Tag: perpetual war

‘We cannot wait’: EU calls for drone wall to deter Russia after new incident in Denmark

Denmark has joined Estonia, Latvia. Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria in the project to build a ‘drone wall’ alongside the Eastern flank.

The European Commission has reaffirmed its intention to build a drone defence system along the bloc’s eastern flank to deter Russia from violating common airspace and respond rapidly to any such incursions.

In less than one month, Russian aircraft have violated the airspace of three member states – Poland, Romania and Estonia – putting the continent on high alert. The acts coincide with intensifying barrages on Ukrainian civilians.

On Monday, two to three large drones were spotted at Copenhagen Airport, prompting a shutdown in operations for nearly four hours. The airport later reopened but warned of delays and cancelled departures. Norway’s Oslo Airport was also disrupted.

Police said they refrained from shooting down the aircraft because the risk was too great, given the airport was at full capacity and planes were stationed near fuel depots.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the incident “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” and said she could not rule out Russian involvement.

On Tuesday, the Commission built on the events to call for the drone wall, a novel initiative first unveiled by President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the EU speech.

“For those who still doubted the need to have a drone wall in the European Union, well, here we get another example of how important it is,” said Thomas Regnier, the Commission’s spokesperson for defence policy.

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Trump’s Strategic Ambiguity and the Russia-Ukraine War

Let’s dive beyond the hype into what Trump is actually saying.

After yesterday’s meeting between US President Donald J. Trump and Kiev regime leader Volodymyr Zelensky, followed by his blockbuster Truth Social post, many were startled by the apparent U-turn by Trump on the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war.

But there is one element to be taken into consideration: Trump has long been cultivating strategic ambiguity regarding many world issues, making himself more of a moving target for the Fake News media’s relentless criticism.

If he remained immovable in his beliefs, he’d be a sitting duck for the casting of stones by the MSM hacks.

So, the avalanche of stories in the press about Trump flipping into a Ukrainian supporter are based on incomplete information, and even some vehicles have caught on to the real dimension of things.

Trump’s post and comments expressing his faith in Kiev’s ability to ‘regain all of its territory’ left people relieved, but suspicious that he will leave Europe to deal with support for Ukraine.

Reuters reported:

“Trump’s remarks on Truth Social marked an abrupt and major rhetorical shift for the U.S. leader who had previously nudged Ukraine to give up territory to end the war and rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska only last month.

But it was not immediately clear whether he would back up his words with a shift in U.S. policy, an ambiguity that could keep the onus on Europe to meet more of Ukraine’s needs through weapons and financing as Washington’s role recedes.”

Trump encourages Ukraine while not committing any new U.S. support.

“A senior Eastern European diplomat said Trump’s Ukraine comments aimed to show ‘that he is starting to disengage by sending a message that it is Europe’s question’.”

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‘Real Estate Bonanza’: The Macabre US Plan for the Post-Genocide Gaza

The jackals are back! In early September, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and the scion of another Big Apple real estate tycoon, began working with U.S. administration, eager to plan for post-genocide Gaza.

After two years of destruction of Gaza and genocide of Palestinians, it was time for economic development – or at least property development.

“Converting military victories to political victories”

Kushner had served as Trump’s go-between in the Abraham Accords that seeks to “normalize” the relations among Israel and Arab states. Mediated by the United States, the Accords are a set of deals between Israel, Gulf States (UAE, Bahrain) and Arab states (Morocco, Sudan). But to Netanyahu, these accords were the first step in ejecting Palestine from the Middle East talks.

The goal has been to bring Saudi Arabia under the umbrella. Yet, Israel’s genocidal atrocities in Gaza and violent pogroms in the West Bank have effectively undermined the plan. Riyadh has little incentive to inflame regional destabilization, which would penalize Saudi Vision 2030, the huge modernization and diversification program.

Talking in a recent “No Priors” podcast, hosted by his AI biz pals Elad Gil and Sarah Guo, Kushner stated that “Hamas in Gaza is basically destroyed. They have an opportunity to convert those military victories into political victories. If you’re able to find a satisfactory resolution… you can get to a place where full normalization with Saudi and Israel.”

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Trump promises Arab, Muslim leaders he won’t let Israel annex the West Bank

President Donald Trump promised Arab and Muslim leaders during a meeting Tuesday that he would not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank, according to six people familiar with the discussion.

Two of those people said that Trump was firm on the topic and that the president promised that Israel would not be allowed to absorb the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas.

Another one of the people familiar with the talks noted that, despite Trump’s assurance, a ceasefire to end Israel’s nearly two-year war against Hamas was nowhere close to fruition. Two others familiar with the matter said Trump and his team presented a white paper outlining the administration’s plan to end the war, including the annexation promise and other details such as governance and postwar security.

Special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff provided some details on the proposal on Wednesday. “We presented what we call the Trump 21-point-plan for peace in the Mideast in Gaza,” he said at the Concordia summit in New York. “I think it addresses Israeli concerns and as well, the concerns of all the neighbors in the in the region.” Witkoff did not mention any comments about the West Bank.

