- — KJ Noh: China Knows Washington Wants a Fight — And Won’t Take the Bait
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at 9/23/26 3:23pmKJ Noh is a journalist, political analyst, writer, and teacher specializing in the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific region. The post KJ Noh: China Knows Washington Wants a Fight — And Won’t Take the Bait appeared first on TheAltWorld.- — Qatar Pitches Iran-Gulf Security Framework at Trump’s UN Meeting
- at 9/23/26 6:30amQatar Pitches Iran-Gulf Security Framework at Trump’s UN Meeting The post Qatar Pitches Iran-Gulf Security Framework at Trump’s UN Meeting appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — It’s Good To Bully Celebrities About Palestine
- at 9/22/26 7:59pmI strongly disagree with the idea that it’s unhelpful to bully celebrities about their position on Palestine. On the contrary, I think we should bully them more. We tend to underestimate the consequences of the fact that all the most amplified voices in our society are millionaires. Under capitalism the people with the largest platforms and the biggest audiences are all wealthy enough to have a vested interest in preserving the status quo, so they’re reluctant to rock the boat politically in any major way. When all the most influential voices in our society are creating the illusion that the system is more or less fine the way it is by what they say and what they don’t say, it cannot help but significantly influence public political opinion. In this way celebrities function as a kind of goalkeeper preventing dissident thought from reaching the minds of the masses. Oh the victim, who’s crying for sympathy because he couldn’t afford to hire a band, so he’s all alone, the poor poor sod- who’s worth $400MIL we need to give him all the sympathy in the world… Nevermind the children in Gaza who are continually being bombed during a ceasefire… pic.twitter.com/DbeSvsqeg6 — jelinaangel (@judgejellz) September 20, 2026 When you see Ed Sheeran bawling his eyes out onstage and playing victim because people are criticizing his muteness on the moral issue of our time, he genuinely does feel as though something is being taken away from him. He was enjoying being able to relax in the lap of luxury without having to go against the grain of establishment power in any way, never saying anything which upsets the Zionist billionaires or the media-owning class whose infrastructure he built his lucrative career on. Now that comfortable setup has been taken away from him a bit, and he feels victimized by the inconvenience this has caused him. This dynamic is what holds the entire construct of celebrity in place in our society. If you make the billionaires happy you get to be a millionaire, and if you make the billionaires unhappy you get discomfort and loss. If you please the plutocrats you get the carrot, and if you displease them you get the stick. This is true whether you’re talking about pundits, news anchors, musicians or movie stars. This system of carrots and sticks is the main adhesive holding the propaganda apparatus of the western empire together. As westerners we are taught that we live in a free society which is far superior to the “tyrannical regimes” of the global south, because under the tyrannical regimes the news is state propaganda and the entertainment is heavily censored. In reality westerners are consuming tightly controlled propaganda every day of their lives, because all their most influential voices are being aggressively regulated by the carrots and sticks of wealthy capitalists. The only weakness in this system, apparently, is that it only works if the public plays along with it. If enough people decide to denounce and defund the empire’s celebrity goalkeepers for their complicity in imperial abuses, it turns out that we’ve got a stick of our own. Make it too uncomfortable to toe the imperial line and you’ll start seeing celebrities reluctantly follow the moral leadership of the public, thereby further weakening the vice-like grip of the imperial narrative control apparatus on our collective consciousness. So we should do so happily and without hesitation. It is perfectly moral to ruin a millionaire’s day for both-sidesing a genocide. It is perfectly ethical to bully people with large platforms until they take a public stand against the abuses of the empire which has made them obscenely wealthy. It won’t solve all our problems, but it will weaken the power of the mass-brainwashing machine of the capitalist empire which has been manipulating the public into believing we don’t urgently need revolutionary change. Video reading by Tim Foley: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/its-good-to-bully-celebrities-about The post Its Good To Bully Celebrities About Palestine appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Yemeni dominance of the Red Sea and Trump on the run
- at 9/22/26 3:47pmYemeni dominance of the Red Sea and Trump on the run The post Yemeni dominance of the Red Sea and Trump on the run appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Yemen on the march towards dignity while the West ignores the rising threat to Humanity
- at 9/22/26 2:38pmConversation with Prof. Isa Blumi, author of Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia tells us about the World. We cover Yemens recent advance on the Red Sea Coast and the confounding of the best efforts of the all seeing US and Zionist intelligence apparatus. The scramble by Saudi Arabia to prevent total humiliation at the hands of a blockaded, bombed and impoverished Yemen. The post Yemen on the march towards dignity while the West ignores the rising threat to Humanity appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — The Real Danger Of AI Is That It Is Run By Evil Warmongers
- at 9/21/26 8:30pmThe biggest AI threat isn’t artificial superintelligence wiping out humanity in a fit of mechanical vengeance like some digital Old Testament God, it’s the same oligarchs and empire managers as usual inflicting the same evils and abuses as usual upon their fellow man. We’re already presently watching the empire building AI into its killing machines and causing all kinds of horrifying problems while these technologies become more and more complex and unpredictable. CNN reports that US military AI “almost started a war” with China when it hallucinated intelligence showing a Chinese ship transporting nuclear weapon components to Iran; US military planes were apparently already in the air preparing to attack the vessel before human intelligence picked up on the error. NEW: An AI-assisted intel report sent the military scrambling to intercept a Chinese ship in the Middle East it believed was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program. It turned out to be a hallucination. And it "almost started a war." https://t.co/xXZHEE64M6 — Katie Bo Lillis (@KatieBoLillis) September 18, 2026 A recent Pentagon report has officially concluded that an over-reliance on Palantir’s AI-powered command-and-control system Maven contributed to the bombing of a school in Minab which killed 120 children attending classes on the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran. We learned early on in the Gaza holocaust that the IDF was using AI to help it bomb suspected Hamas members when they are at home with their families rather than when they are out in the battlefield using a program called “Where’s Daddy?” — a bit of Israeli humor about the fact that they would be killing the children of Palestinian resistance fighters when their fathers came home. We’re seeing politicians like Bernie Sanders voice concerns that “AI could soon be smarter than humans and function outside of our control,” but the most obvious and imminent threat right now is not that artificial intelligence will outsmart us and escape our control, it’s that it is being fully controlled by humans who are stupid and evil. Scientists and industry leaders have been increasingly clear: AI could soon be smarter than humans and function outside of our control. For the sake of all of humanity, Trump and Xi must negotiate a treaty NOW to pause AI and ban superintelligence before it is too late. pic.twitter.com/nL0Ias2fDb — Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 21, 2026 Again, we know for a fact that powerful nuclear-armed military forces are knitting AI into all their systems. We’re watching them do it, right in front of our faces. An increasingly complex and confusing element has been added to an environment of already tense and dangerous military standoffs around the world as the US and its allies work to absorb the few remaining nations who have managed to retain sovereignty into the imperial power umbrella. And yet recent weeks have seen the mass media flooded with punditry speculating about possible scenarios under which AI might perhaps wind up leading to human extinction. We already know the most likely scenario under which AI will get us all killed. If it happens, it will be because rich and powerful sociopaths knit these technologies into war machinery that is designed for killing humans at mass scale. Duh. These developments are unfolding in the context of a frenetic new arms race with China in which nobody’s willing to tap the brake pedal for fear of falling behind. Any talk of regulation or slowing things down before they get out of control is dismissed because the competition-based systems which currently govern human behavior have thrust us into a nightmare of constant military expansionism and brinkmanship instead of collaboration and harmony, all fueled by the fact that this paradigm makes tech plutocrats and war profiteers obscenely wealthy. That’s clearly the most immediate existential threat that AI poses to our species right now. There’s also the only slightly less frightening threat of artificial intelligence enabling our rulers to use mass surveillance and autonomous weapons systems to stifle any revolutionary political movement before it gets off the ground, locking us into this freakish capitalist dystopia until the planet is an uninhabitable wasteland. In any case, this isn’t a new threat. It’s the same old threat with new toys. Capitalism must end, and the empire must fall. Our very existence depends on it. Video reading by Tim Foley: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-real-danger-of-ai-is-that-it The post The Real Danger Of AI Is That It Is Run By Evil Warmongers appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Iranian army amasses troops on borders. Preemptive strikes are possible | Ep. 266
- at 9/21/26 2:50pmLive coverage of the war on Iran. Updates, analysis, and the latest developments as the conflict escalates across the region. Links: Mohsen Rezaee interview (English dubbed) Tucker Carlson tweet According to an informed federal official, in the coming months the Trump administration plans to send a total of 40,000 Mark 84 and Blu-117 bombs to the government of Israel. Each bomb weighs 2,000 pounds. This appears to be the largest transfer of conventional explosive… — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) September 15, 2026 The post Iranian army amasses troops on borders. Preemptive strikes are possible | Ep. 266 appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — The Saudis’ Dangerous Predicament
- at 9/21/26 2:22pmThe Saudis Dangerous Predicament The post The Saudis Dangerous Predicament appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Some Words About This Whole Caitlin Johnstone Project
- at 9/20/26 7:31pmEvery so often I like to write out an explanation of who I am and what I’m trying to do here, for the benefit of new followers and for my own mental clarity. The Caitlin Johnstone project is actually run by two people: myself and my husband Tim Foley, who co-authors all my written works. Tim and I fell in love in 2014, started writing together in 2016 after we got married, and in 2017 we launched the audience-funded platform you see today. Everything we publish is unconditionally free to view without any paywalls or advertisements; all our funding comes from voluntary donations from readers and viewers who feel inspired to support what we do. All our work is copyright-free, so everyone is allowed to republish, reuse, reappropriate, translate, or outright copy anything we put out without asking permission or providing attribution, so you’ll see things we wrote pop up on all kinds of platforms all around the world in many different languages. I’ve lived my whole life in Melbourne with some brief stays in the UK. I received a journalism degree from RMIT in 2003 but didn’t do any news media work because I’d learned that the legacy press was too corrupt to do actual journalism in. So instead I focused on raising my kids, healing my inner wounds, and becoming a conscious person. Tim was born in Philadelphia and lived most of his life in California, where he worked in healthcare. We met in an online discussion forum about spiritual enlightenment in 2011, we fell in love in 2014, Tim moved to Australia in 2016, and we’ve been falling ever since. This project is basically just an outgrowth of that ongoing romance. We don’t have kids together, so we spend our time making creativity babies in the form of essays, poetry, paintings and books. We are each other’s muse so we’re rarely at a loss for inspiration, which is why we’ve been able to write so prolifically all these years. Our ultimate goal is to help create a healthy world so that we can live extremely long lives together in a harmonious future. We have long conversations every day about what’s going on in the world and where we’re headed as a species, and our daily articles are generally outgrowths of those conversations. I function as the editor-in-chief of our project, determining the shape, feel, and ideological direction of our work, and having the final say in whatever gets published. Tim does most of the readings and videos because he’s good at reading aloud and I dislike appearing on camera. Ideologically I sit well to the left side of the political spectrum; I am frequently called a communist, which is fine by me. I want a world where everyone has what they need, where plutocrats can’t leverage obscene amounts of wealth to manipulate our society to their advantage, and where we live in harmony with the global south instead of enslaving its people using military violence and economic coercion. I oppose tyranny, war, militarism, capitalism, imperialism, Zionism, the western intelligence cartel, mass surveillance, government secrecy, police brutality, censorship, propaganda, and the suppression of journalism. I despise racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, western supremacism, and all prejudices which harm marginalized populations. I believe we live in a tyrannical mind-controlled dystopia at the center of an empire that is fueled by human blood, and that we ordinary people can change this by using the power of our numbers to force the creation of a just system. Westerners are currently too propagandized to understand the urgent need for revolutionary change, but I see signs that we are beginning to awaken from that trance. Ultimately what’s needed is a radical transformation of human consciousness away from our self-destructive egoic patterning. We know that this is possible on an individual scale in the process commonly known as spiritual enlightenment, so there exists within us the possibility of such a transformation on a collective level as well. Anyone who has ever had a spiritual awakening knows you can hear the same teaching or pointer a thousand times before it finally hits home and rips your mind wide open, so just because we haven’t yet become a conscious species doesn’t mean we can’t become one. It’s all about helping humanity see through its various illusions and delusions so that we can wake up to reality and create a healthy world. Everything I publish is pointed at this in some way. That’s what this project is and will continue to be, and I am deeply honored that so many people have been eager to come along for the journey. Video reading by Tim Foley: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/some-words-about-this-whole-caitlin The post Some Words About This Whole Caitlin Johnstone Project appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Why has the American “stealth” plane “F-35” made news following the 24.3 billion Saudi deal?
