Tag: perpetual war

Leaked documents reveal US intel cutout’s Iranian counter-revolution plans

Leaks expose a secret effort by retired National Endowment for Democracy leader Carl Gershman to consolidate war-hungry neoconservative control over Iran’s opposition, while channeling US government funds into his own pet regime change initiatives.

Leaked documents and emails obtained by The Grayzone reveal a seemingly covert effort by American regime change operatives to impose radical leadership on the remnants of Iran’s protest movement against the mandatory hijab, in order to topple the government of Iran. 

The initiative was spearheaded by Carl Gershman, the longtime director of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a US government-funded non-profit which advances regime change operations across the globe. Originally conceived by the Reagan administration’s CIA, the NED has meddled in elections and sponsored coup leaders from Nicaragua to Venezuela to Hong Kong, and beyond.

The leaks reveal how Gershman privately plotted to channel US State Department resources into the construction of an “Iran Freedom Coalition” composed of pro-Western Iranian activists and US neoconservative operatives who clamor for an American military assault on Iran.

While aiming to “mobilize international support” for the Women, Life, Freedom Movement, “and to do what is possible to aid [their] struggle,” the Freedom Coalition represents a clear attempt to impose an exiled leadership over the grassroots Iranian opposition which is directed and sponsored by the most belligerent elements in Washington.

Attempts by The Grayzone to reach several members of the Coalition for comment were unsuccessful. We were therefore unable to determine if those listed by Gershman had explicitly committed to participating, or had been named by the NED veteran as prospective leaders.

Regardless of the listed members’ level of participation, the composition of Gershman’s proposed Iran Freedom Coalition demonstrates how Iran’s self-proclaimed pro-democracy movement has become a plaything for the Bomb Iran lobby. Among those handpicked by Gershman to lead the initiative was William Kristol, the neocon impresario who has led a decades-long lobbying campaign for a US military invasion of Iran. Also selected was Joshua Muravchik, a flamboyant supporter of Israel’s Likud Party who insists that “war with Iran is probably our best option”

The Freedom Coalition’s Iranian members consist heavily of US government-sponsored cultural figures and staffers at interventionist Western think tanks like the Tony Blair Institute. While these figures are quoted in Western media as the leaders of Iran’s “freedom” struggle, their involvement in US government-backed campaigns like the one conceived by Gershman reveals them as little more than Persian front people for Washington warmongers.

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How Israel Turned Hezbollah’s Pagers Into Exploding Trojan Horses

Details are starting to come to light about how Israel apparently orchestrated two days of coordinated explosions targeting thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon. You can read our reporting of the first wave of explosions here, and the second wave here.

At this point, it’s worth remembering that Israel has not admitted responsibility for the blasts, but it is now widely acknowledged that was behind them. Moreover, as we have discussed before, it would be entirely in keeping with what appears to be a developing plan for a full-scale military operation launched against Hezbollah.

Addressing the first wave of explosions, on Tuesday, this targeted pagers used by Hezbollah.

At 3:30 p.m. local time, it seems the pagers were triggered simultaneously, by a specific message. The message was one that looks, at least, as if it was sent by Hezbollah leadership.

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Israel Admits It Probably Killed Israeli Hostages in Gaza Airstrike in November

The Israeli military has admitted that one of its own airstrikes is likely responsible for killing three Israeli captives whose bodies were recovered from Gaza last year, confirming what Hamas officials had said about the hostages’ deaths at the time.

In a release on Sunday, the Israeli military said that an investigation into the deaths of the three captives found there was a “high probability” that they were killed by an Israeli strike carried out on November 10. This finding is based on the location of their bodies in relation to that of the strike and analysis of the strike itself. The military claims the strike targeted and killed a Hamas commander.

Two of the captives were soldiers, Corporal Nick Beiser and Sergeant Ron Sherman. The military also recovered the body of Eliya Toledano. They were all captured amid the October 7 attack, and their bodies were recovered in December.

