Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Gordon G. Chang • December 24, 2024 at 5:00 am
[T]rying to reach a grand bargain with China — what [Trump] was hinting at — would be exactly the wrong approach at this or any other moment. Trump has already tried to reach an accommodation with China: his Phase One Trade pact of January 2020. He calls it "the best trade deal" ever, but it is now widely viewed as a bust. The Chinese, during an election year in America, never honored its terms. [Chinese President Xi Jinping's] actions are the inevitable result of China's communist political system, which idealizes violence, struggle, and domination. This system means there can be no accommodation with the Communist Party. The Chinese regime believes the world is its enemy. No enduring understanding, pact, deal or agreement is possible.
"China and the United States can together solve all of the problems of the world, if you think about it," President-Elect Donald Trump said on December 16. But trying to reach a grand bargain with China — what he was hinting at — would be exactly the wrong approach at this or any other moment. The Chinese regime believes the world is its enemy. No enduring understanding, pact, deal or agreement is possible. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping hosts then President Trump in Beijing on November 9, 2017. (Photo by Thomas Peter-Pool/Getty Images)
"China and the United States can together solve all of the problems of the world, if you think about it," President-Elect Donald Trump said on December 16, at a Mar-a-Lago press conference. He also called China's President Xi Jinping "amazing" and confirmed he had invited the Chinese leader to his inauguration. Earlier in the month, Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris and stated this in connection with efforts to end the war in Eastern Europe: "China can help." The victorious Trump of December was noticeably more friendly to China than the Trump of the long, grueling campaign. During the campaign, the Republican candidate was often in trade-war mode, promising to impose an additional across-the-board tariff of more than 60% on all Chinese goods.
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by Robert Williams • December 23, 2024 at 5:00 am
Samidoun ("Steadfast"), a "Vancouver-based terrorist group," was founded in 2012 -- ostensibly to "assist Palestinian prisoners" -- by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization in the United States, European Union and Canada. In practice, Samidoun is a front for the PFLP. Who funds this terrorist-supporting madness? Samidoun, which does not publish any donor information, has a financial sponsor in the US, the Alliance for Global Justice, a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that reportedly works to bring about a communist revolution through building coalitions of organizations, many involved in pro-Hamas activity, and, according to its own website: "We also act as fiscal sponsor to over 90 economic, social justice and human rights projects around the world that do not have their own tax-exempt status." Who funds the Alliance for Global Justice? According to Influence Watch, several of the same megadonors that fund the Democratic Party in the US, such as George Soros' Open Society Foundations, and the Tides Foundation. The Tides Foundation, which was once described as a "charitable money laundering" organization, and was previously supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also sponsors anti-Israeli groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow, both of which are active in the ongoing protests. The Alliance for Global Justice also receives funds from the Arca Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, and the Brightwater Fund. The support for groups such as Samidoun by the Alliance for Global Justice led to demands to revoke its tax-exempt status.... It is now six months later, and the IRS has done nothing.
Samidoun, a "Vancouver-based terrorist group," was founded in 2012 by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization in the United States, European Union and Canada. In practice, Samidoun is a front for the PFLP. Pictured: An anti-Israel protest by Samidoun in Duisburg, Germany, on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)
Antisemitism in the West, which has risen to unprecedented levels since the October 7 attacks on Israel, is being deliberately driven by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with links to Palestinian terrorist organizations. One of the most active NGOs, Samidoun ("Steadfast"), a "Vancouver-based terrorist group," was founded in 2012 -- ostensibly to "assist Palestinian prisoners" -- by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a designated terrorist organization in the United States, European Union and Canada. In practice, Samidoun is a front for the PFLP. The PFLP is an active terrorist organization, which participated in the October 7, 2023 atrocities, including in hostage taking, and shared celebratory videos and other material of the massacres online.
