As of this writing, Biden has finally begun his retaliatory attacks, hitting targets in Syria and Iraq. But sources claim that almost every target was known in advance and evacuated, as we suspected would be the case. But the most interesting development on this front is the following. Recall in the last update I indicated rumors that, amid a welter of secret talks, Israel was considering some kind of full ceasefire and, presumably, an end to the war.
My sources tell me that Saudi & UAE proxies in Yemen are already mass defecting to Ansarallah courtesy of their principled, moral stance on Palestine & Gaza. Basically, the American 'project' in West Asia is rapidly collapsing as we speak: 'Israel' has been repulsed by the Palestinian JOR & the Axis of Resistance have done irreparable harm to the Northern settlements. At this point, the only outcome is Iran's Ascension to Great Power Status in the region, in tandem with a full US-retreat.
I am always speaking on my behalf , I can't stand beggars , they are worthless parasites . Simplicius definitely doesn't need my protection , and I am not worried about him . But in my opinion the comment section is for comments not for some self promotion .
He's offering a service (his writing) which isn't asking something for nothing. Hard to fault substackers for trying to drive traffic to their own site, especially if they cover different elements of the same main topics. I can't think of a way for anyone to effectively advertise in a different manner except maybe relying on pure luck. Did you check out his site? It's actually pretty good and interesting. That said, I'm not about to become a paying subscriber so...
He had a great stack. The pics in “War Telegrams” are unbelievable. He also reposts other less known writers. Here’s one from Tex. Fuck this is good…enjoy
Yea I’ll second what Luke said, I’m glad he advertised his Substack and this is what is great about Simplicius’s comments section, I’m always finding new Substacks I enjoy.
If you don’t like it literally scroll down. I don’t know why you would waste your time commenting, lol.
I haven't been outvoted , only a few unprincipled people seems to be ok. if someone piggyback riding on the comment section of an other hard working genuine reporting . My pride would never allow me to pick up followers by trying to entice them , without presenting a worthy content . How is it possible that this Simplicius have hundreds of comments after every three days of presenting he's take of current events . He has something to say and gaining followers , who are seems to be thankful and recognize the values , that has stimulating effect on the readers. But if any of you gratified with polite gaslighting terms like " thank you for your kind words " then I have no objection .
Yes , you are unprincipled ! I am not against you following who ever you like , that is your choice . I haven't been outvoted , just a few inconsiderate people have different view on simple concept of honor . I will illustrate for you maybe you can grasp it , if not then meditate on it in the silence of your privacy . Maybe it will come to you ? . Suppose I have a Mercedese vehicle to sell , but I live in a modest neighborhood , but I drive up to Beverly Hills and park it on the driveway with a for sale sign on it . The owners of the house on vacation they don't know . Where can I get a better price for it ? In my modest neighborhood or in the high society where I piggyback , so I can hope for a better exposure . If you not ashamed yourself yet , and choose to respond then present your argument . Don't just throw up narratives and judgements , because you only deceiving yourself .
Because there is no downvote to better assess the standing of your comment, you cannot claim that you haven't been outvoted. However, many jumped to actually write against you and if there were a downvote button, it is likely, due to convenience, that 5 to 10 10 more people would have downvoted you. So don't make shit up.
You are not paying attention , there has been almost 350 comments thus far , and you are saying i am loosing 5 to 10 which is five more negative on my side . that is less than 1.5 % of the total comments . That is below statistical error . Secondly why is it that , this guy you protecting so vehemently not speaking up for himself ? He should be doing some real verbal dancing in the comment section , to convince others with his captivating content . All is visible from him is , just repetition what he picked up here and there . Thirdly if he want to have an English speaking audience then first come up with a fitting easy to remember name , like " the solicitor" . Have some imagination ! Fourthly , I am not angry with anyone , just not willing to overlook the false . Here I am to challenge him to prove me wrong , and put up some eloquent , captivating content that will make me to change my mind .
Not yet convinced that the US will pull out of the ME - at least not in the short term. As long as the zionist cancer remains there, the US will as well. The zionists own the US government and its foreign policy, and have for years. Indeed, it is remarkable how many zionists occupy the highest positions in the USG. The tumour and the USA are of one body now - you can not remove one without killing the other.
Only if the more reasonable factions within US elites prevail. As Simpli wrote, an engagement with Iran would mean the definitive and drastic end of imperial USA.
I have a slight hope that there are some US elites left that realize salvaging a great power-status for them is possible if they finally let go of global warring empire ambitions.
All of that is down to zionist choices. It is they who determine US foreign policy. Even the elites know better than to cross them - see Musk for advice.
I hope so too but have my doubts. See this quote from 1815 by Mayer Rothschild. This cabal of financiers have run the show ever since. Here’s the money quote and the secret of absolute power.
