US-Backed Ukrainian Publication Releases New ‘Enemies List’

by Daniel McAdams Posted onJune 10, 2024

The US government-affiliated Ukrainian web publication “Data Journalism Agency” (TEXTY) has just released a report attacking hundreds of prominent American individuals and organizations as enemies for not supporting sending more US money and weapons to Ukraine.

The report, titled “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists. The forces in the U.S. impeding aid to Ukraine and how they do it,” intends to smear American politicians, journalists, and social media influencers as tools of Russia, writing:

Most of the people in our study do not have direct, proven ties to the Russian government or propagandists. However, the arguments they use to urge authorities to distance themselves from Ukraine echo key messages of Russian propaganda aimed at depriving Ukrainians of the ability to defend themselves with Western weapons and funds. (emphasis added)

Although the “enemies list” purports to correct disinformation about Ukraine spread by those on its list, the report itself is full of crude disinformation. For example this bit:

Even long-debunked myths continue to surface, such as claims of Nazi dominance and American Biolabs in Ukraine and the portrayal of the 2014 Revolution of Dignity as a coup.

The organization’s assertion that these claims are “long-debunked” may be wishful thinking, but back on planet reality even mainstream, pro-Ukraine media sites in the US wring their hands over the disturbing, extremist images coming out of the country. For example, NBC News wrote that, “Ukraine’s Nazi problem is real, even if Putin’s ‘denazification’ claim isn’t.” Newsweek wondered, “Why Have So Many Neo-Nazis Rallied to Ukraine’s Cause?” Even before the current conflict, mainstream pro-Ukraine publications such as Reuters worried in 2918 about “Ukraine’s neo-Nazi problem.”

As to the biolabs, none other than Mother of the Maidan Victoria Nuland admitted in a US Senate hearing that there were biolabs in Ukraine. Ah, but one may counter that these were not “American biolabs.” In fact with the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop now absolutely confirmed during his trial, a report by the New York Post two years ago based on the laptop also must be considered accurate. According to the article, “Russia’s assertion that President Biden’s son Hunter was ‘financing… biological laboratories in Ukraine’ was based in truth, according to e-mails reviewed by The Post.”

And on whether the Maidan events of 2014 were a “Revolution of Dignity” or a coup, we again only need turn to Victoria Nuland’s infamous phone call with US Ambassador to Kiev, Geoffrey Pyatt, for all the evidence needed that the US was micromanaging the removal of an elected leader and replacing him with hand-picked US puppets.

The report also includes such prominent American politicians and journalists as Sen. JD Vance, Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Matt Gaetz, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Jim Jordan, and Col. Douglas Macgregor.

Even our friends at Antiwar.com… and your own correspondent (!) find ourselves appearing on the Ukrainian “enemies list”:

As the report states:

There are 391 individuals and 76 organizations in our list. These include politicians, political movements and groups, media and journalists, experts, and think tanks (some individuals appear in multiple categories).

Perhaps what is most shocking about this attack on American citizens is the fact that the Data Journalism Agency (TEXTY) has a long affiliation with the US Government itself! In fact, the founder of the publication Anatoly Bondarenko appears prominently on a US Government website as a participant in the US State Department’s “TechCamp” project.

The Data Journalism Agency (TEXTY) is listed as an “Implementing Partner” of the US Agency for International Development’s Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/ TAPAS Project.

The Ukrainians seemingly love to make lists of their “enemies.” One of their most notorious of these is the infamous “kill list” put out by the Mirotvorets Center in Kiev. From that list several have already been murdered by Ukraine, including prominent Russian journalist Daria Dugina.

One wonders how, for example, former US President Donald Trump and dozens of members of the US Congress will react when they hear that US tax dollars are being sent to Ukraine for US-backed Ukrainian organizations to make “hate lists” and “kill lists” of patriotic Americans like themselves.

Daniel McAdams is Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-Producer/co-Host, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Daniel served as the foreign affairs, civil liberties, and defense/intel policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) from 2001 until Dr. Paul’s retirement at the end of 2012. From 1993-1999 he worked as a journalist based in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled through the former communist bloc as a human rights monitor and election observer. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

How the US is Scrambling to Stop Ukraine Peace Plan by China & Brazil w/ Vijay Prashad

By Vijay Prashad, Eugene Puryear , Rania Khalek 

June 5, 2024

Source: BreakThrough News

While world leaders prepare to convene in Switzerland for a “peace summit” ostensibly called to advance peace in Ukraine despite excluding Russia from the meeting, Brazil and China have proposed an alternative. Both countries released a joint statement calling for an international peace conference with equal participation from both Russia and Ukraine. Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute, calls the Switzerland summit a “facade” and explains how the US and NATO are thwarting any real chances for peace.ussia and Ukraine. Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental Institute, calls the Switzerland summit a “facade” and explains how the US and NATO are thwarting any real chances for peace.

