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Saudi Arabia and Qatar: Irreconcilable Differences
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Both oil-rich countries are rogue states. They’re family dictatorships, state-sponsors of terrorism, guilty of high crimes against peace, defiant of rule of law principles.
Riyadh and its rogue allies (the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt) want Doha transformed into a subservient vassal state, its resources exploited, its wealth stolen, perhaps regime change demanded next.
A sweeping 13-point ultimatum reads like post-WW I Versailles terms - unacceptable to any nation wishing to retain its sovereignty. Here’s the dirty baker’s dozen:
1. Curb diplomatic ties with Iran. Close its diplomatic missions. Expel members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp. Agree to commerce and trade allowed by the JCPOA nuclear deal alone.
Russia Combating Terrorism in Syria Effectively
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Russia and America are world’s apart on Syria - Moscow committed to continue combating the scourge of terrorism Washington supports.
On Thursday, Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson spoke by phone, the call initiated from Washington.
Lavrov told his counterpart it’s “delusional” on the part of America to pressure Russia with sanctions, new US Treasury ones imposed days earlier.
They accomplish nothing other than rupturing bilateral relations more than already - why Moscow “felt compelled to suspend” a June 23 meeting between deputy foreign ministers of both countries.
Lavrov expressed outrage over US operations in Syria - making it harder to defeat terrorism, impeding conflict resolution.
Putin and Lavrov Blast NATO
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
NATO is America’s killing machine, an alliance for offense, not defense, other members and partners pressured to serve US interests, harming their own.
Whatever reasons justified NATO’s existence during Cold War years vanished when Soviet Russia dissolved in December 1991.
Yet the alliance remained, provocatively expanding east near Russia’s borders, surrounding its territory with bases, installing so-called missile defense systems intended solely for offense, threatening its security.
Putin promised to “be ready to respond quickly and adequately to any potential threat” from the alliance.
As long as it exists and expands, endless US-launched imperial wars will continue. Peace and stability will be unattainable. Possible nuclear annihilation will remain humanity’s greatest threat.
Trump Has Been Continuing Obama’s Syria-Policy
Eric Zuesse
U.S. President Donald Trump, who during the election-campaign ferociously condemned Barack Obama’s foreign policies, while asserting nothing concrete of his own, has, as the U.S. President, committed himself quite clearly to continuing Obama’s publicly stated policy on Syria, which policy was to place, as the first priority, the elimination of ISIS, and as the policy to follow that, the elimination and replacement of Syria’s government. I have previously indicated that on June 19th “Russia Announces No-Fly Zone in Syria — War Against U.S. There”, and that the early indications are that Trump has changed his Syria-policy to accommodate Russia’s demands there; but, prior to June 19th, Trump was actually following Obama’s publicly stated Syria-policy. As also will be shown here, Obama’s publicly stated policy — to destroy ISIS and then to overthrow Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad — was actually less extreme than his real policy, which was to overthrow Assad and to use the jihadist forces in Syria (especially Al Qaeda in Syria) to achieve that objective. Trump, at least until 19 June 2017, has been adhering to Obama’s publicly stated policy. Russia’s warning was for him not to adopt and continue Obama’s actual policy (to overthrow Assad).
Nikki Haley’s Recklessly Belligerent Remarks
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Trump’s neocon UN envoy sounds like Samantha Powers on steroids - her hostility toward Russia, Syria and world peace evident from her reckless comments.
In prepared Wednesday remarks before House Foreign Affairs Committee members, she sounded like an out-of-control war goddess.
She lied saying “(i)n early April, (Syria) dropped chemical weapons on Syrian children,” belligerently adding:
“We drew a red line. If the UN would not act collectively, the United States would act alone. And we did” - failing to explain attacking Syria’s Shayrat airbase was unprovoked naked US aggression.
Senator Corker Blocks Arms Sales to Gulf States Over Qatar Row
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
During his May visit to the Riyadh, Trump and the Saudi family dictatorship agreed to at least a $300 billion US arms sales deal with the kingdom over the next decade.
