Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Will the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani “NATO” counter the US military retreat from the “Middle East”?

 

at 8/9/26 6:21am

What is the alarming acknowledgement of “failure” in an article written by one of President Biden’s top advisors? And will Trump be able to get out of his big escape from the bleeding Iranian quagmire? In an essay published in the global American magazine “Foreign Affairs”, Michael Fox, a senior counsellor in Joe Biden’s former administration, posed a crucial question: “Is it time for America to withdraw from the Middle East?” He said “yes” since the American approach in the region had failed, and he saw the war with Iran as a “major strategic disaster”. This post reminds us of a major European strategic error, the disastrous tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956. The common denominator among all aggressors against Iran, whether tripartite or American, is Israeli agitation, hubris, and a misreading of the adversary’s strength and international dynamics. Consequently, the outcomes were devastating. The Suez War, also known as the tripartite aggression, marked the beginning of the fall of the British and French colonial empires, clearing the way for the growth of the American alternative, which supplanted them and grabbed the world’s throne. We are well aware that many of Iran’s regional rivals, whether for sectarian or ethnic reasons, do not want us to use phrases such as “defeat for the United States” and “victory for Iran”. However, when someone like strategic advisor Michael Fox corroborates these concepts, the critical reactions vary due to the prevalent “foreign complex.” The American-Israeli aggression against Iran has revealed the failure of the American strategy in the “Middle East”, which is based on the use of force, air superiority, and spending hundreds of billions of dollars to build nearly 50 American military bases in the region, primarily in the Arabian Peninsula and the Arabian Gulf. Above all, there was a miscalculation of the adversary’s strength: Iran, the leader of the Resistance Axis and its arms in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq, surprised America and its Israeli ally with its high capabilities in developing nuclear and missile capabilities, as well as managing direct or indirect military confrontations in the region’s skies and waters. Several pieces of evidence support American advisor Fox’s opinion on the failure of the American military presence in the Middle East, which we summarise in the following points: First, the defeat of American firepower, particularly air and naval forces, in the face of missiles, drones, Resistance Axis preparations, and military fronts. Second, the Iranian regime absorbed the initial American lightning strikes, which lasted nearly 6 months and grew stronger, closing most intelligence gaps and reducing or eliminating the assassination weapon against top-tier military leaders and nuclear energy scientists. Third, America’s missile arsenal is depleted, with the American leadership admitting that it has lost 80% of its interceptive missile stockpile and other military munitions, rendering it unable to continue the attrition war that Israel’s leadership, represented by Benjamin Netanyahu, has dragged it into. Fourth, American aggression against Iran no longer provides security and stability for its bases in the region or the Israeli colonial state. https://www.raialyoum.com/will-the-saudi-turkish-pakistani-nato-counter-the-us-military-retreat-from-the-middle-east/ The post Will the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani NATO counter the US military retreat from the Middle East? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Iran, Islamic NATO, Middle East, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, USA]

— Iran Strikes Force Historic U.S. Military Retreat in Gulf

 

at 8/7/26 1:40am

As the US military pulls troops from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, is Iran reshaping the balance of power in the Persian Gulf? Gulf State Analytics CEO Giorgio Cafiero joins Rania Khalek and Zoe Alexandra to examine whether Tehran has finally convinced Washingtons allies that hosting US imperialism comes with increasing risks rather than greater security. Tehran is making significant strategic gains; Cafiero also discusses Iran’s second wave of strikes on US forces in Jordan and Oman’s deepening China strategy; he explains why Trump’s pause in striking Iran wasn’t just about Saudi pressure, why Riyadh’s nuclear ambitions are about much more than just energy, and what the kingdom really wants from Lebanon, as the threat from Israel grows. Are the Gulf States ditching Washington for Beijing? Youre depending on the U.S. as a security guarantor, but the president threatens to blow up your country @GiorgioCafiero on the Iran war and the fracturing U.S.-Gulf alliance The post Iran Strikes Force Historic U.S. Military Retreat in Gulf appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, GCC, Iran, Middle East, USA]

— PEZESHKIAN: THEY PLANNED TO TAKE IRAN WITHIN 48 HOURS. THEY FAILED

 

at 8/6/26 10:12am

Mario Nawfal is the host of the largest show on X, with regular guests including Elon Musk, Hunter Biden, Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Bolsonaro, President Milei, President Lukashenko, FM Lavrov, Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Trump Allies including Vivek Ramaswamy and Roger Stone, various US senators, business leaders such as Marc Andreessen, Marc Cuban, Bill Ackman and David Sacks. The post PEZESHKIAN: THEY PLANNED TO TAKE IRAN WITHIN 48 HOURS. THEY FAILED appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Iran, USA]

— Exclusive: dead cat bounce, or The return of the Iran-U.S. MoU

 

at 8/6/26 6:47am

The key variable to watch in these extremely troubled waters: what is contained in the MoU is strategically aligned with Beijing – all the way. Washington all but declared that the Iran-U.S. MoU was a dead cat. Not in a coma: it had gone to meet its maker. Yet now we may be witnessing the Mother of All Dead Cat Bounces – as the organizing framework of Iran’s post-war foreign policy. Tehran for all practical purposes is now presenting what was also previously known as the Islamabad Memorandum as the foundation of its future external relations – and demanding that Washington comply with the MoU commitments it signed via POTUS. Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi will be in Islamabad this Friday – following an open invitation by Pakistani FM Ishaq Dar. There’s mounting evidence pointing to Pakistan as the renewed central guarantor, military channel and strategic bridge connecting Tehran and Washington, as well as the GCC. Contradictions, of course, abound. Even as Tehran publicly identifies Pakistan as the mediator, and Islamabad also seems to be coordinating at the highest level with perpetually hedging Saudi Arabia, Trump this past Monday preferred to – publicly – credit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and even the UAE, but not Pakistan. Let’s delve into the fog. The MoU dead cat survived in a raft under the mercy of a wild geopolitical sea and the wrath of the Gods just to be reborn as Iran’s governing diplomatic doctrine. Although treated as a dead cat also by Tehran, President Masoud Pezeshkian has now publicly described commitment to the MoU as the product of the collective judgment of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). He also stated that the MoU should become a cornerstone of Iran’s future foreign relations and called for the Trump administration to be compelled to honor what it signed in Versailles. So the comatose cat indeed seems to have nine lives: it ceased to be a temporary ceasefire mechanism just to be reborn as a long-term strategic framework. U.S. leverage vanishing across the spectrum Araghchi is repeatedly talking directly with Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, as our sources close to the – for the moment shattered – negotiating table have re-confirmed. This means Araghchi is not dealing only through civilian diplomatic channels. He’s engaging Pakistan’s top military commander during the most sensitive phase of the “no war, no peace” drama. For all their glaring errors of judgment going – simultaneously – after Yemen and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs) in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, via Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, is also part of this communications architecture. So the key negotiating channel is military-strategic: not merely diplomatic. Anyone betting on Pakistan emerging as the bridge between Iran and Saudi Arabia must be ready to be in a very tough spot. Well: the fact is Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Munir and Foreign Minister Dar will be in Saudi Arabia from this Thursday to Saturday for ultra high-level discussions with Crown Prince MbS. Pakistan’s Foreign Office is billing it as something quite strategic. That would mean Islamabad not only carrying messages between Tehran and Riyadh, but helping to build a durable regional security and diplomatic framework linking both capitals. The cornered Trump administration may be attempting to prevent acknowledgment – across the board inside the U.S. – that a nuclear-armed Islamic nation, closely aligned with China and developing strategic relations with Iran, is absolutely indispensable to the negotiations. Never underestimate Trump “macho macho man” psychology: to fully recognize Pakistani mediation exposes how deep he has lost unilateral control over the whole process. Pakistan is playing strategic ambiguity to the hilt. Islamabad keeps talking to Washington while declining to behave as a U.S. vassal and refusing to fully align with any position. That’s what preserves its credibility with Tehran, Washington, Riyadh, Beijing and Moscow. In parallel, the IAEA has not verified Iran’s enriched uranium inventory since 28 February – as Tehran has restricted access to 20 declared facilities. The last verified inventory included approximately 440.9 kg of enriched uranium to 60 percent. Translation: this nuclear “uncertainty” has now metastasized into a strategic weapon. The Trump administration literally has no idea about where Iran’s enriched uranium is, and how much of it; whether something has been dispersed; how quickly Iran could move toward weapons-grade enrichment (Prof. Ted Postol has the answer); and whether a military adventure would destroy the stockpile or accelerate weaponization. Add to it that the Trump administration’s military, economic and political leverage is vanishing in front of the world’s eyes: Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) near a historical red line; diesel refining margins at extreme levels; virtually no trade through the Strait of Hormuz; war-risk insurance premiums going through the roof; long-range precision-guided missile inventories nearly depleted. And still what Washington and Tehran are saying in public amounts to a total clash. Trump insists talks are underway. U.S. mainstream media spins an agreement could be imminent. Tehran denies that any negotiations have resumed and insists the only active – technical – channel concerns maritime and shipping arrangements between Tehran and Muscat Yet the zillion-dollar question is in fact who controls the diplomatic architecture. The facts point to Iran’s FM communicating with Pakistan’s army chief, while Qatar is at best an assistant actor; and Pakistan coordinating directly with Riyadh. What China really wants Meanwhile, what goes on in the corridors of power in Tehran remains supremely crucial. According to our sources, Ahmad Vahidi, the commander-in-chief of the IRGC, continues to exercise serious influence within Iran’s security establishment. Reflecting the mood in the streets, several top players within the IRGC are extremely adverse to any negotiations with the U.S.. Add to it that the Assembly of Experts has publicly denounced accommodation with Washington and condemned what it characterizes as capitulation. No wonder Araghchi is under tremendous political pressure. Yet it gets even more serious: Vahidi has personally demanded President Pezeshkian’s resignation. The immediate institutional pressure seems to be directed more sharply at Araghchi and the negotiating process than at Pezeshkian personally. This means that the power struggle in Tehran is not simply over the president’s survival; it’s over whether the MoU – or Islamabad framework – should become permanent Iranian policy. The key variable to watch in these extremely troubled waters: what is contained in the MoU is strategically aligned with Beijing – all the way. Exclusive: dead cat bounce, or The return of the Iran-U.S. MoU The post Exclusive: dead cat bounce, or The return of the Iran-U.S. MoU appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Hormuz, Iran, USA]

