Puppet Masters

NYT: Netanyahu has influence over US-Iran policy, a grasp on US public opinion - but mum on Adelson

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 00:00 UTC

This is a marvel. The New York Times Magazine published a long article about Benjamin Netanyahu's unsuccessful effort to get Obama to attack Iran and its successful effort to get Trump to abandon the Iran deal titled, "The Secret History of the Push to Strike Iran," and though there are countless references to Netanyahu's influence in the White House, the authors explain Netanyahu's influence by saying that he has the ability to "sway public opinion" in the U.S. Netanyahu told them as much.

American public opinion was the key, and the ability to shape it in some ways cut to the very heart of Netanyahu's political persona. He said:

"In the last 30 years, I appeared innumerable times in the American media and met thousands of American leaders. I developed a certain ability to influence public opinion, and that is the most important thing: the ability to sway public opinion in the United States against the regime in Iran."

Israel again considers unilateral airstrike against Iran and wants Trump to support it; Obama didn't

Sputnik
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 04:26 UTC

The report states that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been contemplating the idea of striking Iranian nuclear objects when Barack Obama was in office, but had failed to gather support needed from the security cabinet at home to give it a go.

Israeli officials have been considering an option to deliver a unilateral airstrike against Iran, specifically its nuclear facilities, even if they won't be supported by the US administration, The New York Times stated in its recent report on Tel Aviv's alleged efforts to push the US into the offensive against its Middle East rival. The media hasn't indicated the source of this information, despite bringing up a number of American, Israeli and European former and current officials throughout the report. Sputnik was unable to independently verify the report by the New York Times.

The NYT report says that such a strike was on the table of the Israeli Cabinet back during Barack Obama's administration, which actively monitored Tel Aviv's preparations for it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the plans, saying that he would approve such a strike "unequivocally", but failed to gather the support of a majority of his security cabinet at the time.

Comment: See also:

Merkel under pressure from Hong Kong protesters and US for China trade visit

RT
Wed, 04 Sep 2019 22:50 UTC

As German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Beijing with hopes of closing a major trade deal with China, Hong Kong protesters are urging against it, joined by the US ambassador to Berlin who also warns against "business as usual."

Merkel is arriving in Beijing on Thursday for a three-day visit to China, her 12th since she took office. She is accompanied by a large trade delegation. After meetings with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang, she is scheduled to travel to Wuhan in Hebei province, the German foreign ministry said.

The chancellor is apparently seeking to close on the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, a massive trade deal introduced in 2012. Talks have been ongoing since 2014, with hopes of a final agreement being reached by the end of this year.

This has alarmed US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who has previously sought to browbeat Berlin into abiding by US sanctions against Iran and now apparently wants Merkel to fall in line with President Donald Trump's trade war with China as well.

No-deal Brexit block eliminates all excuses for an election delay, given no 'dramatic turn of events'

RT
Wed, 04 Sep 2019 22:28 UTC

While UK parliament has shot down PM Boris Johnson's bid for a general election next month, there's no excuse for further delays once the risk of a no-deal Brexit is removed from the table, former MP George Galloway told RT.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party all abstained from voting to hold early general elections, leaving only 298 MPs in support - woefully short of the required two-thirds majority to pass the measure on Wednesday.

However, Johnson requested the opposition take the time to "reflect overnight," which is "parliamentary code for 'negotiations are going on behind the scenes'," the former MP and RT contributor pointed out, adding that the MPs used to call this sort of thing "behind the speaker's chair."

Once the October 31 Brexit deadline is out of the way - and with it the possibility of a no-deal Brexit postponed - Labour will have "no excuse at all for refusing a general election," Galloway said, predicting that the rebels who had been so vociferously demanding a contest up until "just the other week" would return to clamoring for it.

Comment: See also: Brit lawmakers nix PM Johnson's bid for snap election

Putin: Russia offered to sell Trump hypersonic weapons, balance everything

RT
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:26 UTC

Moscow offered Washington the chance to purchase Russian hypersonic weapons instead of developing its own, Vladimir Putin has revealed. The US, however, is seeking to create analogues.

The bombshell revelation was made by Russia's president on Thursday, as he was speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok.

"I've told Donald [Trump]: Do you want us to sell it [hypersonic weaponry] to you? And we would balance everything by that," Putin said when asked how new Russian weaponry might fit into existing arms-control agreements.

It remains unclear if the US president has considered the offer, as Washington is seeking to create hypersonic weapons of its own. "Well, maybe they will. But why spend money when we've already spent it and could have got something in return without hurting our own security and for the sake of creating balance?" Putin added.

It was not immediately clear if Russia's president was serious about his offer or if it was an example of very high-profile trolling, since Moscow - just as anybody else - has always been quite reluctant to sell the newest weapons abroad or, at least, created special export versions of them.

Comment: See also:

Brit lawmakers nix PM Johnson's bid for snap election

RT
Wed, 04 Sep 2019 20:36 UTC

PM Boris Johnson's attempt to trigger a general election has been thwarted by British MPs after he failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required in a vote in the UK parliament on Wednesday night.

The defeat in the House of Commons saw Johnson's Tory government fail to reach the 434 threshold required with only 298 MPs supporting the early election motion and 56 lawmakers voting against it.

The Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party (SNP) all appear to have abstained from the vote.

Johnson reacted by saying that Corbyn is now "the first leader of the opposition in the democratic history of our country to refuse the invitation of an election." He claimed that reason was because he "does not think he can win."

