Jon Stewart Learns What Happens When You Criticize Israel

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Brzezinski has harsh words for Israel, Tells Netanyahu he's 'making a very serious mistake'

CNN

Fareed Zakaria speaks with former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski about Israel's military operation in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on CNN told Wolf Blitzer that the invasion of Gaza was a strategy to demilitarize Gaza, explaining the use of force. But it has been quite a robust use of force…Do you think that it is going to succeed, the Israeli strategy?

No, I think he is making a very serious mistake. When Hamas in effect accepted the notion of participation in the Palestinian leadership, it in effect acknowledged the determination of that leadership to seek a peaceful solution with Israel. That was a real option. They should have persisted in that.

Instead Netanyahu launched the campaign of defamation against Hamas, seized on the killing of three innocent Israeli kids to immediately charge Hamas with having done it without any evidence, and has used that to stir up public opinion in Israel in order to justify this attack on Gaza, which is so lethal.

I think he is isolating Israel. He's endangering its longer-range future. And I think we ought to make it very clear that this is a course of action which we thoroughly disapprove and which we do not support and which may compel us and the rest of the international community to take some steps of legitimizing Palestinian aspirations perhaps in the U.N.

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When Is a Coup not One?

Reuters/Mohamad Abd El Ghany

Stephen Lendman

"What's in a name," asked Shakespeare? A coup by any other name doesn't change things.

It isn't one when it's "our coup, a 'good cause' coup," said Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins. Western diplomats are scrambling to characterize it otherwise. 

Coups are called "military interventions with good intent." Saying they reflect good v. evil struggles doesn't wash.

Merriam-Webster calls them "a violent decisive exercise of force in politics; especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group."

The Oxford Dictionaries defines them as "sudden, violent, and illegal seizure(s) of power from a government.

According to Wikipedia:

A coup or putsch "is the sudden deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment - typically the military - to depose the extant government and replace it with another body, civil or military." 

A coup "is considered successful when the usurpers establish their dominance."

David Cameron Supports Terrorism

Damascus terrorist attack

Brit Dee, Contributor
Activist Post

British prime minister David Cameron supports outright terrorism. 

That's the only conclusion that can be drawn from his failure to explicitly condemn yesterday's bombing in Damascus, Syria, which murdered several leading members of president Assad's government.

The bombing of a government meeting room killed Syria's defence minister, Dawoud Rajha, deputy defence minister Assef Shawkat, who was also Assad's brother-in-law, and a former defence minister, Hassan Turkmani. Two of the men killed were in their 60s, with Turkmani being 77 years of age.

Responsibility for the bombing has come from both the Syrian Free Army and an Islamist group called Liwa Al-Islam. In a reference to evidence implicating foreign involvement in the destabilisation of the country, a Syrian government spokesman said that responsibility for the terror attack "falls directly on the hands of the Arab and Western governments, their intelligence agencies and their spies."

“After you Brother!” Qadaffi stays and Obama leaves?

Dees Illustration

Franklin Lamb LLM, PhD
Activist Post

Tripoli, Libya -- The 6/27/11 International Criminal Courts (ICC) arrest warrants issued for Muammar Gadhafi, his son Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, and Libya intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi, however pleasing to the “rebels” and NATO, probably won’t have much effect on negotiating a settlement between the two camps and certainly the warrants will not facilitate a voluntary regime change. Quite likely, the warrants effects will tend toward the obverse, with the Libyan government ignoring, but ridiculing the much criticized ICC and pointing out its historical pattern of targeting African leaders. At Tripoli’s Rixos Nasser Hotel, just a few hours after the arrest warrants were announced, Libya’s Justice Minister and a high ranking Foreign Affairs official did just that and then refused to take any questions from the large gathering of western journalists of whom Libya is distrustful of, given a spate of recent false main stream media reports that have been exposed as hoaxes.