Zelensky’s Peace Summit Is Just an Echo Chamber

The Ukrainian President will use his platform in Switzerland to hector his supporters to send more weapons and money to Kyiv

by Ian Proud Posted onJune 10, 2024

In one of his more bizarre outbursts, Volodymir Zelensky, red of face, jabbing his finger, recently accused China of being “an instrument in the hands of Putin”. He said this at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore as part of a world tour, in which he is encouraging participation at what Ukraine calls the Global Peace Summit.  This will take place in Switzerland from 15-16 June, and China has said it will not attend. Zelensky was treading a now well-worn path in which he and other senior Ukrainian figures insult countries that don’t bend to Ukraine’s demands for support in the war with Russia.

He believes that China has been discouraging countries from attending the Summit but provided no evidence of this.  Some reports suggest that up to 107 States may attend.  Although, in addition to Xi Jinping, there’s a chance Joe Biden may also not attend because of a fund-raiser in Texas.  Those who do send country delegations will undoubtedly enjoy the comforts of the Bürgenstock Resort on the shores of Lake Lucerne.  Though I suspect many will be confused about the purpose of the event.

For, despite its billing, this won’t be a Global Summit. If it was, it would undoubtedly look at the appalling situation in Israel and Gaza, and no doubt other conflict hotspots across the world too. It might consider more broadly how to strengthen the adherence of states to their obligations under the UN Charter or review progress in strengthening international peacebuilding architecture. But it won’t do those things.

Indeed, the Swiss Government, which is hosting, refers to it as the Summit on Peace in Ukraine.  Although it isn’t clear that Switzerland is in charge, as most of the press reporting about invitations appears to issue from Zelensky’s office. So this raises a diplomatic question as to the precise scope of the event itself?  Summits are normally hosted by the countries in which they take place; those countries shape the agenda and try to steer a communique that represents the best outcome of what can be agreed among the parties. In this case, there appears to be a diplomatic tug of love between the Swiss and the Ukrainians about who is running the show.

For Ukraine, the Summit is explicitly an opportunity to push Zelensky’s so-called ten-point peace formula, which is essentially the points he made in a speech at UNGA.  The formula does contain some helpful lines on nuclear safety, food and energy security and environmental protection.  But it also contains three points that are probably unachievable.  Namely, the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, by which it means Ukraine’s border pre-2014.  This, according to Zelensky, ‘is not up to negotiations’. Secondly, the full withdrawal of Russia’s military and, third, the establishment of a tribunal to investigate alleged Russian war crimes.

However, Ukraine’s pre-2014 border won’t be restored because the west tacitly gave up on Crimea in 2014 and focussed its energy instead on attempts to mediate a peace in the Donbass. These attempts notably included the Franco-German orchestrated Normandy format, which failed in the teeth of US and UK interference; namely, the locking in of sanctions against Russia under an unattainable notion of full Minsk II implementation. European leaders won’t commit to a plan where retaking Crimea is a key element, indeed, western war aims in Ukraine are now completely unclear, beyond helping Ukraine to hold on from further territorial losses.

Even though hardline and now sidelined figures like Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have long supported the aspiration to re-take Crimea, Ukraine does not now and will never have the military capabilities to do so.  So the second and related aspiration of the full withdrawal of Russian troops is also unrealistic, however the map is drawn. Using western weapons to strike targets in the west of Russia won’t change the balance of power on the battlefield in Ukraine which favours Russia. It also won’t decisively shift Russian public opinion away from support for Putin in this war. Rather, it will ramp up the risk of escalation by Russia, which has still not committed its forces to the fight in Ukraine, in any numbers.

While there is clearly a need to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Russian forces during the war, the west will struggle to deliver this, not least because of the inevitable pressure to consider allegations of war crimes committed by Ukrainian forces.  And as neither Ukraine nor Russia are signatories to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, neither country would recognise the legitimacy of any investigation should it materialise.  That would render the endeavour toothless in the absence of more coercive measures to hold either country to account under international law.

So, Zelensky’s plan is nothing more than Ukraine’s maximalist position that will inevitably be bargained down in any future peace negotiations that take place with Russia.

But, and here’s the rub, Russia hasn’t been invited to the Swiss Summit.  The Swiss Government believes that Russia should be invited. The Swiss MFA website says “Switzerland is convinced that Russia must be involved in this (peace) process. A peace process without Russia is unthinkable.” But Zelensky clearly doesn’t agree. It has been an explicit aim of Ukrainian foreign policy to exclude Russia from any dialogue on a settlement of the conflict.

Indeed, this mirrors long-standing UK policy of talking about Russia and not to Russia. Rather, and in a recent visit to Madrid, Zelensky encouraged western partners to force Russia to make peace.  By that, he meant specifically to continue to provide Ukraine with offensive weapons that it can use it strike directly into Russia. Or force Russia into peace by continuing to make war, even though there is no evidence that NATO plans to join the fight in any decisive way.