In 1815, Rothschild made his famous statement: "I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls the British money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply."
I must admit, if we go back even 5 years I would admit "the lobby" had a strong effect on US policy BUT I did not believe it would/could be so complete. Now, the idiots in DC (Pelosi) is just 1 example of openly admitting that Israel comes before any other interest. I believe that now that they can control the elections there is no need to pretend. I have never seen DC openly flaunt their contempt for American citizens like they have been doing since the last 2 rigged elections
Good comment. . They were snug in the last few decades but how quickly the global south organised and BRICS which was and still laughed at first by DC and now only to dumb sky news readers , the UAE China doing a 16 billion energy transfer in non usa dollars the other day, if at first slowly then all at once we are in the middle. And I'm glad I will get to see this downfall in my lifetime
If Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel on a 'promise' of "eventually" establishing a Palestinian state, it will be a serious betrayal of the Palestinian people.
Also, I suspect that the only "security guarantee" that would be acceptable to Israel would be a completely demilitarized Palestine with Israel fully armed with the most modern weapons.
The USA may be able to "persuade" the Saudis, but I would not wager a wooden nickel on them pressuring Israel to comply.
I think those defections are very likely. There is a certain sort of man who cannot be paid enough to just sit still and do nothing when there is fighting going on. Men who are willing to fight, especially if they are fighting a larger opponent will always find other men to fight with them, it's part of the masculine spirit.
It is beyond me why anyone would trust the West in good faith at this point. As my endearing mother used to say “You have shit in your nest.” Right now I would be skeptical this is nothing more than an election year stunt. The goal would be not to make the US look like it was completely FUBAR. The elites need to at least go into October with some sanity intact.
Well you can bet your ass just as soon as the smoke has cleared and the media has soaked the American public with “free and fair” propaganda the gloves will come off. When I say that I mean here and abroad. I don’t believe there is an avenue to peace. There are only the conquerors and the conquered.
Lots of talk about the CBDC and the technogulag on the horizon. That’s in place now for the most part though the intensity of the state would certainly be raised after the implementation of CBDC. This unipolar system which has the West controlling the money (status quo) cannot function now or in the future if there is another game in town (multi polar). If my uneducated ass can figure this out am quite certain everyone else can.
I for one understand how important it is for the elites to hold their position as the economic system disintegrates and rebirths. Think of the power they have held over multiple generations. They are never going to willingly give that up I’m afraid. Not until it is physically impossible to achieve or until they are DEAD!
Read that post on MOA maybe you posted it there . Good info to know the ship all changes sides and upsets the empire. Sort of sad they were even aligned with them in the first place
I've read even on more official sources like MEE about how people in non-Houthi territory who were previously opposed to Ansar Allah are now supporting it in its war against the Zionists.
It's easy to forget that the Yemeni Civil War was very much a Brother War. Whatever their disagreements, the men on the ground all feel for their brothers and sisters in Palestine, and if Israel is killing them and the Houthis are willing to raise the black flag of War on their behalf, then why wouldn't you stand with them?
Armstrong has been pounding on the table since 2020 that Great Reset is coming and NATO and neoCons need to stop any anti-Globalist candidate. The situation is very DIRE right now. Please see that link to today's update. Only for Simplicius's participants since this private subscription stuff from Armstrong. https://smallpdf.com/file#s=226065b6-98f1-4638-9b40-a4af391e5fb9
I can't tell you how hilarious it is your first reference was the famous "Secret Squirrel" of twitter.
I still have a hearty chuckle every time I think of the Canadian dunce cap helmet he bragged so proudly of having got from his "front line Ukrainian contacts" who for sure got it "off of a dead Russian." Only to delete the tweet after it was shown it was a Canadian dunce cap that was 100% donated to the UA by Canada.
Exactly; they'll say yes to the two state and do nothing and of course expect full credit and compensation - I mean who believes anything from DC or Tel Aviv? As for the Brits sending in some "troops", well that's not going to frighten the Russians, ditto any other NATOstanis venturing into what's becoming the former Ukr.
Yes the 2 state talk is nothing but Biden fan fiction. The Dems are trying to get their pro Palestine voters back in the fold, once they steal the election, and there is a fair chance they will, it will be a memory.
Russia is strangling the entire contact line like a python. I'm not sure anymore if a surrender will be reached before we see the AFU collapse and a disorderly retreat to the west side of the Dnipro river.
Nah, at least 20%-30% of them see it like most of us here at Simplicius do. The rest is heavily brainwashed, as is almost every Western nation. The global Western Elites are working really good in that regard, every other topic, economy, military, ethics, basic math and basic physics not so much.
I know the Polish mentality well. Too many Poles would gladly slit their own children's throats if that meant that an American would pat them on the head and call them a good dog.