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by Raymond Ibrahim • December 22, 2024 at 5:00 am
"The [US State] department's annual reports on human rights and human trafficking do not mention Coptic women in their sections on Egypt.... the secretary of state should raise the issue directly with Sisi at their next meeting." — "Egypt's Disappearing Women," Washington Examiner, November 14, 2024. "Under U.S. law, a portion of the $1.3 billion in military aid that Egypt receives each year is contingent on Cairo's efforts to improve its record on human rights. When the next review of Cairo's record begins, the safety of Coptic women should be front and center." — "Egypt's Disappearing Women," Washington Examiner, November 14, 2024. "Migrant youths" have been terrorizing a small Swiss town, Soyhières... "sowing terror" in the small village of 433 people.... the "same group of migrant youths has been seen in the night roaming with knives and carrying a small axe...." The police, apparently, are powerless: "due to their age, the youths cannot be prosecuted." — rmix.news, November 27, 2024. A court sentenced Tomaj Aryankia, an Iranian convert to Christianity, to 10 years' imprisonment for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic through promoting Christianity." Iranwire.com, November 18, 2024, Iran.
According to a November 14 report on Egypt, "Coptic Christians remain a target of persecution; hundreds of young women have been kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and coerced into marriage." Pictured: Christian women pray during the Good Friday procession at the Church of St. George in the city of Mahalla in the north of Egypt, on April 14, 2017. (Photo by Stringer/AFP via Getty Images)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of November 2024. The Muslim Rape and Forced Conversion of Christian Girls Pakistan: On Nov. 7, a Muslim man brutally raped a teenage Christian girl. The Muslim, Ansar Shah, initially went up to Eman Khuram, 18, as she was walking home late in the evening (as the eldest daughter, since the family's father had abandoned them, she had been working long hours every day). He told her that he had kidnapped her younger brother, and unless she got on his motorcycle and rode with him, he would kill the boy. Terrified, she complied. He drove her around for 30 minutes, during which time he continued issuing threats, until he finally stopped at a secluded brick factory.
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by Amir Taheri • December 22, 2024 at 4:00 am
["Liberator of Damascus" Ahmed al-Sharaa alias Abu-Mohammed] al-Jolani may have done Iran two more favors. First, he has shown that spending money and blood on killing other peoples to keep a hated tyrant in power isn't good politics or economics. Even the dumbest or most hoodwinked policymakers in Tehran may have gotten that message. Secondly, if Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wishes to replace Iran's Khomeinist cabal as pretender to leadership of the Islamic world, let it taste some of the witches brew...
Pictured: Ahmed al-Sharaa, alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, leader of Syria's jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, is greeted at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on December 8, 2024. (Photo by Abdulaziz Ketaz/AFP via Getty Images)
In most government offices in Tehran, the first thing a visitor encounters is a cardboard effigy of the late General Qassem Soleimani, presented as "the greatest military commander in Islamic history." Also labeled as "the martyr Haj Qassem," his bust adorns public squares and sport stadiums in more than 100 Iranian towns and cities. Eulogized as the leader who defeated the United States, humbled Israel and conquered Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and parts of Yemen, Haj Qassem is one of the trio that dominate Khomeinist mythology, the other two being the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the current "Supreme Leader" Ali Khamenei. But what if the tide is turning against Haj Qassem? Plans to install his bust in more of Iran's 1,000 towns and cities have been quietly "postponed" in recent days, and the narrative about his derring-do adventures toned down in the official media and Friday sermons.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • December 21, 2024 at 5:00 am
When it comes to national security, appeasement is not an option. Bribing aggressors only finances their militaries for attacks on the West in the future. Israel's approach to combating terrorism has always been characterized by thoroughness and determination -- for which is usually put through the tortures of hell by the very countries it is working to save. With a vision of ultimately fostering peace, harmony, security and prosperity throughout the region, as in the Abraham Accords, Israel expanded its military operations beyond Hamas... reshaping the Middle East into a region free of the grip of terror... Make Persia Great Again! So long as Iran's regime remains in power, brutalizing its people and making plans for global expansion, there can be no chance for peace in the region. Removing the regime... would bring lasting security and prosperity to the Middle East and beyond.... One could then set about subduing Turkey and its terrorist proxies in Syria.