And just to be clear, on the summitry itself, Zelensky’s so-called Peace Formula isn’t a communique as the Swiss are (or should be) holding the pen. The Swiss are shooting for peace. But, whenever Zelensky talks about peace, what he really means is ‘keep funding the war’.  So this creates a recipe for diplomats finessing any public statements at the end of a Summit that will, most likely, achieve nothing.

Since his unhelpful comments about China, Zelensky has also suggested that Donald Trump is a loser. The event in Switzerland is shaping up to be another echo chamber for an increasingly boorish Zelensky to publicly hector countries that don’t agree with his deluded and completely unsupportable position.  It’s time for real peace talks with Russia to begin.

Ian Proud is a former British diplomat and was the Economic Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow from July 2014 to 2019.  While in Russia, Ian advised UK Ministers on Russia’s political economy, and that of neighbouring former Soviet states, including Ukraine. He recently published his memoir, a Misfit in Moscow: how British diplomacy in Russia failed, 2014-2019.

BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DID

Trump-Backed Republican Bragged About Committing Voter Fraud: Report

BY NICK MORDOWANEC ON 8/25/22 

A Donald Trump-backed Republican candidate for Arizona attorney general allegedly advocated for voter fraud and supported former President Barack Obama in the past.

New reporting by the Phoenix New Times alleges that in 2007 Abraham Hamadeh admitted on online forums that he illegally voted at age 16 for then-Senator Barack Obama for president—in response to "Obama getting all of this crap simply cause hes black, he has an Arab name, hes the only senator who is black in the Senate, he is successful, and he is a Harvard Law graduate," one post read.

"No I cannot vote, I just submitted my mothers absentee ballot, she votes who I vote for, she voted for Ron Paul, and I'm saddened that I had to vote for Barack Obama, but it was the right thing I had to do," another post read.

It was one of reportedly 4,163 posts from Hamadeh on a message board called Ron Paul Forums, which focused on former congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul.

Hamadeh served 14 months in the U.S. Army Reserve and worked as prosecutor in the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. He is running on the issue of what he calls "election protection," to "rebuild the confidence of our elections by prosecuting election fraud to the fullest extent of the law."

The voter fraud allegations from Hamadeh's youth came after former President Trump endorsed Hamadeh partly due to his stance on elections fraud.

"Abraham Hamadeh is a fantastic candidate running for Arizona Attorney General," Trump said in his endorsement. "He is a veteran, a former prosecutor and, most importantly, he's tough and he's smart. Abe Hamadeh knows what happened in the 2020 Election, and will enforce voting laws so that our Elections are Free and Fair again."

Above, a voter places a ballot in a drop box outside of the Maricopa County Elections Department on August 2 in Phoenix. Arizona Republican attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh allegedly committed voter fraud when he was a teen and has run as a Trump-endorsed candidate who has called out the results of the 2020 election.

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

Hamadeh has also been endorsed by other prominent Republicans, including Ron Paul's son, Senator Rand Paul; Richard Grenell, Trump's former acting director of national intelligence; Robert O'Brien, Trump's former national security adviser; and Kash Patel, former Department of Defense chief of staff under Trump.

Aside from calling former Republican presidential candidate and longtime Arizona political mainstay John McCain a "radical fascist," Hamadeh's posts also delved into antisemitism, according to the Phoenix New Times.

"If you think Jews arent big in america (2%) how come 56% of them are CEO'S ... Jews are influential and for the most part rich," one post reportedly said. "its good were targetting Arabs now, next will target Jews."

Erica Knight, a spokesperson for the Hamadeh campaign, did not provide a full-fledged denial regarding the posts in question but told the Phoenix New Times that Hamadeh's comments came at a time in his life when he aspired to be a professional wrestler.

"We are entering a new era of political opposition where candidates who have lived through their adolescent years on the internet are being judged and criticized based on comments they made well before their minds were even fully developed," Knight said.

 "It is now our responsibility to be careful where we draw the line."

Hamadeh tweeted on August 24 that "the media hates minority Republicans." Newsweek reached out to the Hamadeh campaign for comment.

Kris Mayes, Hamadeh's Democratic opponent this November, told Newsweek via phone on Thursday that Arizona "has among the best-run elections in this country" yet her opponent has continually attacked election officials and discussed decertifying the results of the 2020 election, which she said is indicative of a candidate "wildly out of step with the people of Arizona and frankly dangerous to democracy."

Hamadeh's website features interview clips in which he makes reference to the film 2,000 Mules, saying that it revealed "real criminal and fraudulent activity surrounding the 2020 election."