For those who still still doubt, look at how Poles embraced the literal direct ideological and biological descendants of the very people who so gleefully murdered their grandparents.
This is just a headfake - a stylistic motif of the Blinken-Sullivan foreign policy. They'll "balance" in a few days or a week by taking an overtly pro Israel action.
Things are much worse than that diplomatically for the US Genociders. This is the era of drone warfare, unmanned speed boats, and urban fighting that we aren't prepared to fight. And yes, Israel is a nuclear terrorist state, and were partners in 911 and hit us before. We need to go to a two state solution with neither having nukes or weapons of mass destruction. Image getting the fanatical Caucasians out of Israel and having Jerusalem a Holy City for all.
Curious but evidently true – what was obvious no surprise from any kind of non propagandised perspective was difficult to see from inside the garden, and impossible for any of the Head Gardener Class
Nonetheless the article is written kicking and screaming against the evidence and trying to find disaster lurking in Russian success, with no attempt to discover any reason for that success
The FT manages to retain/repeat the Cold War clichés of the gas station, claims the militarised economy is overheating, complains about inflation and overtight labour market, import restrictions, is surprised and calls ‘staggering’ the degree of increment in military spending
While failing to observe this spending remains well below that claimed by Nato, yet much more efficient in quantity and quality, not to mention equity – no hint of this in FT reporting
It’s not the size it’s the way you use it
One reason – the RF pays arms manufacturers upfront – a method which might hint at a solution for struggling Nato programs
Conclusion – the RF economy would have been (a little) better off without the war – a surprising
but very timid statement coming from a European newspaper well aware of the considerable damages Europe has inflicted on Europe’s economy by initiation of this war
“Other economists argue that Russia’s economy would have grown in consecutive years at a much more sustainable level if Putin had not ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“2022 began from a very optimistic note, and the growth even surpassed most expectations. I would have expected that both in 2022 and 2023, we could have anticipated an annual GDP growth of around 3 per cent,” says Ruben Enikolopov, a research professor with Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona.”
President Putin was bolder and braggy er– and more informative as to the why and how, as reported by Tass, and by the Kremlin
"Our economy is growing, unlike the other economies, and has currently become the largest in Europe, the top one in Europe. And in terms of the purchasing power parity, it has become the first in Europe and the fifth worldwide," Putin said. "This process will continue gaining momentum," he added.”
One point overlooked by the FT is the melding of civilian and military production in the same plants – even tho’ westerners often talk about Russia’s use of dual use technology they fail to understand what this means
Putin mentions that the arms industry also exports to the amount of ‘billions of dollars’
“But I would like to note that overall, the defence industry plants (strange as it may seem at first sight because of the need to deliver armaments to the frontline) have increased the manufacture of civilian products by almost 30 percent – 27 percent, to be precise, in the past year and a half. This is a very good figure.
This means that we will first load them up with orders for military products now and continue doing this in the future because we need to create reserves and replenish what was spent during hostilities. But, at the same time, we will support all undertakings linked with the development of civilian production”.
You wrote: "Now there are new reports that the US has fully doubled down on the creation of a Palestinian state—in other words, the long-sought-after two-state solution"
That's entirely unrealistic since there are actually 3 governments involved, not 2. Israel, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority on the west bank means 3 states, no matter what some clueless politicians say about a 2 state solution. Maybe these fools think that 2 different governments in 2 different areas are supposed to be considered one state . Really stupid. Who is going to appoint the U.N. representative? Hamas or the Palestinian Authority?
It's like saying there is only one China when Taiwan has its own government and is not actually part of mainland China with an ocean between the 2 states.
You wrote: "For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." We know where your sympathies lie. I suspect you would never say that Russia, China, Iran, or Hamas are "evil."
Looking forward to your thoughts on the U.S. bombing response in Syria and Iraq after area 55 was attacked.
He is not delivering blatant disinformation in his comment. He is making a valid point. I myself believe that there will be no success of a 2-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians, as long as Hamas and Hezbollah and all other terrorist groups backed by Iran are allowed to exist.
And my statement does not even address the hard-liners in Israel.
"It's like saying there is only one China when Taiwan has its own government"
"You wrote: "For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." We know where your sympathies lie. I suspect you would never say that Russia, China, Iran, or Hamas are "evil." "
He has the right to say that. It is not abuse but he is questioning the statement by Simplicius. I have also questioned Simplicius's statements at times. That is what "comments" are for. They are not for abuse or being targeted as disinformation. It is not disinformation. You can state that it is disinformation but then explain how it is!
As for Taiwan, there are 2 x Governments, but people say there is only one China. Currently within the World there are two countries of predominantly Chinese people - China and Taiwan. The official name of Taiwan is "Republic of China".
