Tag: perpetual war

US Mourns The Victims of 9/11, But What Of The Victims Of The “War On Terror”?

In a video reportedly from 2006, a young Iraqi child was captured asking a U.S. soldier why America killed his dad. The soldier being questioned responds that it wasn’t him who killed the young boy’s father. When the child continues his line of questioning, the soldier turns the question around, asking him “do you hate Americans?” and “do you want to shoot me?” Elsewhere, graffiti on a wall in Sanaa, Yemen, depicts a U.S. drone and text written in Arabic and English by a child that says “why did you kill my family.”

Thousands of miles away, Hussein Al-Marfadi, one of many Muslim men who were incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay without charge, was transferred after 12 years in detention to Slovakia — a country where he had no roots. Lamenting his predicament, he said the Americans “killed our youth in Guantánamo and then they tossed us away like garbage.”

At another notorious prison, Abu Ghraib, a prison that the U.S. took over after it destroyed and occupied the country in 2003, Iraqis were subjected to the most egregious torture at the hands of Americans. Commenting on how his experience at the prison impacted him, Talib al-Majli — an Iraqi man who was incarcerated there for 16 months and never charged with anything — stated that “To this day I feel humiliation for what was done to me … The time I spent in Abu Ghraib — it ended my life. I’m only half a human now.”

Amid the violence of the U.S.’s war on terror, these stories, and hundreds of thousands more like them, are a reminder that Muslim people and communities have been rendered disposable as a means to the U.S.’s national security ends.

Unfortunately, the violence of the war on terror, which has been marked by militarism, draconian immigration policies, surveillance, federal terrorism prosecutions, detention, and torture has, thus far, continued unbated. This has resulted in the ongoing targeting and victimization of Muslim and other marginalized communities. Moreover, since Donald Trump began his second tenure as president, he has executed the “war on terror” with even greater fervor — expanding the post 9/11 “forever wars” and constructing new “security threats.”

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NATO Announces “Eastern Sentry” to “Bolster Eastern Flank” While Germany Adding 100,000 Additional Troops to Meet NATO “Targets” Against “Russian Aggression”

A “confidential paper” reviewed by Reuters in an exclusive report shows that  Germany “needs to add 100,000 active troops” to its current ranks, estimated at around 62,000.  The increase is attributed to a NATO target to bolster troops amidst “the growing threat of Russian aggression.”

According to Reuters, Army Chief Alfons Mais wrote to the Chief of the Defence Staff Carsten Breuer saying, “It is imperative for the army to become sufficiently ready for war by 2029 and provide the capabilities Germany pledged (to NATO) by 2035.”

Germany plans to add 45,000 troops by 2029 and then, again, add 45,000 more in 2035.  Additionally, it will add 10,000 troops for territorial defense, according to reporting from Modern Diplomacy.

Notably, Germany has not yet even met its 2018 goal of 203,000 troops, falling about 20,000 troops short of that number.

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Syria: Looming Civil War While External Forces Exploit the Chaos

Is Syria inexorably heading towards partitioning? Official statements from involved predatory states like Turkey suggest that “preserving Syria’s unity and territorial integrity” is important but appear hollow when viewed through the lens of events on the ground since the December 2024 overthrow of the Syrian Government.

We are seeing massacres of Syrian ethnic minorities from the north to the south. Israel has recently bombed military installations in Homs, Central Syria, and Latakia on the coast to prevent the restoration of Syrian defence capability and any military expansion by Turkey deeper inside Syria. Russia is re-establishing its occupation of Syrian territory in collaboration with Israel and with the tacit permission of Washington, which sees it as an opportunity to withdraw American military from the northeast. Israel is expanding further into southern Syria on a daily basis, preparing the ground for David’s Corridor, which will link to the Kurdish ‘autonomous region’ on the northeastern border with Iraq. Israel, Britain, Turkey, and the US have infested Damascus with their intelligence agencies. Gulf Arab states are plunging the country into debt enslavement with investment projects designed to plunder the country even further and to increase poverty of the masses reeling from 14 years of war, energy deprivation, and sanction-induced poverty and starvation.

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Putin deploys his strategic nuclear bombers as UN warns world is ‘staring into the abyss of WW3’ and UK prepares to help Nato fortify its eastern front against Russian attack

Vladimir Putin has deployed strategic nuclear bombers as the UN warns the world is ‘staring into the abyss of a Third World War’ – and the UK prepares to help fortify Nato‘s eastern front against Russian attack. 