"It is incredibly hypocritical for Abe Hamadeh to have spent the last year undermining trust in our elections when it would appear that he himself engaged in voter fraud at one time," Mayes said. "This is just conduct unbecoming of a top law enforcement officer in the state of Arizona. We cannot have an attorney general who not only espoused antisemitic beliefs but also may have committed voter fraud.

"I think the voters of Arizona are going to reject someone who has these antisemitic views, and also appears to be a complete hypocrite on the issue of voter fraud," Mayes added.

Another Arizona election denier backed by Trump, Mark Finchem, won his secretary of state primary.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema calls Rand Paul's behavior prior to receiving coronavirus results 'irresponsible'

Catherine Garcia, The Week•March 22, 2020

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) on Sunday tweeted that she has "never commented about a fellow senator's choices/actions," but Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) recent behavior has forced her to speak out.

On Sunday, Paul's office announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Not long after, CNN's Seung Min Kim reported that two people briefed on the matter told her that during the Senate Republican lunch on Sunday, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) shared with colleagues "that Rand was at the gym this morning ... and that he was swimming in the pool."

Paul's office tweeted in response that "Paul left the Senate IMMEDIATELY upon learning of his diagnosis. He had zero contact with anyone and went into quarantine." His office did not address Paul visiting the Senate gym and pool before receiving the results of his test, which is what outraged Sinema. "This, America, is absolutely irresponsible," she said. "You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others and likely increases the spread of the virus."

Sen. Rand Paul, Who Opposed Coronavirus Relief Bill, Tests Positive
Emma Tucker,The Daily Beast•March 22, 2020

Sarah Silbiger/Getty

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who was the only senator to oppose a coronavirus relief package last month, announced Sunday that he has tested positive for the virus.

“He is feeling fine and is in quarantine,” an announcement on his Twitter said. “He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events.”

It added, “He expects to be back in the Senate after his quarantine period ends and will continue to work for the people of Kentucky at this difficult time.”

In addition to being the only senator to vote against an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus package, Paul also was one of the eight senators who voted against paid sick leave in a stimulus bill that passed with an overwhelming 90-8 vote last week.

“I think that the paid sick leave is an incentive for businesses to actually let go employees and will make unemployment worse,” Paul, a physician who has a Kentucky-issued medical license, explained to Newsweek.

CNN reported that Paul closed his Capitol Hill offices over a week ago and urged employees to work from home due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak. Two people who attended the annual Speed Art Museum ball in Kentucky with the senator on March 7 later tested positive for the virus, according to the Courier-Journal.

But despite reportedly being tested roughly a week ago, Paul continued to interact with colleagues and even worked out at the Senate gym—and was swimming in the pool—on Sunday morning, shortly before he received his positive test results, Politico reported.

Paul is the first senator to test positive for the novel coronavirus. Two other members of Congress, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ben McAdams (D-UT), have also gone public with positive test results.

According to the World Health Organization, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is particularly dangerous for people with lung problems. In August 2019, Paul had part of his lung removed after an altercation with his neighbor Rene Boucher. The two had a long-running dispute over lawn care.

Second Member of Congress Tests Positive for COVID-19

On March 2, Paul appeared on Fox News and downplayed the global threat of the coronavirus.
“While it is worldwide, I think there is room for optimism that this thing may plateau out in a few weeks and not be as bad it as it may have been portrayed,” he said to host Neil Cavuto. “We’ve seen pockets of this around the world and even in Italy and Iran where we have it, but none of it is approaching what started in China.”

When asked about institutions taking larger measures to limit the spread of the virus, Paul was resistant to the idea. “I think closing down the Smithsonians would be way too premature and I wouldn’t advise something like that.”

And when Cavuto asked Paul about making personal adjustments to avoid infection, the Senator was particularly defiant. “I mean, I fly all the time and I’m not cutting back on my flying... I was on a plane today,” he said. “I could be wrong and this could be really bad in two or three weeks or a month, but I’m hoping it’s not going to be. I’m not ready to buy all the toilet paper at Target.”

The senator’s father, Dr. Ron Paul, a physician and a former Republican congressman from Texas, published an essay called “The Coronavirus Hoax” last week for the New River Valley News, a local outlet based in Virginia.

“People should ask themselves whether this coronavirus ‘pandemic’ could be a big hoax, with the actual danger of the disease massively exaggerated by those who seek to profit—financially or politically—from the ensuing panic,” the elder Paul wrote.
As of Sunday afternoon, there are 30,000 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and nearly 400 people have died.

Rand Paul's coronavirus infection sends shockwaves through Senate during major stimulus debate

William Cummings,USA TODAY•March 22, 2020


Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and is being quarantined, his office announced Sunday.

The diagnosis comes as the Senate prepares to move forward on a massive coronavirus stimulus aid package aimed at alleviating the economic impact of the outbreak. Several Republican lawmakers announced on Sunday they would self-quarantine as a result of Paul's diagnosis.