Colonel Qaddafi and his supporters, in a series of what this observer refers to as “Hezbollah style free give and take dialogue sessions” are making it very plain that they will prevail in re-unifying Libya and probably before Ramadan which begins, this year, in early August. They argue that the “rebels” are increasingly fighting among themselves and are losing popular support. It’s an argument similar to the one the “rebels” are using to explain how their victory is all but assured, also by the end of Ramadan.

A Firestorm On The Eastern Horizon

Dees Illustration

Brandon Smith
Alt-Market

The Middle East is and always has been an incredible waste of time, energy, capital, and of course, human lives. Every civilization that has attempted to tame and corral the region has met with resounding frustration and defeat. Every empire that moves to extend its borders around its existing cultures has withered under the strain of constant war and revolution. Long before petroleum became a sought after commodity and long after its free flow was established, the Middle East has been used as a fulcrum point for turning nations and worlds inside out. One might begin to wonder where the West’s mindless obsession with the place actually comes from...

From crusades for the holy land, to crusades for oil, to crusades for “WMD’s” and the “downtrodden masses”; we have been regaled for centuries by governments and elitists with elaborate rationalizations for indefinite war within the cradle of civilization. Our government in particular has seen fit to topple dictatorships, install new dictatorships, embroil our troops in the quagmire of nation building, instigate social instability and civil unrest, fund terrorist organizations, elevate madmen, and then brandish them like weapons to frighten the American public into relinquishing their civil liberties. Every decade, and every new layer of conflict, brings the U.S. closer to the breaking point, and closer to bankruptcy.

RAND Researcher: Iran can produce nuke within 2 months

Editor's Note: This propaganda might be the most relevant indicator of coming events in some time. Good thing "Anonymous" has control of Iran's servers to protect us all from Iran's nukes.

Airstrikes can no longer stop nuclear program, US can do nothing short of military occupation, says report

Yitzhak Benhorin
YNet News

The Iranian regime is closer than ever before to creating a nuclear bomb, according to RAND Corporation researcher Gregory S. Jones.

At its current rate of uranium enrichment, Tehran could have enough for its first bomb within eight weeks, Jones said in a report published this week.

He added that despite reports of setbacks in its nuclear program, the Iranian regime is steadily progressing towards a bomb. Unfortunately, Jones says, there is nothing the US can do to stop Tehran, short of military occupation.

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Obama vows pressure on Iran's nuclear plans

Barack Obama addresses the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference
© AFP Mandel Ngan

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama vowed Sunday to "keep up pressure" on Tehran to prevent the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear weapons, as he condemned its support for extremists in the region.

Outlining US and UN sanctions imposed on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime, Obama said Iran is now "virtually cut off from large parts of the international financial system."

"We're going to keep up the pressure... So let me be absolutely clear -- we remain committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons," he added to roaring applause from the audience at the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC Policy Conference.

Israel rejects Obama peace plan, Palestinians cagey

US President Barack Obama speaks on the
 events in the Middle East
© AFP Jim Watson

AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel on Thursday rejected President Barack Obama's call for a peace deal based the 1967 borders, as the Palestinians said their leadership would hold a meeting to discuss the US leader's policy speech.

Obama's address, billed as an announcement of reoriented US policy in the Middle East after a slew of regional uprisings, focused heavily on the stalled talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

He called for a negotiated solution based on the borders that existed before the 1967 Six Day War, but also warned the Palestinians that a bid for UN recognition of a unilateral proclamation of statehood would not work.

Obama speech will reflect ties with Israel: US envoy

US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
© AFP/File Saul Loeb

AFP

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel has "nothing to worry about" ahead of US President Barack Obama's key speech on the Middle East this evening, a senior US envoy said on Thursday.

Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, in Jerusalem for a meeting of the US-Israel Strategic Dialogue, said Obama's speech would reflect strong ties between Washington and Israel.

"I'm confident Israel has nothing to worry about from the president's speech," Steinberg said ahead of the talks.