- at 9/20/26 7:33amWhat is the hidden weapon that Qalibaf used to pursue and shoot it down in the “new era”… And how Israel is attempting to blackmail Trump and get military pay in exchange… So, will it succeed? The American stealth aircraft “F-35” has returned to the front pages of newspapers and television broadcasts in the United States and the Middle East for three primary reasons: First, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and one of the country’s three most notable figures, stated verbatim, “A new era has begun in which the enemy’s stealth fighter jets, the F-35 and its advanced counterpart, the F-15, will be hunted and chased.” Saudi Arabia purchased 48 American F-35 stealth aircraft for up to 24.3 billion. Third, Israel is preparing to blackmail the American administration in exchange for military compensation, including highly modern missile and defence systems that the US has refused to provide to the occupying state. These systems include the Israeli Arrow missile and the acquisition of numerous aircraft from the highly advanced new version of the F-35 stealth fighter. Qalibaf’s words, in our opinion, are the most important reason because they constitute a direct threat to both the United States, which aims to sell the stealth aircraft contract first, and the buyer, Saudi Arabia, with the 48 stealth aircraft agreement. The language of this threatening letter suggests that Iran now has the interceptor missile capability to shoot down this modern class of aircraft. Indeed, Qalibaf did not reveal the new missiles or air defence systems possessed by the Iranian military institution, but it is also true that new Iranian weapons and missiles have emerged at each new stage of confrontations with the United States and Israel over the past seven months of American-Israeli aggression against Iran, which has confused both sides. Mr Qalibaf must be suggesting and warning of upcoming surprises in this area. The major surprise for the U.S. Department of Defence (the Pentagon) was the Iranian air defences shooting down nearly 46 fixed-wing American aircraft, especially the stealth “F-35”, which is very difficult to detect and thus shoot down, in addition to about 10 fighter jets, including the highly advanced “F-15” attack aircraft, and around 12 aircraft of the type that refuels planes in the air, and above all, 30 drones of the “MQ9” type, and the AWACS aircraft, which The first aircraft from the American stealth fighter deal will be delivered to the Saudi Air Force five years after the contract was signed. During these five years, various political and military developments may occur in the Middle East, including the lack of any American forces or bases in the region, either as a result of destruction or a significant and almost likely American retreat to reduce losses. There is little doubt that the American stealth aircraft is one of the most important of its kind, as well as the most devastating to enemy targets, due to its difficulty in detecting or shooting down. However, the Iranian missile defence systems managed to break their virginity by successfully shooting down the first one in the war’s seven months. Furthermore, competitor aircraft, such as the Chinese and Russian Su-57, have advanced to a higher level of development, and Iran and Egypt may obtain them. Algeria was the first Arab country to purchase three Russian stealth aircraft of the “Sukhoi-57” type. We make no argument that America is a superpower and that its military stockpile of aircraft and missiles was the largest in the world before the action against Iran. However, this perception changed with the attack, as evidenced by the success of Iranian hypersonic ballistic missiles, which destroyed the majority, if not all, of the region’s military establishments, particularly those in the Gulf Arab states. In an interview with “Military Times” published two days ago, American General John Cordell, who served in the United States Navy, confirmed that the destruction of the US naval support base in Manama (Bahrain) designated for the Fifth Fleet by Iranian missiles is equivalent to the destruction of an American aircraft carrier. Building military facilities in the Arab world cost the US Treasury hundreds of billions of dollars. While some Gulf countries covered some of the expenditures, their quick and effortless destruction is a disgrace to the American military and its global reputation. The Axis of Resistance, led by Iran, has demolished the fiction of the “Patriot” interceptor missiles, and it is now exposing the vulnerability of stealth aircraft by depleting the arsenals of the American and Israeli armies of defensive missiles and ammunition with cluster munitions. If Qalibaf claims that a new era has dawned in which American “F-15” and “F-35” stealth planes are being targeted and pursued, believe him… The days are passing us by. https://www.raialyoum.com/why-has-the-american-stealth-plane-f-35-made-news-following-the-24-3-billion-saudi-deal/ The post Why has the American stealth plane F-35 made news following the 24.3 billion Saudi deal? appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — I Still Believe Humanity Is Headed For A Mass Awakening
- at 9/20/26 2:51amI still believe humanity is headed toward a mass awakening, as unfashionable as that is to admit here in the late 2020s. The fashionable thing to say these days is that everything’s fucked and we are headed to our doom, and that if anything changes it will be because the insanity of our capitalist system causes our material conditions to deteriorate so drastically that we are forced into revolution to survive. That things are bad because we’re a rotten people with selfish hearts who haven’t forced the revolutionary changes the world needs because, deep down, we actually like things the way they are. People who want to look cool and smart in revolutionary political circles tend to say that if a mass-scale transformation of human consciousness were going to happen, it would have happened by now. That everyone’s already basically aware that we live in an abusive, propaganda-saturated dystopia ruled by tyrants, therefore our continued compliance with status quo politics is a conscious and deliberate choice made by the overwhelming majority of the western world. But here’s the thing: anyone who has taken a deep dive down the rabbit hole of human consciousness and come out the other side knows it doesn’t actually work that way. Not on a personal level, anyhow. Anyone who has had an authentic transformational awakening after a prolonged period of spiritual seeking will have experienced a sloppy, awkward, tumble of a journey into eventual freedom from egoic delusion. It’s not pretty. It doesn’t happen the way the mind imagines it happening. It doesn’t unfold in linear fashion, and, while it might have significant climactic moments after which nothing is ever the same, it doesn’t unpack all at once. It’s a clumsy, two-steps-forward-one-step-back ordeal whose most prominent characteristic is an absence of control. But it does eventually happen. After a chaotic, unpredictable, frequently uncomfortable internal adventure, there’s a freedom, clarity, gracefulness and joy the likes of which you never could have imagined before the avalanche began. I see no reason to believe our collective awakening should be any different. It’s not going to be a neat and tidy affair. It’s not going to look like the hippies imagined back in the sixties, with a prevalence of psychedelic drugs leading to a swift societal movement away from egocentric psychology and dominator politics. But we’ll get there. We are in the process of getting there already. We are already a much more conscious species than we were at the turn of this century. Our ability to network and share information has exploded in ways that have turned us into a fundamentally