And at times, I myself question in my mind many statements made on this forum, re, the full-on verbal attacks on Israel and very little attack on Hamas, and Hezbollah. Terrorist organizations should never be supported. And as I stated above, Israel is attacking Hamas, civilians are being killed - but not one comment against Israel has offered a method whereby Israel can destroy Hamas and Hezbollah without killing civilians.
So, at times, Simplicius' statements can be seen as being critical of the West, and there is cause, but the same critique is, at times, not applied to those listed above. And Simplicius is quite capable of making his own comment on a questioning critique.
"Terrorist" is in the eye of the beholder. I see neither Hamas nor Hezbollah as terrorists, nor Iran as an evil actor. On the other hand, the IDF and many Israeli settlers are unabashed terrorists, and the USA regime is the world's foremost sponsor of terrorism.
Seems that you have a love of terrorists. Have you ever worked in an Islamic country? Have you ever seen the way that these terrorist organizations treat their own people?
You are welcome to not see Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorists but when they come looking for you, after (and if) they destroy Israel, and they will come looking for you, then please see who will protect you then. The embers of Hamas and Hezbollah are not the Muslims that one sees on a daily basis of interaction, and I have interacted with many Muslims in the countries where I have worked. These terrorists see you as the enemy, the Infidel, be you Jewish or Christian or Buddhist - if you are not Muslim, then these terrorists see you as the enemy.
And many Muslims have told me that same fact. Even if you are Muslim and you question their actions, you are the enemy. Hamas have murdered many, many Palestinians since 1987 to now.
Grr, you are a veteran of most of these forums and chatrooms for many years, and so for that I've extended to you a lot more leeway than would be the case normally. However, I've warned you in the past and you continue to disrespect my comments section and as a consequence, me, by spewing non stop attacks and even threats against people. At a time when we are under a particular microscope in this community, and every little instance is used as a deplatforming tool against us, we have no choice but to be increasingly vigilant and consider anyone who continues to flaunt even the highly lax rules here, to be a potential provocateur whose aim is to draw attention to this blog.
Therefore, consider this another final warning. Stop the constant racial and nonracial attacks on posters here, or next time I will very reluctantly be forced to take action.
Hamas killed the Palestinian Authority leaders and took over Gaza. They killed them in front of their families. Anybody who thinks these 2 governments could somehow ever be one state is delusional. But maybe Hamas will take over the west bank. THEN there would be one state.
Zionazis has been a common term for decades. Zionist Nazis. And yes, they are a very real thing. Take a hard look at Israeli support for the Banderista Nazis in the Ukraine. It's hardly a secret.
Seems that you do not really follow or remember history.
The facts are openly stated since 2006:
1. Hamas assassinated the leaders of the PA and the PLO in Gaza, (a known fact, reported by both Western and Arab news, at the time)
2. An election was held in Gaza in 2006
3. Hamas won that election, and there has not been since that time, an election (not 1 x democratic election in Gaza) and that is a period of some 17/18 years.
4, And any opposition party has been silenced or removed by Hamas.
5. And there was no putsch by the PA, it was Hamas that undertook the putsch in 2006.
The zionist antisemites have not not allowed an election since 2006, Hamas defended itself when attacked by the zionist antisemites, the PLO, the US and American Caesar's chief jackal, Britain. Do your homework and tell the truth next time, haSSbara.
Again, your facts are as "you believe them to be" without any data to support your statements.
(i) Palestinians in Gaza - "Following the Fatah–Hamas conflict that started in 2006, Hamas formed a government ruling the Gaza Strip without elections. Gazan Prime Minister Haniyye announced in September 2012 the formation of a second Hamas government, also without elections". So, for Gaza, Hamas has not held elections and they have not recognized any elections held in the West Bank.
(ii) Palestinians in West Bank - First Point - The West Bank is not governed by Hamas but by the PA. The PA has allowed elections.
1996 - General elections, won by Fattah. Presidental election, won by Arafat.
2005 - Presidental election, won by Abbas - 62% of the vote.
Local elections: --- 2005, 2010 (delayed but then held in 2012), 2016 (delayed but then held in 2017), 2021-22 - held December 11, 2021.
2010/2012 - The delay in 2010 - Hamas withdrew from the elections and so no elections were held in Gaza.
2017 - Hamas stated that it would participate, they withdrew their participation, a disagreement with Fatah.
2021 - Hamas did not agree to elections in the Gaza strip
(iii) Palestinians in East Jerusalem - Third Point
Israel has prevented Palestinians in Jerusalem (and Jerusalem only) from voting in elections. At no time did Israel interfere or prevent any election being held in Gaza or the West Bank. Israel did not agree to Palestinian elections in East Jerusalem because of their full acceptance of East Jerusalem as part of Israel (rightly or wrongly).