US tells Syria's Assad to lead transition or leave

Assad said the unrest was coming to an end
© AFP/SANA

AFP

DAMASCUS (AFP) - The United States told Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to lead a transition or step down and slapped him with sanctions in its latest effort to press him to end deadly violence against his people.

The news came as Syrian forces were accused of killing at least eight people in a besieged border town and as Assad said the two-month-old revolt against had been mishandled by the authorities but was now drawing to a close.

US President Barack Obama hit Assad and six top aides with sanctions to "increase pressure on the government of Syria to end its use of violence and begin transitioning to a democratic system that ensures the universal rights of the Syrian people," said an executive order.

US Middle East envoy resigning

US special envoy to the Middle East
George Mitchell is resigning
© AFP/Pool/File Alex Brandon

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama Friday announced his "tireless" envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, was resigning, but vowed the US administration remained committed to the faltering peace process.

Describing Mitchell as having taken on "the toughest job imaginable," Obama paid tribute to the veteran diplomat who had "worked grueling hours to advance the interests of the United States and the cause of peace."

"His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security," the president said in a statement.

Mitchell gave no reason for deciding to quit, saying only he had always intended to serve just two years when he was appointed by Obama in January 2009. His resignation will be effective from Friday, May 20.

"I strongly support your vision of comprehensive peace in the Middle East and thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of your administration," Mitchell said in his resignation letter to Obama.

US warns of more steps against Syria

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad surrounded by
young supporters © AFP/SANA

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States warned Friday it would take "additional steps" against Syria if it continues a brutal crackdown on protesters, a week after imposing tough sanctions on the Arab nation.

"The United States believes that Syria's deplorable actions toward its people warrant a strong international response," the White House said in one of its strongest statements yet since the outbreak of unrest there.

It warned that unless President Bashar Al-Assad's government halted its repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, "the United States and its international partners will take additional steps to make clear our strong opposition to the Syrian government’s treatment of its people."

US pulls support for Yemen leader: report

The US government is dropping its support
for Yemen's embattled president, reports say
© AFP Ahmad Gharabli

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government is dropping its support for Yemen's embattled president and is helping negotiate his departure, the New York Times reported, citing US and Yemeni officials.

Washington has long supported President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power since 1978, and the administration of President Barack Obama has largely refrained from criticizing him in public.

But US officials have told allies that they see Saleh's position as untenable due to the widespread protests, and believe he should leave office.

US embassy outing in Lebanon attacked by stones

A general view shows the Palestinian refugee
camp of Ain el-Helweh on the outskirts of Sidon
© AFP/File Joseph Eid

AFP

SIDON, Lebanon (AFP) - A group of angry Lebanese youths on Saturday threw stones and bottles at a group from the US embassy in Beirut visiting the southern port town of Sidon, a security official said.

A spokesman for the US mission confirmed there had been "an incident."

"The embassy can confirm that a group of employees went to Sidon today on a tourism trip. An incident occurred, and the group returned back to the embassy. No injuries," he said, without elaborating.

Local media had spoken of the presence in the group of the embassy's political charge d'affaires.

New air missions attack Kadhafi troops: Pentagon

Editor's Note: Who knew the purpose of a "no-fly zone" is to actually air bomb ground forces?

© AFP/USMC/US NAVY

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) -  The United States used low-flying combat aircraft against Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's ground troops, the Pentagon said Monday, but denied it was directly supporting the rebels.

"We have employed A-10s and AC-130s over the weekend," US Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the US military's Joint Staff, told reporters, without giving specifics about targets.

The A-10 is an aircraft designed for close air support, especially against tanks and armored vehicles. The AC-130 "Spooky" is a transport aircraft modified for close combat. Among its guns is a 105mm cannon.