different sort of animal. Young people care about a genocide which poses no direct threat to them as passionately as their grandparents cared about a war in Vietnam which they were being personally drafted to fight in. Concepts like “trauma” and “inner healing” are now household terms that our parents and grandparents were only ever dimly aware of. Any skillful spiritual teacher who’s been helping people reach enlightenment for a few decades will tell you that humans are popping out of their egos far more readily and frequently than they used to be. I myself am seeing the people around me in my personal life awaken and heal in ways I’d never dared hope for a few years ago. I’ve seen too much to believe we cannot become a conscious species. I am more convinced than ever that we are headed there already. It’s going to be a shambling, shuffling mess of a journey, but we’ll get there. The human potential for spiritual enlightenment has long been an unaddressed elephant in the room in our estimations of what we can achieve as a species, but that elephant has been loudly clearing its throat as of late. We can’t run from our true nature forever. Video reading by Tim Foley: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/i-still-believe-humanity-is-headed The post I Still Believe Humanity Is Headed For A Mass Awakening appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Lindsey Graham’s Ghost Sanctions and Internal Struggles in Russia and USA with John Helmer
- at 9/19/26 6:18amWashington advances new sanctions on Moscow but faces an energy crisis within. Russia has battlefield leverage but internal economic strain, oligarch power and the clashing of ideologies threaten it. The post Lindsey Graham’s Ghost Sanctions and Internal Struggles in Russia and USA with John Helmer appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Canada’s “Associate Membership” In The EU Is Expected To Cause Trouble For Russia In The Arctic
- at 9/18/26 1:25pmCloser Canadian-EU military-security coordination advances the US’ NATO 3.0 vision of allies taking on greater responsibilities in pursuit of shared interests, which in this case is containing Russia in the Arctic. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become an “associate member” of the bloc, the relationship of which doesn’t presently exist, during her state of the union address. While it’s unclear what this entails due to its unprecedented nature, Trump preemptively warned that the US would impose “very heavy tariffs” on the EU if this move is “a hostile act” with “bad intentions”, perhaps alluding to the scenario of EU goods flooding the US market via Canada. Russian officials have yet to react similarly, and perhaps they never will, but Canada was already expected to cooperate with the EU in the Arctic in ways that threaten Russia’s interests as was detailed in the analysis about why “The Arctic Front Of The ‘Cordon Sanitaire’ Is The Most Threatening To Russia”. Director of the Higher School of Economics’ Center for Interdisciplinary Arctic Studies Irina Strelnikova coincidentally published an analysis later that same day about how the EU plans to militarize the Arctic. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney formally applied to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) around the same time, which includes the Nordic countries, the Baltic States, and the Netherlands. The first two categories of countries can collectively be described as comprising the Viking Bloc that’s expected to more actively contain Russia along the de facto merged Arctic-Baltic front of the “cordon sanitaire”. Canada’s membership in the JEF will therefore lead to more coordination with the Viking Bloc. From the US’ grand strategic perspective, so long as the EU doesn’t exploit Canada as a backdoor into the US market, then its “associate membership” in the bloc isn’t a problem. In fact, closer Canadian-EU military-security coordination advances the US’ NATO 3.0 vision of allies taking on greater responsibilities in pursuit of shared interests, which in this case is containing Russia in the Arctic. The US’ Ambassador to NATO even recently declared that he wants them to take over Europe’s conventional defense. Closer strategic coordination between Canada and the EU also embodies the concept of “Greater Europe” in the sense of the EU expanding its influence into another non-European country. Likewise, greater EU political influence over Canada probably won’t meaningfully challenge the US’ predominant influence there per se, but it could lead to a reprioritization of Trump 2.0’s “Fortress America” goals. This refers to the US’ envisaged restoration of hegemony over the Western Hemisphere. If US influence over Canada is relatively weakened by its northern neighbor’s “associate membership” in the EU, albeit not in any way that erodes US hegemony over the Western Hemisphere, then Trump 2.0 might focus more fully on restoring the US’ traditional influence over Ibero-America. Depending on the form that this takes and how long it lasts, the US’ international self-identity might be reshaped in line with domestic demographic trends to take on more of an overall Hispanic identity than a European one. Returning to the main topic after that brief tangent, Canada’s “associate membership” in the EU is therefore expected to cause trouble for Russia by worsening the threat that it’ll face in the Arctic, which will qualitatively change as those two synergize their containment efforts there. The Anglo-American Axis will continue to supervise this process, the first through the JEF and the second through its predominant influence over Canada, thus resulting in them remaining Russia’s principal geostrategic adversaries. https://korybko.substack.com/p/canadas-associate-membership-in-the The post Canada’s “Associate Membership” In The EU Is Expected To Cause Trouble For Russia In The Arctic appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — The resistance factions in southern Syria are returning
- at 9/18/26 12:58pmWhy are Jordan and Turkey concerned about this military development? Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Israel Katz, his Minister of War, taking photos atop the occupied Syrian Golan Heights while wearing military uniforms and bulletproof vests not only confirms that the Israeli occupation state controls southern Syria, but also indicates the presence of national Islamic resistance groups against the occupation, whose attacks on the occupation forces have intensified, posing a significant threat and a chronic hea Interestingly, the “new” Syrian authorities in Damascus have begun to recognise the gravity of the situation in Syria, but not in terms of military infiltration and Judaisation of the region; rather, they are focusing on combating the Hauran resistance groups, which are growing in size and organisation and are concentrating their efforts on resisting the Israeli occupation. The statement made today by the new Syrian army verifies what we are reporting, acknowledging the deaths of three of its personnel in a confrontation with an armed group in Daraa’s countryside. This confrontation occurred as Syrian assault troops attempted to apprehend one of the wanted men in the city of al-Sanamayn, whom they said headed an Islamic State cell. It is almost certain that this raid by the Syrian army and official security forces was in response to Israeli and security pressures on Damascus’ ruling regime to engage in military confrontations with the armed national Islamic groups that have been rapidly expanding in occupied southern Syria. Israel wants the new army to demonstrate its sincere commitment to fighting and eradicating this national resistance as the only and quickest means to attain the promised security accord between the Israeli and official Syrian sides, which the United States sponsors. There