So, having done my homework and reviewed the history as presented in published data by both Palestinian and Western reporting and documentation, I have presented the above - FACTS on the holding of elections in both the West Bank and Gaza since 2005. The problem is, in summation, Hamas and Hamas/Fatah being unable to agree on election procedures.
It is amazing that people, who are very serious and can resort to name calling in their commenting, can read, and it is assumed that those same people can hear but are totally unable to comprehend the written word of many documents, if the presented detail or data does not meet and agree with their assumed narrative.
Considering Fatah's loss in credibility throughout the leadup to the latest outbreak of hostilities and since, failing to protect West Bank civilians from the settlers and IDF, it's not unreasonable to think Hamas would be the winner in a struggle for power in the West Bank as well.
Palestine isn't really split between two political factions. The issue is that one "faction' aka Fatah or the PLO is the one who gets ALL of the money from the USA, UN, etc. because it is the only "legitimate" Palestinian government. This means they also decide who gets the thousands of cushy jobs, distribution of aid, etc., so they've become incredibly corrupt and aren't really "supported" by anyone who isn't a direct beneficiary.
The other "faction" is Hamas which hasn't won (or held) an election in 20 years. Originally, they were the protest vote against Fatah, but over time, they became the unelected mafia running Gaza. As for how popular they are, it's hard to say, but there were some anti-Hamas protests in Gaza before Oct 7.
The only other potential "factions" are ones like PIJ - radical, hardcore Islamacist. Keep in mind that not only are most Palestinians not really into that "radical" side of Islam, but around 10% of them aren't even Muslim at all (Christian).
I think there are still secular nationalist factions in the PLO.
As to elections, Hamas and Fatah agreed to holding them in 2021 but the PA side was pressured by the US and Israel not to. And Abbas feared losing, so the deal fell through...
The PA is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who only became President under emergency authority because the "Israelis" had very conveniently kidnapped the elected President. Abbas only had temporary authority, and that ran out a long time ago - January 2009, I think it was. Abbas is under control because "Israel" gave his son the tobacco monopoly for the West Bank and Gaza. 10 or 15 years ago, that monopoly brought Abbas the son, about US$ 35 million. The PA routinely arrests Palestinians under orders from Israel. Palestinian prisoners have died in the big PA prison. If a free election was held today, the PA would only get 2% of the vote. So the Zionists, especially the ones in Washington, need to come up with a "pretend PA" as a fig leaf.
Hamas and Fatah (PA leader is a member of Fatah, Fatah is the biggest, but only one member group of the PLO) agreed to elections a couple years ago. Hamas joining the PLO was under consideration and Hamas was effectively agreeing to negotiations with Israel based on the 1967 borders.
BUT... the US and Israel brought pressure on Abbas/PA to cancel the agreement. Abbas may not have taken much convincing since there was a very real prospect of his losing. Abbas backed out and here we are. And Zio-backers can continue to harp on Hamas' failure to hold elections.
Good article and you made good points. Quote: "In essence, the message of the Hamas leadership was clear: “If you in Fatah are convinced that you can get a state from Israel along the 1967 lines through negotiations, go for it. We will not interfere.” The 1967 lines would mean many thousands of Israeli settlers leaving the west bank after being there for many years. Even if Israel eventually elects a more moderate leadership, I doubt any would agree to that just to create a Palestinian state unless they are forced to do it. Notice that Hamas was not agreeing to any Palestinian state based on the current areas of Israeli settlements in the west bank - no compromise. Also, this does not mean any unification of Gaza and the west bank where Hamas gives up any power or allows new elections. The creation of a Palestinian state does not necessarily mean the end of the wars or less fighting, or Hamas changing their goal to wipe out Israel. It would mean the Israeli military giving up ground, and allowing enemy armies to be be built up in Gaza and the west bank they could do little about until those armies started a war. We saw a very powerful and effective Hamas army built up over several wars with Israel, despite the Israeli advantage to having occupied territories versus a Palestinian state. Hamas is on their way to winning this war - they win by merely surviving and having Israel withdraw from Gaza.
If you want to go back to old borders, Jordan used to own the west bank before 1967. Does Jordan want it back again to be reunited with Jordan? I doubt they want that. Gaza was part of Egypt. Would Egypt accept Gaza being part of Egypt again? I doubt it. In 1948, as I recall, nearby Arab nations rejected the formation of a Palestinian state, thinking they could simply conquer Israel and take the territory for themselves. They did not accept the U.N. and widely supported idea of a Jewish state .
No solutions are going to be easy or painless at this point.
As for Israel being forced to accept a Palestinian state, they would be forced
to make a lot of hard choices if the US were to (or make a credible threat to) stop subsidizing and arming them and protecting them in the Security Council.
