that's the real threat."


Comment: Even if Tehran underwent regime change, it doesn't automatically guarantee Iran would give up the pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile capabilities. What a scammy argument. There is already an Iranian government that refuses and refutes nuclear weapons with a safe-guard deal in place. The better policy towards Iran is to not keep pissing them off, but that won't happen due to war-mongering Israel and the locked mindset it has achieved, by hook and crook, within the US.

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Attention

The Brits apologize to known terrorist; Libyan people respond

JoanneM
Libyan War The Truth
Fri, 11 May 2018 01:00 UTC
Abdulhakem Belhaj
© AFPAbdulhakem Belhaj
The United Kingdom has lost any modicum of respect they had left having formally apologized to a known terrorist, Abdulhakem Belhaj.

Belhaj is a Libyan and the most hated man in Libya.

Belhaj started the terrorist organization known as Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). The LIFG is the group responsible for the most recent bombings in London. Even though Belhaj attempted to say that LIFG is now defunct, that is a lie, it is extremely active and working in Libya and other countries such as Turkey and Qatar.

Belhaj started his career in terrorism in Libya and had to leave the country because radical Islam was forbidden in Libya under Ghadafi. He then traveled to Afghanistan where he joined the war against the US. He had a number of attempts to assassinate Ghadafi and his group LIFG was listed on the official terrorist list by the UN. Later he was tracked and captured by the CIA with help from MI5. He was extradited back to Libya and imprisoned there for about 7 years until, through the intervention of Dr. Saif al Islam Ghadafi and his program to rehabilitate terrorists, he was released, all the time praising Dr. Saif and his program. But, he was a liar and no surprise, he joined Hillary Clinton and John McCain in their invasion and destruction of Libya.

To this date he has imprisoned, killed, tortured and destroyed more Libyans than any in known Libyan history. He has also stolen more than 1 billion dollars from the Libyan people. Do not, I repeat , do not believe any positive media reports about Belhaj.

So, is he the most hated man in Libya? YES. Are the Libyans irate about the UK apologizing to this terrorist? Absolutely. He was instrumental in the destruction of their country and their people.

Comment: See also:
Britain issues an apology for 'appalling treatment' of terrorist Abdel Hakim Belhaj and his wife

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Fire

Iran: Lawmakers symbolically burn US flag shout 'death to America' in response to Trump's decision


RT
Wed, 09 May 2018 13:51 UTC
Tehran US flagburning
© Ruptly
Iranian lawmakers burned a picture of a US flag while shouting "death to America!" during a session of the country's parliament, in response to the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. Angry MPs joined in the fiery spectacle Wednesday with anti-American chants, while also adding a piece of paper, reportedly representing the nuclear deal, to the flames. In footage of the event, MPs from across the parliamentary hall can be seen rushing to the pulpit with their fists in the air.

Trump's controversial decision sparked outrage across the international community and, in particular, among his allies in Europe who have vowed to adhere to the original agreement.

"If necessary, we can begin our industrial enrichment without any limitations," the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, echoing similar comments from the speaker of the parliament, Ali Larijani earlier on Wednesday.

"Until implementation of this decision, we will wait for some weeks and will talk with our friends and allies and other signatories of the nuclear deal, who signed it and who will remain loyal to it. Everything depends on our national interests," Rouhani added.


Comment: Who can blame them. One country undermining a nuclear agreement and reinstating choke-hold sanctions on another country is patently unjust.

If a Middle Eastern country 'going rogue' with nukes was truly America's concern, it would have stopped Israel acquiring them long ago.

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Star of David

Aggression or retaliation? Who's lying about the Israeli attack on Syria? Take a guess

Eric Zuesse
Sott.net
Fri, 11 May 2018 19:44 UTC
Syrian air defenses Israeli attack
Syrian/Russian air defense missiles rise into the sky to counter Israeli missiles
On the night of May 9th, Ynetnews, which is the online English-language website of Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's most-widely read newspaper, headlined an "Analysis" article, "A Preemptive Strike in Syria" and opened:
Even if Iran had no intention of launching missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the alleged Israeli strike came along and conveyed the following message to the Iranians: You raised the likelihood of an attack on Israel, so we're raising the threat level, despite the tensions.
Their reporter said that the issue now would be, "We're waiting to see what the Iranians will do: Will they continue the preparations for an attack" or stand down?

Also late on May 9th, Russian Television bannered, "Israel Launches Massive Missile Strikes in Syria" and opened:
Syrian air defenses have been deployed to thwart an attack by the Israeli rockets, Syria's state SANA news agency reported. The bombing is reportedly being carried out by Israeli warplanes from Lebanese airspace. ...

SANA has released footage of Syrian air defense systems responding to incoming missiles.

The Israeli strikes are seen as a continued retaliation to what Israel claims were some 20 rockets launched by Iran's Quds Force from Syrian territory into the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights earlier in the night. The Israel Defense Forces said its Iron Dome systems intercepted some of the projectiles and the reported attack resulted in no injuries.
Also late on May 9th, the New York Times reported that,
A missile strike, apparently by Israel, south of the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday [May 8th], an hour after Mr. Trump's announcement about the nuclear deal, killed 15 people, at least eight of them Iranians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday.

That strike, on the area of Al Kiswa, targeted facilities for the Syrian military and their Iranian allies. Israeli news media said that one of the targets was a convoy of missiles taken out of storage and heading to a launching site, and that the strike was pre-emptive.
That alleged Israeli "missile strike" against Damascus on Tuesday - which Israel did not deny - could have been the provocation for the alleged retaliation against Israel by Iranians in Syria late on Wednesday May 9th, which could have provoked Israel's claimed "massive" missiles-retaliation soon thereafter.

Comment: Others seem to think that the Syrians did respond by firing missiles into Golan: Syria and Iran establish new rules of engagement with Israel: Golan Heights no longer off limits

See also: The Real Story Behind Israel's Attack on "Iranian" Targets in Syria and Trump's Abandonment of the Iran Deal

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Heart - Black

Trump's choice of 'Bloody Gina' as CIA chief is disgraceful

Robert Scheer
Truthdig
Fri, 11 May 2018 19:47 UTC
Gina Haspel
© Aaron Bernstein/ReutersNominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel
Leave it to Donald Trump, besieged by denunciations of his torturous behavior toward women, to have nominated a female torturer to head the Central Intelligence Agency. It was a move clearly designed to prove that a woman can be as crudely barbaric as this deeply misogynistic president. When it comes to bullying, Gina Haspel, whose confirmation hearing begins Wednesday, is the real deal, and The Donald is a pussycat by comparison. Whom has he ever waterboarded? Haspel has done that and a lot worse. Haspel is Trump's ideal feminist, a point tweeted by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
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