Sergio Gor, Paul's deputy chief of staff, said the senator "decided to get tested after attending an event where two individuals subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, even though he wasn't aware of any direct contact with either one of them."

Gor said Paul is in a higher risk category after having part of his lung removed last year after it was damaged in a 2017 assault by his neighbor.

Paul's diagnosis also raised questions about his behavior after he continued to attend events and use shared facilities as he awaited the test results.

Several news outlets reported, for example, that Paul was using the Senategym and pool as recently as Sunday morning, the same day he announced he had tested positive. Several lawmakers also reported having lunch recently with Paul.

Those actions drew sharp criticism from at least one fellow senator.

More: New ad from conservative group targets Trump on coronavirus messaging

More: Trump uses China as a foil when talking coronavirus, distancing himself from criticism

"This, America, is absolutely irresponsible," tweeted Sen. Kristen Synema, D-Ariz. "You cannot be near other people while waiting for coronavirus test results. It endangers others & likely increases the spread of the virus."

The news of Paul's diagnosis came as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., moved forward with the stimulus package, which is expected to approach $2 trillion. Earlier Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared she would not support the bill as written, and vowed House Democrats would move forward with their own legislation.

But McConnell said he would still hold a cloture vote on Sunday. If approved, that vote would limit debate on the measure to 30 hours ahead of a final vote, which McConnell hopes will take place Monday.

In response to Paul's diagnosis, Republican Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah announced they would undergo self-quarantines. The loss of their votes – in addition to those of Republicans Sens. Rick Scott and Cory Garner, who were already under self-quarantine – could threaten the measure's passage.

Paul was not the first member of Congress to test positive for the virus. Last week, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and Ben McAdams, D-Utah, announced they had tested positive.

Paul was on Capitol Hill several days last week. The statement from his office did not say when Paul tested positive, nor when he might have contracted the illness.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Sunday that lawmakers are speaking with a doctor to determine what steps they should take after Paul's diagnosis.

"We just learned our colleague, Rand Paul, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Our thoughts and prayers are with him for a speedy recovery," Thune said on the Senate floor. "We will consult with the attending physician here at the Capitol about appropriate measures for those of us who have been in contact with the senator."

Thune said Paul's infection "is the kind of situation that Americans across the country are dealing with right now. And it underscores the importance of acting immediately to deliver more relief for the American people."

More: Coronavirus relief deal agreed by Pelosi, Trump overwhelmingly passes House as president declares national emergency

Romney, R-Utah., confirmed he and other lawmakers attended a lunch with Paul on Friday and that they were consulting with doctors before he announced later Sunday that he would self-quarantine.

"He's compromised given health conditions he's had in the past, and so we'll be praying for him and thinking about him," Romney told reporters regarding Paul's positive test result. "Of course, all the senators are going to seek medical advice as to what action we should take to make sure that we don't in any way spread this virus ourselves."

Soon after Romney announced his decision to isolate himself.

"Since Senator Romney sat next to Senator Paul for extended periods in recent days and consistent with CDC guidance, the attending physician has ordered him to immediately self-quarantine and not to vote on the Senate floor," Romney's office said in a statement.

It said that Romney would undergo a test himself, although he currently has no symptoms.

Lee went into self-quarantine soon after Paul’s disclosure, on the advice of Congress’ attending physician. Lee reportedly also had lunch with Paul on Friday.

Lee said he has no symptoms and the physician said he did not need to be tested.

"However, given the timing, proximity, and duration of my exposure to Sen. Paul, he directed me to self-quarantine for 14 days," Lee said in a statement Sunday. "That means no traveling or voting."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19: Rand Paul's diagnosis sends shockwaves through Senate

 

Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming…

by Daniel McAdams Posted onApril 29, 2024

Student action on university campuses against US involvement in Israel’s slaughter of Gaza has exploded across the country. Suddenly there is the distinct feel in the air of the anti-Vietnam war protests once they finally caught on in 1968 and soon thereafter changed the course of US history.

Both protest movements were fully demonized by the same forces of the mainstream Left/Right regime and what libertarian writer Jacob Hornberger rightly calls the “National Security State.” I would add the mainstream media from Fox to MSNBC. But these days there is relatively more freedom of expression available to Americans via some of the social media outlets. The US government war on one of these outlets – TikTok – may also be fueling protests, as this outlet is particularly popular among younger Americans and has become the platform for them to hear more objective and independent views on what is happening in Gaza. It should not be considered a coincidence that not long after Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblat was caught on tape panicking over the shift in opinion away from fealty to Israel among the younger generation, a big PR operation about “Chinese infiltration” of the platform emerged as did calls to ban the popular application.

“We have a major, major, major generational (TikTok) problem,” Greenblat said. This past week both Houses of Congress voted to ban TikTok. Problem solved? Not exactly.

So back to the protests.

