Our hope for peace in the Middle East depends on NOT trusting
The Italians have a saying: Fidarsi è bene (ma) non fidarsi è meglio. Translation: To trust is good, (but) not to trust is better.
This is such a beautiful commentary about our fragile, treacherous world and it describes why we are so vulnerable to treachery, and tragically so. We believe it is good to trust, but yet, to do so is fatal to our own interests.
It answers all the questions about the US and its insane march toward evil - genocide and infanticide - in Israel-Palestine, supported by a nation that somehow believes it is “Christian” when all signs point to the opposite – ie, a nation in thrall to Satan.
We have trusted when the reality screamed “don’t trust.”
Our salvation lies in mistrusting Israel and going against everything we have been taught by our Evangelical leaders. By now, we have had all the lessons in trust vs mistrust that we could possibly need for self preservation, but somehow, we are hell-bent on self-destruction.
How can we deserve salvation if we refuse it so adamantly?
The road to salvation is clearly for all Arab/Muslim countries to roundly reject the obvious enemy of all Arabs and Muslims everywhere. But instead they follow the lure of the Abrams Accords, which Trump assures them is the way to peace and stability in the Middle East, but they foolishly believe that peace can be obtained without justice.
They can clearly see that the “peace” they signed on to is afforded at the expense of justice for the Palestinians, who continue to be murdered and deprived of their basic human rights even after the signing of the Abrams Accords.
Thus we are millions of lightyears away from justice and how in Allah’s name can we call this blatantly unjust situation a “peace accord”?
We can’t, but thanks to the sleight-of-hand of the Trump administration, we somehow think we can.
We have forgotten the second, most important, part of the dictum “but not to trust is better.”
We westerners have a bad habit of sacrificing the universal for the parochial and thereby losing not only the trust of “the other” but also the most important – vital – lifeline for ourselves.
We call this “cutting off our nose to spite our face.”
…
https://thecradle.co/articles/syrias-post-mortem-terror-occupation-and-palestine
Syria’s post-mortem: Terror, occupation, and Palestine
The NATO-Israeli cabal cheering on Damascus's fall will get more than they bargained for. Power struggles and infighting among extremist militias and civil society, each backed by different regional and foreign actors who want a piece of the pie.
Pepe Escobar
DEC 10, 2024
https://thecradle.co/articles/syrias-post-mortem-terror-occupation-and-palestine
Excerpts:
To his own astonishment, according to Syrian and regional officials, Assad finally realized how fragile his own position was, having turned down military assistance from his stalwart regional allies, Iran and Hezbollah, believing that his new Arab allies might keep him safe.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) was in shambles after 13 years of war and ruthless US sanctions. Logistics were prey to deplorable corruption. The rot was systemic. But importantly, while many were prepared to fight the foreign-backed terror groups once again, insiders say Assad never fully deployed his army to counterattack the onslaught.
Tehran and Moscow tried everything – up to the last minute. In fact, Assad was already in deep trouble since his visit to Moscow on 29 November that reaped no tangible results. The Damascus establishment thus regarded Russia’s insistence that Assad must abandon his previous red lines on negotiating a political settlement as a de facto signal pointing to the end.
Turkiye: ‘we have nothing to do with it’
Apart from doing nothing to prevent the increasing atrophy and collapse of the SAA, Assad did nothing to rein in Israel, which has been bombing Syria non-stop for years.
Until the very last moment, Tehran was willing to help: two brigades were ready to get into Syria, but it would take at least two weeks to deploy them.
The Fars News Agency explained the mechanism in detail – from the Syrian leadership's inexorable lack of motivation to fight the terror brigades to Assad ignoring serious warnings from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei since June, all the way to two months ago, with other Iranian officials warning that HTS and its foreign backers were preparing a blitzkrieg. According to the Iranians:
“After Aleppo fell, it became clear that Assad had no real intentions of staying in power, so we started to engage in diplomatic talks with the opposition, and arranged the safe exit of our troops from Syria. If the SAA does not fight, neither will we risk our soldiers' lives. Russia and the UAE had managed to convince him to step down, so there was nothing we could do.”
There’s no Russian confirmation that they convinced Assad to step down: one just needs to interpret that failed meeting in Moscow on 29 November. Yet, significantly, there is confirmation, before that, about Turkiye knowing everything about the HTS offensive as far back as six months ago.