— A council of violence and displacement, not a “peace council” in Gaza

 

at 8/6/26 2:45am

Why do we feel the “Riviera of the Middle East” project is presently underway but without its people? And this is our advice to our brethren in Hamas. Netanyahu now demands the surrender of all Hamas weaponry before any departure from the Gaza Strip and the fulfilment of the second phase of the so-called “Gaza Agreement”, and Donald Trump, the president of the “Peace Council,” promptly supports these stances. It is not a “peace council”, but a war council, with Israel serving as the actual ruler and having the final say. It forces its will on everyone, starting with the three mediators: Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, moving through Nikolai Mladenov, and concluding with Tony Blair and Trump. We are confronting a fresh deceit, which aligns in all its chapters with all previous Israeli scenarios, ending with the complete non-withdrawal of Israel and the entry into the second phase of the plan, which is the relocation of all the people of the sector. Previously, Israel justified its actions by demanding the release of all Hamas captives, both living and dead, before contemplating any retreat. When this goal was met, the second excuse was the disarmament of the movement. The Peace Council completely supported these demands. Unfortunately, the three mediators supported these demands and persuaded Hamas to accept them under the guise of realism, eliminating excuses and demonstrating all forms of goodwill. When the world hears about the Israeli ideas approved by Trump and his disciple Miladynov, they believe Hamas possesses “Tomahawk” and Patriot missiles, as well as Abrams tanks, which constitute an existential threat to the occupation state. The movement, besieged for more than two years and with the majority of its leaders assassinated, has just guns and possibly no ammunition. The Gaza Strip, for Trump and his army of brokers led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his advisor and partner Steve Witkoff, is nothing more than a real estate project and a golden opportunity to “milk” hundreds of billions of dollars by transforming it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, but only after it is depopulated. When Netanyahu addressed the international community yesterday, he made no secret of his true objectives, advocating for the acceptance of Gazans. He added that many of them desire to leave the Strip if given the chance, and Israel is now making plans to provide them with that option. Following the destruction of 95 per cent of the sector’s buildings and homes, the execution of nearly 75,000 of its inhabitants, the injury of 200,000 of them, the majority of whom have serious wounds, and the amputation of limbs (arms and legs) in the most heinous war of extermination and starvation in modern history, Netanyahu comes out to say that these people want to leave and should be given the freedom to choose their destination. Trump and Netanyahu are essentially repeating the Native American genocide scenario in Gaza: death, starvation, thirst, and ruin. Unfortunately, all of this is taking place in front of the world’s eyes and ears, including 22 Arab countries with powerful armies that have cost hundreds of billions of dollars to outfit. All of the Gaza Strip’s camps have been razed and levelled, particularly Rafah, Jabalia, and the core camps, to obliterate the most visible aspects of the right to return. Under the watchful eyes and ears of the “International Peace Council” and the Arab and Muslim mediators, the occupying forces, which control 70% of the Strip, prevent any food from entering for the hungry, target hospitals and what remains of their staff, including doctors and nurses, and practise the most horrific forms of “reproductive genocide” by preventing the arrival of medicines, destroying all maternity and childbirth facilities, and depriving mothers. Finally, we express our heartfelt gratitude to the three mediators, Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar, for their strong joint statement issued two days ago, in which they condemned the ongoing Israeli violations, particularly the targeting of health facilities and the large number of casualties (they did not use the term martyrs), including women and children. This criticism is not adequate and does not change the awful reality in Gaza and the Israeli intentions for Judaization and displacement. These three countries are the primary guarantors of the ceasefire deal, and they have played an important role, either collectively or individually, in persuading Hamas to be flexible and accept the condition of disarming in exchange for Israeli disengagement. According to some media outlets, the “Hamas” movement is “uneasy” about the “Peace Council’s” support and adoption of Israeli conditions, including not withdrawing from the agreement unless weapons are surrendered in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal, and is considering withdrawing from it. It would be preferable if this conspiracy did not proceed with their approval. https://www.raialyoum.com/a-council-of-violence-and-displacement-not-a-peace-council-in-gaza/ The post A council of violence and displacement, not a peace council in Gaza appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestine]

— Five Takeaways From The Pakistani-Somali Defense MOU

 

at 8/6/26 2:43am

Somalia is now a de facto protectorate of the “Islamic NATO”. Pakistan and Somalia finally signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation in early August one year after the latter’s Cabinet approved such an arrangement last August. According to the Somali Defense Ministry, “[it] provides a framework for cooperation in counter-terrorism, military training, the exchange of military expertise and knowledge, defence capability development, and enhanced security cooperation”. Here’s what else it signifies: - 1. Pakistan Is Enhancing Its National Prestige This latest defense pact follows last year’s mutual defense one with Saudi Arabia and recent speculation about expanding it to other Arab Kingdoms. Late last year, there were also rumors of Pakistan clinching a multibillion-dollar fighter jet deal with Eastern Libya, which preceded recent reports of Pakistan mediating a peace deal. It’s also reportedly seeking to sell arms to Sudan. The latest MOU with Somalia thus further enhances Pakistan’s national prestige by confirming its trans-regional military influence. 2. Somalia Is Now A Protectorate Of The “Islamic NATO” Pakistan is the last member of the “Islamic NATO” – the presently unofficial trans-regional military-security coordination platform between itself, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Egypt – to sign a defense pact with Somalia. This accordingly makes Somalia a de facto member of the aforesaid group, which solidifies the expansion of its influence over Africa following the solidification of these four’s influence over Libya and Sudan, but Somalia and the other two are junior partners therein and even arguably protectorates. 3. Pakistan Is Following In Turkiye’s Footsteps It was observed in early January that “Pakistan Is Playing Second Fiddle To Turkiye In Afro-Eurasian Security” due to the pattern of it clinching military-security deals with countries that Turkiye already has such agreements with. As a brief backgrounder, Turkiye is Pakistan’s senior partner to whom it’s historically looked for guidance despite their nuclear asymmetry, and Turkiye was the first country in recent history to turn Somalia into a de facto protectorate. Pakistan is simply following in its footsteps. 4. Islamabad Might Have Broader Ambitions Apart from enhancing its national prestige and following in Turkiye’s footsteps, Islamabad might intend to become a tangible stakeholder in the Bab el Mandeb through its new defense MOU with Mogadishu, which would align with both of their reported roles in the Saudi-led maritime coalition. This broader ambition would also represent the first tangible manifestation of the “Islamic NATO” since Egypt and Turkiye are reportedly part of this coalition too. They might all therefore obtain naval bases in Somalia. 5. Puntland & Somaliland Should Prepare For War For the last point to be most effectively implemented, the renegade Somali region of Puntland and de facto independent Somaliland would have to be brought to heel, but that likely won’t happen anytime soon even with Somalia now de facto becoming the “Islamic NATO’s” protectorate. It’ll take time to properly train its armed forces, and the group’s four leading members are too focused on peace in the Gulf as well as the conflicts in Libya and Sudan, but they’re definitely in its long-term sights. - In terms of the bigger picture, the top takeaway is that Somalia is now a de facto protectorate of the “Islamic NATO” after its last member just clinched a military-security deal with it. The main implication of this development is that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkiye are expected to synergize their respective efforts there with a view towards helping the federal government retake the two polities that it claims as its own but doesn’t presently control. Another major regional conflict is therefore brewing. https://korybko.substack.com/p/five-takeaways-from-the-pakistani The post Five Takeaways From The Pakistani-Somali Defense MOU appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Islamic NATO, Pakistan, Somalia]