Tens of thousands of students from New York’s Columbia University to the University of Southern California have risen up to demand an end to US support for Israel’s 200 day – and counting – total demolition of Gaza in retribution for the October 7th Hamas bloody incursion into Israeli territory.

To date, more than 35,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed including an estimated 15,000 children. Hamas, by contrast, is reportedly not significantly degraded and its massive tunnel system remains intact. Former Israeli Defense Forces General Yitzhak Brick told Israeli newspaper Maariv that Israel has already lost the war against Hamas and must admit it.

The wild disproportionality of the Israeli response has animated and ignited the sense of repulsion and demand for justice among the nation’s youth. Most recently the grisly details of Israel’s apparent mass slaughter of hundreds of patients at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza – many discovered with their hands and feet bound – may have been the last straw that led to mass student action across the country.

When the wave of student protests settled in the Lone Star State on Wednesday, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott wasted no time at all calling in the Texas State Troopers to smash the protest at the University of Texas. Heavily-armed Troopers – some on horseback – marched onto campus attempting to force the crowd of protesters to disburse. As might be expected, the situation very quickly got out of hand, with Troopers assaulting and arresting those participating in what began as a peaceful protest.

Shortly after siccing the heavily armed state militia on student protestors, Abbot released this Tweet:

Abbott’s blanket accusation that these protests are prima facie anti-Semitic is belied by the fact that Jews across the country are participating in the mass action, including on university campuses.

There is clearly a major attempt being made to conflate legitimate concern over tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians being slaughtered – and hundreds of thousands facing starvation – with blanket hatred of Jewish people. But the youth are not buying it. So it’s time to send in the militarized police to shut down peaceful protest and the First Amendment.

In the case of Texas, one cheeky conservative Twitter/X user pointed out that, “Abbott sent more troops to shutdown peaceful protests at UT than he did to secure the border.”

Ouch – but revealing.

Other observers have similarly pointed out the hypocrisy of the massive deployment of militarized police to quell a peaceful political protest, commenting on a video montage of police beating and arresting American university students that, “imagine if this video was out of Tehran University in Iran, our politicians & media would have endless calls for regime change.”

Throughout the country, many “influencers” on the professional political Right are acting like the “woke snowflakes” they have derided, demanding that our fundamental liberty to freely assemble and speak our minds be amended in this particular instance due to the subject matter.

Many “professional right-wingers” have done their best to try and convince us that these protesters are identical to the BLM protesters of several years ago. Matt Walsh at the Daily Wire put out a podcast today claiming that, “The ‘Free Palestine’ Movement Is Just BLM Repackaged.”

The problem in his and the rest of their calculus is that the state and local authorities would not lift a finger to stop the BLM riots, yet they are cracking heads robustly among the Palestine protests.

Walsh even seemed to sense the inconsistency in his logic, questioning Governor Abbott’s move against the protesters by Tweeting, “Did Abbott ever arrest BLM protesters for antiwhiteism? Is antisemitism the only hateful ideology not permitted in Texas? Are you legally allowed to hate some groups but not others?”

He added, in a criticism of Abbot’s suggestion that the protesters were being arrested for “antisemitism,” that, “If you’re arresting them for an illegal encampment or for making threats then say that. But arresting people for ‘antisemitism’ is obviously a clear violation of the First Amendment. I can’t stand these protesters but you can’t arrest people simply for having ‘hateful’ views.”

He deserves credit for this observation.

As is often the case, action by state actors against this protest movement will only strengthen the movement. We have not even seen the beginning of what is in store.

Polls clearly show that a considerable majority in America believes Israel has gone way too far in its reaction to October 7th. America for the first time in my lifetime is in the majority opposed to Israel, and that shift is more than anything else a generational shift. Hence Greenblat’s panic.

This movement is picking up steam and threatens to turn Biden’s big Democratic Convention coronation ceremony into the disastrous 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, where the Lyndon Johnson campaign went to die. Ironically the Democratic Party convention this year is to be held in… Chicago!

May 4th will be the 54th anniversary of Nixon’s National Guard killing four students at Ohio’s Kent state University for protesting our killing squads in Vietnam (My Lai massacre). Will soldiers in the US start cutting protesters down again?

Daniel McAdams is Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-Producer/co-Host, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Daniel served as the foreign affairs, civil liberties, and defense/intel policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) from 2001 until Dr. Paul’s retirement at the end of 2012. From 1993-1999 he worked as a journalist based in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled through the former communist bloc as a human rights monitor and election observer. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.

McCain Presumptious

Well Bomb, Bomb Iran McCain made it official last night he is the presumptive Republican candidate for President. And Mike Huckabee gave him his crown of thorns by bowing out. But wait there is still another candidate who has not dropped out of the Republican race and is the thorn in McCain's side; Ron Paul.