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Chris Hadges Gabor Mate: enduring the trauma of genocide
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I strongly recommend reading Al Mayadeen for uncensored news about the Middle East. There are lots of ME sites and all are somewhat useful, but I have found almayadeen to be the least biased.
11,000 US-trained militants ready to launch attack on Iraq: Rezaei
Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Dec 2024 15:44
Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, issues a stark warning, revealing that "terrorists are preparing to launch attacks on Iraq."
Member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council and former IRGC Commander, Mohsen Rezaei, warned on Tuesday that "terrorists are preparing to launch attacks on Iraq."
He stated that 11,000 ISIS militants have been trained at a US military camp in northern Syria, raising concerns that they may target Iraqi cities such as Mosul or Tikrit in the coming months.
In related comments, Rezaei reported that "Israel" had struck 250 military sites and infrastructure targets in Syria within the past 24 hours, while accusing the US and militants of destroying all military sites in the country.
He further suggested that the recent developments in Lebanon, Syria, and potentially Iraq reflect the enemies' growing fear of the oblast's independence and their efforts to weaken its populations.
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Our sincerest thanks to Eric Arnow for this response to my article on the surrender of the American system of representative government to AIPAC.
Dear Don,
It seems to me that the Pharisees had two major gripes about Jesus
First, he challenged their authority. It is an existential fact that religious authorities use their power to control people. I see that in every single theocratic society, including Buddhist Tibet, which kept 90% of the people in serfdom and debt bondage. Similar problem in China, Indian Brahmins, etc. And of course the Oligarch oil Arab regimes. And let’s recall that Iran was secular until the CIA overthrew it and Islamist Iran rose out of it, which faces resistance. Humans don't like to be told what to think, if they have a brain to use.
Much of the conflict between the West and Russia is about the Roman Catholic contempt for Eastern and Russian Orthodoxy.
Second, it's all about the money. What really drove the Jewish hierarchy crazy was when Jesus threw the money changers aka the Bankers, out of the temple. "He's exposing our scam!" they thought.
My question is, if a poll had been taken back then, how many Jews would have cared one way or another about Jesus. Lots of Jewish prophets opposed wealth, power and corruption in ancient Israel and Judea. So why has Jesus been singled out, rather than Hosea, Amos, etc.?
As someone raised Jewish, who left at the age of 16 and practiced Zen Buddhism for 55 years, I have been disgusted with the ADL and Jewish banker control of the US. But as Einstein and other Jews opposed Zionism in 1948, the number of American Jews who oppose the pro Israel narrative is finally rising.
Let's hope that Trump's narrow minded and selfserving approach fails, as The Empire loses more and more of its credibility. And that goes for the sold out Democrats, too.
Eric Arnow
Me:
First things first. If you haven’t been to Eric’s substack, here is the address of a recent issue. You may want to subscribe, as I have done:
“Much of the conflict between the West and Russia is about the Roman Catholic contempt for Eastern and Russian Orthodoxy.”
I actually noticed this a long time ago. In fact, we can consider the Russophobia in Washington to be due in part to this contention between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. In many ways, the Ukraine war is a religious war.
It must also not be forgotten that the Catholic (and Protestant) church was mostly on board with the Korean and Vietnamese war against civilians, hiding behind the casus belli of a fight against “godless communism.” So-called “Christians” never seemed to notice that Jesus had never ordered his followers to kill unbelievers. In fact, Jesus tolerance and pacifism was one of the things that set if off from traditional Judaism.
Yes, Jesus’ rebuke of the money changers had to be a factor in Pharisaic hostility to Jesus and his followers.
“As someone raised Jewish, who left at the age of 16 and practiced Zen Buddhism for 55 years, I have been disgusted with the ADL and Jewish banker control of the US. But as Einstein and other Jews opposed Zionism in 1948, the number of American Jews who oppose the pro Israel narrative is finally rising.”
As the son of a “Christian” Zionist leader, I too can probably say I was raised Jewish, at least in part. During my 3 years in Taiwan, I became friends with a some Buddhists. I was drawn to them because of their calm, easy-going attitude.
So glad to hear the number of Jews opposing pro-Israel narrative is rising. As with the “Christian” Zionists, it is the young who oppose the Zionist project. Time is against the Zionized Trumpites and Bidenites among us.