may be elements affiliated with the Islamic State in southern Syria, as in other parts of Syria. Still, the majority of the resistance factions active there, if not all, are Arab Islamic national factions with no connection to the Islamic State (ISIS), even though some fly the flag of the Syrian army, which was dissolved and whose leadership was mostly arrested or killed after the regime change. After reviewing field media investigations, it can be concluded that all resistance groups in southern Syria, and possibly in its eastern and northern regions, are Islamic resistance organisations with close ties to the resistance in southern Lebanon (Hezbollah) and occupied Palestine (Hamas and Islamic Jihad). They may be summarised as follows: First, in early 2025, the group “Awli al-Ba’s”, led by “Abu Mujahid”, announced joint operations with entities affiliated with the “Syrian Popular Resistance” to oppose the new transitional government’s security arrangements and resist Israeli and Turkish occupations. Second, “Saraya Al-Thabat” is a recently founded armed group that calls itself “Islamic Resistance in Syria”, and it has claimed responsibility for missile assaults on Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. Third, the “Ahrar Horan” organisation, which is centred primarily in southern Daraa, proclaimed the launch of “jihadist” activities against the occupation forces. All of these organisations share three key features: they oppose the Israeli occupation, they are hostile to the new Syrian regime, and they have the support of Turkey. The majority of the weapons they use come from the dissolved Syrian army’s depots, which are stocked with missiles and other military equipment. According to a leaked statement, their contents were emptied and moved to other covert underground storage facilities. The Israeli occupation state has erected four sites in the occupied southern Syrian territory, and it intends to occupy Daraa Governorate totally before moving on to Deir ez-Zor to implement the David Corridor. According to one of their sources, a rising number and armament of opposition organisations are watching Israeli plans and trying to oppose them and clear up the Syrian area. These opposition factions are a source of concern not only for the occupying state and Syrian leadership but also for Jordan’s army and security forces, which have worked with their counterparts in Damascus to battle and remove them. The Syrian and Jordanian areas share a border, and both sides are reportedly boosting military collaboration. In summary, if it hasn’t already, southern Syria could become a cross-border version of southern Lebanon. It is almost certain that “Hezbollah” is supplying Syrian Islamic rebel groups with weapons, military equipment, and possibly training. The party’s officials do not deny these allegations, and Israel’s occupation of the slopes of Mount Sheikh Quneitra was intended to cut off the land connection between Lebanon and Syria. Southern Syria is rapidly transforming into a new base for resisting the Israeli occupation, with one key difference: the vast majority of the personnel involved in the resistance factions are former Syrian regime soldiers and officers, and they do not require military training, weapons, missiles, or ammunition, which are abundantly available in new underground secret warehouses, according to sources close to them. The inhabitants of Hauran are among the most honourable, Arab, and courageous folk, and they may face surprises in the days ahead. https://www.raialyoum.com/the-resistance-factions-in-southern-syria-are-returning/ The post The resistance factions in southern Syria are returning appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — West Asia Is Incubating a New Era of Revolutions — “A Decisive and Historic Stage”
- at 9/17/26 3:06pmWest Asia Is Incubating a New Era of Revolutions — “A Decisive and Historic Stage” The post West Asia Is Incubating a New Era of Revolutions — “A Decisive and Historic Stage” appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Robert Kraft: The Billionaire Friend of Netanyahu Pulling The Strings Behind the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran Blow Up
- at 9/17/26 2:06pmThe world of pop culture is ablaze with fury, as billionaire plutocrat Robert Kraft successfully pressured Ed Sheeran into dropping Macklemore from his North American tour over the rapper’s pro-Palestine statements. The incident has ignited widespread outrage, and blown up in the Israel Lobby’s face, and caused all of his supporting artists to quit in […] The world of pop culture is ablaze with fury, as billionaire plutocrat Robert Kraft successfully pressured Ed Sheeran into dropping Macklemore from his North American tour over the rapper’s pro-Palestine statements. The incident has ignited widespread outrage, and blown up in the Israel Lobby’s face, and caused all of his supporting artists to quit in protest, and brought worldwide attention to both Israel’s crimes and its attempts to silence dissent across the world. But who is Robert Kraft? MintPress exposes the American oligarch’s funding of the pro-Israel Lobby, the network of organizations he has built to shut down pro-Palestine activism, and his extremely close personal, political, and financial relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Netanyahu’s Right-Hand Man “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft,” Benjamin Netanyahu stated at the 2019 Genesis Prizes, an Israeli government-backed ceremony that honors prominent individuals (such as Kraft) that have advanced Jewish or Israeli interests with a $1 million prize. Netanyahu is right. The 85-year-old American businessman and owner of the New England Patriots NFL franchise has dedicated his entire life to advancing the Zionist cause. Kraft married his wife in Israel in 1962 and has made well over 100 trips to the country since, including leading dozens of P.R. missions there, bringing a host of celebrities and sports stars with him. Kraft not only maintains a close personal friendship with Netanyahu, he very likely funded his political rise. His name appears on the “Netanyahu’s Millionaires” document – a leaked, handwritten list penned by the prime minister himself, detailing his wealthiest patrons and those he could most steadfastly rely on to bankroll his political career. Ninety-eight percent of Netanyahu’s funding came from abroad. When it comes to American politics, Kraft is no less influential, using his monetary power to push the Israeli agenda in Washington. In addition to directly funding Donald Trump, he has spent vast sums bankrolling virtually every group constituting the U.S. Israel Lobby, including: The American Friends of the Israel Museum The American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) The Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces The Israel Project The Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish National Fund StandWithUs Robert Kraft, in other words, is the Israel Lobby. Israel’s Big Money Backer He also personally created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), an extremely well-funded group that purports to be an anti-racist non-profit fighting prejudice across the country. Upon closer inspection, however, it becomes clear that the FCAS is simply another pro-Israel group using the language of anti-racism to crush grassroots opposition to Israeli actions abroad. Firstly, many of its key figures are former Israeli officials or lobbyists. For example, the organization’s Director of Partnerships and Strategy, Clara Schwartz, previously served as a secretary to multiple Israeli Ambassadors to the United States. Meanwhile, Maya Buki Dabby, FCAS’ Chief Philanthropy Officer, is the former director of AIPAC, the principal Israel lobbying institution in the United States. Secondly, the FCAS