When it comes to national security, appeasement is not an option. Bribing aggressors only finances their militaries for attacks on the West in the future. Israel's approach to combating terrorism has always been characterized by thoroughness and determination -- for which is usually put through the tortures of hell by the very countries it is working to save. Pictured: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Aerospace Force Amir Ali Hajizadeh look on as a Jihad missile is displayed at a parade in Tehran on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
After Hamas carried out its horrific October 7, 2023 massacre by invading Israel, murdering hundreds of people and kidnapping individuals from various countries, Israel reached a breaking point. This act of terrorism ignited a wave of decisive actions across the Middle East that catalyzed remarkable developments, aimed at countering and eliminating terror networks. For decades, the region has been plagued by violence and instability, but Israel's response marked a significant turning point, showcasing its resolve to confront terrorism head-on and help usher in a new era of security.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • December 20, 2024 at 5:00 am
Had the international community held the Palestinian Authority (PA) accountable for financial and administrative corruption after the signing of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago, the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group would not have gained popularity among Palestinians. Although many Palestinians support Hamas's policy of rejecting Israel's right to exist, the Islamist group's victory greatly reflected the desire of the Palestinian public to end corruption in the PA government and institutions. The most common forms of corruption seem to be the offenses of favoritism, nepotism, embezzlement of public funds, breach of trust, abuse of power, bribery and money laundering. The best way to undermine Hamas and help the Palestinians is by offering the people a better alternative to the Islamist movement. The current Palestinian Authority leadership is just not seen by many Palestinians as a better alternative to Hamas. That is because the United States, European Union and other donors are not banging on the table and demanding an end to the PA's authoritarian and corrupt conduct.
Had the international community held the Palestinian Authority (PA) accountable for financial and administrative corruption after the signing of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago, the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group would not have gained popularity among Palestinians. The current PA leadership is just not seen by many Palestinians as a better alternative to Hamas. That is because the US, EU and other donors are not banging on the table and demanding an end to the PA's authoritarian and corrupt conduct. Pictured: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan on October 13, 2023. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Had the international community held the Palestinian Authority (PA) accountable for financial and administrative corruption after the signing of the Oslo Accords 30 years ago, the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group would not have gained popularity among Palestinians. Hamas became so popular that its representatives won the last elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), in 2006. The Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform list received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats in the PLC. Although many Palestinians support Hamas's policy of rejecting Israel's right to exist, the Islamist group's victory greatly reflected the desire of the Palestinian public to end corruption in the PA government and institutions. Justin Curtis wrote in Harvard University's Exposé Magazine in 2016:
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by Robert Williams • December 19, 2024 at 5:00 am
"Border Patrol zones across Texas, Arizona and California had no agent presence for weeks and months at a time. Those who did not want to be caught could simply walk in. We have no idea who and what entered our country over this time." — Aaron Heitke, retired chief patrol agent for the San Diego Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, September 18, 2024. "Simultaneously, in San Diego we had an exponential increase in [Special] Interest Aliens (SIAs). These are aliens with significant ties to terrorism.... I was told I could not release any information on this increase in SIA's or mention any of the arrests. The administration was trying to convince the public that there was no threat at the border." — Aaron Heitke, testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, September 18, 2024.
More than half a million Venezuelans have entered the US illegally since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. These included criminals from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, has "a history of flooding other countries with military-aged Venezuelan males to establish a base of operation to carry out violent crimes in those countries." Pictured: Illegal immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, arrive to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents on September 29, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas, after agents allowed them into the United States to make asylum claims. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
More than half a million Venezuelans have entered the US illegally since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform. Until Biden became president, few Venezuelans arrived illegally. Only around 4,500 arrived in 2020. After Biden's inauguration, however, numbers exploded: 50,499 Venezuelans illegally entered in 2021, another 189,520 in 2022 and a whopping 334,914 in 2023. This means that Venezuelans now rank second in illegal immigration into the US, after Mexicans, who still take the number one spot. For more than two decades, Venezuela has been a close ally of Iran, and a regional home base for Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in the Middle East. Hezbollah, according to one 2020 Atlantic Council report, helped to "turn Venezuela into a hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and international terrorism."
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by Lawrence Kadish • December 18, 2024 at 2:00 pm
This is the month that, in 1900, quantum theory was presented by German physicist Max Planck in a paper to his scientific peers. Planck may play a role in directing the future of the 21st Century. A number of respected scientists believe quantum mechanics can play an important role in determining how best to create and sustained a controlled fusion reaction. Pictured: Planck in 1910. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
This is the month that, in 1900, quantum theory was presented by German physicist Max Planck in a paper to his scientific peers. Defining it for us lay people remains a challenge but, essentially, his theory suggests that energy is not continuous and can display itself as if it is physical matter. For those who mastered physics, a doctoral thesis could likely be written about quantum theory and Planck's brilliance in offering his insight on this subject. For the rest of us, it is a matter of asking: what did the quantum theory spawn, how does it have a hand in today's technology race among nations, and what does the future hold when brilliant minds in other countries explore physics for the purpose of advancing their government's global ambitions?