Obama in staunch defense of US Libya policy

A Libyan rebel stands at the site of a Western-led
air strike in the strategic oil town of Ajdabiya
© AFP Patrick Baz

AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama gave a staunch defense of the US role in the international military mission in Libya Saturday, as he comes under pressure to explain US goals to a public exhausted by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama's weekly radio and online address was his most detailed review of the UN-sanctioned action so far, and comes ahead of an address to the nation Monday on the US strategy in Libya.

"Make no mistake, because we acted quickly, a humanitarian catastrophe has been avoided and the lives of countless civilians -- innocent men, women and children -- have been saved," Obama said.

If Bahrain fails to reform, Iran will meddle: Gates

Gates with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa
© AFP Mandel Ngan

AFP

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AFP) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday that Bahrain's leaders needed to move quickly to adopt major reforms or else risk interference from Iran.

Although there were no signs Shiite-led Iran was behind unrest in the Gulf kingdom or elsewhere in the region, Tehran would likely work to meddle in Bahrain's politics amid sectarian tensions, Gates told reporters on his plane after a visit to Manama.

"I expressed the view that we had no evidence that suggested that Iran started any of these popular revolutions or demonstrations across the region," said Gates, recounting his talks with the country's king and crown prince.

"But there is clear evidence that as the process is protracted, particularly in Bahrain, the Iranians are looking for ways to exploit it and create problems," Gates said.

"So I told them, in this instance, time is not our friend."


Bahrain, a Shiite-majority state ruled by a Sunni dynasty, has been gripped by protests calling for political change since February 14.

The US defence chief, who arrived Friday evening in Bahrain, said he came away encouraged that Bahrain's king and crown prince were ready to take "far-reaching steps" to accommodate anti-government protesters.

But Gates said he warned them that minor changes would not be enough to address the political crisis.

"And I also said that under the circumstances and with the impulse behind the political and economic grievances across the region, that baby steps probably would not be sufficient... that real reform would be necessary."

Washington suspects Iran has tried to persuade Shiite opposition groups in Bahrain to boycott any talks with the kingdom's leadership, a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

With unrest sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, the United States has tried to balance its longstanding ties with Arab regimes with support for protests demanding democratic reform.

Gates said that Arab governments needed to recognise the scale of the change shaking their countries.

"I told both the king and the crown prince that across the region I did not believe there could be a return to the status quo ante," he said. "That there was change, and it could be led or it could be imposed."

"And obviously leading the reform and being responsive is the way we'd like to see this move forward," he said.

Gates also said the unrest in Bahrain posed no immediate threat to US interests in Bahrain.
The US military relies on a vast network of bases and alliances across the Gulf, and the Navy's strategic Fifth Fleet headquarters is based in Manama.

Earlier Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, speaking to reporters in Manama after his talks with Gates, said he favored holding a referendum once a dialogue with opposition groups produces an agreement.

"When we agree, we will put it to another referendum. The people of Bahrain in one vote will be the final arbiters if there is agreement on a deal or not," said the crown prince, according to a television pool report.

He said he was optimistic that opposition groups would participate in a dialogue with the government.

"I'm hopeful that they will join the dialogue without preconditions. We have given them the best deal they can hope for," he said.

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Insurrection and Military Intervention: The US-NATO Attempted Coup d'Etat in Libya?

Muammar Gaddafi/Wiki Commons image

Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research

The US and NATO are supporting an armed insurrection in Eastern Libya, with a view to justifying a "humanitarian intervention".

This is not a non-violent protest movement as in Egypt and Tunisia. Conditions in Libya are fundamentally different. The armed insurgency in Eastern Libya is directly supported by foreign powers. The insurrection in Benghazi immediately hoisted the red, black and green banner with the crescent and star: the flag of the monarchy of King Idris, which symbolized the rule of the former colonial powers. (See  Manlio Dinucci, Libya-When historical memory is erased, Global Research, Febraury 28, 2011)

US and NATO military advisers and special forces are already on the ground. The operation was planned to coincide with the protest movement in neighbouring Arab countries. Public opinion was led to believe that the protest movement had spread spontaneously from Tunisia and Egypt to Libya.


