Western liberal thinkers have failed to recognise the strength of Turkish democracy, because it does not deliver their desired results
Turkey elections: Why the West got it so wrong
Tag: Gulf War
How the Bipartisan War Party Fostered Fiscal Ruin
When big spending Barrack Obama left the White House the national security budget properly measured totaled a staggering $822 billion. That included $600 billion for defense, $46 billion for security assistance and international operations and $177 billion for veterans compensation and services, which reflects the deferred cost of prior wars.
How the Bipartisan War Party Fostered Fiscal Ruin
The army we don’t see: The private soldiers who fight in America’s name
While Putin embraces private contractors, the US seldom acknowledges its own version of the privatization of war
The army we don’t see: The private soldiers who fight in America’s name
“Terrorism from the Sky”: Myanmar Junta Bombs Civilians, Killing 100, Escalating Attack on Resistance
Al Jazeera says at least 40 people were killed, whereas Western media is claiming 100+. Zarni is asking for Biden to release Myanmar’s frozen assets so that Myanmar’s “democratic resistance” can purchase more weapons.
And the second is China’s recent resumption of its backing of the military. China decided that they are going to back the military, because the democratic resistance is at least notionally backed by the United States and the European Union.
Related:
Myanmar military confirms air raid that killed dozens in Sagaing:
“During that opening ceremony, we conducted the attack. PDF members were killed,” Zaw Min Tun told the military broadcaster Myawaddy, referring to the civilian militias known as People’s Defence Forces.
…
Some media reports put the toll at more than 100 but Al Jazeera was unable to verify the figure. If confirmed, the attack on Pa Zi Gyi would be the deadliest in the country since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in a coup in February 2021.
…
“According to our ground information we hit the place of their weapons’ storage and that exploded and people died due to that,” he added.
Myanmar Strikes Concert (at Rebel Army Base): How & Why the West Lies
US-backed Proxy War Against China Rages in Myanmar
U.S., allies may be planning Ukraine proxy war model for Myanmar
Notes on Zarni:
Read More »The Tragedy of US Diplomacy Pushing for War, But Never Peace
In a brilliant op-ed published in the New York Times, the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi explained how China, with help from Iraq, was able to mediate and resolve the deeply-rooted conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whereas the United States was in no position to do so after siding with the Saudi kingdom against Iran for decades. The title of Parsi’s article, “The U.S. Is Not an Indispensable Peacemaker,” refers to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s use of the term “indispensable nation” to describe the U.S. role in the post-Cold War world.
The Tragedy of US Diplomacy Pushing for War, But Never Peace
Senate Leaves AUMF for Secret Wars in Force
On March 29, the Senate voted to repeal two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, (AUMF’s), one passed in 1991 and another in 2002. The repeal now goes to the House. But those Authorizations are irrelevant to the present; they apply only to the Iraq war. But a third AUMF, passed in 2001, was left untouched. And that AUMF is the only one that has a bearing on the present moment, because it provides legal cover for the many US military operations, open and secret, around the world.
Senate Leaves AUMF for Secret Wars in Force
Going to war? Good news! The United States is 13 years behind in ammunition production, NYT reports
Depleted Uranium Ammunition and Crimea
Depleted Uranium Ammunition and Crimea (archived)
Aside from armor-penetrating tank rounds, the US uses DU ammunition for its 30mm GAU-8 Avenger Gatling gun on the A-10 Warthog ground attack jet fighter. The A-10s figured prominently in the Iraq wars and in Afghanistan.
Ukraine last winter requested 100 A-10 jets from the United States and have been secretly training to use the aircraft in combat. If a Crimea offensive takes place, the A-10 may be moved into Ukraine and flown by a combination of Ukrainian pilots and possibly by volunteer former US Air Force pilots.
…
How will Russia answer these latest developments? Putin has already sent a warning to Britain about DU ammunition, although what he actually has in mind is not clear. If Russia is watching US activity in rushing the Abrams tanks to the battlefield, including the possibility of the A-10, the situation will get more heated.
UK to Give Ukraine Depleted Uranium Shells Despite Russian Warnings
Russia’s defense minister says the move brings the world closer to a ‘nuclear collision,’ Putin vows to respond
UK to Give Ukraine Depleted Uranium Shells Despite Russian Warnings
Related:
[2019] New Study Documents Depleted Uranium Impacts on Children in Iraq
“Depleted Uranium (DU) is a toxic, radioactive heavy metal that is the waste byproduct of the uranium enrichment process when producing nuclear weapons and uranium for nuclear reactors. Because this radioactive waste is plentiful and 1.7 times more dense than lead, the United States government uses DU in munitions/ammunition which are extremely effective at piercing armored vehicles. However, every round of DU ammunition leaves a residue of DU dust on everything it hits, contaminating the surrounding area with toxic waste that has a half-life of 4.5 billion years, the age of our solar system, and turns every battlefield and firing range into a toxic waste site that poisons everyone in such areas. DU dust can be inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through scratches in the skin. DU is linked to DNA damage, cancer, birth defects, and multiple other health problems. The United Nations classifies Depleted Uranium ammunitions as illegal Weapons of Mass Destruction because of their long-term impact on the land over which they are used and the long-term health problems they cause when people are exposed to them.”
The Pentagon denies that they’re sending depleted uranium ammunition (if you can even believe them)!
In Ukraine, the United States Is In Over Its Head
By Thomas Meaney. Mr. Meaney, a fellow at the Max Planck Society in Germany, writes regularly on American foreign policy and international relations.
The greatest blunder President Vladimir Putin may have made so far in Ukraine is giving the West the impression that Russia could lose the war. The early Russian strike on Kyiv stumbled and failed. The Russian behemoth seemed not nearly as formidable as it had been made out to be. The war suddenly appeared as a face-off between a mass of disenchanted Russian incompetents and supercharged, savvy Ukrainian patriots.
In Ukraine, the United States Is In Over Its Head
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
You must be logged in to post a comment.