Tag: perpetual war

Japan Lifts Ban on Weapon Exports In Break With Post-WW2 Pacifism

Pacifist post-war Japan is no more.

Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s capitulation on August 15, 1945, and the instrument of surrender was signed on September 2, aboard the USS Missouri, ending WW2.

Since then, Japan turned its back on the martial aspect of its society and embraced pacifism.

But now, over eighty years later, Japan has scrapped most of its restrictions on weapons exports as it boosts both its own military and its arms industry.

Bloomberg reported:

“The cabinet of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday approved changes to defense export rules that will for the first time since World War II allow overseas shipments of weapons. Previously, companies could only export military equipment for use in operations related to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and minesweeping.

’These decisions are intended to safeguard Japan’s security and further contribute to the peace and stability of the region and the international community amidst rapidly evolving changes in the security environment’, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a press briefing after announcing the decision. ‘At the same time, the government will uphold the fundamental principles of a peaceful nation that have been built over more than 80 years since the end of the war’.”

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NEW WAR IN EUROPE? Russian Citizens in Moldova’s Breakaway Republic of Transnistria Allegedly Under Threat, as Moscow Vows To Protect Them at Any Cost

Russia, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania… all in the same powder-keg situation.

Many people don’t remember, but the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, began as Russia moved to protect Russian-speaking populations in the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk).

Now, even as the conflict with Kiev is still raging, another minority Russian population becomes focus of attention of Russian military authorities.

We’re talking about Transnistria, a Russian enclave in Moldova – which itself is a former part of Romania.

Now, former defense minister and current secretary ​of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, has come to the public to warn that the safety of Russians in the Transnistria region is currently under threat.

Shoigu further warned yesterday (21) that Moscow will take all steps to protect their citizens.

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Zelensky Demands Ukrainian Men Abroad Return to Fight His War

Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Ukrainian men of conscription age who left the country, many in violation of his wartime restrictions, should return to die in his war. He states it is only “fair” since the army needs them for rotation, which is nothing less than an admission that the war effort is running short of bodies.

“As regards young people who are currently not in Ukraine, but abroad. First of all, there are different groups of young people. I agree with you regarding those of conscription age who left Ukraine. They left temporarily but ended up staying away for years,” Zelensky stated, oblivious to the reason so many fled their homes. “And many of them left in breach of Ukrainian law. The relevant authorities in both countries should address this issue.

Our Armed Forces would certainly like them to return. Because this is a matter of fairness. We have people, soldiers on the front lines, who need rotations. These Ukrainian soldiers are as strong as iron, but let’s be honest: they have families; they are defending their homes, and more than that – the entire state. But this responsibility should be borne by every person who is a citizen of Ukraine who has the capacity to do so. It is both a constitutional duty and a matter tied to conscription age.”

Casualty estimates are running into the hundreds of thousands killed or wounded, while millions fled their homes to escape precisely this outcome. Zelensky continues to be portrayed in the Western press as a heroic figure, but the truth is that he is a madman prepared to see an entire generation sacrificed to maintain a war that cannot be won. When he speaks of “fairness,” what he is really saying is that no one should be allowed to escape. Millions have fled Ukraine to avoid his tyranny. The prospect of returning is slim as there will not be a “Ukraine” to return to once this conflict comes to an end.

From the standpoint of Ukrainian men living abroad, this becomes deeply personal because they are being told that their lives are secondary to the needs of the state. Their attempt to survive and protect their families is somehow unjust. How can any leader claim to represent his people while demanding that they walk back into a war zone?

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The IDF’s Attack on Christ Reveals a Larger Pattern

Many political figures have weighed in on the latest IDF controversy this week, as images posted online clearly depict an Israeli soldier taking what appears to be a sledgehammer to the face of a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon. The IDF issued a statement condemning the attack, saying the soldier’s actions were “wholly inconsistent with the values expected of its troops,” and adding that a criminal investigation would be launched, assuring there would be “harsh disciplinary action” against those involved. But we’ve seen this movie before.