Corbyn earlier said that his party will back an election only after a 'no-deal' is completely ruled out. It completes a disastrous night for the British prime minister after rebel MPs earlier sealed victory on new legislation at the third and final stage that compels Johnson to seek a three-month extension to Article 50 from Brussels to stop a 'no-deal' Brexit on October 31.

Comment: More from RT, 4/9/2019 Rebel MPs seal defeat of blocking 'no-deal' Brexit

The bill, tabled by Labour's Hilary Benn and supported by the likes of Ken Clarke and Churchill's grandson, Nicholas Soames, who have been expelled from the Conservative Party, was passed by 327 votes to 299 in the House of Commons after the third and final reading on Wednesday night. It's a hammer blow to Johnson.

Johnson responded to the defeat by saying there is now "only one way forward" and "there must now be an election on Tuesday 15 of October."

However, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party will back an election only after a 'no-deal' is completely ruled out.

The new law calls for the prime minister to obtain an extension to Article 50 from the EU that runs to "11pm on 31 January 2020."

Clarke, Soames were among a number of Tory MPs who were sacked from the party after they defied Johnson to vote for the new legislation at first reading on Tuesday night.

Johnson who will table a motion for an early election later on Wednesday, with voting scheduled for around 10.30pm BST. The Prime minister is hoping to secure an election for October 15.

The prospects for Brexit happening now look "quite bleak" without a general election, veteran political journalist Neil Clark told RT. "Ruling out 'no-deal' effectively means ruling out Brexit as there's no incentive for the EU to offer a better deal."

Joe Biden's eye fills with blood while participating in CNN town hall

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 10:35 UTC

Former VP Joe Biden's eye filled with blood while participating in a Wednesday night CNN town hall on climate change, according to the Washington Examiner.

The poorly timed broken blood vessel - or subconjuctival hemorrhage, comes as Biden brushes off weeks of criticism over his age and mental capabilities after the 76-year-old made a series of gaffes on the campaign trail. According to the report, the hemorrhage can be caused by several factors - including bleeding disorders, high blood pressure, blood thinners or even straining too hard.

Biden, 76, has long been plagued by health issues. In 1988, he suffered an aneurysm that burst and required him to undergo emergency surgery. The then-senator was so close to death that a Catholic priest began preparing to administer the sacrament of last rites.

Months later, surgeons clipped a second aneurysm before it burst. Biden then took a seven-month leave from the Senate following the surgery. Describing the operation, he once said, "They literally had to take the top of my head off." -Washington Examiner

Erdogan: Cannot accept Turkey 'can't' have nukes, wants to join the club

Tim Korso
Sputnik
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 16:30 UTC

The country is currently a signatory to two international treaties prohibiting it from developing and testing nuclear weapons. At the same time, two of Turkey's regional neighbours, Israel and Iran, are suspected of either possessing or developing such weapons, although no solid evidence proving this has ever been presented.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lambasted limitations imposed on his country in terms of developing nuclear weapons during a speech before members of the governing AK Party in the city of Sivas.

"Some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads, not one or two. But [they tell us] we can't have them. This, I cannot accept", he said.

To substantiate his claims, he recalled the widespread belief that Israel secretly possesses nuclear weapons. Erdogan noted that Tel Aviv scares other countries "by possessing these [weapons]" and argued that because of this, "no one can touch them".

Putin: 'West's leading role is ending, G7's no good without India and China'

RT
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 19:07 UTC

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leading role of the West is coming to an end, and no serious international group makes much sense anymore without economic juggernauts like China and India.

Putin shared his thoughts on the Group of Seven (G7) during the Eastern Economic Forum, held outside Vladivostok in Russia's Far East on Thursday. He was asked whether he would attend the group's meeting in the US next year if invited. US President Donald Trump said last month he will "certainly" invite Putin.

The Russian president hinted that G7 leaders should instead travel to Russia where the last G8 event was due to take place, in 2014, prior to Moscow's expulsion from the group.

India-Russia eternal friendship takes a Pacific turn

Sreeram Chaulia
RT
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 18:47 UTC

The India-Russia special partnership is strategic. It is growing in new directions, with implications for both China and the United States.

The twentieth annual summit between India and Russia on September 4 could have been ignored as a ho-hum affair. After all, the steadiness and regularity of meetings between the heads of these two 'special and privileged strategic partners' may not seem like anything new or a departure that is newsworthy.

But think again. Every time the leaders of India and Russia huddle together, something fresh and geopolitically significant emerges.

The latest summit occurred not in Moscow or St. Petersburg but in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok. Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit that part of Russia, signalling the arrival of a new player on the Pacific coast. Modi was also the chief guest at Russia's high-profile Eastern Economic Forum, a platform to attract international investment and involvement in the cold and sparsely populated - but mineral-rich - Far East that Moscow seeks to develop.

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Puppet Masters

NYT: Netanyahu has influence over US-Iran policy, a grasp on US public opinion - but mum on Adelson

Israel again considers unilateral airstrike against Iran and wants Trump to support it; Obama didn't

Merkel under pressure from Hong Kong protesters and US for China trade visit

No-deal Brexit block eliminates all excuses for an election delay, given no 'dramatic turn of events'

Putin: Russia offered to sell Trump hypersonic weapons, balance everything

Brit lawmakers nix PM Johnson's bid for snap election

Joe Biden's eye fills with blood while participating in CNN town hall

Erdogan: Cannot accept Turkey 'can't' have nukes, wants to join the club

Putin: 'West's leading role is ending, G7's no good without India and China'

India-Russia eternal friendship takes a Pacific turn

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