If Netanyahu thinks an Israeli-Saudi lobby to lure the U.S. into attacking Iran is feasible, he’s being reckless, as is Saudi Prince Mohammed if he believes he can manipulate Tehran into some kind of regional understanding
Analysis: Netanyahu and MBS Are Playing a Dangerous Game on Iran as U.S. Shifts From Middle East
Lavrov says West seeks to use Gorbachev’s name for its geopolitical purposes
Lavrov also pointed out that those who spoke about relations with Gorbachev include former US Secretary of State James Baker.
“Baker said of Gorbachev: ‘I thought he was an honest negotiator and I could count on his word.’ That’s an amazing revelation. Because we were counting on Baker’s word as well. By we I mean the leadership of the Soviet Union. About the non-expansion of NATO to the east, among other things. They cheated us brazenly,” Lavrov said.
Related:
James Baker: Gorbachev will be remembered as ‘giant’ who steered his nation toward democracy
In a statement published through his eponymous Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, Baker applauded Gorbachev’s role in ending the 40-year Cold War between Russia and the U.S., referring to him as an “honest broker” who stood by his word despite experiencing pressure from Moscow.
NATO Expansion: What Gorbachev Heard
Washington D.C., December 12, 2017 – U.S. Secretary of State James Baker’s famous “not one inch eastward” assurance about NATO expansion in his meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on February 9, 1990, was part of a cascade of assurances about Soviet security given by Western leaders to Gorbachev and other Soviet officials throughout the process of German unification in 1990 and on into 1991, according to declassified U.S., Soviet, German, British and French documents posted today by the National Security Archive at George Washington University
China’s neighbors are buying US weapons Washington isn’t delivering
Even though the United States views these weapons sales as integral to deterring China from attacking Taiwan, some of the deals were publicly announced as far back as 2017.
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The reasons – government delays, supply chain issues and production requirements – are numerous, and the problem won’t be easy to fix, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Defense News.
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The U.S. government has approved the sale of 10 weapons systems Taiwan has yet to receive – some of which are not slated for delivery until the end of the decade.
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The United States has flooded billions of dollars in weapons into Ukraine, including items that are part of Taiwan’s backlog, such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and High Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems.
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For example, several Middle Eastern and eastern European countries are ahead of Taiwan in Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production queue. In 2019, the State Department approved an $8 billion Taiwan sale for 66 F-16s, but Taipei does not expect to receive the aircraft until 2026.
“Saudi Arabia is still ahead of Taiwan on the priority list in some cases,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told Defense News ahead of a July meeting with Taiwan’s Washington envoy. “We need to take a look at that.”
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Nancy Pelosi criticised for including son in Taiwan delegation
Borqs’ filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission from June 2021 show that Paul Jnr. acquired 700,000 shares of Broqs Technologies as part of an “employee benefit plan”. But his name does not appear among the company’s 10 major shareholders in an SEC filing submitted on May 2, 2022.
•Tensions are high, and the White House has tried to delay the Taiwan Policy Act that aims to upgrade ties with the island by designating it as a major non-Nato ally
•Observers say the bill ‘would overturn Sino-US relations’ and could prompt a stronger response from Beijing than House Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taipei
Taiwan bill looms, and it could pose ‘direct challenge’ for US-China ties
On The ‘Woke’ Flight To Taiwan
That too old ‘woke’ lady with the massive freezer full of very expensive ice-cream let it know through Taiwanese media that she wants to arrive in Taipei tomorrow, August 2, at 22:30 local time (14:30 UTC) and stay over night.
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There is also this thought, by Cynthia Chung, which might become relevant:
In October 2019, Jake Sullivan, who became U.S. National Security Advisor in 2021, stated in an interview that the U.S. needed a clear threat to rally the world and play the role of saviour of mankind and that China could be that organizing principle for U.S. foreign policy. In the 2019 interview, he acknowledges that the problem was that people were not going to believe that China is a global threat, that their view of China is too positive and that the United States would need a “Pearl Harbour moment,” a real focusing event to change their minds, something he calmly stated that “would scare the hell out of the American people.”
She correctly traces such ‘Pearl Harbour moment’ thinking back to neo-conservative movement. Chung closes with this:
Thus, when Jake Sullivan observes that there is not enough anti-China sentiment to bolster an image of the United States as a “saviour of mankind” against China and that America is in need of a “Pearl Harbour moment” I would be very wary.
The circus around Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in the coming days, and evident glee that is coming forth from many of these neocons frothing at the mouth over this prospect is a clear sign that something incredibly reckless and stupid is about to happen.
Pelosi’s airplane might indeed be shot down on her completely irrelevant and unnecessary trip to Taiwan, and if it is, don’t be surprised if it was the Americans themselves who are behind it, who have shown they are willing to do anything for that “Pearl Harbour moment.”
Related:
Read More »by Philip Giraldi, Unz.com, Jun 21 2022
If you want a war with Iran, Russia, China and Venezuela tell me why and how it would benefit Americans
Explain It to Me, Please
Samizdat | April 29, 2022
A scheme to send US weapons to Ukraine, using the “lend-lease” formula pioneered during WWII to skirt neutrality laws, was officially approved by Congress this week. However, it was put together all the way back in January – more than a month before Moscow recognized the Donbass republics as independent and sent troops into Ukraine.
US weapons supply to Ukraine prepped in January
Poll: Majority of Americans Fear Nuclear Weapons Use After Russia’s Ukraine Invasion
Related:
What You Need to Know About the Threat of Nuclear War – Robert Scheer Interviews Ted Postol
TP: We’re talking about a wall of fire that encompasses everything around us at the temperature of the center of the sun. That will literally turn us to less than ash, if this thing gets going. I can’t emphasize how powerful these weapons are. When they detonate, they’re actually four or five times hotter than the center of the sun, which is 20 million degrees Kelvin. They’re 100 million degrees Kelvin at the center of these weapons.
Exclusive: Indo-Pacific Command requests to double spending in fiscal 2022
US to build anti-China missile network along first island chain (Archived)
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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