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by Nils A. Haug • December 18, 2024 at 5:00 am
South Africa... has an active and influential Muslim sector supportive of Hamas and Palestinian land claims. Coupled to its pathetic intelligence services, and its lamentable military and police forces, South Africa is ill-equipped to counter Islamist infiltration from neighboring regions or its growing internal extremist movements. Apart from succeeding in overcoming Apartheid, all that the ANC and allies have put their minds to since, ends in dismal failure. Every state-owned enterprise is broke and/or dysfunctional.... The same applies to government departments.... As a mineral-rich country... South Africa is a prime target for a hostile takeover by opportunistic authoritarian state players. Russia, China and Iran are strongly positioned already... Of the three, China, with its vast financial and political investments in Africa, carries the most influence, and this will no doubt increase beyond the West's capacity to match it as time passes. At this moment, with its primary focus on the Middle East and Ukraine, the West is unable or unwilling to match China's multi-faceted influence in the region and thus offers China unbounded freedom to accelerate pursuit of its interests there. [T]he West's loss of influence in the region might be greatly regretted for decades to come.
South Africa is a prime target for a hostile takeover by opportunistic authoritarian state players. South Africa conducts joint military exercises with both Russia and China, and is accused of supplying Russia with munitions for its crusade against Ukraine. Iran and its proxy Hamas are both a cause célèbre among ANC politicians, with Hamas having permanent representatives in Cape Town. Pictured: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Although the African National Congress (ANC) remains the dominant political party in South Africa after the 2024 national elections, its power is significantly diminished in addition to its reduced parliamentary representation. After failing to command a majority, the ANC is the largest faction of South Africa's so-called Government of National Unity – although there is little unity among its large number of members. To describe the government as a fragile coalition would be more accurate.
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by Frank J. Gaffney • December 17, 2024 at 5:00 am
While much national attention is on the first 100 days of the Trump 2.0 presidency, there is growing reason to be concerned about the final days of Joe Biden's term. Among those with a powerful interest in disrupting the peaceful transfer of power to a new Trump administration are: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), world government globalists, Sharia-supremacists, deep state bureaucrats and assorted homegrown and foreign-enabled terrorists, jihadists, and other revolutionaries. These hostile forces' ability to create chaos in the United States – especially collectively – cannot safely be ignored.
While much national attention is on the first 100 days of the Trump 2.0 presidency, there is growing reason to be concerned about the final days of Joe Biden's term. The ability of hostile forces to create chaos in the United States – especially collectively – cannot safely be ignored. Pictured: Biden at the White House on April 24, 2024. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
While much national attention is on the first 100 days of the Trump 2.0 presidency, there is growing reason to be concerned about the final days of Joe Biden's term. Among those with a powerful interest in disrupting the peaceful transfer of power to a new Trump administration are: the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), world government globalists, Sharia-supremacists, deep state bureaucrats and assorted homegrown and foreign-enabled terrorists, jihadists, and other revolutionaries. These hostile forces' ability to create chaos in the United States – especially collectively – cannot safely be ignored.
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by Uzay Bulut • December 16, 2024 at 5:00 am
A former branch of Al Qaeda, in 2018, HTS [Hayat Tahrir al-Sham] was officially designated a terrorist organization by the US government. HTS, which cooperates with the Turkish military and Turkish-backed groups in Syria, is committed to establishing an Islamist state across Syria, at least for a start. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Al-Jolani are now making all sorts of human-rightsy promises that they know the West likes to hear – just as Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini did before he took over Iran, and as the Taliban did before they quickly demolished 20 years of US human rights progress in Afghanistan. Just as Iran is the Shiite "head of the octopus" whose tentacles consist of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and other assorted militias, so Erdogan is the Sunni "head of the octopus" in Syria. While everyone is busy staring at rival terrorist groups in Syria, it is crucial not to forget for a minute the country backing them: Turkey. Erdogan's dream has always been "the liberation of Jerusalem".... A Sunni jihadi Syria provides a conveniently straight path to fulfill that long-term dream.