— Trump Doubles Down: Iran Will Be “Hit Really Hard” If They Back Out

 

at 8/5/26 5:44pm

Trump Doubles Down: Iran Will Be Hit Really Hard If They Back Out The post Trump Doubles Down: Iran Will Be Hit Really Hard If They Back Out appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Iran, Trump, USA]

— BREAKING: OMAN AND IRAN ANNOUNCE DEAL

 

at 8/5/26 4:00pm

Mario Nawfal is the host of the largest show on X, with regular guests including Elon Musk, Hunter Biden, Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Bolsonaro, President Milei, President Lukashenko, FM Lavrov, Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Trump Allies including Vivek Ramaswamy and Roger Stone, various US senators, business leaders such as Marc Andreessen, Marc Cuban, Bill Ackman and David Sacks. The post BREAKING: OMAN AND IRAN ANNOUNCE DEAL appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Hormuz, Iran, Oman]

— Can Ghana Join Burkina Faso’s Revolution? | w/ Kwesi Pratt Jnr.

 

at 8/5/26 11:53am

As Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali nationalize billions in gold wealth and post record economic growth, neighboring Ghana hosts the US military. Kwesi Pratt Jnr., general secretary of the Socialist Movement of Ghana, joins Zoe Alexandra and Rania Khalek to break down why the Sahels patriotic revolution is a critical first step toward African liberation — and why real transformation demands something much more: “resetting the world” entirely at the UN, the IMF, World Bank, and WTO. While Burkina Fasos Ibrahim Traoré has inspired the Global South, and Ghanas John Mahama has brought global attention to reparations at the United Nations, Pratt argues that true revolutions are led by the working class, not politicians. And from the assassination of Patrice Lumumba to present-day terrorism targeting the Sahel states, Western intelligence agencies have a long history of destabilizing Africas liberation movements — a tradition Pratt says Ukraine now seems eager to join. Burkina Faso is nationalizing its gold, Ibrahim Traoré has become a symbol of a new West African sovereignty. But is the Sahel’s patriotic revolution enough? @kwesiprattjr on what real liberation still demands. The post Can Ghana Join Burkina Fasos Revolution? | w/ Kwesi Pratt Jnr. appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Sahel]

— ICE Terrorizing Haitians — & Deporting Them Back to a Crisis the US Created

 

at 8/5/26 8:37am

350,000 Haitians just lost TPS status — and the choice ICE is giving them is an ankle monitor or a one-way flight back to a country the US State Department warns isn’t safe to travel to. Kerbie Joseph with Caribbean Defense joins Zoe Alexandra and Rania Khalek BT to break down whats really happening on the ground in Springfield, Ohio – the same community Trump and JD Vance smeared with lies about eating pets in 2024 – where residents are coming home from what they thought were routine ICE check-ins shackled with GPS ankle monitors: “We’re talking about incarceration.” Kerbie unpacks how Haiti isnt unsafe because of some inherent chaos — its because of over a century of US and French intervention, from occupation to crushing debt to the destabilizing security missions of today. Meanwhile ICE just posted its biggest arrest month ever, and the profits are rolling in. Joseph lays out what Haitians are doing to fight back, and why this is a US worker struggle: Haitian TPS holders are co-workers, nurses, caregivers — and their fight for dignity and permanent status affects all of us. ICEs choice for 350,000 Haitians: strap on an ankle monitor and ask permission to leave your zip code — or take $2,600 and a flight back to a country the US State Dept itself calls unsafe. This is happening right now in Ohio. The post ICE Terrorizing Haitians Deporting Them Back to a Crisis the US Created appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, SOCIAL/CULTURAL, Haiti, ICE, USA]

— Another Strange Week in Trumpland

 

at 8/5/26 8:33am

When will it end? Some weeks it is difficult to pick out the most shocking stories symptomatic of decline and fall of American governmental integrity both in Washington and often at state levels. The White House and Congress frequently lead in that reckoning given the complete abandonment of any United States government’s effort to make its policies and legislation responsive to actual national interests. Wars are being fought without any reason to do so and domestic policies are derived from “feelings” that President Donald Trump has when he gets up on the morning. The result is chaos when the policies are actually developed and implemented. Last week we long suffering Americans were forced to witness pure Trumpean flip-flops on major pronouncements relating to foreign policy. First came the pronouncements that Iran had more-or-less reached out to Trump and sought a return to negotiations for a ceasefire and peace agreement. The claim was immediately denied by Tehran and nearly all observers agreed that the Iranians would have to be crazy to trust Washington and its “word” over any issue given Trump’s history of subsequently disregarding documents signed and agreements reached. Trump then responded to the Iranian denial by threating to unleash hellfire in his usual fashion, replete with obscenities and threats of obliteration for the Persian people in a holocaust more devastating than World War 2. Some observers have noted that Trump’s threats of annihilation are clearly unachievable in practical terms given the rundown of US munitions stocks and the difficulty in manufacturing replacements due to Chinese refusal to sell exotic metals to the Americans and the loss of Saudi and Emirate refineries that produced high grade aluminum for fuselages of warplanes. So if Trump really seeks to act out his schoolboy fantasies of death and destruction he will have to go nuclear. It is ironic that he has based the war against Iran on his oft repeated stated intention to prevent Iranian development of a nuclear weapon, a program which US intelligence has insisted does not exist. Only the US both possesses and has used nukes to kill civilians and that was in 1945. Given all the mixed signals coming out of Washington, it is perhaps unnecessary to point out that a war that was pointless and unnecessary in the first place is still sputtering along with Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushing for its expansion from the sidelines using lies crafted to convince a clueless Trump. “Far better at this point,” says Netanyahu, “to see American soldiers die to destroy Iran rather than waste any of our wonderful Jewish boys, each of whom is worth 1,000 goyim.” Actually, we Americans are lucky to be only 1/1,000th times in terms of Jewish relative value. One Israeli Lawyer calculates that each Jewish life is worth 10 million Palestinians! That Trump is deep into a war that is destroying his presidency and only benefiting Israel is the ultimate tragedy for the American public and also vis-à-vis the other nations in the world that once looked up to the United States for its commitment to democracy and rule of law. Israel is now rightly the most hated nation in the world, but the US is number two! And the rot regarding who is doing what to whom runs particularly deep if one regards the confusion in the US military role that the Trump Administration has clearly encouraged. One story that appeared in the Washington Post last week was particularly painful, describing the concerns of the US General Alexus Grynkewich, who is head of the US European Command. He described in a memo his concerns over his insufficient stock of defensive-capable Naval destroyers. The article elaborated how Grynkewich “…sent written notification to senior Pentagon officials saying that without another Navy destroyer he will be forced to choose defense of the United States ‘homeland’ over that of Israel,…” My reading of this is that the general is personally perplexed over whether his orders emanating from the White House would prioritize his defending the United States rather than Israel. That he is apparently unable to clearly understand that defending his own country is and must always be his top priority is both incomprehensible and a clear sign how the unconscionable love of the Jewish state by the Joe Biden and Donald Trump regimes has destroyed any sense of the actual raison d’etre for having any military at all! Indeed, Donald Trump and his friends in power are quick to play soldiers whenever it suits them. I love watching Trump the draft dodger standing to attention and saluting without taking his funky red hat off, a military posture he once upon a time chose to avoid in Vietnam by way of fraudulent medical claims of bone spurs when his draft board called him up for service after he graduated from college in 1968. To add to the irony, Trump has a number of times stated that he should be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH) for his largely fictional “peacemaking role,” a medal that in actuality is the highest award for soldiers who demonstrated valor in combat, which does not include Donald Trump. But even given that bit of regular play acting, Trump’s AI posting on his Truth Social last week exceeds all decency in the eyes of those of us, including myself, who went into the army after college instead of Trump, who had the both the money and lack of patriotism to pay a doctor for his fake medical report. In the posting, Trump portrayed himself in full dress uniform flanked by World War 2 Generals Douglas MacArthur and George S Patton. He is standing in front of the two men and has four general stars on his shoulders plus a chest full of medal ribbons, a higher rank and more awards that either MacArthur or Patton in the AI photoshop. One medal on Trump appears to be a CMH. It is an insult to the memories of those two brave men depicted and to describe the imposture as both disgraceful and obscene would not be going too far! One more tale out of last week demonstrates the president’s continuing willingness to enrich his family and supporters out of behavior that is generally conceded to be illegal “insider trading.” It has frequently been observed how the president has a tendency to make pronouncements of a political or economic nature on Mondays and Fridays, i.e. to impact on the opening and closing of Wall Street and other investment markets. Investors armed with that advanced information can and have benefited financially greatly by playing the predictable surges caused by White House actions. Those with prior knowledge of what is going to happen benefit particularly, to include Trump personally and his family. In the latest version of that reality, Trump is selling through his family company Trump Media & Technology Group early access to premium data product released on its new subscription service to his Truth Social posts, where the pronouncements will appear. The cost is $100,000 per month to investors, who will then be able to benefit substantially from the shifts in the stock market. So far five investor firms have signed up and its is already expected that Trump personally will benefit directly from his ownership share of Truth Social distribution to the tune of 41% of the $6 million of existing committed revenue. Critics have observed that Trump “must have invented a new theory of ‘insider trading’ based on publicly available information.” In conclusion and ironically, Trump sometimes boasts how he accepts no government salary as president but in 2025 he declared “more than $2 billion in personal income last year—nearly quadruple his 2024 total—with the bulk flowing from ventures that sit directly at the intersection of his office and his balance sheet. He earned roughly $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency alone, including $635 million in royalties from his $TRUMP meme coin and more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture run by his sons.” Want to corruptly earn a couple of billion dollars while killing a whole bunch of people in fighting wars and supporting genocides that didn’t need to happen? Ask US President Donald Trump how it is done! https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/another-strange-week-in-trumpland/ The post Another Strange Week in Trumpland appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Trump, USA]