About unifying the government of Gaza & W. Bank, I believe the article says that that was part of the failed deal - that post-election Hamas would transfer governing authority to the PA.
You're right about Hamas winning at this point, but that is in a defensive conflict where they are fighting Israel on their own terms in a favorable environment given the resources they have.
Threat of conflict would not disappear, nor desire by many to see Israel gone, if a two-state solution was achieved. But I suspect it likely wouldn't rise to the point of
attempting an offensive war to try and wipe out Israel - it's hard to see that as a serious enough possibility to foreclose concluding an agreement, especially compared to the consequences of not making one.
FWIW - Gaza was never - at least since ancient times - part of Egypt. The area was under Ottoman rule from the 1500's to WWI - the current border was negotiated in 1906 between the Brits (who controlled Egypt at the time) and the Ottomans.
Under the Palestine Mandate the Brits controlled it until 1948, it was then administered by Egypt (but never incorporated as Egyptian territory) until the 1967 war when Israel took control of it...
The West Bank was put under Jordanian control, as Gaza was put under Egyptian, for convenience, not in accordance with Palestinians wishes, and in part to ensure that the Palestinians would not have their own state.
" Hamas changing their goal to wipe out Israel" Hamas once had the eradication of Israel as a stated goal, however that is no longer their stated goal. They want a sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.
"For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." pointing out there is corruption and evil in the US regime is not the same as saying US is evil (or corrupt). No doubt there is corruption and evil in most "regimes", as in most people, but in US government it is overwhelmingly obvious to everyone who is looking.
Difficult to see Hamas accepting any US 2- State deal, especially if they're removed from the leadership and any so-called peace keeping can be disrupted by US or Israeli subterfuge. Just doesn't seem realistic, to me at least.
If they can get Bargouthi out he's one of the few pro-hamas PLO leaders. So a good insurance for them would be a hostage deal including Mr Bargouthi's release
Marwan Barghouti was a real moderate, not at all a terrorist. "Israel" signaled its long-term intentions when they arrested him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think his imprisonment began under the government before Netanyahu, so intransigence is a very old "Israeli" policy.
Yeah win-win agreements are viewed as a loss by the ruling elites in the west and its zionist extension: Israel. Why cooperate when you can take what you want through violence.
But as a society, Israel is far more brittle than it looks, 50% of its jewish population are not Ashkenazi elites. The official narrative of Israeli identity is alienating to every other jewish group. The paranoia and hate is maintained for a reason, keep everyone in line.
Unless there has been a deal with Iran for the rapid withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Syria, this strike by Biden is another invitation for humiliation. It's like the Houthis, if you attack them and they keep blocking your shipping anyway, you look like an impotent fool. If you attack 85 targets and the attacks on US bases don't stop, again, you look like an impotent fool. And they're not going to stop unless you agree to get out. It just keeps getting messier and messier.
Exactly the only way to make a 2 state solution would be war to destroy the settlers and their ideological brothers in "regular" Israeli society and military that would fight for the existence of the fascist state. Is the US going to invade Israel to carry that out? No. Is the Israeli government going to kick-start a civil war on behalf of the people it's been trying to "final solution" for the last 70 years? No. I don't believe the US for a second. If they try to create a Palestinian state, it will be "Palestinian" only so far as it is useful and obedient to Israel and the US, much like the Palestinian authority. That means no Hamas leadership. No resistance leadership if any kind. No military. When you can't have the leaders you want, the military to defend yourself, would you call that a sovereign state? I wouldn't. It's a pretext for Israel and the US to come in, dismantle Gaza and Hamas, destroy any part of Palestinian society that's inconvenient to the existence of the fascist beachhead that is Israel, and leave behind something they can control.
The world has been down this "two-state" road before. The U.S. will make some noises about it... pow wow with Saudi Arabia, who will nod and look disinterested, then declare that negotiations must begin over the exact boundaries, the fate of the settlers, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and right of return. Netanyahu and the Likudniks will mumble quite a bit about working out some detail or another and how they cannot negotiate with a gun to their head, so all "terrorism" must stop for some unspecified time. Then, after two or three years of doing nothing to achieve an actual two-state solution, they will claim that they do not have a "reliable negotiating partner," and it will all start up again.
Yes you are right, we have been down this road before, "Oslo Accords" of 1991.
However, the geo-political terrain is different than it was 30 years ago. The Western hegemon is now being squeezed on several fronts and no longer has the military, social and literal capital it once had to invest in a never-ending shit show in the middle east.
Here is a slightly bizarre but rather interesting twist on the Oslo Accords, I think the Star Trek TV series "Deep Space 9" (DS9) which was also released in 1991 is a subconscious cultural reflection of the Oslo Accords, or at least what they were supposed to be.