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Alexander Mercouris – Moscow mistrust Erdogan affects bases talks, US alarmed at Russian advance near Kurakhovo, Pokrovsk
short link to Mercouris - Moscow mistust Erdogan
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Our thanks to AN for this:
Dear Friends on both my open and BCC email lists, (if you are on both lists, you may receive this twice - apologies)
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2024/12/15/seven-countries-in-five-years/
(Georgia is likely to be the next victim)
... and please watch the following (Warning: horrific graphic videos!):
This is more of what Israel, the US and Britain have done by overthrowing Assad, and the truth is being hidden from you under the guise of creating a "new democratic Syria".
AN
Me:
Syria under Bashad was arguably the most democratic country in the ME.
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The Chaos in Syria: How It Will Backfire on Its Creators! | Col. Larry Wilkerson & Larry C. Johnson
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Here’s your air strike update for Jan 15, 2024
Search phrases for those who want to do their own research:
EN phrase for translation: Dec 15, 2024, russian missiles, drones, bombs hit Ukraine
Translated into RU: 15 декабря, 2024, российские ракеты, беспилотники, бомбы поражают Украину
Google translate:
https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&op=translate
To optimize results, searches must be done in Yandex search –
https://ya.ru/
Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
https://ria.ru/20240115/ukraina-1921442803.html
15:42 15.01.2024
Strike at launch sites. The West has revealed what Russia has done in Ukraine
Expert Mercouris: Russia has struck at Ukrainian air defense missile launch sites
MOSCOW, 15 Jan — RIA Novosti. The Russian army is striking at air defense missile launch sites in Ukraine, British expert Alexander Mercouris said in his blog on YouTube.
"Having exhausted Ukraine's air defense last year, Russia is now targeting launchers, missile batteries, and Western-style radar stations," the analyst said.
According to him, Russian artillery and Aerospace Forces have begun to carry out operations to undermine important equipment and strategic facilities of the enemy much more often. At the same time, according to Mercouris, the missile attacks of recent weeks have been significantly improved to inflict as much damage as possible on the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Defense Ministry previously reported that since the beginning of the year, Russian aviation has carried out 41 strikes on military facilities in Ukraine, including military-industrial complex enterprises, airfields and arsenals.
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Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
12/15/2024 10:53 Ruslan Dmitriev
The smell of corpses flew over Ukraine. Missiles brought retribution to Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities
Russia continues to prove that even without the "Oreshnik" we have something to hit the enemy with in the deep rear. Last night, our soldiers hit enemy facilities in a dozen oblasts with missiles, FABs and drones.
Lost drones
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military department changed its media tactics. Previously, their air defense always "shot down" about 100% of targets. The PR people of the Kiev regime proudly reported on these successes every day, and ordinary people had reasonable questions: if you shot down everything, what hit us?
In recent days, new formulations have been invented in Kyiv. Now the "PVEO" shoot down only some of the targets. The rest "return to Russia", "go off course" or "cease to exist". This is what happened today. The press service of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported an attack by the Russian Armed Forces using one S-300 missile [The S-300 missile is part of an air defense system. What no doubt REALLY happened here is that the Ukrainians tried to shoot down a drone with their S-300 air defense system – Russia does not use the S-300 offensively. This is typical Ukrainian disinformation] and 108 different drones: 56 were shot down, three returned home [that doesn’t happen], and another 49 were lost.
They fooled us with "Oreshnik". Russia deceived NATO intelligence with a retaliatory strike on Ukraine
More
The truth is inconvenient for Kyiv
Reports from the field are far from just bravura. Thus, the mayor of Nikolaev Alexander Senkevich reported on his Telegram channel that Russian drones flew to an unnamed infrastructure facility. "There is damage, two workers were injured," Senkevich wrote. According to subscribers of the coordinator of the Nikolaev underground Sergey Lebedev, the explosions thundered in the area of the oil depot. The destruction of this facility will significantly complicate the supply of fuel to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In the enemy-occupied part of the Zaporizhia oblast, military warehouses were burning brightly. Russian front-line aviation, using FABs [high explosive bombs], razed several such facilities to the ground near the village of Tavricheskoe near the city of Orekhov, Vladimir Rogov, co-chairman of the coordinating council for the integration of new oblasts, told RIA Novosti.
In the Khmelnytsky oblast, "Gerans" "bloomed" [This is s play on words. The word Geran means geranium] at the Starokonstantinov [This site is very frequently struck by Russian munitions] military airfield. There is no data on damage yet, but local chats report a number of loud explosions at the facility.