Because of the row between Riyadh, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt and Qatar, Senator Bob Corker (R. TN) blocked it until things are resolved, in a letter to Rex Tillerson, saying:
Saudi-led Gulf states “did not take advantage of the summit (with Trump) and instead chose to devolve into conflict…hurt(ing)” America’s regional agenda.
“(B)efore we provide any further clearances during the informal review period on sales of lethal military equipment to the GCC states, we need a better understanding of the path to resolve the current dispute and reunify the GCC.”
Major arms deals require preliminary approval by leaders of the House and Senate foreign relations committees - before the statuary 30-day congressional review process begins to approve or reject these deals.
Sovereign Debt Jubilee, Japanese-Style
Ellen Brown
Japan has found a way to write off nearly half its national debt without creating inflation. We could do that too.
Let’s face it. There is no way the US government is ever going to pay back a $20 trillion federal debt. The taxpayers will just continue to pay interest on it, year after year.
A lot of interest.
If the Federal Reserve raises the fed funds rate to 3.5% and sells its federal securities into the market, as it is proposing to do, by 2026 the projected tab will be $830 billion annually. That’s nearly $1 trillion owed by the taxpayers every year, just for interest.
Personal income taxes are at record highs, ringing in at $550 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2017, or $1.6 trillion annually. But even at those high levels, handing over $830 billion to bondholders will wipe out over half the annual personal income tax take. Yet what is the alternative?
Japan seems to have found one. While the US government is busy driving up its “sovereign” debt and the interest owed on it, Japan has been canceling its debt at the rate of $720 billion (¥80tn) per year. How? By selling the debt to its own central bank, which returns the interest to the government. While most central banks have ended their quantitative easing programs and are planning to sell their federal securities, the Bank of Japan continues to aggressively buy its government’s debt. An interest-free debt owed to oneself that is rolled over from year to year is effectively void – a debt “jubilee.” As noted by fund manager Eric Lonergan in a February 2017 article:
Trump Threatens Escalated Aggression on Syria
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Trump escalated Obama’s war on Syria, naked aggression against a sovereign independent country threatening no others - based on a litany of Big Lies.
According to his press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday, further escalation may be coming, saying:
“The United States has identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would result in mass murder of civilians, including innocent children.”“The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its April 4, 2017 chemical weapons attack.”
“As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate (ISIS). If…Assad conducts another mass murder using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”
Neocon US UN envoy Nikki Haley outrageously tweeted “(a)ny further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people.
Health Insurance Vital to Life and Well-Being
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
House and Senate versions of Trumpcare are nightmarish for most Americans.
It’s worst of all for millions to be left uninsured or way underinsured under either bill, along with others dependent on Medicaid, the elderly, infirm, and individuals with preexisting conditions.
Most Americans fall into one or more of these categories. Trumpcare threatens their health and well-being.
According to CBO scoring of the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, 28 million Americans will be left uninsured under the House plan, 49 million by 2026.
The Senate measure leaves 22 million more uninsured by 2026 on top of millions without coverage under Obamacare.
Trump Plays Nuclear ‘Chicken’ with Putin over Syria
Eric Zuesse
U.S. President Donald Trump is playing a game of nuclear “chicken” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, regarding Putin’s threat on June 19th to go to war against the United States if the U.S. again shoots down, inside Syria — in the sovereign territory of the internationally-recognized-as-legal sovereign Syrian government — Syrian aircraft, or the aircraft of any of the foreign governments that have allied with Syria: Russia, Iran, and China.
After the U.S. had shot down a Syrian government plane on June 19th, which was bombing jihadists whom the U.S. government backs in order to overthrow the Syrian government, Russia announced:
“In areas where Russian aviation is conducting combat missions in the Syrian skies, any flying objects, including jets and unmanned aerial vehicles of the international coalition discovered west of the Euphrates River, will be followed by Russian air and ground defenses as air targets” — meaning ordered out, or else immediately shot down.
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