In Syria today, roughly half a million Christians and 2.5 million Kurds face a future of persecution and abuse at the hands of jihadist terrorists. Pictured: A view of the Greek Catholic Church of St George in Aleppo, Syria on December 12, 2024. (Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
The Assad family's rule of Syria, which lasted more than 50 years, collapsed on December 8. Jihadist forces took control of Damascus after President Bashar al-Assad escaped to a luxurious life in Moscow. Today, roughly half a million Christians and 2.5 million Kurds in Syria face a future of persecution and abuse at the hands of jihadist terrorists. The offensive launched by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, began on November 27. These terrorists, backed by Turkey, first captured Aleppo and a string of other towns and cities in a matter of days, before converging on Damascus.
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by Daniel Greenfield • December 16, 2024 at 4:00 am
After saving Syria from Assad, who will save it from the saviors? US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is going on a tour to persuade the Turks and their Jihadis to establish an "inclusive" government in Syria. But inclusivity now means Sunni Jihadis, backed by Turkey, repressing and killing everyone else. This will be a fundamental liberating change from the old order, in which Shiite Jihadis, backed by Iran, repressed and killed everyone else. Turkey bombing and displacing Kurds in Syria is considered "inclusivity", but Israel bombing Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon is termed "genocide". "Genocide" is another of those many words that have different meanings in the New Middle East Dictionary. Amnesty International has come under fire for changing the definition of "genocide" in order to be able to accuse Israel of it. War becomes genocide. But only in the case of Israel. Meanwhile, actual genocidal efforts by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and by Turkey in Syria to target ethnic groups, are redefined as "liberation". Over 1 million tons of food have entered Gaza since October 7, 2023. That's half a ton for every terrorist supporter. Half a ton of food for every man, woman and child is... "starvation." The Arab Spring redefined Islamist takeovers as "democracy movements". When Muslim Jihadis commit genocide, it becomes liberation. And when anyone fights back against them, it's genocide. Redefinition makes everything in the Middle East factually opposite, to make it morally opposite.
When Muslim Jihadis commit genocide, it becomes liberation. And when anyone fights back against them, it's genocide. Redefinition makes everything in the Middle East factually opposite, to make it morally opposite. Pictured: A jihadist gunman at a public event in Damascus, Syria, on December 13, 2024. (Photo by Bilal Alhammoud/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Even as Islamic Jihadists are taking over Syria, ethnically cleansing Kurds and terrorizing Christians, the media is hailing the new "inclusive" regime which "liberated" Syria. The regime is indeed inclusive if you consider bearded men with assault rifles to be the measure of inclusivity. And terrorizing minorities to be the exciting new diversity. "This victory, my brothers, is a victory for the entire Islamic nation," Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former Al Qaeda and ISIS-allied group, declared in the Umayyad Mosque. The mosque is a symbol of the old Caliphate, and it echoed the speech given by his old friend, the former ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in Mosul's Great Mosque of al-Nuri, declaring his own caliphate. But it will no doubt be a most inclusive caliphate. As Jawlani had previously said:
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by Bassam Tawil • December 15, 2024 at 5:00 am
[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] has not earned the title "The Churchill of the Middle East" for nothing. What is lethal for the country is that the judges ruled that Netanyahu must appear in court three times a week for at least six consecutive hours each time. All this when the prime minister is preoccupied with the multi-front war against Israel by Iran, its terror proxies, and now Turkey, which no doubt sees its proxy-invasion of Syria as a pathway to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's long-term dream to "liberate Jerusalem from the Jews." Some might view this judicial escapade, in cases of trumped-up charges, as political payback for Netanyahu's having tried to reform the judicial system after he was last re-elected in 2022. The judicial reforms are desperately needed, but would diminish the absolute power that Supreme Court judges arrogated to themselves starting in the 1990s, and which they appear autocratically determined to keep. Do these seemingly vindictive judges really think that Netanyahu's cigars and champagne are not more important than Israel's war against Iran's "Axis of Resistance"? There is no reason for the prime minister to spend several hours a day in court now, when Israel is at war and he is successfully protecting his people from enemies seeking his country's destruction and the murder of all Jews. Do these judges actually want Israel to lose the war just so they can keep their absolute power?
Some might view the judicial escapade against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in cases of trumped-up charges, as political payback for the prime minister's having tried to reform the judicial system after he was last re-elected in 2022. The judicial reforms are desperately needed. Do these judges actually want Israel to lose the war just so they can keep their absolute power? Pictured: Netanyahu enters the district court in Tel Aviv at the start of his hearing on December 10, 2024. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deserves an award for successfully leading the war against Iran's "Axis of Resistance" in the Middle East. He has not earned the title "The Churchill of the Middle East" for nothing. Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, during which 1,200 Israelis were murdered and thousands injured, Israel has destroyed most of the terror group's military capabilities in the Gaza Strip and eliminated its top political and military leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.