equates anti-Zionism as in the same bracket as support for or denial of the Holocaust, one of the many reasons why its in-house “antisemitism tracker” notes a massive spike in incidents in recent years. It is difficult to overstate how well-funded and polished this operation is. In one December 2023 pledge alone, Kraft donated $100 million to the organization. Today, Kraft’s Gillette Stadium – which was to host the Sheeran/Macklemore concert until he personally intervened – is home to an enormous command center where vast numbers of staff track anti-Israel, pro-Palestine sentiment across the world and on social media. Critics have dubbed the institution a “massive Zionist surveillance and propaganda center inside Gillette Stadium.” The FCAS has spent enormous amounts of money on high-profile pro-Israel advertising campaigns, including producing numerous ads played during successive Super Bowls. One 2024 commercial features Clarence B. Jones, the former advisor to Martin Luther King, who drafted his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Jones’ message is that there is a growing tidal wave of racist intolerance in America. Not from the likes of Trump (who Kraft donated $1 million to in 2017), but against Jews. The commercial ends by telling viewers to reject anti-Semitism and visit the FCAS project, StandUpToJewishHate.com. The next year, it was back with another Super Bowl ad, this time featuring Snoop Dogg bemoaning the rise in “hatred,” which, in context, is a reference to opposition to the State of Israel’s policies in West Asia. Numerous commenters quipped that this was the most embarrassing thing the celebrity rapper has ever done for money. As their content suggests, the commercials were part of a wider FCAS attempt to target black Americans, who are, according to polls, far less likely to support Israel’s genocide and more likely to side with Palestine than the general population. The FCAS, in their own words, see these efforts as part of their plan to “develop social change initiatives and continuously improve the Black-Jewish alliance.” Silencing Critics of Apartheid Another way in which Kraft has attempted to shape U.S. politics is by trying to keep pro-Palestine voices out of Congress by funding right-wing Democrats standing against progressives and advocates for justice in Palestine. In 2021, for example, he donated to little-known but staunchly pro-Israel candidate Shontel Brown in her contentious face-off for Ohio’s 11th congressional district against Nina Turner, a democratic socialist, national co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 election campaign, and an outspoken critic of Israel’s policies. Vast amounts of pro-Israel money flowed into Brown’s campaign, helping her to defeat Turner. In her acceptance speech, Brown praised Israel and later thanked the Jewish community for “help[ing] me get over the finish line.” Kraft has also given money to pro-Israel Democrats, including David Cicilline; Juan Vargas; Ted Deutch; Jake Auchincloss and Ritchie Torres. His actions, donations and public pronouncements have drawn condemnation from some who have followed them. Sports journalist Dave Zirin, for example, wrote that: “He appears to think that any criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic. For Kraft, it is Jews like myself, rabbis, and Holocaust survivors calling for a ceasefire and a free Palestine that are part of the problem. And Kraft seems to think that opposition to Israel, the IDF, and the AIPAC agenda is antisemitism.” Kraft has been just as ruthless against student opponents of genocide. Amid unprecedented nationwide campus protests for Palestine in 2023 and 2024 (in which estimated 10% of all U.S. students actively participated) the billionaire worked both publicly and privately to crush them. The epicenter of this movement was Columbia University, where students occupied buildings and set up encampments calling for an end to the college’s complicity in Israeli actions. An angry Kraft sprang into action, publicly announcing that he was cutting the university off from his lavish funding due to its failure to suppress the protests effectively enough. “I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country,” he said in a statement, claiming that Columbia was not protecting its Jewish students. The turning point, Kraft said, was watching a publicity stunt by Shai Davidai, an Israeli-American academic at Columbia, who claimed his access to campus was revoked. Davidai had previously called the student protestors “Nazis” and “terrorists” and called for the National Guard to be set upon the encampment, obliquely referencing the Kent State University Massacre while doing so. Kraft is one of Columbia’s most important donors, giving the institution millions of dollars, including a single $3 million donation to fund the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life. He also vented his frustration on MSNBC, denouncing students taking part as supporters of terrorism. “It’s horrible to me that a group like Hamas can be respected and people in the United States of America can be carrying flags or supporting them … Hamas is preaching the eradication of all Jewish people from the Earth” he said. In the end, Kraft got his wish, and the protests were ruthlessly stamped out in actions that made headlines across the world. Hundreds of students were arrested, dozens were expelled, and some of its ringleaders were abducted by ICE and faced deportation. A Coward Choosing Between Two Different Types of Cowardice Kraft and the Israel Lobby have been able to cut down the flowers, but they have not been able to keep the spring from coming. Nationwide disillusionment with Israel and sympathy with Palestine continues to grow, and has manifested in popular culture, including with big acts like Macklemore, who have spoken out against the ongoing genocide. Tens of thousands of impressionable fans heard the rapper speak up every night. But, like with the Columbia protests, Kraft (with an estimated net worth of over $15 billion) found a way to use his influence to shut down pro-Palestine activism. He organized his fellow stadium owners into intimidating Sheeran, presenting him with an ultimatum: either drop Macklemore from the tour, or be blocked from performing at their stadiums. In a statement, Kraft described Macklemore’s actions as “deeply offensive” and insinuated – like he did with the Columbia protestors – that he supports terrorist organizations. The ultimatum was presented as a necessary response to stop anti-Semitism. The fact that many of these same stadiums are currently hosting and promoting the tour of Ye (aka Kanye West), a self-identified Nazi who recently released the song, “Heil Hitler,” casts doubt on this sincerity, however. Kraft leant in to his personal relationship with Sheeran, who attended and even played at his 2022 wedding. The English pop star immediately folded, agreeing to throw Macklemore under the tour bus. On Tuesday, he released a bizarre, inaccurate, and much panned statement on Instagram explaining his actions – one that has been widely characterized as a spineless post hoc justification for capitulation. Sheeran’s statement begins with a literal both-sidesing of the genocide. “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy,” he wrote, suggesting the level of violence and distress is somehow equal. He then went out of his way to distance himself from Macklemore – his close friend of 13 years – claiming that the rapper was only appearing with him because “he asked to join my tour last year and I agreed.” He described Macklemore’s activism as mere “shouting,” before adding that, “If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change.” His statement almost hinted at a relief or an approval that Macklemore was gone, noting that his own music was about “bring[ing] people