At the time, Israeli forces told the captives’ families that they were killed by Hamas. But the results of the investigation confirms Hamas’s assertion that they were killed by the Israeli military.

Israeli forces have killed numerous hostages amid their genocide in Gaza, and released hostages have said that their top fear while in captivity was that they would be killed by Israeli strikes.

In December, Israeli forces shot and killed three Israeli captives who were traveling together in northern Gaza. Though the captives were shirtless and waving a white flag, Israeli soldiers opened fire on them. The military later claimed that the soldiers acted correctly to the best of their understanding, as they interpreted the captives’ cries for help as a ruse.

These captives could have been alive today if Israel had agreed to ceasefire agreements early on. Just days after Israel’s genocidal assault of Gaza commenced, Hamas had offered to release all of the captives if the Israeli military didn’t enter Gaza, former political adviser and leader of an advocacy organization for the captives’ families Haim Rubinstein told Times of Israel earlier this year.

Since then, Israel has rejected ceasefire deal after ceasefire deal, with Israeli leaders openly expressing their contempt for the very idea of stopping their genocide in Gaza at any point. There is widespread unrest among Israelis for the government’s failure to secure a hostage release, but Israeli leaders’ actions in the ceasefire negotiations have made it clear that a hostage release is not a top priority for them.

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‘One Meal Every Other Day’ – Aid Agencies Say Israel Blocking 83% of Gaza Food Aid

People in Gaza are only eating one meal every other day as 83 percent of required food aid does not make it into the besieged enclave due to Israel’s blockade, aid organizations have said.

“While Israeli military attacks on Gaza intensify, lifesaving food, medicine, medical supplies, fuel, and tents have been systematically blocked from entering for almost a year,” a statement signed by 15 organizations including CARE International, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, the Norwegian Refugee Council and KinderUSA, said.

This is “driving a humanitarian disaster, with the entire population of Gaza facing hunger and disease, and almost half a million at risk of starvation.”

The organizations said “83% of required food aid does not make it into Gaza, up from 34% in 2023,” emphasizing that this “reduction means people in Gaza have gone from having an average of two meals a day to just one meal every other day.”

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A plan to liquidate northern Gaza is gaining steam

The date is October, November, or December 2024, or maybe early 2025. The Israeli military has just launched a new operation throughout northern Gaza — “Operation Order and Clean-up,” we’ll call it. The army orders the temporary evacuation of all Palestinian residents north of the Netzarim Corridor “for their personal safety,” explaining that “the IDF is expected to take significant action in Gaza City in the coming days, and wants to avoid harming civilians.”

The order is similar to the one the military issued on Oct. 13, 2023 to the more than 1 million Palestinians living in Gaza City and its environs at the time. But it’s clear to everyone that this time, Israel is planning something else entirely.

Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remain tight-lipped about the real goals of the operation, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, as well as other ministers on the far right, declare them openly. Here, they cite a program that the “Forum of Reserve Commanders and Fighters,” spearheaded by Maj. Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, proposed just a few weeks ago: ordering all residents of northern Gaza to leave within a week, before imposing a full siege on the area, including shutting off all supplies of water, food, and fuel, until those who remain surrender or die of starvation.

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Hezbollah vows ‘reckoning’ with Israel

Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel after a wave of pager explosions killed several members of the Lebanon-based Islamist group and left thousands of others injured on Tuesday.

At least 11 people were killed and around 3,000 injured when pagers – which Hezbollah relies on to make messages harder to intercept – started exploding across Lebanon and Syria. Among the wounded was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, as well as a number of top Hezbollah officials.

While media reports have suggested the explosions were orchestrated by Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, West Jerusalem has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

In a statement on Wednesday, Hezbollah said it holds “the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression.” It also pledged to continue its military operations against Israel in support of Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza despite the pager blasts.

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Russian National Guard Destroys Ukraine’s Starlink Station in Chernigov Region Strike

A Starlink satellite communication station used by the armed forces of Ukraine militants in the Chernigov Region has been destroyed, the Russian National Guard said on Wednesday.