First, I would be remiss not to mention the hypocrisy of the situation. Israel has killed thousands of civilians in southern Lebanon since the major escalation resumed and has displaced over 1.2 million Lebanese civilians, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry and disaster management agencies. But predictably, the IDF has not issued a single statement condemning the civilian deaths or displacement of Lebanon’s citizens. The IDF has shown a consistent tolerance for the havoc wreaked upon Lebanese civilians, yet when faced with damaging PR from a vile attack on a statue of Jesus, they move almost immediately to condemn it — because Benjamin Netanyahu knows he cannot afford to lose favor in the predominantly Christian West.

The theme behind the IDF’s statue attack becomes even more apparent when you consider how Christians are treated in Israel today, where they are often met with violence or harassment. In 2025, there were reportedly more than 155 attacks against Christians in Israel, ranging from physical assaults to the vandalism of churches, according to the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue. Notably, this marks a sharp increase from 2024, when 111 incidents were reported.

The treatment of Palestinian Christians has been far worse, with both Israeli settlers and IDF soldiers carrying out relentless attacks and mass displacements of Christian communities in Palestine. These actions are often dismissed as unrelated to religion, but the pattern suggests otherwise.

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Trump’s Iran Fiasco’s Silver Lining – The End of NATO

The one great big positive that has come out of the Donald’s Iran fiasco is that he has not held back in blackening the name of NATO in a manner that has heretofore been unthinkable:

“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run, piece of ice!!!”

The Donald also described NATO as a “paper tiger” and stated he is “strongly considering” pulling the United States out of the alliance, citing its failure to support his reckless war on the Persian Gulf:

“They weren’t there. None of them. They weren’t there.”

The Europeans, of course, had good reason not to sign up for America’s latest Forever War. They are being reminded of that at the petrol stations every day, but there is more to be said than, well, finally Washington called a War Party and no one sent an RSVP.

What is actually transpiring on the fraught world stage at the moment is powerful demonstration that allies and alliances are a profound detriment to the Homeland Security of America, not a fundamental necessity.

That’s obviously true with respect to Israel, which lured the gullible Trump into attacking Iran for no good reason of Homeland Security, but it’s also true on a universal basis. In fact, NATO is every bit as much of an albatross for the reasons that we amplify at length below; it’s very existence 35 years after the Cold War ended demonstrates why it is long past time to revert to the wisdom of the Founders and anchor America’s national security posture on –

… peaceful commercial relations with all, entangling alliances with none.

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Iran Blockade: IRGC Attacks Three Container Ships in Strait of Hormuz

At least three container ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran this morning, with a Royal Navy office reporting “heavy damage” to at least one, and Tehran claiming ships had been seized and taken into Iranian waters “in order to examine the cargo and documents”.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has opened fire on three container ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime chokepoint at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, as a strained ceasefire is challenged by two mutual blockades imposed by Iran and the United States attempt to deny each other access to the critical-to-trade waterway.

Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO) reports that in the early hours of Wednesday morning the Greek-owned, Liberia-flagged container ship Epaminondas was approached by an “IRGC gun boat” and fired on without warning.

The attack “caused heavy damage to the bridge”, although no injuries, fires aboard, environmental concerns were reported. “All Crew reported safe”, it was stated. London state media says it understands that the ship’s master believed he had permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz, and was ‘running dark’ — the ship’s AIS transponder being turned off to avoid attention — but was nevertheless attacked.

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USAF Explains Additional F-15EX Buys During Budget Brief

AFP attended the four hours of budget briefings at the Pentagon yesterday as part of the Pentagon Press Corp.

The Department of the Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2027 President’s Budget request marks a fundamental strategic shift. This budget departs from previous practices and makes a conscious effort to prioritize investment in modernization and readiness, recognizing both as essential and non-negotiable. With a total request of $338.8 billion, this 38% increase over the FY26 enacted position is a generational investment designed to supercharge our Defense Industrial Base, sharpen our military readiness, and secure enduring Air and Space superiority.

The budget truly is procurement wish list dream for all of the services, which we will write more about later today.

Part of the procurement buy for fiscal 2027 includes 24 F-15EX aircraft, in a sustained production run to more than 260 airframes.