In the Kharkiv oblast, special forces of the Russian Guard carried out two masterfully precise attacks. Aerial reconnaissance revealed two enemy facilities. The first was given out by the antenna of the Starlink [Elon Musk’s famous internet service] terminal. This important marker was used to determine the location of the drone operators. Nearby was a "location" of militants, which they themselves "gave up": they hung around in uniform with weapons here and there. After the special forces received this information, the VSAU men had very little time left to live. The fighters sent a couple of FPV drones to visit them, which sent many enemies to the afterlife.
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Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
The Iskander crew of the Zapad group of forces struck the infrastructure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
January 15, 2024, 06:05
Special Operations Russian Army (RF Armed Forces) Ministry of Defense Missile weapons
The crew of the Iskander operational-tactical missile system of the Zapad group of forces struck the military infrastructure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (Ukrainian Armed Forces). On January 15, the Russian Ministry of Defense showed missile launches during the crew's combat work.
The Iskander operational-tactical missile systems are located many kilometers from the line of combat contact, but are capable of inflicting enormous damage on the enemy.
"The launcher was on combat duty. We received the command to be ready for work. The crew brought the launcher to readiness for a missile strike. After which the machine launched. The launch was normal. The target was hit. The Iskander system has proven itself only on the positive side. It has no analogues in the world. "It is quite easy to train and very effective when used as intended," said the head of the Iskander OTRK launcher crew, call sign Utes.
The Iskander OTRK is a high-precision weapon with a firing range of up to 500 km [Some versions of the Iskander are hypersonic, others supersonic, but all fly in meandering fashion enabling them to avoid interception]. The warhead of the OTRK missile can destroy almost any target: enemy command posts, vehicle columns, air defense systems. The OTRK arsenal includes both ballistic and cruise missiles, which create false electronic interference as they approach the target and are virtually invulnerable to enemy air defense systems. Cruise missiles can fly at extremely low altitudes and skirt the terrain, making them impossible to detect, the defense department explained.
For missilemen, there is no fundamental difference at what time of day to launch, the defense department noted. Iskander missile divisions are on combat duty around the clock and are ready to engage targets at the first command. A combat mission can arrive at any moment. From receiving the target coordinates to launch, it takes only a few minutes.
The command and staff vehicle of the OTRK is called the brain of the entire complex. Here, the battery commander receives coordinates on the computer about the location of enemy targets. The target is planned, thoroughly worked out by intelligence - a well-camouflaged enemy command post.
Together with the launcher, the entire complex changes its location. Command and staff and transport and loading vehicles, a security platoon, signalmen. The unit must be in the new location within a certain time after the launch. In addition, it is necessary to set up the necessary infrastructure as quickly as possible.
Throughout the special military operation, the Iskander complexes have repeatedly proven themselves to be a formidable and effective weapon. Successful launches and destroyed targets are proof of this.
On January 6, British analyst Alexander Mercouris reminded Ukraine that Russia has more powerful missiles. He noted that the Russians have not yet used their most advanced missile, the Zircon, which they have already begun to produce in series. He admitted that no one knows how many of these are in service, but, the expert emphasized, this is a hypersonic missile.
On December 1, Military Watch Magazine reported that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces increased due to double strikes with Iskander-M missiles by Russian troops. The publication noted that Ukraine's air defense is becoming increasingly critically depleted
On November 25, military expert Drago Bosnik in an article for InfoBRICS admitted that the Russian Armed Forces (RF) will destroy Ukrainian air bases with F-16 fighters with Kinzhal and Iskander missiles. In his opinion, American aircraft will also not be safe in the sky, and after their destruction, the Russian military will be able to study the F-16 and develop even more advanced systems to counter Western fighters.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of an escalation of the situation in the oblast due to shelling by Ukrainian military forces.
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Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
https://news.ru/russia/stalo-izvestno-ob-udare-fab-po-obektam-ukrainy-v-zaporozhe/
FAB strike on Ukrainian facilities in Zaporizhia is reported
Rogov said that the Russian Armed Forces launched the FAB ar the warehouses and equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Zaporizhia
December 15, 2024 at 09:13
FAB strike on Ukrainian facilities in Zaporizhia reported
The Russian Armed Forces carried out a strike on field warehouses and accumulation of equipment of the Ukrainian troops and a new line of defense in the area of the settlement of Tavriyskoye in the Orekhov direction in the Zaporizhia oblast, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the commission on sovereignty, patriotic projects and support for veterans of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, told TASS. According to him, the military used an FAB aerial bomb. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not confirm this information.