The Russian president has launched the Tu-22M3 aircrafts in a renewed show of aggression – which the UN security council warned could escalate into global conflict. 

Footage shows Kremlin long-range aviation forces carrying out an air strike on a ‘simulated’ enemy, with the aim of ‘disrupting the control system and destroying critical objects’. 

Bastion complexes from the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land, which lies in the Arctic Ocean, struck the target in the Arctic with Onyx missiles as part of a drill. 

And just today, Putin taunted the West again by deploying hulking nuclear-capable Iskander missile launchers close to Russia’s border with Poland.  

It comes after the Kremlin flew attack drones into Polish airspace earlier this week which it had to shoot down on Tuesday night with the help of its Nato allies. 

Poland closed its border with Belarus as the UN security council was warned of the dire risk of a new world war. 

Nato was forced to urgently strengthen its eastern defences – efforts the UK will join. 

Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Friday military activity under ‘Eastern Sentry’ would start in the coming days and involve assets from the UK, as well as allies including France and Germany. 

‘In addition to more traditional military capabilities, this effort will also feature elements designed to address the particular challenges associated with the use of drones,’ Mr Rutte said.

The operation will bolster Nato’s posture and add flexibility to its approach, he said.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: ‘The UK is fully committed to playing our part in Nato’s Eastern Sentry following the reckless and dangerous airspace violations by Russia.

‘We will provide further detail on the UK Armed Forces contribution soon.’

Putin’s deployment of nuclear bombers comes as part of its four-day Zapad-2025 exercises – annual drills in the Arctic, Belarus and Russia to test the defensive readiness of the Union State, the alliance between the latter two nations. 

They are seen as a challenge to Nato in all three locations. 

The war games will also see troops drill the use of nuclear missiles from the West’s doorstep in Belarus, Russia’s authoritarian neighbour. 

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US Bombs Somalia for 75th Time This Year

US Africa Command said in a press release on Thursday that its forces launched airstrikes against al-Shabaab in the Shabelle Region of southern Somalia on September 9, marking at least the 75th time the US has bombed the country this year as the Trump administration has shattered the previous record for annual airstrikes in the country.

AFRICOM offered no details about the strikes other they saying they were launched in support of the US-backed Mogadishu-based Federal Government. “Specific details about units and assets will not be released to ensure continued operations security,” the command said.

AFRICOM stopped sharing details about casualties and assessments of civilian harm earlier this year, telling Antiwar.com at the time that it was withholding such information as the new Trump administration “settles in.”

AFRICOM told New America, an organization that tracks the US air war in Somalia, that although it stated it launched “airstrikes,” only one strike was actually launched during two engagements. AFRICOM told Antiwar.com on September 8 that it had launched 74 airstrikes in Somalia so far in 2025, and the September 9 strike brings the total to 75. The previous record for total US airstrikes in Somalia was 63, which President Trump set in 2019.

Garowe Online reported on Wednesday that Somali forces had killed a member of al-Shabaab who was allegedly behind an assassination attempt against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The report said the operation was conducted in the Lower Shabelle region and was supported by “international partners,” suggesting it could have been the strike announced by AFRICOM, though it remains unconfirmed.

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Gaza and the death of conscience

There are moments in history that strip away every illusion we carry about ourselves. Gaza is one such moment. For nearly two years, the world has witnessed a genocide live on its screens. We have seen children pulled from rubble, families starving in tents, hospitals turned to dust. We cannot say we did not know. Every image, every cry, every number has reached us in real time. And yet the killing goes on, the silence goes on, life goes on.

The truth is unbearable but undeniable: we have failed Gaza, and in doing so, we have failed ourselves as human beings.

Frantz Fanon once wrote that colonialism is not a machine but a human reality, and when confronted, it responds with naked violence. Gaza is the purest proof of this truth in our own time. Israel’s colonial war does not speak the language of justice or dialogue; it speaks through bombs, siege, and starvation. Genocide today does not come only with the slogans of hatred but with the bureaucratic jargon of “security,” “collateral damage,” “military necessity.” Western governments supply the bombs while speaking of peace. The United Nations counts the dead while doing nothing to stop the dying. Media outlets repeat official lines while children are buried under rubble.