— There Is Beauty Everywhere. Even In Dystopia. Even In Armageddon.

 

at 8/4/26 8:14pm

One point I will always adamantly insist on is that it’s entirely possible to live a joyful and exuberant life in the midst of this abusive dystopia. There’s a pervasive, unexamined notion throughout revolutionary politics that there’s some kind of nobility in being miserable. If it isn’t seen as noble, it’s at least seen as rational, because everything is so unjust and unhealthy. There’s a widespread assumption that your level of political awareness should have an inverse correlation to your level of personal happiness, because of all the tyranny, injustice, poverty, genocide and ecocide. That it would be selfish to be happy in a world so deeply troubled. But that’s rubbish. Nobody is helped by your misery. By depriving yourself of joy, you are only depriving the world of that much joy. Being more joyful makes you more energized, more helpful, and more useful to the cause, and it brings joy to everyone around you. Being joyful is a skill, and like any other skill it takes practice. But it’s something we all have access to if we want it. Being joyful doesn’t entail hiding from the misery of the world or compartmentalizing away from the reality of what’s happening; quite the opposite, in fact. It entails opening yourself all the way up to what’s happening in each moment and feeling it all with the heart of a poet. It means becoming more sensitive, not less, because a stripped-open sensitivity is where ubiquitous beauty is found. We always have access to joy because we always have access to beauty. Beauty is everywhere. Even in dystopia. Even in this slow-motion armageddon we now find ourselves in. Even in the exhaust fumes and the flashing screens. Even in the polluted oceans and falling bombs. Everywhere you look, everywhere you feel, everywhere you listen, an overpowering beauty shines forth. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that’s false. Beauty is in everything. The failure to see beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is just another word for the experience of having truly seen something. If the eye is failing to see the beauty in a given moment, the fault lies with the perceiver, not with the perceived. You know that feeling when you’re showing someone your favorite movie for the first time, and it’s at your favorite part, and you look over at them to see their response, and they’re missing the whole thing because they’re looking at their phone? Most people live their whole lives that way. Missing all the best parts while fixating on empty nonsense. Keeping their attention wrapped up in their mental monologues of judgement and worry. In their endless search to distract themselves from the present moment. In their doomscrolling and other addictive behaviors. They’re missing moment after moment of radiant, electrifying beauty, and they’re trading it all for so very, very little. They’re going to look back on their lives from their deathbeds and realize that they weren’t really there for it. That they missed all the best parts while chasing their goals, running away from their aversions, and trying to distract themselves from the tedium of it all. The best parts that get missed are the parts our minds tend to dismiss as boring and unworthy of our attention. The daily commute. The wait in the elevator. The kitchen cleanup. The hanging of laundry. The sights outside the window. The sounds inside the room. The feeling of the floor under the feet and the air in the lungs. Every single moment of this is packed full of staggering beauty. I insist that this is true. Insist on it. If we were fighting holy wars over this principle, I would happily die on the front lines defending it. There are very few things in life that I hold a rock-solid uncompromising view on, but the fact that there is beauty in everything is one of them. Anyone who disagrees is simply wrong, and I will tell them so with great vehemence in my voice. Don’t waste your precious time here missing the beauty of each moment. This is more important now than ever, because we don’t know how long humanity’s adventure on this miraculous blue world will last. Tomorrow has never been guaranteed to any of us, but these days it’s not even guaranteed to our species. We are all going to die. Maybe we will die one by one, or maybe we will all die together in one frightening moment. In either case, we owe it to ourselves and to our world to try our very best to deeply appreciate every moment of every day of the time that we have left. Just keep bringing your attention back to what’s here and now, and keep looking for the beauty in it. I swear to you it’s there. It’s there in the feelings in the body. It’s there in the sights, sounds and smells of everyday living, no matter what else is happening in your life or in our world. Keep looking for it, and you’ll get better and better at seeing it. That’s how life becomes more joyful. Not by chasing the highs or running from the lows, but from learning to relish the beauty that’s inherent in terrestrial sensory experience every single moment of your life, no matter what else happens to be occurring. Learn to do this, and you can live the rest of your life knowing that even if it all comes crashing down one day, at least you’ll know you tried your very best to make sure you didn’t miss the miraculousness of your time here. Reading by Tim Foley: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/there-is-beauty-everywhere-even-in The post There Is Beauty Everywhere. Even In Dystopia. Even In Armageddon. appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: SOCIAL/CULTURAL, dystopia]

— Las tensiones se avivan hasta convertirse en llamas que se extienden por todo Oriente Medio

 