Consider this, The Federation (USA/Western Alliance) moves in as peacekeepers and mediators after the Cardassians (Zionists) end their military occupation of Bajoran (Palestinian) territory. Writers are always influenced by cultural events and the parallels hold pretty tight for at least the first few years/series.
Without question the terrain has changed. All the U.S. can do, short of nuclear war, is toss handfuls of missiles at the Eurasian landmass willynilly: like pebbles into an ocean. The U.S. cannot even protect international shipping lanes from the poverty-stricken and relatively unarmed Houthis. The days of Gulf War propaganda and nifty videos of laser-guided bombs on CNN are long gone.
However, no one in the U.S. realizes this and very few in Israel do. Israel still believes that U.S. backing gives it carte blanche to do as it pleases, and the yes-man, neo-cons, and Jewish 5th columnists in Washington will retain their delusions of imperial grandeur until reality shatters these illusions. These people believe that men can be women. The intricacies of geo-strategic realpolitik are quite beyond their grasp. They will continue with business as usual, pretending to negotiate while expanding the Israeli state, like they have always done.
I think that Putin and the Iranians have come to realize that only reality, and not reason, can shatter the delusions of Washington. It is only a matter of time before they decide to inflict suffer significant losses on the U.S., such as sinking a CV battle group or a Tet-like offensive on their postage stamp bases that results in thousands of U.S. casualties and POWs. We can only hope that the Kagan clan, which has taken effective control of the U.S. via silent coup, does not resort to nuclear war in a fit of impotent rage.
Trump will provide no solutions. His delusions of U.S. grandeur rival the neo-cons, and his "America-first" bluster is betrayed by his staunch support of Israel, despite this support running counter to every conceivable American interest. His tough-guy act will be met with stony silence by Putin and the Iranians and only serve to further convince them that "things must get real" (as the blacks in the U.S. like to say) in order for their to be any significant progress toward a 2-state solution or an end to the proxy wars on Russia's border.
Not so sure about your take on Trump. Yes, he got taken in by the Saudis and Israel first time around - due in no small part to his disastrous move of letting Jared Kushner be involved in ME policy.
No doubt the Zionist lobby would do anything they can to thwart his going off-narrative, but I think he's learned a fair bit from experience and they don't have anywhere near the control over Trump that they appear to have over most of the system...
The love of the white American in flyover country for this huckster of New York real-estate is truly one of the marvels of modern politics. Trump is a supreme narcissist. The only thing that matters to Trump is Trump. Don't believe me? What has Trump done to help out all the people he led into an FBI entrapment scheme on January 6th in Washington? Nothing. No... less than nothing. But when a bunch of rogue DAs decide to gang up on Trump, he plasters his laments of persecution all over every social media platform... while his supporters, whom he led into the trap, languish in dungeons in Washington for years. For years alternative and conservative viewpoints were censored on social media and in the news. This only bothered Trump when it affected him personally.
His political campaign in 2016 was a joke. "America first" is a campaign slogan, nothing more. He said all sorts of random things, and just repeated the things that generated the most applause. This is how he built his "platform:" pure demagoguery. He doesn't actually believe a thing that he says. How do I know this? Because he fired everyone (or allowed them to be railroaded... ala Michael Flynn) who did believe in "America first" and replaced them with an endless stream of neo-cons (John Bolton was his national security advisor), Wall-street investment bankers (his cabinet was filled with them), relatives (aka Kushner and Ivanka), and military-industrial complex hucksters. Milley was his appointment, so don't blame Biden for that one. The entire nation was locked in their homes for 2 years and Trump did not lift one finger to stop it. Give me a break with this guy.
Occupied Palestine is far worse than Ukraine. Crooke cites the latest polling:
"Recall the mood within Israel: The latest Peace Index survey shows that 94% percent of Israeli Jews think Israel used the right amount of firepower in Gaza – or not enough (43%). And three-quarters of Israelis think the number of Palestinians harmed since October is justified."
All resistance actors need to keep the pressure on as all know the Outlaw US Empire is agreement incapable along with their Zionists twin. The aim of the Resistance and the nations standing behind them is the ouster of the Empire from the entire Persian Gulf Region and West Asia--no bases, b=no boots, no nothing.
As for a ****Genuine**** Palestinian state, the ****entire West Bank**** must be cleansed of Zionists and provided with a robust physical connection with Gaza. And then there must be a settling of the Zionists decades worth of crimes IF we are to get a JUST solution. And the Zionists will go for none of that as the poll shows very well.
And all this talk happens while the Genocide continues and continues to be supported by the Empire while daily violating the Genocide Convention. They're still trying to make their own rules, but the world should tell Biden to shove it--this isn't just about Gaza and Palestine, but the whole Big Picture.
Now back to reading.