Trump told reporters ahead of his sit-down with eight Arab and Muslim countries at the United Nations headquarters that it was his “most important” of the day, but he left without speaking to reporters and the participants have yet to issue any official readout about the substance of their conversation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the meeting as “fruitful” Tuesday evening during an interview on Fox News Channel, but he did not elaborate. Erdogan and Trump are scheduled to meet again at the White House on Thursday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Arab leaders have been frustrated by Trump’s opposition to the recognition of a Palestinian state and his continued support of Netanyahu’s assault on Hamas, which expanded beyond Gaza earlier this month when Israel tried to take out Hamas officials when they were in Qatar for peace talks. Going into Tuesday’s meeting, they aimed to impress on the U.S. president that any Israeli incursion into the West Bank would likely lead to the collapse of the Abraham Accords, two of the people familiar with the conversation said.

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New war power bill gives Trump sweeping authority to attack dozens of nations: Report

Legislation has been drafted that would give US President Donald Trump unchecked power to wage war against drug cartels as well as any nation he says has harbored or aided them, the New York Times (NYT) reported on 23 September, citing people familiar with the matter.

If passed, the legislation would allow the US president to deem as “terrorists” any groups that have trafficked in drugs or financed drug-related enterprises. The president would then have the authorization to use military force against such groups and any governments allegedly harboring them.

The US military carried out attacks this month on three boats that Trump claims were smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea. The strikes killed 17 people and were widely criticized as illegal. Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the strikes “unlawful extrajudicial killings.”

NYT notes that the draft legislation appears to be modeled on the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that Congress granted former US president George W. Bush to launch the so-called “War on Terror” after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

While theoretically passed to allow the US to target Al-Qaeda and its hosts in Afghanistan, the broad nature of the AUMF allowed the Bush, Obama, and first Trump administrations to invade Iraq and to target Islamic militant groups in Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen many times over a period stretching decades.

Neither the AUMF nor the new draft legislation being considered names a specific enemy. The president is therefore empowered to attack any group, anywhere, in an open-ended war.

NYT stated that this raises the question of whether Congress was giving Trump the “authority to wage a regime change war in Venezuela.”

In addition to striking the three boats, Trump has ordered additional US warplanes and naval ships to the Caribbean, while also accusing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug cartel.

In July, Trump signed a still-secret order directing the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American criminal gangs and drug cartels, NYT added.

The Institute for Responsible Statecraft stated that the legislation could be used to justify US military intervention in at least 60 countries.

In comments given to NYT, Harvard Professor Jack Goldsmith called the draft legislation “insanely broad,” essentially “an open-ended war authorization against an untold number of countries, organizations, and persons that the president could deem within its scope.”

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Trump gives NATO the green light to shoot down Russian jets in sinister warning to Putin

Donald Trump insisted that NATO nations should feel emboldened to shoot down Russian planes if they enter their countries’ airspace.

It comes after Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace this week amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at United Nations headquarters on Tuesday, Trump suggested that the U.S. might back-up North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries forced to take action if Russia provokes them. 

‘Do you think that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace?’ a reporter asked Trump.

‘Yes I do,’ he replied.

Another reporter asked Trump if the U.S. would ‘backup’ or ‘help out’ NATO allies who did shoot down Russian planes. 

Trump said it ‘depends on the circumstance, but we’re very strong towards NATO.’

World leaders are gathered in New York City this week for the United Nations General Assembly. Trump delivered remarks to the entire body on Tuesday morning and is engaging in bilateral and multilateral meetings through the afternoon – including with Zelensky. 

Trump has grown frustrated with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and appears to be losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent unwillingness to reach a deal.

At his meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday, Trump urged NATO allies to strike Russian aircraft flying over their countries’ borders.

There have been three major instances this month where Russian craft entered the airspace of countries that were not Ukraine.

On September 19, three Russian MiG-31 jets entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes over the Gulf of Finland. NATO intercepted but did not engage with the aircraft.

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Trump Just Gave Green Light for World War III

President Donald Trump is a great disappointment. He has just given the GREEN LIGHT for World War III. This is the end of Western Civilization as we have known it. I have screamed as loud as I can, but those in Washington want to make sure Trump only listens to the NEOCONS who are out to destroy Russia, and they will find that China will NEVER allow Russia to fall because, and they told Kallas to her face, they know they will be next.

Trump has actually completely reversed his position. I was told last week that he was saying that we will probably have World War III over Ukraine. Trump is no longer telling this Merchant of Death, Zelensky, that Ukraine must give territory to end its war against Russia. The Russian population of Ukraine is irrelevant. Uktaonians have engaged historically in ethnic cleansing. They have no human rights. This is just about territory. Trump is now embracing NATO, saying in a social media post that he considers Ukraine to be “in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.”

Ukraine should have been broken up like the rest of the Balkans along ethnic lines. This is a war the NEOCONS have wanted for decades. This is NOT about pushing Russia out of Ukraine; this is a war to completely obliterate Russia, seize its assets, and divide it up among the European powers.

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U.S. Threats to Venezeula Are Ramping Up, Not Down

Reporting has recently emerged that the United States is considering direct strikes on Venezuela that could increase volatility in the region and the risk of war.