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by Amir Taheri • December 15, 2024 at 4:00 am
[Zarif] starts by pretending that it is Iran's president and not the "Supreme Leader" who has the final word on all aspects of defense, security and foreign policy. [Zarif] then adds, "Pezeshkian hopes for equal-footed negotiations," whatever that means, with America under President Donald J. Trump. This is a bold statement, taking into account that only last week, Khamenei repeated his "no war-and-no-negotiations" mantra while Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told the official media, "There is no basis for talks with the Americans." Pezeshkian has not mentioned any of the "wants" that Zarif attributes to him, even obliquely. In other words, Israel must cease to exist and in Zarif's words become "a viable democratic state," presumably like the Iran, but led by Hamas. [Zarif] s says the US and European allies should help revive the deal which is a "unique example" of cooperation that allows Iran to pursue its nuclear program while benefiting from economic advantages. To sum up: Pezeshkian, according to the carpet that Zarif weaves, wants the US and Iran to create a condominium in the Middle East, wipe Israel off the map with a referendum, and help Iran revive its moribund economy so that it can pay its costly proxies while speeding up its nuclear program. Will Trump be tempted to buy such a carpet?
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, according to the carpet that former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif weaves, wants the US and Iran to create a condominium in the Middle East, wipe Israel off the map with a referendum, and help Iran revive its moribund economy so that it can pay its costly proxies while speeding up its nuclear program. Pictured: Then presidential candidate Pezeshkian (R) and Zarif at a campaign rally in Tehran, on June 19, 2024. (Photo by Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Though not a satirical journal, the American magazine Foreign Policy has been publishing an essay by former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif every few years, starting when he was Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. The latest contribution came on December 2, with Zarif presented as "Iran's Vice President for Strategic Affairs," although no such position exists in the current Iranian regime. What we have in Iran is a dozen or so "assistants to the president" dealing with various issues at the president's pleasure, with no popular mandate or parliamentary ratification. Zarif is one of those assistants. Yet in his new essay, Zarif pretends to speak for the entire Iranian regime on issues clearly beyond his bailiwick. He starts by pretending that it is Iran's president and not the "Supreme Leader" who has the final word on all aspects of defense, security and foreign policy.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • December 14, 2024 at 5:00 am
The regime's primary goal is, first, to stay in power; second, to acquire nuclear weapons. No amount of diplomatic engagement will deter it from pursuing these objectives. Any agreement would merely buy more time for Iran to refine its nuclear technologies while easing international pressure. The regime's strategy is to outlast all sanctions and inspections, while continuing its covert nuclear activities, repressing it citizens, and planning its future expansion. The international community would do the world a favor by stopping Iran from reaching both goals. If not, there will be no chance of durable stability in the Middle East. It is as simple as that. The idea of negotiating a "deal" to limit, control or "verify" Iran's nuclear activities has proven to be both ineffective and dangerous.... Iran has repeatedly violated international agreements and deceived global watchdogs. It seems clear that any new deal would likely meet the same fate. Trusting such a regime to honor its commitments is like trusting the cat to guard the cream. Only by neutralizing the entire Iranian threat will the world be able to work toward a future of stability, prosperity and peace.
The highest priority in addressing the upheavals in the Middle East is to eliminate -- completely -- Iran's nuclear threat. Pictured: A Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile is displayed during the annual military parade in Tehran, on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
The highest priority in addressing the upheavals in the Middle East is to eliminate -- completely -- Iran's nuclear threat. Iran is reportedly close to being a nuclear-armed state. Such a development would have catastrophic consequences for the region as well as for global stability. Acquiring nuclear weapons would embolden Iran's regime, re-strengthen its proxies, and enable it to resume escalating its terror campaigns across the region. Once Iran crosses the nuclear threshold, it will become virtually impossible to contain or neutralize its aggression – presumably the reason the regime is so eager to have nuclear weapons in the first place. The risk of retaliation by nuclear strikes would deter even the most powerful nations from military intervention. An Iran with nuclear weapons would fundamentally alter the balance of power in the Middle East and beyond.
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