Just in case anyone missed it...
The Israeli plan is to push the 1 million people in the top half of the open air prison that is Gaza into the bottom half, along with the 1 million already there.
The idea is that this will make living conditions there unbearable for Gazans, so they will be forced to leave the territory of Gaza entirely. Thus completing the "ethnic cleansing" of Gaza.
It's very likely however that this move will cause violence to flare in the West Bank, at least the Israelis hope so, at which point the West Bank will also be "ethnically cleansed" of Palestinians.
For it's part, the US is hoping that all of this will provoke Iran and its allies in the region to respond militarily, at which point the US hopes to "take Iran out", which will likely unleash an unprecedented global crisis on many fronts.
The point of this convoluted mad-cap scheme is for the US to prevent the quickening moves towards a multi-polar world, led by China and Russia and their allies (which includes Iran).
The US figures that rather than wait for such a multi-polar world to emerge naturally and with the unseating of the US as global hegemon, they prefer to start a war in the Middle East and upset the whole applecart, so to speak.
It's akin to playing a game of chess with someone, and when they are two moves from checkmate, they upturn the table and say "see, you didn't ACTUALLY win!". It's not going to end well. For anyone.
"It feels as though the whole state is now baying for genocide... The situation is terrifying. We are entering a new era that feels even worse than military rule... The worst horror is the silence and complicity of the West in Israel's unspeakable massacres."This is a genocide being conducted in real time which Western media are showing glimpses of on their screens, yet the Western governments refuse to call for a ceasefire by the Israeli regime. Tel Aviv knows it has a license for mass murder from the Western states and their morally repugnant leaders.
"We have to realize that the fact that 18 days have passed since then and we still have not revenged, in a biblical way, and have not caused all of our neighbors and all the antisemites all over the world ... we have lost the basic right of every Jew on the globe to exist. And this is because we did not burn Gaza to ashes immediately, immediately! And even worse than that. We have invited the Americans to come. We didn't do this in 1948, in 1956, in 1967 or in 1973. Thanks to Bibi we have created a Banana Republic here under the wings of America."
Israel is part of the forces of "freedom and progress" and light while Hamas belongs to the "axis of evil," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation in a speech on Wednesday:In order for one entity to be the forces of 'freedom, progress and light', it must create an adversary offending those very forces."Our war against Hamas is a test for all of humanity. It is a fight between the Iran-Hezbollah-Hamas axis of evil and the forces of freedom and progress. We are the people of the light, they are the people of darkness. Light will triumph over the darkness."Israel is recruiting world leaders in support of continuing the campaign, because "our war against Hamas is also their war," Netanyahu added.
He called the Palestinian group's October 7 incursion "a dark day in our history" which will be "investigated thoroughly" but only after the war. Meanwhile, Netanyahu argued, his job is to lead Israel "to a crushing victory over our enemies."
According to the PM, Israel's two goals are to "eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governing abilities" and do everything possible to free the hostages taken on October 7."All Hamas terrorists are dead men walking - above ground, below ground, outside Gaza. We are raining down hellfire on Hamas. We have already eliminated thousands of terrorists - and this is only the beginning."He also promised there would be a "ground incursion" into Gaza, but would not reveal when, saying that the operation needed to be kept out of the public eye "in order to better safeguard the lives of our soldiers."
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday morning that the US has asked Israel to delay the ground attack at least until the end of this week. The Pentagon needs more time to deploy air defenses to US bases in the region, due to an increase in attacks by missiles and drones.
"Remember the good ole' days when we lived in a country where no one had the answer to this baffling question: How could something like the Holocaust happen?" — John Nolte, BreitbartOf course, you realize that if this tragic business in the Middle East gets out of hand millions of people might die, maybe even you and me. Any way you cut it, looks like Islam wants to rumble. Basic problem: the little slab of land on the Mediterranean at issue is in the possession of one group of people and another group of people wants to drive them out. There is no "two state solution" because there is only one place in that place.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called the idea of withdrawing the United States from NATO "reasonable" in a brief statement Monday.
"It's a reasonable idea that I have considered," Ramaswamy told Politico when asked about a Rolling Stone story earlier Monday detailing former President Trump's openness to withdrawing from the alliance.
"I am also open to reevaluating U.S. involvement in the U.N.," Ramaswamy added, without providing additional details on his position.
Ramaswamy's position on matters related to foreign policy sets him apart from many other GOP contenders looking to take Trump's place as the front-runner in the 2024 primary. Ramaswamy has been skeptical about foreign aid to Ukraine and further entanglements abroad.
On Saturday, Politico reported that Ramaswamy urged a "no" vote on President Biden's request to Congress for a $106 billion aid package that would help Israel and Ukraine. He also told Politico that U.S. military aid for Israel should be "contingent" on Israel having a plan for the steps that would follow a ground offensive in Gaza.
The rift between Ramaswamy and foreign policy hawks in the race, including former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, is reflective of the larger generational divide in the Republican Party: Ramaswamy represents younger conservatives who are more opposed to U.S. intervention in foreign affairs.
This rift was on full display during the most recent GOP presidential debates. Ramaswamy was the only candidate to raise his hand during the 2024 GOP debate in August when asked whether they would stop support for Ukraine.
"You have no foreign policy experience and it shows," Haley told him during the GOP debate.
Both Haley and Ramaswamy have stood out in the large pack of GOP candidates, but, so far, no candidate has made much of a dent in Trump's sizable and consistent lead among primary voters.
"In fact, the lines hardly budged; if anything, Russia gained territory. Now [Washington], DC claims another $60 billion will get the job done. You're a fool if you believe this."In his response on Wednesday, Musk seemed to agree with this assessment, saying: "Lot of fools out there."
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