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Trump Ups the Stakes in Syria
Stephen Lendman
Trump is a businessman, a geopolitical no-nothing. Delegating warmaking to hawkish generals was a reckless act.
He doesn’t immerse himself in details, largely stays disengaged from policymaking complexities, lets others handle them.
Generals love wars, how they advance in rank and find lucrative post-military careers as corporate board members, TV commentators, and other ways to get rich.
It’s unclear what Trump knows about daily US operations in multiple war theaters, conducted by generals in command, led by administration ones and joint chiefs of staff.
Syria is different from other US war theaters, Russia and America actively involved, communicating but not cooperating with each other. Their agendas are world’s apart, seeds of possible conflict between them.
Iran’s New Ballistic Missile
Stephen Lendman
Iran’s ballistic missile program is entirely legitimate, solely for defense, designed to carry conventional warheads, not nuclear ones as US and Israeli hawks falsely claim, vilifying the country disgracefully.
On Friday, its new Khorramshahr ballistic missile was displayed during a Tehran military parade - hours later, video footage showed a successful test launch.
It’s Iran’s third intermediate-range ballistic missile, Qadr-F and Sejjil the other two, capable of carrying multiple conventional warheads, their range around 2,000 km.
On Saturday, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said “(a)s long as some speak in the language of threats, the strengthening of the country’s defense capabilities will continue and Iran will not seek permission from any country for producing various kinds of missile.”
Police State Repression in Catalonia
Stephen Lendman
Catalonia is an autonomous community in Spain’s northeast, bordering France and the Mediterranean Sea, Barcelona its capital and largest city.
In November 2015, Catalan lawmakers approved a secession plan from Spain by 2017. October 1 is the moment of truth, Catalans to vote by referendum on whether to remain part of Spain or secede, establishing an independent state.
Self-determination is a universal right. It’s a core principle of international law, enshrined in various treaties, affirmed in the UN Charter and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Bernie Sanders on Israel and Iran
Stephen Lendman
He’s a longstanding con man. His deplorable voting record belies his lofty rhetoric, consistently supporting undemocratic Dem party politics.
His support for war goddess/racketeer Hillary after she virtually stole her nomination alone exposed his duplicity - saying one thing, doing another, like most everyone else in Washington, a rogue’s gallery of miscreants. He defended the undemocratic Dem party platform, supporting dirty business as usual.
He supports America’s imperial agenda, its phony war on terror, raping and destroying nations. He wrongfully blames Hamas for Israeli high crimes.
Satellite Images Show US-Supported Forces With ISIS in Syria
Stephen Lendman
This and other incriminating evidence clearly reveal US support for ISIS - the scourge it pretends to combat, arming its fighters, providing other material support.
Silence by media scoundrels makes them complicit with US high crimes, a longstanding unholy alliance, a disgrace to legitimate journalism.
On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry released satellite video images showing US-supported troops together with terrorists comprising the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), moving freely in ISIS-controlled parts of Deir Ezzor governorate.
“Without resistance from ISIS militants, (these forces) are moving along the left bank of the Euphrates river towards the town of Deir Ezzor,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said, adding:
“Despite strongholds of the US armed forces…located where ISIS troops are currently deployed, there are not even signs of organization of a battle outpost.”
Election Results in Germany
Stephen Lendman
Angela Merkel’s fourth term as chancellor was marred by the rise of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, winning 13% of the vote on Sunday, entering parliament for the first time post-WW II.
Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) alliance got only 33% of the vote, its worst showing since 1949 - compared to 41.5% in 2013.
Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) finished second with 20.5%, a post-WW II low. Putting a brave face on her party’s dismal result, Merkel said “(w)e are the strongest party. We we have the mandate to build the next government, and there cannot be a coalition government built against us.”
Nearly half of German voters rejected the two major parties, dominating the country’s politics since WW II.
“Bernie is the most honest person in the Senate” Says Senator Lindsey Graham
Eric Zuesse
In the CNN Town Hall debate between Senators Bernie Sanders and Lindsey Graham (plus Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Bill Cassidy) that was telecast on Monday evening September 25th (see the transcript of it here), the Republican Senators Graham and Cassidy were unable to discredit anything that Sanders said against their Graham-Cassidy Republican healthcare bill in the Senate, but instead they attacked Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act). Sanders said, regarding that attack, “Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water” and received the biggest applause yet in the debate. Immediately after this, someone in the audience addressed Klobuchar and noted that President Obama had lied about what Obamacare would do (lower premium-costs, allow keeping one’s existing insurance policy, etc.), and Senator Klobuchar said that those are the reasons Obamacare needs to be fixed. She was of the Hillary Clinton frame of mind.
Russia Warns Washington
Stephen Lendman
Russia is committed to free Syria from the scourge of terrorism Washington supports - a noble mission deserving universal support.
On Thursday, the Kremlin said “Russia has officially informed the United States via a special communications channel that Russian forces will strike immediately US-backed forces if they attack or shell Syrian or Russian task forces operating near the Deir Ezzor city.”
“Any attempts at shelling from the areas where the militants of the Syrian Democratic Forces are based will be immediately curbed. Russian forces will suppress firing points in these areas using all means of destruction.”
Hurricanes Maria and Jose
Stephen Lendman
On Tuesday, Maria was elevated to Category 5. Meteorologist Eric Holthaus called it “one of the fastest intensifying hurricanes in history with maximum sustained winds of 160 MPH.”
Jose is minor by comparison, forecast to remain off the US northeast coast. At most “(m)inor to moderate coastal flooding is possible from Delaware to southern New England during the next several days,” according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), its maximum sustained winds at around 75 MPH.
Maria is hugely dangerous, the strongest ever storm to hit Dominica, devastating the island, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit saying:
“So far we have lost all what money can buy and replace. My greatest fear for the morning is that we will wake to news of serious physical injury and possible deaths as a result of likely landslides triggered by persistent rains.”
“(W)inds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with. The roof to my own official residence was among the first to go and this apparently triggered an avalanche of torn away roofs in the city and the countryside.”
Trump Again Threatens Venezuela
Stephen Lendman
On Monday evening in New York, Trump threatened Venezuela at a dinner he hosted for hardline right-wing Latin American officials.
Ones invited included Brazil’s coup d’etat president Michel Temer, Colombian narco-terrorist president Juan Manuel Santos, corporatist Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela, and fascist Argentine president Mauricio Macri’s vice president Gabriela Michetti, along with their foreign ministers and other officials.
The situation in Venezuela is “totally unacceptable,” Trump roared, adding: “We call for the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela, and we want it to happen very, very soon.”
He threatened unspecified actions he intends, earlier threatening “a possible military option.” He disgracefully accused President Nicolas Maduro of “def(ing) his own people,” calling his leadership “disastrous,” suggesting further hostile US actions coming.
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