I question the Air Force officers delivering the briefing about concerns we have heard from retired flag officers about the vulnerability of the F-15EX in a high-threat environment as shown by 4 F-15s being shot down during Operation Epic Fury, by far the aircraft impacted by hostile and friendly fire.

The answer I received was the need primarily in the Pacific of an airframe that can load a large amount of weapons for possibly stand-off offensive fires.

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What went wrong in Israel? A genocide scholar examines ‘what Zionism became’

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, when asked to explain the apparent about-face that led him to advocate the unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, quoted a beloved Israeli pop ballad. “What you can see from there, you can’t see from here,” he said, referring to the shift in perspective he had supposedly undergone since coming to power.

Although the 2005 Gaza disengagement was perhaps less a change of heart than one of strategy, as his senior adviser later admitted, the lyric became a byword of Israeli politics, an oft-cited reminder that perspective is everything.

Israeli-born Holocaust historian Omer Bartov invoked the same line when he was asked how he had come to view Israel’s ferocious assault on Gaza as a genocide. Living in the US, where he has spent more than three decades, he said, had given him the necessary distance to see the annihilation of Gaza for what it was. “I think it’s very hard to be dispassionate when you’re there,” he said.

Bartov did more than simply apply the word genocide to Israel’s actions: he shouted it from the establishment-media rooftops, making the case in a lengthy July 2025 essay in the New York Times titled: I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It. (He had addressed some of the arguments in a Guardian essay the year prior.) Bartov’s declaration cost him several close relationships, he told me, even though subsequent events have not only validated his analysis but further demonstrated the lack of concern for Palestinian suffering that has become prevalent in Israeli society.

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Far-Left Sen. Chris Murphy Backtracks After Backlash, Claims “SARCASM” Following Praise of Iran’s Shadow Fleet Dodging U.S. Blockade

Radical Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut is cheering for America’s enemies during active hostilities with Iran, and when called out, he pulled the classic leftist move, gaslighting, and deflection.

As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Murphy replied with a smug one-word “awesome” to a Lloyd’s List report claiming that at least 26 ships from Iran’s notorious “shadow fleet” had brazenly bypassed the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz/Gulf of Oman area.

Murphy didn’t express concern for U.S. troops. He didn’t worry about Iranian oil money flowing to terrorists. He didn’t even pretend to support America’s interests.

He just typed “awesome.”

X users immediately unloaded on the Connecticut Democrat, calling the remark “literally rooting for the enemy” and “treasonous.”

White House officials ripped him for gleefully regurgitating Iranian propaganda while U.S. forces are actively engaged. Even some on the left couldn’t defend it.

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Trump’s extreme use of military is stirring a crisis of conscience among troops

As President Donald Trump increasingly uses the U.S. military to carry out his agenda through brute force, organizations that provide counseling services for U.S. servicemembers are reporting growing numbers of calls. These calls have further spiked in response to Trump’s war on Iran, one of the most unpopular in U.S. history.

The United States has carried out the war through intense attacks on densely populated civilian areas, the impact of which was clearly shown in the bombing of a girls’ school, killing well over 100 children. Not even concerned with selling the war to the public, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has leaned into treating the intervention as a “holy war” for Christianity.

Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran and executive director at the Center on Conscience & War (CCW), told Truthout that troops are telling his organization that they don’t want to be involved in the killing.

“That’s pretty much all of the cases that we have,” Prysner said. “It’s all people who don’t want to take part in killing in a war that they don’t believe in, and this war has made them realize that they can’t take part in any kind of U.S. military action ever again.”

The CCW, formerly the National Interreligious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors, was founded in 1940 to assist religious communities whose beliefs prohibited them from participating in war. Over time, and as a result of broadening criteria for who can qualify as a conscientious objector (CO), the organization evolved to assist troops of all backgrounds whose values prevent them from being able to participate in war.

Prysner told Truthout that in recent weeks CCW has already been able to help several servicemembers become COs to avoid being deployed.

To reach more servicemembers experiencing crises of conscience, CCW and other organizations including the Quaker House founded the GI Rights Hotline in 1994. Steve Woolford, a resource counselor at the Quaker House, has taken calls for the hotline since 2001 and agreed that the war on Iran, and Trump’s broader use of the military, has caused a spike in calls.

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