The U.S. president will be seen smiling with MbS and questions about Khashoggi’s murder, or the murder of other dissidents who were beheaded, will be dismissed in the name of “Arab-Israeli peace.”
THE ANGRY ARAB: Biden in Arabia
Category: Tunisia
How The Pentagon Uses A Secretive Program To Wage Proxy Wars
Nick Turse, Alice Speri, The Intercept, Jul 1 2022
Small teams of US SOF are involved in a low-profile proxy war program on a far greater scale than previously known, according to exclusive documents and interviews with more than a dozen current and former government officials. While The Intercept and other outlets have previously reported on the Pentagon’s use of the secretive 127e authority in multiple African countries, a new document obtained through the FoIA offers the first official confirmation that at least 14 127e programs were also active in the greater Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region as recently as 2020. In total, between 2017 and 2020, US commandos conducted at least 23 separate 127e programs across the world. Separately, Joseph Votel, a retired four-star Army general who headed both SOCOM & CENTCOM, which oversees US military efforts in the Middle East, confirmed the existence of previously unrevealed 127e “counter-terrorism” efforts in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
How The Pentagon Uses A Secretive Program To Wage Proxy Wars
Related:
Are abortion bans like Sharia? Not even close, say Muslims
When news broke that the Supreme Court was poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, critics on social media, at rallies and on talk shows called Republicans the “American Taliban” and griped that they wanted to bring Sharia, or Islamic law, to the U.S.
…
Under most interpretations of Islamic law, abortion is permitted within the first 120 days. Today, some American states have tougher abortion laws than Afghanistan, which allows the procedure if the mother’s life is at risk or if the child will be born with severe disabilities.
Are abortion bans like Sharia? Not even close, say Muslims
Biden officials worry their Russia sanctions were so powerful they also brought economic suffering to the US, report says
Corporate ‘Self-Sanctioning’ of Russia Has US Fearing Economic Blowback
But some Biden administration officials are now privately expressing concern that rather than dissuading the Kremlin as intended, the penalties are instead exacerbating inflation, worsening food insecurity and punishing ordinary Russians [they don’t care about the people, the true purpose of sanctions is to encourage people to overthrow their leader] more than Putin or his allies.
…
When the
invasion[special military operation] began, the Biden administration believed that if penalties exempted food and energy [what exemptions?!], the impact on inflation at home would be minimal. Since then, energy and food have become key drivers of the highest US inflation rates in 40 years, a huge political liability for President Joe Biden and the Democratic party heading into November’s mid-term elections [they only care about winning the midterms].…
There’s no sign that administration officials feel their sanctions policy was a mistake or that they want to dial back the pressure. If anything, officials have said a key US goal is to ensure Russia can’t do to other nations what it has done in Ukraine [then tell Puppet Zelensky to negotiate instead of flooding Ukraine with weapons!!].
…
The Biden administration
rejects[denies] any suggestion that sanctions are part of the problem, emphasizing that the US isn’t penalizing humanitarian goods or food, andputting[shifting] the blame on Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine, including by targeting shipping on the Black Sea [which is blocked with mines].…
About 1,000 companies have so far announced that they are curtailing operations in Russia, according to data collected by the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. That underscores one reason sanctions are so popular with policy makers: They essentially outsource US policy to the private sector [intentional and/or just being lazy?!], which makes it less surgical, less calibrated and less responsive to policy changes, said Smith, the former OFAC adviser.
This becomes important as all sides seek an end to the war [no, they don’t]. The lifting of sanctions can be dangled as an incentive to help bring about a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. But right now it’s hard even to offer that as a potential benefit of entering into negotiations because much of the pullout by American businesses has been self-inflicted [they screwed themselves]. Companies could face public blowback if they are seen as rushing back into the Russian market.
Headline stolen from:
US military veterans training Ukrainian frontline troops say NATO’s artillery and rocket launchers are essential for Ukraine to beat Russia
The Mozart Group is a cadre of US military veterans helping train Ukrainian soldiers. Established at the start of the Ukraine war by Andrew Milburn, a Marine veteran, the group has been described as the Western counterpoint to Putin’s elite Wagner Group.