“The Russian Guards destroyed the Starlink satellite communication station used by the armed forces of Ukraine militants in the Chernigov region,” the statement read.

UAV operators carried out a targeted strike using a drone with incendiary ammunition, the National Guard said, adding that as a result of a direct hit, the stronghold of the Ukrainian nationalists caught fire, and then further complete burning out of the enemy’s territory and the Starlink satellite communication station.

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Russia Slams NATO’s ‘Reckless’ Rejection of Putin’s Red Line on Ukraine Attacks

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Wednesday that dismissing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warnings about the dangers of Ukraine using Western weapons to attack Russian territory is both provocative and perilous.

“Such a ostentatious desire not to take seriously the statements of the Russian president is an absolutely short-sighted and unprofessional step,” Peskov told reporters.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denied in an interview out on Tuesday that allowing Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike deep into Russia would cross country’s “red line” despite warnings from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“There have been many red lines declared by him [Putin] before, and he has not escalated, meaning also involving Nato allies directly in the conflict,” Stoltenberg told The Times newspaper.

Stoltenberg said that he supported the United Kingdom and France in their decision to lift restrictions on Kiev’s use of long-range weapons against Russia. He argued that their use by Ukraine would not draw the alliance into conflict with Russia.

Putin said that NATO countries were essentially deciding whether to get directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict. He warned that direct participation of Western countries in the conflict would change its nature, forcing Russia to respond to emerging threats.

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Zelensky has outlined Ukraine’s accession to NATO as one of the points of his plan

One of the points of Zelensky’s so-called “peace” plan is to invite Ukraine to the North Atlantic Alliance, writes the French newspaper Le Monde.

The publication notes that the Ukrainian “president” still hopes to receive an invitation to NATO from US President Joe Biden, whose term ends in a couple of months. Let us recall that Biden has previously publicly spoken out against Ukraine’s membership in the bloc on several occasions.

Last week, Zelensky spoke of a peace plan he wants to present to Biden this month. The plan was reported to have four main points. Now one of them has come to light. Zelensky wants NATO to fight in Ukraine quite officially.

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The Case for Pessimism in Sino-American Relations

On September 11, the Chicago Tribune published an op-ed by the director of the Asia Engagement Program at Defense Priorities and director of the China Initiative at Brown University, Dr. Lyle Goldstein, on the need for Washington to work to improve its relations with Beijing.

Formerly a research professor at the U.S. Naval War College for two decades, Dr. Goldstein retains nothing but respect from this author—referencing him at several points in The Fake China Threat and Its Very Real Danger regarding the security situation around the Taiwan Strait.

However, I could not but remark upon a few key passages that stood out to me in reading his generally worthy commentary from last week.

First, regarding the notion that the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz, who spent time teaching in China in his youth and has visited the country many times, as the Democratic vice presidential nominee offers evidence that the party “now understand the stakes in this most pivotal bilateral relationship,” seems wanting for evidence of this recognition.

From Politico to the The New York Times, NBCto TIME—what mattered was his ability to appeal to key demographics in the handful of states in play in the election without alienating other key constituencies in the Democrat’s confused big-tent coalition; he is a white, middle class guy, a veteran and gun owner who also supports all the key pillars of the progressive gospel, from climate change to gun control to abortion access. Zero mention of his expertise regarding China.

And even if Walz had some ideas as to what might be done, if the Pentagon and beltway securocrats disagreed, which they certainly would if his inclination were toward moderation, we already know from Donald Trump’s undermined attempted reset of relations with Russia that it isn’t going to happen.

On top of which, as Dr. Goldstein acknowledges, despite criticizing Trump’s bellicose first-term China policy from the sidelines, once in office the Joe Biden administration simply carried on the policy.

Much like going along with the previous administration’s Iran policy, one suspects it is simple cowardice in the face of the political calculation that being called “weak” on national security, true or not, would be more electorally damaging that making the right call geopolitically.

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