The Obama administration in consultation with its allies is assisting an armed rebellion, namely an attempted coup d'Etat:

"The Obama administration stands ready to offer "any type of assistance" to Libyans seeking to oust Moammar Gadhafi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [February 27]  "we've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east and as the revolution moves westward there as well," Clinton said. "I think it's way too soon to tell how this is going to play out, but we're going to be ready and prepared to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States." Efforts are under way to form a provisional government in the eastern part of the country where the rebellion began at midmonth.

The U.S., Clinton said, is threatening more measures against Gadhafi's government, but did not say what they were or when they might be announced. 

The U.S. should "recognize some provisional government that they are trying to set already up..." [McCain] 

Lieberman spoke in similar terms, urging "tangible support, (a) no-fly zone,recognition of the revolutionary government, the citizens' government and support for them with both humanitarian assistance and I would provide them with arms. 

(Clinton: US ready to aid to Libyan opposition - Associated, Press, February 27, 2011, emphasis added)

The Planned Invasion

A military intervention is now contemplated by US NATO forces under a "humanitarian mandate".

--"The United States is moving naval and air forces in the region" to "prepare the full range of options" in the confrontation with Libya: Pentagon spokesperson Col. Dave Lapan of the Marines made this announcement [March 1]. He then said that "It was President Obama who asked the military to prepare for these options," because the situation in Libya is getting worse." ( Manlio Dinucci, Preparing for "Operation Libya": The Pentagon is "Repositioning" its Naval and Air Forces..., Global Research, March 3, 2011, emphasis added)

The real objective of "Operation Libya" is not to establish democracy but to take possession of Libya's oil reserves, destabilize the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and eventually privatize the country's oil industry, namely transfer the control and ownership of Libya's oil wealth into foreign hands. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) is ranked 25 among the world’s Top 100 Oil Companies. (The Energy Intelligence ranks NOC 25 among the world’s Top 100 companies. - Libyaonline.com)

Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US. (for further details see Part II of this article, "Operation Libya" and the Battle for Oil)

The planned invasion of Libya, which is already underway is part of the broader "Battle for Oil".  Close to 80 percent of Libya’s oil reserves are located in the Sirte Gulf basin of Eastern Libya. (See map below)

The strategic assumptions behind "Operation Libya" are reminiscent of previous US-NATO military undertakings in Yugoslavia and Iraq.

In Yugoslavia, US-NATO forces triggered a civil war. The objective was to create political and ethnic divisions, which eventually led to the break up of an entire country. This objective was achieved through the covert funding and training of armed paramilitary armies, first in Bosnia (Bosnian Muslim Army, 1991-95) and subsequently in Kosovo (Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), 1998-1999). In both Kosovo and Bosnia, media disinformation (including outright lies and fabrications) were used to support US-EU claims that the Belgrade government had committed atrocities, thereby justifying a military intervention on humanitarian grounds.

Ironically, "Operation Yugoslavia" is now on the lips of US foreign policy makers: Senator Lieberman has "likened the situation in Libya to the events in the Balkans in the 1990s when he said the U.S. "intervened to stop a genocide against Bosnians. And the first we did was to provide them the arms to defend themselves. That's what I think we ought to do in Libya." (Clinton: US ready to aid to Libyan opposition - Associated, Press, February 27, 2011, emphasis added)

The strategic scenario would be to push towards the formation and recognition of an interim government of the secessionist province, with a view to eventually breaking up the country.

This option is already underway. The invasion of Libya has already commenced.

"Hundreds of US, British and French military advisers have arrived in Cyrenaica, Libya's eastern breakaway province,... The advisers, including intelligence officers, were dropped from warships and missile boats at the coastal towns of Benghazi and Tobruk" (DEBKAfile, US military advisers in Cyrenaica, February 25, 2011)

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Why is Hillary Not Defending the Rights of Saudis to Protest?

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