As Talal Asad reminds us, secular modernity has perfected this art: to kill massively while convincing itself it remains moral. To dress violence in legality, to turn blood into statistics, to make atrocity look like policy. Gaza has become the stage where this moral corruption plays out openly.

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Qatar Pressures Arab Allies To Close Embassies In Israel: ‘The Gloves Are Off’

Qatar is leaning on Arab countries who have embassies in Israel to close them, as diplomatic retaliation for this week’s brazen Israeli airstrikes on Doha, which killed several Hamas leaders – including Khalil al-Hayya – and a Qatari security official.

Specifically, the United Arab Emirates is being pressured to shutter its embassy in Tel Aviv. The UAE was an initial signer of the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords. It officially inaugurated its embassy in July of 2021 as part of the historic normalization deal.

Washington has been hoping to expand the accords to other Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, but with the Gaza war raging, this seems definitely off and nowhere on the horizon.

“The gloves are off,” a Gulf diplomat speaking with Haaretz said. The UAE has vehemently condemned the attack on Qatar, and  summoned the Israeli deputy ambassador, David Ohad Horsandi, to complain of “outrageous attack” which violated Qatar’s sovereignty. 

Haaretz has suggested that Qatar might even alter its security ties with the United States. “Qatar’s prime minister told the White House his country would now re-evaluate its security partnership with Washington,” Haaretz reported.

“From Doha’s perspective, accusing Qatar of hosting Hamas leaders is seen as a knife in the back and could affect continued cooperation with Mossad as well as other interactions between the emirate and Israel,” Haaretz added.

The oil and gas rich GCC countries had throughout the decade-plus long Syria proxy war cooperated closely with Israeli intelligence, past reports have said.

But the Gaza crisis has strained all of these past ties, which mostly focused on countering Iranian and Shia influence across the Middle East, and Assad became prime target number one for regime change – given his deep cooperation with the Iranians.

Yet even the Saudis have by and large mended relations with Iran. While the royal family pays lip service to defending Palestinians, it is the common populations of Gulf states which tend to be more hardline in the pro-Palestinian cause.

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NASA Bans Chinese Nationals From Working on Agency Programs

NASA has barred Chinese nationals holding U.S. visas from its facilities and networks, the latest move by Washington to safeguard the space agency as its space race with Beijing intensifies.

Chinese nationals, who until now could work at NASA as contractors or contribute to its research, were informed on Sept. 5 that their access to the agency’s systems and facilities had been revoked. Bloomberg first reported that many suddenly found themselves locked out of NASA data systems and excluded from both in-person and virtual meetings related to their work.

NASA press secretary Bethany Stevens confirmed the decision, stating that the agency had taken “internal action pertaining to Chinese nationals—including restricting physical and cybersecurity access to our facilities, materials, and network to ensure the security of our work.”

The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese nationals working in sensitive U.S. technology sectors, as in recent years, a growing number of individuals have been accused of conducting espionage on behalf of the Chinese communist regime. In August, the Department of War—then called the Department of Defense—ordered Microsoft to stop using China-based engineers to support the military agency’s cloud computing systems.

It remains unclear if a specific incident triggered NASA’s action. In response to a request for comment, the agency’s press office referred The Epoch Times to a post on X featuring acting administrator Sean Duffy’s appearance on Fox Business.

In that interview, Duffy said the United States must lead what he described as a “second space race,” warning that the Chinese regime is not advancing its lunar agenda “with good intentions.”

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The Five Most Likely Outcomes From The Russian Drone Incursion Into Poland

NATO forces directly intercepted Russian drones for the first time since the special operation began after some of them veered into Poland earlier this week, with this unprecedented incident arguably being due to NATO jamming as explained here.

Some commentators on both sides think that this might lead to World War III, but that’s a far-fetched scenario since NATO isn’t expected to kinetically respond by bombing Russia (even just Kaliningrad) and/or Belarus. The five most likely outcomes are actually that:

* The “EU Defense Line” Becomes A “Drone Wall”

The “Baltic Defense Line” and Poland’s “East Shield”, which are collectively known as the “EU Defense Line” that functions as the new Iron Curtain, might soon be outfitted with cutting-edge anti-drone capabilities as suggested by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. She spoke about creating an “Eastern Flank Watch” that would also become a “drone wall”, which the Baltic States have wanted for a while, and it makes sense to expand this program in both directions to Poland and Finland.