at 8/4/26 2:11pm

Trump simplemente no dispone de soluciones militares. Lo mejor que puede hacer es evitar que los conflictos se aglutinen en una sola guerra mundial. El silencio que rodea el resultado de la reunión de ayer de Netanyahu en el Despacho Oval habla por sí solo. Ningún funcionario del Gobierno estadounidense acudió al aeropuerto a recibirlo, ni se le extendió la alfombra roja. La visita fue un fracaso. Israel está a la deriva, con su estrategia del «Gran Israel» ahora en declive, por falta tanto de tropas como de coherencia. El exdefensor del pueblo de las Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel (FDI), el general de división Yitzak Brik, predice (Ma’ariv, 26 de julio) que la crisis que afecta al arsenal de interceptación israelí «no es más que el preludio de la catástrofe que se cierne sobre nosotros» — En las próximas guerras con Irán, la amenaza se multiplicará por diez hasta el punto de que se pierda por completo la capacidad de interceptar misiles balísticos iraníes. Se espera que estos misiles nos alcancen —en núcleos de población, objetivos estratégicos, infraestructuras productivas y económicas, institutos de ciencia y tecnología, centros educativos, hospitales e industrias vitales— y nos aplasten por completo. Trump —por fin, al parecer— comprende que la guerra que inició para aplastar a Irán se ha vuelto en su contra, para destruirlo a él. En la práctica, no existe ninguna solución militar más allá de dejar de cavar aún más profundo el agujero en el que se encuentra. Mientras tanto, Irán no le permite continuar con su ciclo táctico de iniciar una guerra cinética (aparentemente para presionar a Irán) y luego (los lunes siguientes) pasar a hablar de «acuerdos inminentes» con el fin de manipular los mercados petroleros y las cotizaciones bursátiles. El lunes pasado, una «venta masiva a corto plazo» en el mercado hizo caer el precio del Brent nada menos que un 7,7 %. Irán, además, pretende marcar el ritmo del conflicto, que (de todos modos) está abocado a intensificarse debido a los esfuerzos de EE. UU. por ampliar las presiones de cerco, de modo que, aparentemente, EE. UU. pueda coaccionar a Irán para que acepte una «paz» impuesta. Pero, en lugar de aumentar la presión sobre Irán, la estrategia de Trump está incendiando la región, al tiempo que invita al riesgo de una escalada incontrolada. Los últimos acontecimientos —entre ellos la declaración de Yemen de «asedio por asedio» contra los puertos aéreos y marítimos saudíes, y los ataques contra dos importantes refinerías de Aramco que han dejado fuera de servicio el oleoducto saudí hacia el Mar Rojo — han arrastrado a Arabia Saudí a un conflicto tanto con Yemen como (junto con el CENTCOM) con las milicias de la Unidad de Movilización Popular (PMU) en Irak, a las que Arabia Saudí acusa de ser las responsables de la destrucción de las refinerías (aunque Hash’d al-Shaabi lo niega rotundamente). No obstante, estos dos episodios ponen de relieve hasta qué punto la «guerra de Trump» está desestabilizando una región ya de por sí frágil. Ayer, Arabia Saudí, junto con EE. UU., llevó a cabo importantes ataques aéreos contra al menos seis ciudades iraquíes, en los que murieron al menos 20 personas y resultaron heridas decenas de miembros de las PMU. ¿Por qué atacaría Arabia Saudí a las Hash’d y no a Yemen? Probablemente porque AnsarAllah respondería con misiles, destruyendo lo que queda de la infraestructura petrolera saudí. Al enterarse de los ataques estadounidenses contra posiciones de las Hash’d, y siguiendo el principio de que «un ataque de EE. UU. contra un miembro del Eje es un ataque contra todos», Irán respondió lanzando misiles balísticos contra bases estadounidenses en Jordania. Así pues, se han añadido dos nuevos frentes —el frente iraquí de las Hash’d al-Shaabi y el frente entre Yemen y Arabia Saudí— al caldero regional. Sin embargo, hay otros posibles focos de tensión que hierven a fuego lento en segundo plano: en el Líbano, el ministro de Defensa israelí se jacta de que — veinticuatro pueblos libaneses, con cientos de años de antigüedad, fueron destruidos. Todos los edificios, no casa por casa, sino pueblos enteros [fueron arrasados]. Su destrucción ha sido total. Hay que entenderlo: se han destruido entre 15 000 y 20 000 viviendas en los 24 pueblos, y hoy el 70 % de Gaza ha sido destruido. Más significativo aún es que el ministro de Seguridad Nacional israelí, Ben Gvir, ha prometido desencadenar una guerra de los colonos contra los palestinos que viven en Cisjordania con el fin de forzar un éxodo «voluntario» de los palestinos. Ben Gvir sostiene que el período previo a las elecciones en Israel representa el momento más propicio para desencadenar la crisis —que, en su opinión, podría forzar la evacuación de pueblos palestinos enteros—. Por si este caos no fuera suficiente, el 25 de julio, misiles estadounidenses alcanzaron un cuartel general de la Armada de la Guardia Revolucionaria en la zona de Ziba Kenar, en el mar Caspio, en la provincia de Gilan. El comentarista MK Bhadrakumar señala que — El mar Caspio constituye una ruta de suministro estratégicamente vital entre Rusia e Irán. Bandar Anzali es para Teherán lo que el puerto de Odesa es para Kiev, donde recibe suministros de armas occidentales. Por lo tanto, el ataque de Ucrania contra un buque comercial iraní en el mar Caspio, en aguas territoriales rusas, el sábado —el primero de este tipo desde el inicio de la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania— dista mucho de ser un incidente aislado… Kiev reivindicó la autoría del ataque contra el buque iraní, lo que indica que una de las zonas de seguridad más estables de Eurasia es ahora vulnerable a las repercusiones directas del conflicto ucraniano. Tanto el New York Times como el Wall Street Journal informan de que el ataque ucraniano presagia una fusión de las dos guerras: la guerra de Ucrania contra Rusia y la guerra de Israel y EE. UU. contra Irán. Esto sugiere que el ataque ucraniano contra el buque iraní bien podría ser una maniobra calculada por Washington, en la que Ucrania actúa en coordinación con el bombardeo estadounidense de la provincia iraní de Gilan. El portavoz del Kremlin, Dmitri Peskov, afirmó esta semana que el supuesto ataque de Ucrania contra un buque iraní en el mar Caspio debería considerarse un ataque contra el propio Irán, argumentando que el incidente ponía de relieve la necesidad de eliminar lo que describió como una amenaza que representa Kiev. Acusó a Ucrania de ampliar el alcance de lo que denominó sus «ataques terroristas». Entonces, ¿qué está pasando? No está claro si el ataque ucraniano contra el buque iraní (en el que murió un marinero iraní), del que Kiev alega falsamente que transportaba un cargamento de armas, fue simplemente un grito infantil de Zelensky para llamar la atención y despertar el interés de Trump («papá»), o algo más trascendental. Zelensky se ha quejado en varias ocasiones de que la guerra con Irán estaba restando protagonismo a la atención que Occidente prestaba a «su» guerra con Rusia. ¿Fue esto un intento de reorientar a Trump hacia la guerra de Ucrania? Todas estas corrientes convergieron en Washington con el velatorio de Lindsay Graham, y en un momento en el que Laura Loomer —una influyente del movimiento MAGA en declive, pero que le cae bien a Trump y a quien él escucha de buen grado— ha dado un giro de 180° muy público, emergiendo de repente como la mayor admiradora y promotora de Ucrania (quizá en sustitución del difunto Lindsay Graham). En Internet abundan las especulaciones de que su tan publicitada «conversión a lo Pablo» podría marcar un punto de inflexión político significativo en EE. UU. No obstante, también podría tratarse de un momento efímero que se desvanecerá rápidamente. Loomer no tiene ninguna influencia entre los jóvenes del movimiento MAGA, pero sigue contando con el apoyo de la base de Trump de más de 65 años que ve Fox News. Sin embargo, se argumenta actualmente que el cambio radical de Loomer en sus simpatías marca el comienzo de una importante operación psicológica diseñada para convencer a los estadounidenses de que la «Estados Unidos intervencionista» puede ser compatible con el «America First» —y, por lo tanto, de que está bien apoyar la confrontación militar con Rusia. El «meme de Loomer», por así decirlo, se presenta como una reprimenda a los seguidores de Pat Buchanan dentro del movimiento MAGA, que se adhieren a su línea (y al título de su libro): Una república, no un imperio: Recuperar el destino de Estados Unidos. (Por supuesto, cualquier cambio en la opinión pública estadounidense que favorezca el intervencionismo militar estadounidense es bienvenido en Israel). ¿Podría este cambio hacer que Trump se mostrara más proactivo con respecto a Ucrania? No lo sabemos. Loomer ha prometido informar exhaustivamente a Trump sobre su viaje a Ucrania y su reunión con Zelenski. ¿Le prestará atención Trump? ¿Podría escucharla sin prestarle atención? ¿Quién sabe? La cuestión aquí es que la avalancha de mensajes de relaciones públicas para presentar a Ucrania como «ganadora» —aunque empíricamente falsa— está cobrando impulso entre al menos un sector de la opinión pública estadounidense. Michael Wolff, biógrafo y observador de Trump desde hace mucho tiempo, señala que — el giro de 180° de Loomer respecto a Ucrania “obviamente ya está en marcha [es decir, ganando terreno]. Zelenski está ahora en la ciudad… Tendrá un encuentro con Trump. Y Trump, sí: ¿cómo podría [él] pasar por alto el hecho de que la ventaja está claramente del lado de Ucrania en este momento”? En un sentido más amplio, el aspecto de la política exterior de esta Administración ha sido un desastre total… El asunto iraní es un desastre total. La alineación con Rusia, obviamente, una mala decisión… Zelensky, [antes] retratado como un perdedor, es ahora un ganador; todo lo demás se considera ahora como “malas decisiones” [por parte de Trump]. En este contexto, él [Trump] necesita urgentemente un éxito. Y Ucrania empieza a parecer que podría ser su [éxito], aprovechando el funeral de Lindsay Graham para dar un giro hacia una estrategia más acertada con Ucrania. La muerte puede acabar siendo un gran golpe de relaciones públicas. Bingo. Sí. Rusia está en apuros. Por supuesto, resulta impactante ver cómo se puede manipular a las élites occidentales mediante unas relaciones públicas implacables. Sin embargo, los comentarios de Wolff son más que trivialidades de la prensa del corazón. Reflejan una psicosis colectiva que se está afianzando. No es algo racional, sino que está impulsado por intereses y camarillas adineradas que persiguen sus propios fines. Fíjate en el patrón: Zelensky quiere presentarse como un «ganador» ante Europa y ante Trump. Europa le insta a lanzar sus misiles en lo más profundo de Rusia para obligar a este país a aceptar un alto el fuego. Trump, en la cumbre del G7, expresa su aprobación por los ataques contra Rusia. El primer diente de la rueda dentada se engrana con los ataques con drones contra refinerías rusas. Con las palabras positivas de Trump en el G7, la rueda dentada avanza aún más y ahora ha escalado hasta el nivel de ataques contra la población civil rusa (el centro de consumo en línea Wildberries y los asesinatos en campamentos de vacaciones) con misiles de mayor alcance y ojivas más potentes. Ucrania, de forma sincronizada, dispara contra un buque iraní en el Caspio. El Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (IRGC) amenaza con represalias. El IRGC amenaza al Reino Unido (y a Chipre) por su implicación cada vez mayor en la guerra contra Irán. Europa considera que Rusia está faroleando y sigue intensificando los ataques con misiles en el interior de Rusia. Rusia, sin embargo, no puede permitir que estos ataques continúen y se intensifiquen. Mientras tanto, Oriente Medio se está incendiando silenciosamente. Irán no sucumbirá a la coacción de Trump; (ni China cederá a la presión de las sanciones estadounidenses). Trump simplemente no dispone de soluciones militares. Lo mejor que puede hacer es evitar que los conflictos se aglutinen en una sola guerra mundial. Las tensiones se avivan hasta convertirse en llamas que se extienden por todo Oriente Medio The post Las tensiones se avivan hasta convertirse en llamas que se extienden por todo Oriente Medio appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, +Spanish, Iran, Middle East, USA, war, World Order, Yemen]