from all backgrounds and cultures together,” and that “those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.” “I do not use my professional platform for politics,” he concluded. This, however, is clearly untrue. He filmed the music video for his song, “2Step” in Ukraine, and subsequently released a remix in collaboration with local group, Antytila, whose members are actively serving in the Ukrainian military. He has appeared on stage carrying an enormous Ukrainian flag and raised money for various Ukrainian charities. The difference between Ukraine and Palestine, of course, is that with the former, virtually the entire Western establishment supports it, rendering it safe and “apolitical.” Sheeran has also publicly endorsed the Labour Party on multiple occasions, slammed the Conservative U.K. government for their handling of Brexit, and urged Congress to pass pro-LGBT legislation. Furthermore, he has not even been absent on the Israel/Palestine issue, and has allowed himself to be used in official Israeli government propaganda. In September 2024, he met with Noa Argamani, an Israeli captured by Hamas during the October 7 attacks. The meeting, and Sheeran’s smiling face, was posted to the State of Israel’s official social media channels, with no public pushback from the singer. Sheeran also tried to wash his hands of any agency in the matter, insisting that, “Macklemore coming off the tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.” Thus, he presents himself as a powerless bystander in the affair, as if, in his position as the headline act and a global superstar, he could not have stood up for his friend and co-worker if he was inclined to. Anticipating that some might challenge this, Sheeran presented the act as a fait accompli, and insisted that he was morally obligated to continue, as a service to all the other poor artists on the tour whose livelihoods depended on its continuation. “I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” he explained. This seemingly courageous decision was quickly undermined however, as every single support act – four separate acts plus Sheeran’s own live band – announced in unison that they would be pulling out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people. This, despite the fact that few of them have even 0.1% of the estimated $400 million net worth of Sheeran. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” said Finneas. Meanwhile, Beoga condemned what they described as “the silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies.” Sheeran appeared to try to head off any accusations by personally and publicly absolving himself, concluding that: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.” Yet the statements of the support artists all made clear that it was precisely because they felt their inaction would make them complicit in Israel’s crimes, hence their decision to withdraw from the tour. Standing Up For What Is Right Sheeran’s much-mocked statement stands in stark contrast to Macklemore’s, which has been praised for its graciousness, even describing Sheeran as a “friend” and a “brother,” despite Sheeran’s notable coolness to him, and his decision to betray him. First of all, he states, “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim,” adding: “The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.” Even as he explained Sheeran’s treachery, Macklemore was magnanimous, and made excuses for his behavior. “Ed was in a fucked up position,” he said, noting that “He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with [i.e. Kraft].” Indeed, Sheeran comes off across better in Macklemore’s statement than he does his own. Sheeran told him that he “doesn’t take sides.” Macklemore, however, explained that: “…[T]here is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.” The rapper also succinctly explained exactly why pro-Israel billionaires like Kraft fear him and his cultural power so much. “If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that’s why this time it became so important to silence me.” A Tipping Point For now, Sheeran’s decision to appease Kraft and the Israel Lobby appears to have completely backfired – for both parties. Sheeran has gone viral for the wrong reasons, with dozens of parody songs mocking his actions. Having lost every supporting artist (including his own live band), his tour is in a shambles, and he faces the prospect of having to fill a multi-hour show with nothing but himself and a guitar. In effect, then, in one fell swoop, he has nuked his own tour, destroyed his credibility and his “good guy” reputation, and stabbed his longtime friend in the back, all to appease an octogenarian Zionist Epstein-adjacent billionaire. The issue has escaped contagion from the mere political realm and has shot to prominence to become the number one trending story worldwide, with pop stars from across the planet weighing in on Sheeran’s perceived obsequiousness to power. In Ireland, a country Sheeran strongly associates with due to his heritage, the phrase “He’s English” trended on social media – a measure of the widespread rejection the singer is facing. “Ed Sheeran should never feel welcome in Ireland ever again,” ran the headline of one article in The Irish Mirror. The acts who did withdraw, however, are gaining massive new followings online, while other artists have already been emboldened by the incident to speak up for Palestine on stage. Kraft, meanwhile, openly played his hand and tried to use his influence as a power play. Never has there been a clearer example that pro-Israel billionaires really do control our media and culture, and attempt to suppress free speech. And the fact that Ye is performing at many of the same venues Macklemore is banned from makes it more obvious than ever that this has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. In effect, then, Kraft has Streisanded himself in order to stop a few pro-Palestine messages slipping through. He may have been able to suppress college protestors, but he did not count on the pushback from the music community, who have elevated his actions into international headlines. In an effort to stem the torrent of bad publicity, Kraft announced that he and Sheeran would donate millions to unspecified aid efforts in the Middle East “region.” But without specifying even a destination country for the money, let alone an organization, this was immediately publicly interpreted as another cash transfer to Israel under the guise of helping Palestinians. Ultimately, what this story underlines is that power operates best when it is hidden in the shadows. Kraft, however, has inadvertently shone a worldwide spotlight on his own operations, on Israel’s crimes, and on how pro-Israel billionaires silence free speech in the U.S. His miscalculation risks becoming a monumental cultural tipping point where pro-Palestine activism goes truly mainstream, and supporting Israel becomes untenable. Robert Kraft: The Billionaire Friend of Netanyahu Pulling The Strings Behind the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran Blow Up The post Robert Kraft: The Billionaire Friend of Netanyahu Pulling The Strings Behind the Macklemore/Ed Sheeran Blow Up appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — Saudi Arabia Might Be Forced By The West To Recognize Yemen’s Redivision Into Two States
