Iran does not have a "nuclear arsenal" as the speaker says here. Both Israel and the US have been claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon for over 30 years. Netanyahu himself has made this nonsense claim since at least 1992, including in front of the US Congress as far back as 1996.
As typical for The Contrarian, there is not a single word about the brazen illegality of Israel launching an unprovoked attack which has killed hundreds of civilians...not to mention that as usual, there is not a word about the ongoing US support for Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, which has reached such a fever pitch that now the US/Israeli heinously-named "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" is luring starving people with scraps of food and killing them by the hundred nearly every single day, while internet service has been entirely cut off in Gaza for nearly a week now.
Of course Israel feels it can do whatever it wants..the US continues to give bipartisan support for Israel's daily war crimes, vetoing resolutions in the UN as it did again just recently, providing bombs and political cover... US elected leaders 'pray for Israel' while the IDF kills people in several regions.
This interview just dances around all that and discusses Israel's attacks in only strategic and political terms, and not as a unjustified assault that is killing civilians while diverting attention from Israel's continuing war in its Occupied Territories.
The go-to 'defense' of Israel's flagrant war crimes is 'but, Hamas!'.
Setting aside that Israel has been abusing and oppressing Palestinians in all of the Occupied Territories, not just Gaza, since long before Hamas existed, there is no justification for genocide and apartheid.
Israel has openly used Palestinians as human shields for decades. Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has documented many cases going back many years:
This has continued throughout Israel's attacks on Gaza and the West Bank. Just a few days ago, a 63-year old Palestinian named Jameel al-Masri detailed how he was used as a human shield for several months, being forced to search buildings in a military uniform. There was the well publicized case of the IDF soldiers strapping a Palestinian to the hood of their jeep in the West Bank (again, not Gaza, no Hamas)...and there are hundreds more cases like this. It even has a name: ' mosquito protocol' .
As far as unsubstantiated, but often made claim by Israeli terror apologists that Hamas is 'stealing food'? It was well reported just weeks ago that Israel has been paying and arming gangs in Gaza to loot food and engage in other criminal activity. Netanyahu has admitted as much. these gangs have been openly working with the IDF.
Besides all this - the US/Israel 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' has been luring desperate Palestinians, already intentionally starved by Israel, to aid dropoff points, then shooting them down in cold blood. Several hundred Palestinians have been murdered this way in just the past couple of weeks.
What could be a more disgusting war crime than this? This is the type of atrocity only history's worst authoritarian regimes would engage in. There is no possible excuse.
Most Israelis do not want Palestine to exist. More importantly, Israel actually acts on it, and has been annihilating Palestinian society for decades, now in overdrive. Likud's charter explicitly says that there can be no Palestinian state. Israel has made the bloodthirsty war criminal Netanyahu the longest serving prime minister it its history. Israel has been murdering and oppressing Palestinians since long before Hamas existed.
Israel traps the West Bank under brutal apartheid rule, while regularly killing, beating and abducting its residents and backing the lynch mob 'settlers' as they rampage and steal homes and land constantly.
Israel is committing open genocide in Gaza, slaughtering its inhabitants while starving them and arming gangs to steal what little aid may trickle in. The entire world outside the US and a tiny handful of other countries understands this, as does virtually every scholar of genocide anywhere and every human rights organization and world governing body.
Jason, see Reuters' & ABC News' updates posted about about an hour ago summarized in my comment above including Trump's direct threats against Iranians.
Ugh, yes its terrifying to see this disgraceful fraud telling a city of 9 million people to evacuate...it's awful...while Netanyahu leaves his country and grounds air travel at the same time
One problem is of course , so many Democrats are right on board with Trump...see Schumer's comments just last week.
And of course, it's hard to forget about the 'former' hardcore neocon Jennifer Rubin and her loud and steadfast support for the Iraq War, even long after many conservatives had realized it was a terrible idea. History rhyming, as they say...