— Tensions flicker into flame, lapping across the Middle East

 

at 8/4/26 1:56pm

The best Trump can do is to stop the conflicts agglutinating into one global war. The silence surrounding the outcome to the Netanyahu meeting last week in the Oval Office speaks for itself. No American government official came to the airport to receive him, and no red carpet was laid out for him. The visit bombed. Israel is adrift – with its ‘Greater Israel’ strategy now bleeding, for lack both of troops and of coherence. Former IDF Ombudsman Maj. Gen. Yitzak Brik predicts (Ma’ariv, 26 July), that the crisis engulfing the Israeli intercept inventory “is only the prelude to the catastrophe that is looming over us” – “In the coming wars with Iran, the threat will increase tenfold to the point of a complete loss of the ability to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles. These missiles are expected to hit us: in population centers, strategic targets, production and economic infrastructure, science and technology institutes, educational institutions, hospitals and vital industries, and completely crush us”. Trump – finally, it seems – understands that the war which he started in order to crush Iran has flipped – to destroying him. There is effectively no military solution available beyond stopping digging the hole that he is in still deeper. Meanwhile, Iran is not allowing him to continue his tactical cycle of initiating kinetic war (ostensibly to pressure Iran), and then (on succeeding Mondays) to switch to talk of ‘imminent deals’ in order to manipulate oil markets and stock prices. Last Monday, a ‘short dump’ into the market knocked the price of Brent down a full 7.7%. Iran, furthermore, intends to shape the tempo of the conflict, which (anyway) is set to escalate because of U.S. efforts to extend encircling pressures such that the U.S. ostensibly can coerce Iran into accepting a dictated ‘peace’. But instead of adding pressure on Iran, Trump’s strategy is setting the region aflame, whilst inviting risk of uncontrolled escalation. The latest developments – including Yemen’s declaration of ‘siege for siege’ on Saudi air and sea ports, and the strikes on two major Aramco refineries knocking out the Saudi oil pipeline to the Red Sea – have drawn Saudi Arabia into conflict both with Yemen, but also into conflict (jointly with CENTCOM) with Popular Mobilisation Unit (PMU) militias in Iraq whom Saudi avers were responsible for the refinery destruction (although Hash’d al-Shaabi strongly denies it). These two episodes nonetheless underline the extent to which the ‘Trump war’ is de-stabilising an already fragile region. Yesterday Saudi Arabia, together with the U.S., carried out major airstrikes on at least six Iraqi cities, killing at least 20 and wounding dozens of PMU members. Why would Saudi Arabia attack the Hash’d and not Yemen? Well, likely because AnsarAllah would retaliate with missiles, destroying what remains of the Saudi oil infrastructure. On learning of the American attacks on Hash’d positions, and in the spirit of an U.S. attack on ‘one member of the Axis being an attack on all’, Iran followed on by launching ballistic missiles on American bases in Jordan. Two new fronts – the Hash’d al-Shaabi-Iraqi front and the Yemen-Saudi front – therefore have been added to the regional hotplate. Yet, there are other potential hotspots simmering in the background: In Lebanon, the Israeli Defence Minister boasts that – “twenty-four Lebanese villages, hundreds of years old–were destroyed. All buildings, not house by house, but entire villages [were levelled]. Their destruction has been completed. You need to understand: 15,000 to 20,000 homes across all 24 villages have been destroyed – and today 70% of Gaza has been destroyed”. More significantly, Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir has promised to ignite a settler war on Palestinians living in the West Bank in order to force a ‘voluntary’ exodus of Palestinians. Ben Gvir argues that the period ahead of elections in Israel represents the most propitious moment to trigger the crisis – which in his view might force the evacuation of entire Palestinian villages. As if this chaos is not enough, on 25 July, U.S. missiles struck a Revolutionary Guards Navy headquarters in the Ziba Kenar area of the Caspian Sea in the Province of Gilan. Commentator MK Bhadrakumar outlines that – “The Caspian Sea makes a strategically vital supply route between Russia and Iran. Bandar Anzali is for Tehran what Odessa Port is for Kyiv where it receives western arms supplies. Therefore, Ukraine’s attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea in Russia’s territorial waters on Saturday, the first such attack since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, is anything but a stray incident … Kyiv claimed responsibility for striking an Iranian vessel, signalling that one of Eurasia’s most stable security zones is now vulnerable to the direct spillover of the Ukraine conflict”. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal report that the Ukrainian strike portends a merging of the two wars– the Ukrainian war with Russia and the Israeli-U.S. war on Iran. This suggests that the Ukrainian attack on the Iranian ship could well be a calibrated move by Washington, with Ukraine acting in conjunction with the U.S. bombing of Iran’s Gilan province. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week that Ukraine’s reported strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be viewed as an attack against Iran itself, arguing that the incident highlighted the need to remove what it described as a threat posed by Kyiv. He accused Ukraine of expanding the reach of what he called its “terrorist attacks.” So, what is going on? It is not clear whether the Ukrainian strike on the Iranian vessel (that killed an Iranian sailor) which Kiev falsely alleges held a cargo of weapons was simply a childish cry by Zelensky for attention to arouse Trump (‘Daddy’s’) interest – or something more consequential. Zelensky, on several occasions, has complained that the Iran war was sucking the air out from the West’s focus on ‘his’ war with Russia. Was this an attempt to realign Trump towards the Ukrainian war? All these currents converged in Washington with Lindsay Graham’s lying-in-state, and at a moment when Laura Loomer– a fading MAGA influencer, yet one whom Trump likes, and to whom he readily listens – has performed a very public 180° pirouette, suddenly emerging as Ukraine’s greatest fan and promoter (perhaps in the stead of the late Lindsay Graham). The internet is rife with speculation that her highly promoted ‘Pauline conversion’ may mark a significant U.S. political inflection point. It may, equally, nevertheless be an ephemeral moment which will quickly fade away. Loomer has zero influence amongst young MAGA, but still counts amongst the 65+ year-old Trump base that watches Fox News. It is being presently argued however, that Loomer’s radical change in sympathies marks the beginning of a substantivepsyop designed to impress Americans that ‘interventionist America’ can be consistent with ‘America First’ – and therefore that it is ok to support military confrontation with Russia. The Loomer meme, as it were, is framed as a rebuke to Pat Buchanon’s MAGA following, who adhere his line (and the title of his book): A Republic – Not an Empire: Reclaiming America’s Destiny. (Of course, any shift in U.S. public opinion favouring American military interventionism is welcomed in Israel). Might this shift cause Trump to become more proactive on Ukraine? We do not know. Loomer has promised a full briefing for Trump on her trip to Ukraine and her meeting with Zelensky. Will Trump listen? Might he listen yet pay no attention? Who knows? The point here is that the PR vibe onslaught to recast Ukraine as ‘winning’ – although empirically false – is gaining momentum among at least one slice of American opinion. Long-time Trump watcher and biographer, Michael Wolff,notes that – “the Loomer 180° on Ukraine is “obviously already going on [i.e. getting traction]. Zelensky is now in town … He will get time with Trump. And Trump, yeah: How could [he] miss the fact that the advantage is profoundly with Ukraine at this moment”. “In the broader sense, the foreign policy aspect of this Administration has been a complete disaster … The Iranian thing is a complete disaster. The alignment with Russia obviously a bad call … Zelensky [formerly] then portrayed as a loser is now a winner – everything else is now seen as ‘bad calls’ [by Trump]. Within this context, he [Trump] badly needs a success. And Ukraine is beginning to look like it could be his [success] – through piggybacking on Lindsay Graham’s funeral to shift towards a more successful strategy with Ukraine. Death can turn out to be a great PR coup. Bingo. Yes. Russia is in trouble”. Of course, it is shocking to see how western élites can be manipulated through relentless PR. Yet Wolff’s comments are more than gossip column triviality. They reflect a mass psychosis taking hold. It is not rational, but rather is pushed by interests and monied cabals that have their own purposes. Look at the pattern – Zelensky wants to present himself as a ‘winner’ to Europe and to Trump. Europe urges him to launch their missiles deep into Russia to force Russia to concede a ceasefire. Trump at the G7 expresses approval for the strikes into Russia. The first tooth on the gear wheel engages with drone strikes on Russian refineries. With Trump’s positive words at the G7, the cogwheel ratchets further and now has escalated to the level of attacks on Russian civil life (Wildberriesconsumer internet hub and killings at holiday camps) with longer range and bigger warhead missiles. Ukraine sychronistically fires on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian. The IRGC threatens retaliation. The IRGC threatens the UK (and Cyprus) for its incrementally growing involvement in the war on Iran. Europe treats Russia as bluffing and continues ratchetting missile strikes deep into Russia. Russia however cannot allow these assaults to continue and to escalate. Meanwhile, the Middle East quietly is catching fire. Iran will not succumb to Trump’s coercion; (nor will China acquiesce to U.S. sanction pressure). There are simply no military solutions available to Trump. The best he can do is to stop the conflicts agglutinating into one global war. Tensions flicker into flame, lapping across the Middle East The post Tensions flicker into flame, lapping across the Middle East appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Iran, Middle East, USA, World Order, Yemen]