In the Orekhovo direction, the FAB near the settlement of Tavriyskoye, northwest of Orekhovo, worked well on field warehouses, equipment accumulations and the new line of defense that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are building behind Orekhovo. This means that they understand that they will soon lose this city, Rogov is sure.
Earlier, Rogov reported that about 700 Ukrainian servicemen, who were refused eight times to retreat from their positions by the command, were surrounded in the Annovka area, south of Kurakhovo. He noted that a special forces unit of the enemy army is also in the cauldron.
Before this, Bekkhan Ozdoyev, Industrial Director of the Armaments, Ammunition and Special Chemicals Cluster of Rostec, noted the high accuracy of the Izdeliye-305 missile. He compared the use of the weapon to the work of a surgeon using a scalpel. Ozdoyev also drew attention to the fact that the control channels of the Izdeliye-305 cannot be suppressed by electronic warfare.
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Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
https://rg.ru/2024/12/15/minoborony-udar-vs-rf-unichtozhil-chetyre-ustanovki-zrk-patriot.html
15.12.2024 13:09
Authorities
Ministry of Defense: Russian Armed Forces strike destroyed four Patriot SAM systems
Anastasia Selivanova
Russian troops destroyed four launchers of the American Patriot SAM system, which were in service with the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The strike was carried out by operational-tactical aviation, kamikaze drones, missile troops and artillery.
As a result, in addition to four SAM launchers, the combat control vehicle and the AN/MPQ-65 radar were destroyed.
At the end of November, the Netherlands delivered three more Patriot launchers to Ukraine.
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Translation with my notes in bold and in [brackets]
The Russian army has begun carpet bombing Ukrainian positions using the Inferno UAV
16 January 2024
07:50
The Russian military has begun using special Inferno drone bombers for carpet bombing Ukrainian positions in a number of areas in the SMO zone.
This was reported to the RIA Novosti agency by the developer company Rustekhdron. They emphasized the high efficiency of using these drones, each of which is equipped with nine slots for dropping grenades.
“During the execution of a combat mission, it flies over Ukrainian trenches, opens bomb bays and drops grenades in series of three. It turns out to be an analogue of carpet bombing in large aviation. As a result, enemy personnel suffer losses in killed and wounded. The drone can also bomb effectively,” the statement says. It is noted that the drone does not need to hover over the trenches due to the presence of an additional downward-facing bombing targeting camera - the device drops bombs while moving.
The developers emphasized that this technology significantly increases the survivability of drones, while a hovering drone can be easily shot down with small arms
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SHOCK Ultimatum From Syria Has Netanyahu Reeling!
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Hindustan Times, Israel crosses red lines in Syria. Unleashes hell / IDF cuts power, water
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BREAKING | Russia's Deploys "KALINKA SYSTEM" to Stop Starlink
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Thank you, JS, for all your hard work.
Here is link to Susan Abulhawa's speech that should work in Substack:
“Much of the conflict between the West and Russia is about the Roman Catholic contempt for Eastern and Russian Orthodoxy.”
BINGO!!
And Western 'Christians' are ignorant of their own religion. They're 'doing it' all WRONG'!
Just as just about everything else, on this planet, 'Christianity' had been USURPED, after the split from Eastern Orthodoxy.
'Western Christians' are actually SATAN WORSHIPERS, and they have no clue!
Don- Your posts are excellent, however I take issue with the following: "Apart from doing nothing to prevent the increasing atrophy and collapse of the SAA, Assad did nothing to rein in Israel, which has been bombing Syria non-stop for years" Maybe nothing at the end, but for the many years prior, it did not have the full assistance of Russia to stop the bombing for the years prior to several weeks ago.
Russia, for all of its assistance to save Syria in 2015- and it did save the country- never used its S-400's to shoot down Israeli F-35s or its missiles that were attacking Syria or the Iranian troops in Syria, and Iranian generals were complaining. Admittedly, that was at a time when Iran and Russia were not close as they are now. Still, they could have been used even to shoot down the planes after they had crossed the border to Lebanon to continue attacks against Hezbollah, or after they crossed the border back to Israel. They would have had a right under international law to do so- and that would have made a difference. However, Russia was still trying to retain a relationship with Israel, that only changed this past year after Israel's blatant genocide of the Palestinians to seize Gaza and its offshore gas reserves, the value of which is currently estimated at over a trillion dollars, and would alone have sustained a Palestinian State.
It seems that the S-400's were deployed to protect the Russian naval base and other Russian assets in Syria, and not Syria during the years that they were deployed there.