"Transactional" is a very polite word to describe a person whose vital mission in life is finding "what's in it for me". Primary goal is financial; with self aggrandizement a close second. Regarding world politics: Perhaps the time is approaching when the world will be conducting itself regardless of what the Unites States does/says/wants.
Will never forget him, Bill Taylor, Fiona Hill during DJT 1st. impeachment --Hill looking up to the GOP at the hearing and saying they are being controlled by Putin's propaganda machine --6 years ago!
Amazing recap of today's political and strategic realities facing us with Trump phoning it in. We are in this together. No Kings. Peace. Christopher and family.
Now three years later, Trump is supporting Putin’s self-interests at the G7. Logic is the victim of whiplash and El Senior TACO. When will adults enter Stage left to save a country from this proverbial Lord of the Flies regime?
We decried state terrorism of Putin’s Russia (see S. RES. 623
Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2022
Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Portman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.”
NO NO NO to our president's capitulation to Netanyahu. We must keep reinforcing how weak this makes DJT look. Netanyahu is Israel's DJT: a weak bully who creates chaos which he then can claim to tame. Storm Congress to say NO to Netanyahu.
Iran does not have a "nuclear arsenal" as the speaker says here. Both Israel and the US have been claiming Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon for over 30 years. Netanyahu himself has made this nonsense claim since at least 1992, including in front of the US Congress as far back as 1996.
As typical for The Contrarian, there is not a single word about the brazen illegality of Israel launching an unprovoked attack which has killed hundreds of civilians...not to mention that as usual, there is not a word about the ongoing US support for Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, which has reached such a fever pitch that now the US/Israeli heinously-named "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" is luring starving people with scraps of food and killing them by the hundred nearly every single day, while internet service has been entirely cut off in Gaza for nearly a week now.
Of course Israel feels it can do whatever it wants..the US continues to give bipartisan support for Israel's daily war crimes, vetoing resolutions in the UN as it did again just recently, providing bombs and political cover... US elected leaders 'pray for Israel' while the IDF kills people in several regions.
This interview just dances around all that and discusses Israel's attacks in only strategic and political terms, and not as a unjustified assault that is killing civilians while diverting attention from Israel's continuing war in its Occupied Territories.
Why is there no direct criticism of Israel in Gaza and now in the rest of the ME in these conversations?
yes why? Why is there barely a word about the ongoing, bipartisan US support for Israel's shocking crimes against humanity anywhere in The Contrarian?
And Hamas' shocking crimes? Using civilians as human shields? Stealing food meant for civilians?
The go-to 'defense' of Israel's flagrant war crimes is 'but, Hamas!'.
Setting aside that Israel has been abusing and oppressing Palestinians in all of the Occupied Territories, not just Gaza, since long before Hamas existed, there is no justification for genocide and apartheid.
Israel has openly used Palestinians as human shields for decades. Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has documented many cases going back many years:
https://www.btselem.org/topic/human_shields
This has continued throughout Israel's attacks on Gaza and the West Bank. Just a few days ago, a 63-year old Palestinian named Jameel al-Masri detailed how he was used as a human shield for several months, being forced to search buildings in a military uniform. There was the well publicized case of the IDF soldiers strapping a Palestinian to the hood of their jeep in the West Bank (again, not Gaza, no Hamas)...and there are hundreds more cases like this. It even has a name: ' mosquito protocol' .
As far as unsubstantiated, but often made claim by Israeli terror apologists that Hamas is 'stealing food'? It was well reported just weeks ago that Israel has been paying and arming gangs in Gaza to loot food and engage in other criminal activity. Netanyahu has admitted as much. these gangs have been openly working with the IDF.
Besides all this - the US/Israel 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' has been luring desperate Palestinians, already intentionally starved by Israel, to aid dropoff points, then shooting them down in cold blood. Several hundred Palestinians have been murdered this way in just the past couple of weeks.
What could be a more disgusting war crime than this? This is the type of atrocity only history's worst authoritarian regimes would engage in. There is no possible excuse.
Most Palestinians and Hamas (and Iran) don’t want Israel to exist. Israel wants to exist. It really boils down to that.