— Whose interests is the Board of Peace serving?

 

at 8/4/26 1:21pm

The Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov once again altered his rhetoric after Hamas announced its agreement to disarm, which raised the ire of Israeli officials. US President Donald Trump announced a deal had been reached in which Hamas would disarm while Israel would gradually withdraw its forces. Of course, Israel never had any intention to withdraw from Gaza. There was always a reason why the genocide was carried out in the first place and why, gradually, Israel cut off all vital resources for Palestinians, notably humanitarian aid through UNRWA. Without aid, forcibly displaced, and with barriers impeding the Palestinians return to their dwellings in Gaza, Israel entrenched itself in full view of the world, constructing barriers, engulfing more land through the Yellow and Orange Lines, and more recently constructing an earthen barrier for alleged security purposes. Following a Board of Peace meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a new statement was issued which contradicted Mladenov’s earlier post on X on July 31in which he explicitly announced, “Withdrawal must move in lockstep with decommissioning.” This is no longer the case. Israeli media reported the Board of Peace stating, “Contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators. This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike.” Rather than inaccurate reports, it should be said that the Board of Peace stepped back to accommodate Netanyahu’s expansionist plans. Genocide in Gaza cannot be complete without colonisation, and the Board of Peace is cooperating spectacularly for Israel. The Board of Peace was supposed to provide an alternative to international impositions. However, international impositions only shifted from being dictated by the UN to being implemented very swiftly by the Board of Peace. This is also, after all, what the UN Security Council voted for when it approved Resolution 2803 in November 2025, endorsing the US 20-point plan for Gaza and accepting the Board of Peace as interim administration. As happened with previous Israeli aggressions against Gaza, and now in full force with the genocide that started in October 2023, all conditions are incumbent upon Palestinians. Disarmament is only one factor. Forced displacement is the most crucial aspect. Mladenov is now in agreement with Israel that there need be no withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza unless Hamas and its infrastructure are completely destroyed. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza are not only forcibly displaced as a result of losing their homes to Israel’s destruction, but also forced in what remains of Gaza’s territory that is not yet militarily occupied by the IDF. Disarmament, therefore, is just an excuse. The IDF withdrawal from Gaza is the real issue. Israel will not withdraw from the land it occupies – Israeli officials have repeatedly asserted remaining in Gaza as uncontested fact. Israeli settler colonists are mobilising to resettle in Gaza. Being part of the colonial process in Gaza, Mladenov and the Board of Peace could not be clearer about serving Israel’s interests. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260804-whose-interests-is-the-board-of-peace-serving/ The post Whose interests is the Board of Peace serving? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Gaza, IDF, Israel, Palestine]

— Iranian Strikes On Iraqi Kurds

 

at 8/4/26 9:09am

The heavy amount of missile/drone strikes Iran has concentrated on US-backed Kurd militias in Iraq, along with alleged Iranian special force ground ops suggests a ground component was/is being prepared by the US as part of its long-term strategy against Iran and Iran is trying to disrupt it. The real question is will it be enough. Contrary to many claims that Russia stood down in the last months of the US war on Syria, Russia likewise carried out intense strikes on staging areas for what would eventually be the final push toppling the Syrian government. Conversely, heavy Russian spoiling ops severely blunted Ukraines failed 2023 offensive. A lot will depend on how sustainable Iranian missile and drone strikes are, the ability of special forces to conduct forward defense against any potential incursion, and the state of defenses inside Iran itself. Without better knowledge of troop dispositions on both sides, predicted outcomes are difficult to make. https://t.me/brianlovethailand/5074 the US has cultivated Kurds along Irans western borders in Iraq, Baluch terrorists on its southeast borders with Pakistan, a US presence throughout the Persian Gulf, and of course has recently captured and is transforming Armenia/Azerbaijan into a springboard against both Russia and Iran. Keep an eye on all of these vectors for continued US pressure and possible incursions. This is the equivalent of the US Extending Russia strategy for Iran. https://t.me/brianlovethailand/5075 The post Iranian Strikes On Iraqi Kurds appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Iran, Kurdistan, USA]

— Did the Gulf leaders influence Trump to stop attacking Iran?

 

at 8/4/26 7:32am

How likely is it that certain Gulf airports will witness a reprise of the humiliating American retreat from Kabul? The big question currently on the lips of all those following the war in the Arabian Gulf region is what will happen, whether in war or peace, after President Donald Trump’s humiliating retreat from his plans to launch major strikes against Iran, which would have been “the largest attack since World War II.” The sole response came from Trump, who claimed that negotiations between a US delegation and its Iranian counterpart would begin today, Monday, on an accord that is quickly taking shape for the imminent opening of the Strait of Hormuz to international navigation. However, Ismail Baqaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied any plans for negotiations with the United States and confirmed that all members of the Iranian negotiating delegation are currently in Iran, with no plans to receive or send delegations to any party at this time. President Trump, who has not stopped chattering and making contradictory statements since the beginning of this war five months ago, is trying to find excuses to justify his retreats, and thus his field defeats, and his failure to achieve any of his goals from this aggressive war, the most prominent of which are Iran’s surrender, the overthrow of its regime, the stripping of its nuclear programs, and more than 460 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, and the aba The key justification for the American president’s recent retreat came during his conversation with the media that accompanied him on his jet as he returned from his palace in Florida, where he spent the weekend. He said, “He decided to refrain from issuing orders to American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran after persistent requests from allied leaders in the Arabian Gulf, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.” An Arabic proverb states, “He who wants to strike…” “Don’t throw stones if you live in a glass house,” and this is precisely what Trump has been doing for the previous five months, full of threats, the most prominent of which were to remove Iran from the map, erase it from existence, and open the gates of hell upon it. The latest attack was the largest since World War II. Trump imagined that by threatening aircraft carriers, destroyer fleets, and nuclear bombs, Iran would be terrified and forced to yield immediately. So far, the situation has been completely reversed. It is natural for Gulf leaders to rush to demand that the American president retract his “verbal” threats and halt any attacks against Iran, small or large, because the confirmed Iranian response to these strikes will not be limited to American bases as it has been recently, but will extend to strategic civilian infrastructure, such as power plants, especially since President Trump threatened to bomb their Iranian counterparts. We must picture how the Gulf countries would fare without water or electricity during the summer months, when temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius. The most dangerous aspect of the situation is that the Trump administration is reportedly considering lowering the number of troops stationed in two nations, Kuwait and Bahrain, thereby retreating or halting the rising financial and human costs that are being kept hidden. If reports are correct that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have threatened to close their airspace to American planes and missiles in the event of an unprecedented American attack, then this threat is legitimate, because these American bases have become a strategic burden and a source of existential danger, as they have failed to protect these countries from Iranian missiles and drones. In view of the growing losses and retreats, American forces are expected to withdraw from their bases, abandoning the “allied” Gulf countries, and there is abundant evidence to support this scenario. Didn’t America leave its allies in Saigon, Vietnam? Didn’t American forces shamefully flee from their allies in Afghanistan, who clung to the wheels of their planes at Kabul airport, leaving tens of thousands to face their awful fate in their country, which they abandoned and fought against, the Taliban? We do not rule out any possibilities in light of these rising “Trumpian” retreats, the disastrous repercussions, and the quick proliferation of mutinies among American military leaders against their political leadership. The commander of the US military in Europe informed his superiors that “his forces are ready to defend American soil, not Israeli.” Do America’s Arab friends recognise this truth, continue on the same path, and so defend, under the American banner, the occupation and carnage in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, and Iraq? Isn’t this war against Iran Israeli in its goal, preparation, and execution? https://www.raialyoum.com/did-the-gulf-leaders-influence-trump-to-stop-attacking-iran/ The post Did the Gulf leaders influence Trump to stop attacking Iran? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, GCC, Iran, Middle East, USA]