Despite calls from his supporters, Paul insists he will not run for president as an independent. But he has pledged to continue his Republican presidential bid, knowing full well that the odds — and delegate math — are now firmly against him.

And last night McCain flip flopped on the war in Iraq. No longer is it going to be a hundred years war, but one that is concluded soon, after victory is declared and then troops moved out to fight the real war on terror; in Afghanistan. That's a major policy change. He is sounding more like Barack Obama despite having attacked him for virtually the same policy.

We are in Iraq and our most vital security interests are clearly involved there. The next president must explain how he or she intends to bring that war to the swiftest possible conclusion without exacerbating a sectarian conflict that could quickly descend into genocide; destabilizing the entire Middle East; enabling our adversaries in the region to extend their influence and undermine our security there; and emboldening terrorists to attack us elsewhere with weapons we dare not allow them to possess.

The next president must encourage the greater participation and cooperation of our allies in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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US Confirms It’s Entering Talks That Could Lead to US Withdrawal From Iraq

Reports indicate the US is also discussing the idea of withdrawing from Syria

by Dave DeCamp January 25, 2024 at 7:14 pm ET CategoriesNewsTagsIraq, Syria

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed on Thursday that the US and Iraq will start talks on the future of the US military presence in Iraq in the “coming days,” which could result in a US withdrawal.

Baghdad has been calling for an end to the presence of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in response to recent US airstrikes in Iraq. Tensions are soaring as Iraqi Shia militias have been attacking US bases in both Iraq and Syria due to President Biden’s support for the Israeli slaughter in Gaza.

Austin said the two countries will convene a meeting of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC), which was formed last summer. Signaling that the US wants to maintain some sort of presence in Iraq, Austin said the HMC will “enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between the United States and Iraq.”

There are about 2,500 US troops in Iraq as part of the anti-ISIS coalition, known as Operation Inherent Resolve. In recent years, the US presence in Iraq has been more about pushing back against Iran’s influence in the country as ISIS has been reduced to small remnants.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has said that Iraq’s security forces can handle ISIS without the US. Austin said the “transition” in the US presence depends on three factors: “the threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements, and the Iraqi security forces’ capability levels.”

There have been reports that indicate the US is also considering ending its military occupation of eastern Syria. There are about 900 US troops, and the US is able to control about one-third of Syria’s territory by backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Sources within the Pentagon and State Department told Foreign Policy that the White House “is no longer invested in sustaining a mission that it perceives as unnecessary.” Al-Monitor reported that the Pentagon floated a plan for the SDF to partner with the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad, which is under crippling US sanctions.

US officials told POLITICO that a withdrawal from Syria or Iraq is not imminent but did acknowledge there are conversations within the Biden administration about pulling troops out of Syria. However, another US official told CNN that the US was not considering leaving Syria.

Neocon Freak-Out as Biden Contemplates Iraq/Syria Withdrawal

by Daniel McAdams Posted onJanuary 26, 2024

Neocon heads like the Middle East Institute’s Charles Lister’s are exploding with the news today that the Biden Administration may be considering withdrawing from its illegal occupations in both Syria and Iraq.

First on Syria. As Lister opines in Foreign Policy:

…four sources within the Defense and State departments said the White House is no longer invested in sustaining a mission that it perceives as unnecessary. Active internal discussions are now underway to determine how and when a withdrawal may take place.

Lister, an early and stalwart supporter of the al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgency against Assad in Syria, warns of “the catastrophic effect that a withdrawal would have on U.S. and allied influence over the unresolved and acutely volatile crisis in Syria,” adding that, “it would also be a gift to the Islamic State.”

Ah. ISIS. Remember them? We haven’t heard anything from them in awhile. That moveable feast. From not long after Syria’s Assad invited Russia in to rescue the country as it teetered on the verge of total takeover by the US-backed “freedom fighters.”

But… suddenly and if on cue… they’re BACK! Just when after more than a hundred recent attacks on the US occupation bases have convinced even Biden and his “Middle East experts” that it’s only a matter of time before lots of American blood is shed, ISIS suddenly comes roaring back for the neocons to use in attempt to justify Washington’s continued presence in the region.

Very convenient.

But perhaps someone has reminded Biden that it’s an election year and voters might start questioning just why and under what authority American troops are stationed in Iraq and Syria. Especially as the “resistance” rockets (and missiles?) are getting closer.

Similarly to what Lister is panicking about regarding US occupation of Syria, CNN is reporting today that “US and Iraqi governments expected to start talks on future of US military presence in the country.”

Writes CNN’s deep state mouthpiece Natasha Bertrand, “The US and Iraq are expected to soon begin talks on the future of the US military presence in the country, according to sources familiar with the matter, amid public calls from the Iraqi government for the US to withdraw its troops.”

Bertrand quotes several denizens of DC’s “think-tank-topia” who warn that pulling out US “trip-wire” troops from Iraq and Syria could negatively effect their plans for war with Iran…er…could um…embolden ISIS!