Most Israelis do not want Palestine to exist. More importantly, Israel actually acts on it, and has been annihilating Palestinian society for decades, now in overdrive. Likud's charter explicitly says that there can be no Palestinian state. Israel has made the bloodthirsty war criminal Netanyahu the longest serving prime minister it its history. Israel has been murdering and oppressing Palestinians since long before Hamas existed.
Israel traps the West Bank under brutal apartheid rule, while regularly killing, beating and abducting its residents and backing the lynch mob 'settlers' as they rampage and steal homes and land constantly.
Israel is committing open genocide in Gaza, slaughtering its inhabitants while starving them and arming gangs to steal what little aid may trickle in. The entire world outside the US and a tiny handful of other countries understands this, as does virtually every scholar of genocide anywhere and every human rights organization and world governing body.
It really boils down to that.
Jason, see Reuters' & ABC News' updates posted about about an hour ago summarized in my comment above including Trump's direct threats against Iranians.
Ugh, yes its terrifying to see this disgraceful fraud telling a city of 9 million people to evacuate...it's awful...while Netanyahu leaves his country and grounds air travel at the same time
One problem is of course , so many Democrats are right on board with Trump...see Schumer's comments just last week.
And of course, it's hard to forget about the 'former' hardcore neocon Jennifer Rubin and her loud and steadfast support for the Iraq War, even long after many conservatives had realized it was a terrible idea. History rhyming, as they say...
This war will end very badly.
Off to Zoom with Professor Vance.
Josh Marshall made what I thought was a good observation. He said Trump liked to win and sees that Israel
is winning so he wants to now join in so he can claim victory for himself.
"Transactional" is a very polite word to describe a person whose vital mission in life is finding "what's in it for me". Primary goal is financial; with self aggrandizement a close second. Regarding world politics: Perhaps the time is approaching when the world will be conducting itself regardless of what the Unites States does/says/wants.
Yes, "transactional" is a word we could do without. It is a bribe.
Yes, "transactional" here means open to, or even inviting, bribery
Stunning! Vindemann is so knowledgeable!
Will never forget him, Bill Taylor, Fiona Hill during DJT 1st. impeachment --Hill looking up to the GOP at the hearing and saying they are being controlled by Putin's propaganda machine --6 years ago!
Put so eloquently!
Great explainer, thank you Alex Vindman. Yes, let's support Ukraine! I wish....
Excellent interview with Vindman, Jen. Thanks. I look forward to your next interview with him!
So good to hear a voice of sanity in all this chaos.
What if Israel succeeds in killing or capturing the Iranian leadership? Because that's what they intend to do.
Per REUTERS [P. Hafaezi, M. Lubbock & J.Taha] at 3:28 PDT Trump called for Iran's unconditional surrender".
Reuters: U.S. moves jets to the region'
Trump on several platforms warns Iranian's to leave their Capital,Tehran.
This afternoon, ABC News televised photos of Iranians jamming freeways leaving Tehran.
Trump on Air Force 1 (AF1) threatens Iran's leader Khomenei & advised the AF1 reporters [ and the World] that Kohmeni's "whereabouts are known".
Per Reuters Iran bans official use of mobile devices
Jen, Alex,
Amazing recap of today's political and strategic realities facing us with Trump phoning it in. We are in this together. No Kings. Peace. Christopher and family.
No tyrants.
Now three years later, Trump is supporting Putin’s self-interests at the G7. Logic is the victim of whiplash and El Senior TACO. When will adults enter Stage left to save a country from this proverbial Lord of the Flies regime?
We decried state terrorism of Putin’s Russia (see S. RES. 623
Calling on the Secretary of State to designate the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2022
Mr. Graham (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Portman) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.”
NO NO NO to our president's capitulation to Netanyahu. We must keep reinforcing how weak this makes DJT look. Netanyahu is Israel's DJT: a weak bully who creates chaos which he then can claim to tame. Storm Congress to say NO to Netanyahu.
Thank you Alex