— Top Russian Expert Lukyanov Opined On The Political Consequences Of The Drone Revolution

 

at 8/4/26 2:25am

They influenced Western perceptions of the conflict in Ukraine’s favor, it’s now being perpetuated more by Germany than by the US, and it could thus perhaps last a lot longer than many expected. Top Russian expert Fyodor Lukyanov, who serves as the Valdai Club’s Research Director among his other prestigious roles in his country’s expert community, published a piece at RT about “Why Western Europe needs the Ukraine conflict to continue”. The subtitle reads that “Drone warfare has altered the balance in Ukraine, weakened the spirit of Anchorage, and given Europe a new political case for the conflict”. He then explained in his piece how all of this came to be. According to Lukyanov, the Western European leaders who traveled to DC to meet with Trump right after the Anchorage Summit partially succeeded in disabusing him of the belief that “[Ukraine’s] defeat was ultimately inevitable and the sooner Kiev accepted concessions, the less severe the damage would be.” Thus, “neither Trump nor his advisers were prepared to invest significant political capital” in complying with whatever he agreed to with Putin during their discussion, ergo why the “Spirit of Anchorage” failed. Lukyanov continued: “at this summer’s G7 and NATO summits, the US president displayed a noticeably more neutral, at times even supportive, attitude towards Kiev. In effect, he acknowledged that his earlier confidence in Ukraine’s inevitable defeat had been, at the very least, premature.” This preceded Ukraine’s US-assisted “war of attrition” against Russia, the presently central element of Trump’s new policy of “escalating to de-escalate”, which is characterized by drone strikes on strategic infrastructure. In Lukyanov’s words, “Ukraine’s growing ability to conduct long-range drone strikes is the product of three years of sustained financial and technological support from Western Europe, and despite Trump’s repeated claims that ‘Sleepy Joe’ squandered hundreds of billions of American dollars on Ukraine, it’s European governments, Germany above all, that are now carrying the greatest burden of supporting Kiev’s war effort.” The Western Europeans are now reframing their involvement in the conflict. As Lukyanov explained it, “Public rhetoric, particularly in Germany, increasingly suggests that a military confrontation with Russia around the turn of the next decade is a genuine possibility. The argument is straightforward: As long as Ukrainians are fighting, Western Europe has time to prepare and therefore the conflict should continue for as long as possible”. He then posited that the elite are exploiting this perception as a politically self-interested “unifying idea” but doesn’t discount that some truly believe it. Lukyanov’s article is important for three reasons. First, it acknowledges that the “war of attrition” has influenced Western perceptions of the conflict, thus further contextualizing why MAGA is now warming up to Kiev. Second, it suggests that Germany is more responsible for perpetuating the conflict than the US is, which could reshape Russia’s threat perception of it. And finally, it lends credence to former top Russian spy Andrey Bezrukov’s warning that the “new war” that Russia is fighting might last decades. The last point is the most important by far since Lukyanov is preconditioning readers to expect a protracted conflict by drawing attention to Western Europe’s drone-inspired efforts to indefinitely perpetuate it. Coupled with Putin’s recent confirmation that Russia will continue to “exercise caution” on the battlefield, thus dispelling hopes among some that he’ll “escalate to de-escalate” in his own right in order to speedily achieve victory, the conflict’s transformation into a “forever war” can’t be ruled out. https://korybko.substack.com/p/top-russian-expert-lukyanov-opined The post Top Russian Expert Lukyanov Opined On The Political Consequences Of The Drone Revolution appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, drone, Europe, Russia, Ukraine]

— Pakistani Military Patronage Of The Arab Kingdoms Would Advance American Interests

 

at 8/3/26 3:00am

“Major Non-NATO Ally” Pakistan would replace its American patron’s regional role in containing Iran while also serving as its proxy for controlling the “Islamic NATO” that’s emerging at the crossroads of Afro-Eurasia. Kuwait’s belated ratification of a three-year-old defense cooperation agreement with Pakistan in late July lent credence to Reuters’ report from earlier that month alleging that Kuwait also wants a Saudi-like mutual defense pact with Pakistan as do Bahrain and Jordan. The outlet cited a Pakistani security official with knowledge of the talks as clarifying that his country won’t consider dispatching troops there “at this stage”, but the wording of their statement suggests that it could indeed happen in the future. Some Alt-Media commentators have presented the scenario of Pakistani military patronage of the Arab Kingdoms as being against American interests because it would supposedly lay the basis for a collective security mechanism between them and Iran for sustainably ensuring regional stability. That’s wishful thinking since Pakistan is a “Major Non-NATO Ally” whose de facto military dictatorship that entered into power after April 2022’s post-modern coup against former Prime Minister Imran Khan is very pro-US. So close are they that Trump nowadays refers to Asim Munir, the man who really runs Pakistan, as “my favorite Field Marshal”. Their personal relationship is built upon Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s obsequiousness towards Trump. One example of their practical cooperation is the suspicion that Pakistan funnels terrorists and arms into Afghanistan in coordination with the US, which advances Islamabad’s goal of taming the Taliban and Washington’s of returning US troops to Bagram Airbase. Pakistan has also reportedly requested a multibillion-dollar bailout from the US in exchange for mediating talks with Iran and is thus dependent on remaining within its patron’s good graces to avoid bankruptcy (once again). The country’s traditional Sino-US balancing act still officially remains in place, but it’s currently tilted very heavily in the latter’s favor, which further raises the odds that any military patronage of the Arab Kingdoms would only be agreed to with the US’ approval and coordinated with it. This would advance American interests by replicating the “NATO 3.0” model of regional allies taking on more responsibilities and burdens in support of their shared interests. As regards the Gulf, nuclear-armed and highly experienced Pakistan’s military patronage of the Arab Kingdoms would deter Iranian attacks as all parties might believe (whether rightly or wrongly), with the Damocles’ sword of an all-out regional war making Iran think twice. The US could then focus on more muscularly containing China. The consequently greater role that Pakistan would then play in a de facto expanded “Islamic NATO” – the emerging regional military-security coordination platform between itself, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkiye – would further ensure that this bloc serves US interests at the crossroads of Afro-Eurasia. Seeing as how “The US Is Waging A Hybrid World War Against Russia, China, & Iran”, the “Islamic NATO” could contribute to “security guarantees” for Ukraine, meddle in Central Asia, and contain and undermine Iran. From those three’s perspective, it might be better for the US to continue overextending itself through military deployments in the Gulf that also place its troops in harm’s way than to fully withdraw and have Pakistan serve as its proxy there, thus eliminating the physical costs to the US if war breaks out again. In that event, the US would “Lead From Behind” by controlling the “Islamic NATO” through Pakistan, which would bathe in the false glory of superficially leading this pro-American transregional military bloc. https://korybko.substack.com/p/pakistani-military-patronage-of-the The post Pakistani Military Patronage Of The Arab Kingdoms Would Advance American Interests appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, GCC, Iran, Middle East, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, USA]

— Iraq United: The Cost of Foreign Strikes

 

at 7/31/26 7:22pm

Iraq United: The Cost of Foreign Strikes The post Iraq United: The Cost of Foreign Strikes appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, airstrike, Iraq, PMF, Saudi Arabia, USA]

As of 8/9/26 11:54am. Last new 8/9/26 7:23am.