- at 9/17/26 12:59pmThe US might recognize the Houthis’ de facto state as part of a grand regional deal with Iran and for aiding the recovery of the global energy market, thus likely leading to the EU following suit in that scenario and Saudi Arabia then being left with little choice but to do the same to end the war. The Houthis’ blitz down Yemen’s Red Sea coast and into its neighboring islands gave them commanding influence over the Bab el-Mandab. It also exposed the hollowness of the Islamic NATO after Pakistan and Turkiye failed to come to their Saudi mutual defense ally’s rescue following the group’s spree of strikes against the kingdom’s energy infrastructure that paralleled their offensive. In connection with them, Saudi Arabia canceled some oil shipments to the EU after the suspension of its East-West pipeline. The energy-related consequences of the Houthis’ attacks against Saudi Arabia might be exploited by Riyadh to encourage the Europeans to join its coalition against the group, but their reluctance to join the US’ previously proposed one against Iran suggests that they’ll decline. Saudi Arabia can’t dislodge the Houthis on its own as proven by the last 11 years of trying and its recently reported request for American air support that Trump allegedly rejected. It might therefore have to cut a deal with them to end the war. Saudi Arabia has thus far refused to do so since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) doesn’t want to accept his country’s epic defeat for legacy-related reasons and is uncomfortable with a hostile, Iranian-aligned state on his doorstep. As it presently stands, however, nobody can credibly claim that Saudi Arabia is winning the war. The Houthis’ de facto state has also already existed for over a decade. Saudi Arabia is powerless to change this state of affairs so finally accepting it would be sensible. Even so, MBS might still refuse to do so for the abovementioned legacy-related reasons, but Western pressure might force him to reconsider. Trump’s reported rejection of his request for air support parallels reports about the US contemplating a radical drawdown of its regional military presence, if not a full withdrawal, which could be part of a settlement with Iran even if secretly agreed upon and unofficial. The US’ recognition of the Houthis’ de facto state could also be too if they agree to stop expanding. After all, Trump recently declared that the Houthis and the US have no problem with one another despite the US bombing them early last year, so he seems to have accepted the perpetuation of their de facto state and might even envisage a future minerals partnership as part of a grand regional deal. Likewise, the EU has energy-related reasons for doing the same in order to ensure the safe passage of oil tankers through the Bab el-Mandab, so they too might recognize the Houthis’ de facto state. Western recognition thereof would pile enormous pressure upon Saudi Arabia to end the war, which the US might want as part of a grand regional deal with Iran and for aiding the recovery of the global energy market, which aligns with the EU’s interests. If this occurs as part of a formal US military drawdown from the region, if not a full withdrawal, then Saudi Arabia might have no choice. Being left alone to fight the Houthis with the US turning a blind eye to its plight would be a geopolitical death sentence. What this war has shown is that Saudi Arabia is a paper tiger, unlike its Pakistani and Turkish allies that left it in the lurch during its hour of need, and it’s only a regional power just like them instead of the Great Power that MBS truly believed that his kingdom already was. This is a painful reality check for him, and the sooner that he accepts it, the sooner that Saudi Arabia can extricate itself from this quagmire that’s now inflicting growing economic costs that risk unforeseen consequences for his kingdom. https://korybko.substack.com/p/saudi-arabia-might-be-forced-by-the The post Saudi Arabia Might Be Forced By The West To Recognize Yemen’s Redivision Into Two States appeared first on TheAltWorld.
- — The Lithuanian Drone Incident Was Likely A Ukrainian False Flag
- at 9/16/26 12:48pmUkraine already flies drones through the Baltic States’ airspace (arguably via Belarus), has an interest in preventing Belarus’ potash exports via Lithuania, and thus has a motive to stage a false flag provocation for giving allied Vilnius the “plausible pretext” to reject the US’ proposal. NATO downed a drone over central Lithuania earlier this week that officials claim had entered the bloc’s airspace from Belarus and was operated by Russia. The incident is predictably being exploited to lend credence to recent claims that Russia is reportedly plotting to test NATO’s resolve. The narrative is that it’s employing hybrid means thereto that fall below the threshold of triggering World War III. For as compelling as that might sound, that recently downed drone was arguably operated by Ukraine. The Baltic States’ airspace has been used as a corridor for Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia since the beginning of the year. While some on the Russian side have speculated that they first fly across Poland, it’s more likely that they actually fly across Belarus, whose leader remains neutral in the conflict despite his country being allied with Russia. President Alexander Lukashenko might have therefore ordered his forces not to intercept Ukrainian drones nor allowed Russia’s in Belarus to do so either. For background, he’s negotiating what he described as a “big deal” with the US, which just saw Trump’s special envoy John Coale promise to unblock over $40 million of frozen assets linked to potash payments. He earlier said that his country wants to purchase this resource from Belarus to help farmers affected by the Third Gulf War’s disruption of the global fertilizer market. In connection with that, Coale also suggested that it could be exported via Lithuania, which contextualizes the latest drone incident. Zelensky despises Lukashenko after some Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarus at the beginning of the conflict’s large-scale phase in early 2022, which is why he threatened him with Maduro’s fate earlier this spring and then threatened large-scale drone attacks against his country earlier this summer. While Zelensky ultimately didn’t go through with that, allegedly because Lukashenko complied with his demand to shut down drone relay transmitters along the border, Ukraine is clearly opposed to Belarus. With these tensions in mind, it can’t be ruled out that Ukraine staged the latest drone incident to create the grounds for Lithuania to reject Coale’s proposal that Belarusian potash exports to the US be routed through their ports, in pursuit of which a captured Russian drone could have been used. Lithuania might have been in on it since Vilnius is as opposed to Belarus as Kiev is but might not have the political will to defy the US without a “plausible pretext” such as Minsk “facilitating Russian aggression against NATO”. The latest drone incident in Lithuania might therefore be a false flag just like the recent one in Germany was. Just like it’s improbable that Russia’s world-class drone operators failed to strike the Leipzig airport despite trying three separate times, so too is it improbable that they flew a drone deep into central Lithuania instead of striking a target in Vilnius, which is right on the border. It’s also improbable that risk-averse Putin suddenly threw caution to the wind by provoking NATO, let alone so feebly given the stakes. By contrast, Ukraine already flies drones through the Baltic States’ airspace (arguably via Belarus), has an interest in preventing Belarus’ potash exports via Lithuania, and thus has a motive to stage a false flag provocation for giving allied Vilnius the “plausible pretext” to reject the US’ proposal. It might have even used a captured Russian drone to make this hoax more believable. The US should therefore investigate this latest drone incident to determine whether Ukraine tried to sabotage its détente with Belarus. https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-lithuanian-drone-incident-was The post The Lithuanian Drone Incident Was Likely A Ukrainian False Flag appeared first on TheAltWorld.
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