So they’re the equivalent of Blackwater?!
Related:
U.S. officials have described many of the suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban affiliates it holds at Guantanamo Bay as unlawful combatants either for taking part in hostilities against the United States or by supporting the hostilities while not part of a nation’s military.
By that standard, some of the private guards in Iraq and Afghanistan also could be seen as unlawful combatants, particularly if they have taken offensive action against unarmed civilians, experts said.
America’s own unlawful combatants? via Wikipedia
Andrew Milburn retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel in 2019 after a 31 year career. His last position in uniform was Deputy Commander of Special Operations Central (SOCCENT), and prior to that commanding officer of the Marine Raider Regiment and Combined Special Operations Task Force – Iraq.
Since retiring, he has written a critically acclaimed memoir: When the Tempest Gathers and has had articles published in The Atlantic , USA Today, JFQ, and War on the Rocks, in addition to the Military Times . He is on the Adjunct Faculty of the Joint Special Operations University and teaches classes on leadership, planning, ethics, command and control, mission command, risk, special operations and irregular warfare at US military schools. He is a co-host of the Modern War Institute’s Irregular War Podcast, and Irregular War Initiative.
Andrew Milburn, BIO
I’ve been to Ukraine, Niger, Somalia and Tunisia. I’m training people who will use what they’ve learned in the real world almost immediately.
Andrew Milburn, 02-2020
Who are the Mozart Group? Former U.S. Marine Training Ukrainians in War
Sanctions against Russia: Reactions from the Middle East
By Yuriy Zinin – New Eastern Outlook – 12.05.2022
The Middle East media have not stopped commenting on recent developments in Ukraine through the prism of their perception in the region. Particular attention is paid to the topic of the sanctions imposed on Moscow and their resonance in the Arab world.
Sanctions against Russia: Reactions from the Middle East
From Jordan to Japan: US invites 14 non-NATO nations to Ukraine defense summit
From Jordan to Japan: US invites 14 non-NATO nations to Ukraine defense summit
Interestingly, the inclusion of Kenya, Liberia, Morocco and Tunisia may be less about Russia and more about combating China’s growing influence on the continent, said Elizabeth Shackelford, a former State Department official who served in several East African countries.
“China has been a strategic partner to both Kenya and Liberia, but the US still holds greater sway in each. Kenya is an influential country on the continent, so getting it on board with the west is important,” said Shackelford, now with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
“Inviting these countries to this meeting signals that their position on [Ukraine] matters, to the US and to the broader coalition,” including host Germany, a major economic power, she added. “This is a level of engagement that China’s transactional relationship doesn’t offer. Don’t forget, it’s an election year in Kenya. International engagement on major global issues at the invitation of the US is a good look.”
All of the African countries are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Favorable Winds from China: How the BRI is Transforming West Asia
Twitter confirms its ‘Project Guardian’ keeps an eye on today’s main character
Twitter confirms its ‘Project Guardian’ keeps an eye on today’s main character
According to Bloomberg, some users enrolled in Project Guardian in the past include makeup artist James Charles, Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim [Regime Change Asset*], as well as former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb [Pfizer Director]. Twitter has also used the program to protect journalists who cover controversial topics, like the January riots or 8chan.
More information:
*Egypt’s Wael Ghonim of Google
*US Government Role in Arab Spring
*Hillary Sponsored Arab Spring To Destabilise Middle East
H/T: Aletho News
Revealed: Mercer Street’s Parent Shipping Company a Front for Israeli Intelligence
By Alan Macleod GULF OF OMAN — Earlier this summer, the Israeli-operated oil tanker Mercer Street was attacked by drones, allegedly emanating from Iran, disabling the ship and killing two people on board. The incident, portrayed as an unprovoked attack on a civilian vessel, caused worldwide outrage, and marked a new low in Iranian relations with Israel and its Western allies. But a MintPress investigation can now reveal that Zodiac Maritime, the Mercer Street’s operator, has a long history of working closely with both the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and Israeli intelligence unit Mossad, using its ships to ferry arms and operatives around the region for covert operations, including assassinations.
Revealed: Mercer Street’s Parent Shipping Company a Front for Israeli Intelligence
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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