Bertrand quotes MIC-funded CSIS “deep thinker” Jon Alterman:

Still, rumblings of a potential US change in its force posture in Iraq would be a victory for Iran, Alterman said. ‘Any sign that this is the beginning of the end would be widely celebrated in Iranian corridors.’

Ah yes! Should the US end its illegal occupation of Syria and Iraq, Iran would celebrate! Those dastardly mullahs! How dare they celebrate no hostile troops on their border!

You know who else would celebrate? Every single mother, wife, husband, and relative of those American troops being forced to sacrifice their very lives for an occupation that has zero to do with the US national interest.

Is Biden a cynical and bloodthirsty monster? No doubt. Is he (or his puppet masters) only concerned about keeping that ring in his hands for four more years? Absolutely. But would I celebrate and praise any decision by the Biden Administration to do the right thing and get the hell out of the Middle East, starting with the occupations of Iraq and Syria? You’re damn right!

As neocon loon Michael Ledeen famously said…”faster please!”

Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute.

Daniel McAdams is Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-Producer/co-Host, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Daniel served as the foreign affairs, civil liberties, and defense/intel policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) from 2001 until Dr. Paul’s retirement at the end of 2012. From 1993-1999 he worked as a journalist based in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled through the former communist bloc as a human rights monitor and election observer.

US Troops in Iraq Are a Tripwire for War With Iran

by Scott Horton Posted onJanuary 23, 2024

The New York Times Monday noted the increasing likelihood that U.S. troops will be killed by mortars or rocket fire from Shi’ite militias in Iraq or Syria as they have been attacked and wounded repeatedly in the past three months as locals take revenge for Israel’s violence in Gaza. (AQI/ISIS sure have motive to attack and frame the Shi’ites too, btw.)

As Gen. Mattis said years ago:

“I paid a military security price every day as the commander of CentCom because the Americans were seen as biased in support of Israel, and that all the moderate Arabs who want to be with us, they can’t come out publicly in support of people who don’t show respect for the Arab Palestinians.”

The point is that as Israel escalates against Hezbollah and Syria, and the U.S. escalates in Syria and Iraq (they assassinated a Shi’ite militia leader with a drone strike in Baghdad two weeks ago, leading the government to demand US withdrawal) and against the Houthis in Yemen, the danger of a real regional war against all the Shi’ite countries and substate militias and terrorist groups is quite high.

The Times says the Biden regime says that if Americans are killed in Iraq, they will feel the political necessity to expand the war to Iran with at least what they consider limited strikes.

At that point it seems very likely it would be all bets off and the Ayatollah would go to war and urge the rest of the so-called Axis of Resistance, or Shi’ite Crescent, to join them.

Even if Russia and China do nothing but watch, the costs to the United States would be enormous. U.S. troops, airmen, sailors, etc. would be at risk in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Saudi, along with an empire worth of equipment based in Qatar and Bahrain, home of CENTCOM and the center of American air power there, as well as the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Iran has thousands of missiles that can reach these targets, as well as air defenses which would be capable of destroying many air force and navy planes before air dominance over Iran could be achieved if it ever could at all, which may be a big assumption.

The Iraqi government and army would also virtually certainly take Iran’s side and join up with the militias to march on Iraqi Kurdistan and force U.S. troops out; same for Syria.

(Nevermind the danger of Hezbollah type groups wreaking havoc across the EU and hopefully not the U.S. too, nor the threat that U.S. Sunni client monarchies and dictatorships in the region could fall and be replace by who-knows-what.)

So then what is Biden supposed to do? Unleash our entire navy and air force (possibly even army, marines, SOCOM) against Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran at the same time — and all to continue to abet Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza?

In 2007, the Chiefs told W. Bush, No way. They don’t want to fight unless they know they will have “escalation dominance” over every stage of the conflict, and here they know they would not have it.

I move for a vote of no confidence in President Biden’s leadership.

Scott Horton is editorial director of Antiwar.com, director of the Libertarian Institute, host of Antiwar Radio on Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles, California and podcasts the Scott Horton Show from ScottHorton.org. He’s the author of the 2021 book Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism, the 2017 book, Fool’s Errand: Time to End the War in Afghanistan, and the editor of the 2019 book, The Great Ron Paul: The Scott Horton Show Interviews 2004–2019. He’s conducted more than 5,500 interviews since 2003. Scott’s articles have appeared at Antiwar.com, The American Conservative magazine, the History News Network, The Future of Freedom, The National Interest and the Christian Science Monitor. He also contributed a chapter to the 2019 book, The Impact of War. Scott lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, investigative reporter Larisa Alexandrovna Horton. He is a fan of, but no relation to the lawyer from Harper’s. Scott’s Twitter, YouTube, Patreon. View all posts by Scott Horton