* Poland Expands Its Military Influence In The Baltics

As the most populous and prosperous formerly communist country in Central Europe, which has already built the third-largest army in NATO, Poland could easily expand its military influence over the region on the pretext of “defending against Russia”. New President Karol Nawrocki implied over the summer that the “Three Seas Initiative” would be the means towards this end and even declared during his latest trip to Lithuania that “we are responsible for entire region of Central Europe, including the Baltic States”.

* The US Expands Its Military Presence In Poland

Poland has been asking for more US troops for years, and Trump seemed willing to satisfy this request when he said during Nawrocki’s visit last month that “We’ll put more there if they want.” That might be what he had in mind when he tweeted “Here we go!” on Wednesday. As was assessed earlier this year, “Poland Is Once Again Poised To Become The US’ Top Partner” and “Trump Is Unlikely To Pull All US Troops Out Of Central Europe Or Abandon NATO’s Article 5”, so this is within the realm of possibility.

* Poland Host Elements Of A NATO Sky Shield…

Less likely but nonetheless still possible is that Poland hosts elements of a NATO Sky Shield, whether for protecting the bloc’s eastern flank and/or extending this umbrella into Western Ukraine, the latter of which aligns with a proposed security guarantee. The 10,000 US troops in Poland might reassure it that Russia would be deterred from deliberately targeting these assets, not to mention if even more are deployed, but public opinion might keep this shield centered on Poland instead of shared with Ukraine.

* …But That’s As Far As Its Response Will Go

Regardless of whatever happens with the aforesaid scenario, Poland won’t go any further by deploying troops to Ukraine for example, which Nawrocki ruled out. Despite occasional speculation, Poland has no revanchist plans since it doesn’t want to be responsible for millions of ultra-nationalist Ukrainians, who could also wage a terrorist insurgency against its troops. It’s already exploring the lease of land and ports to recoup its aid and even profit so there’s no need to take such risks, including a hot war with Russia.

All in all, Poland is expected to avoid the trap of mission creep after last week’s incident, having already concluded some time ago that the potential benefits of escalating its involvement in the Ukrainian Conflict even further than it already has aren’t worth the risks.

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U.S. Plan To Disarm Hezbollah Is a Diplomatic Dead End

The United States has given Lebanon until the end of the year to disarm Hezbollah in exchange for ending Israeli military operations there. This proposal, delivered to President Joseph Aoun, offers incremental Israeli withdrawals over the next few months in return for Hezbollah’s gradual dissolution—an outcome that’s nearly impossible in practice and already rejected by the group. Washington’s attempt to link Israeli withdrawals to Hezbollah’s disarmament ignores military and political realities. Disarming the terrorist group is not a matter of transactional diplomacy, but a near-impossible task that risks wasting diplomatic capital while the greater Middle East sinks deeper into instability.

Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack delivered the offer, which outlines an Israeli concession of five border points in cooperation with the Lebanese military. Ideal as it sounds, the Iran-backed group has had its teeth sunk into Lebanese civil, political, and even military sectors for decades, and it is the first watershed moment for the legitimacy of Aoun’s new administration. A former army chief, Aoun countered with a point-for-point trade that Israel has since rejected, given the terrorist group’s outright refusal to disarm.

The Lebanese Army still presented the disarmament plan, which won cabinet approval in early September despite Shiite ministers walking out in protest—but it still sidesteps the core problem: Disarmament cannot be bargained with a terrorist organization that’s already embedded in the political and military state. 

In fact, the same Shiite cabinet members who walked out during the discussion were members of Hezbollah’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party, the allied Shiite Amal party, and one independent Shiite minister. Simultaneously a foreign terrorist organization and a political party, Hezbollah is a “state within a state,” with deep-seated influence in the Lebanese government that has blocked legislative business and influenced elections. 

Two possible outcomes could have resulted from the deal: Aoun could attempt to disarm Hezbollah and risk another civil war, or the government could stall and prompt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to intervene militarily. 

Given Israel’s strike in Qatar against Hamas leadership earlier this week, the latter was more probable. Any hope for the former was lost last week when Ortagus visited Lebanon alongside U.S. Army commanders, indicating clearly that the U.S. is lending strategic expertise to help the Lebanese Army execute the plan. Israel has already begun its campaign against Hezbollah sites in northeast Lebanon. Additionally, Israel recently refocused its military personnel and hardware to their two-pronged effort in Gaza and Lebanon, backed by American shipments of military aid as well.

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