Under the pretext of disrupting the flow of drugs into the United States by Venezuelan drug cartels, the U.S. has militarized the waters off the coast of Venezuela, flooding them with Aegis guided-missile destroyers, a nuclear-powered fast track submarine, P-8 spy planes and F-35 fighter jets. On September 2, American forces fired on a small speed boat that the U.S. claims was running drugs for a Venezuelan cartel.

The Donald Trump administration is yet to offer evidence for its claim. They have neither publicly identified who the eleven people who were killed on the boat were nor what drugs they were carrying. Congress has still not been briefed.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the boat was “probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean.” Trump says it was bound for the United States. Turns out, it was headed back to Venezuela.

U.S. officials familiar with the operation have now told The New York Times that, having “spotted the military aircraft stalking it,” the boat has already “altered its course and appeared to have turned around before the attack started.” The twenty-nine second video that Trump posted on social media spliced together several clips but edited out the boat turning around. Despite this lack of imminent threat, the aircraft, either an attack helicopter or an MQ-9 Reaper drone, “repeatedly hit the vessel before it sank.”

The Trump administration has claimed the right to supplant the National Guard and law enforcement with the military and lethal force on the grounds that the drug cartels are terrorist organizations who pose a threat to the national security of the United States because the drugs they bring into the country to kill Americans. The U.S. has invoked the right to self-defense, and Rubio has insisted that the speed boat was “an immediate threat to the United States.” Except that if it had turned around, it wasn’t.

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What’s In a Name? The ‘Defense’ Department Has Always Been About War

The renaming of the Defense Department should have surprised no one. Donald Trump is an incipient fascist doing what such figures do. Surrounded by a coterie of illiberal ideologues and careerist sycophants, he and his top aides have dispensed with pretense and precedent, moving at breakneck speed to demolish what remains of the battered façade of American democracy.

In eight months, his second administration has unleashed a shock-and-awe assault on norms and institutions, civil liberties, human rights, and history itself. But fascism never respects borders. Fascists don’t recognize the rule of law. They consider themselves the law. Expansion and the glorification of war are their lifeblood. Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini put it all too bluntly: the fascist “believes neither in the possibility nor the utility of perpetual peace… war alone brings up to its highest tension all human energy and puts the stamp of nobility upon the peoples who have courage to meet it.”

Pete Hegseth is now equally blunt. From the Pentagon, he’s boasting of restoring a “warrior ethos” to the armed forces, while forging an offensive military that prizes “maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct.” The message couldn’t be clearer: when the U.S. loses wars, as it has done consistently despite commanding the most powerful military in history, it’s not due to imperial overreach, political arrogance, or popular resistance. Rather, defeat stems from that military having gone “woke,” a euphemism for failing to kill enough people.

The recent rechristening of the Department of Defense as the Department of War was certainly a culture-war stunt like Trump’s demand that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America. But it also signaled something more insidious: a blunt escalation of the criminal logic that has long underwritten U.S. militarism. That logic sustained both the Cold War of the last century and the War on Terror of this one, destroying millions of lives.

When Hegseth defended the recent summary executions of 11 alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers on a boat in the Caribbean, he boasted that Washington possesses “absolute and complete authority” to kill anywhere without Congressional approval or evidence of a wrong and in open defiance of international law. The next day, in responding on X to a user who called what had been done a war crime, Vance wrote, “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” It was the starkest admission since the Iraq War that Washington no longer pretends to operate internationally under the rule of law but under the rule of force, where might quite simply makes right.

While such an escalation of verbiage — the brazen confession of an imperial power that believes itself immune from accountability — should alarm us, it’s neither unprecedented nor unexpected. Peace, after all, has never been the profession of the U.S. military. The Department of Defense has always been the Department of War.

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US Officials Say Regime Change in Venezuela Is the Real Goal of Military Action in the Caribbean

US officials have told The New York Times that the real goal of the US military buildup in the Caribbean, and the bombing of boats in the region, is regime change in Venezuela.

The policy is being largely driven by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has long wanted to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power. Back in 2019, when the first Trump administration attempted to back a coup against Maduro, Rubio posted a photo on Twitter of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the moment he was being brutally murdered in an apparent threat to the Venezuelan leader.

The Trump administration claims that Maduro is the leader of a drug cartel, but has not produced any evidence for the charge. Maduro and other Venezuelan officials have forcefully rejected the accusation and have pointed to data that shows the majority of the cocaine that is produced in Colombia doesn’t go through Venezuela.

President Trump has also framed the military campaign in the region as a response to overdose deaths in the US due to fentanyl, but fentanyl isn’t produced in Venezuela, and it does not go through the country on its way to the US.

The Times report, which was published over the weekend, reads: “Several current and former military officials, diplomats, and intelligence officers say that while fighting drugs is the pretext for the recent US attacks, the real goal is to drive Mr. Maduro from power, one way or another.”

The US began bombing boats allegedly running drugs in the Caribbean on September 2. According to numbers released by President Trump, at least 17 people have been extrajudicially executed by the US military since the campaign began. US officials have said the Trump administration is considering direct strikes on Venezuelan territory, which could lead to a full-blown war with the country.

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