Finished reading and not too surprised. My only further comment deals with surrendering. Very few soldiers have a "fight to the death" mentality as we only get one life and it's unwise to throw it away needlessly. Yes, there are fanatics who don't give a shit about anything who are a danger to everyone including themselves. So, there are many variables revolving around your priceless life--is it better to die or face potential torture by your captors is probably the most frequent thought. Having others to live for--family--is another motivation to surrender. You're mortally wounded and know you don't have long to live, so you tell your mates you'll cover their retreat. IMO, the way Ukie troops are treated by command and their society provides incentive to surrender, particularly to those press-ganged into service. And if Ukie, would I want to be repatriated? I'd wait till the end of the conflict.
> Very few soldiers have a "fight to the death" mentality as we only get one life
Those in uniform with the power to order a "fight to the death" are rarely subject themselves to death - they're company-level or higher officers sitting in HQs well behind the line of contact. Enlisted soldiers who do the actual fighting take combat battle by battle, there is no "fight to the death" - only "fight to survive in the here and now" and see what may come.
"srael ends the Gaza conflict and commits to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza and the West Bank."
Who in their right mind can take Israel's "commitments" at face value. Unless the Palestinian state is recognized and IDF go away, I don't think it is any point of recognizing Israel.
My sources tell me that Saudi & UAE proxies in Yemen are already mass defecting to Ansarallah courtesy of their principled, moral stance on Palestine & Gaza. Basically, the American 'project' in West Asia is rapidly collapsing as we speak: 'Israel' has been repulsed by the Palestinian JOR & the Axis of Resistance have done irreparable harm to the Northern settlements. At this point, the only outcome is Iran's Ascension to Great Power Status in the region, in tandem with a full US-retreat.
(For those interested)
If you wish to read (& listen!) to more of My commentary, here is my Main Stack:
https://thefallofthewest.substack.com
Thank You Kindly to everyone!
I am not interested , solicit somewhere else .
Is this your substack? Are you speaking on behalf of Simplicius?
I am always speaking on my behalf , I can't stand beggars , they are worthless parasites . Simplicius definitely doesn't need my protection , and I am not worried about him . But in my opinion the comment section is for comments not for some self promotion .
He's offering a service (his writing) which isn't asking something for nothing. Hard to fault substackers for trying to drive traffic to their own site, especially if they cover different elements of the same main topics. I can't think of a way for anyone to effectively advertise in a different manner except maybe relying on pure luck. Did you check out his site? It's actually pretty good and interesting. That said, I'm not about to become a paying subscriber so...
Thank You for the Kind words!
Why the aggressive tone? Maybe he has something worth reading.
He had a great stack. The pics in “War Telegrams” are unbelievable. He also reposts other less known writers. Here’s one from Tex. Fuck this is good…enjoy
https://clevelandmarkblakemore.substack.com/p/the-schizophrenic-belief-in-inevitable?utm_source=cross-post&publication_id=1493611&post_id=141021041&utm_campaign=1064113&isFreemail=true&r=nvvvu&utm_medium=email
Yea I’ll second what Luke said, I’m glad he advertised his Substack and this is what is great about Simplicius’s comments section, I’m always finding new Substacks I enjoy.
If you don’t like it literally scroll down. I don’t know why you would waste your time commenting, lol.
Many of us are interested. Appears you are outvoted.
I haven't been outvoted , only a few unprincipled people seems to be ok. if someone piggyback riding on the comment section of an other hard working genuine reporting . My pride would never allow me to pick up followers by trying to entice them , without presenting a worthy content . How is it possible that this Simplicius have hundreds of comments after every three days of presenting he's take of current events . He has something to say and gaining followers , who are seems to be thankful and recognize the values , that has stimulating effect on the readers. But if any of you gratified with polite gaslighting terms like " thank you for your kind words " then I have no objection .
So we are unprincipled?
And Ahnaf Ibn Qais' content is worthy in the opinion of many.
And yes, you have been outvoted.
Yes , you are unprincipled ! I am not against you following who ever you like , that is your choice . I haven't been outvoted , just a few inconsiderate people have different view on simple concept of honor . I will illustrate for you maybe you can grasp it , if not then meditate on it in the silence of your privacy . Maybe it will come to you ? . Suppose I have a Mercedese vehicle to sell , but I live in a modest neighborhood , but I drive up to Beverly Hills and park it on the driveway with a for sale sign on it . The owners of the house on vacation they don't know . Where can I get a better price for it ? In my modest neighborhood or in the high society where I piggyback , so I can hope for a better exposure . If you not ashamed yourself yet , and choose to respond then present your argument . Don't just throw up narratives and judgements , because you only deceiving yourself .
Because there is no downvote to better assess the standing of your comment, you cannot claim that you haven't been outvoted. However, many jumped to actually write against you and if there were a downvote button, it is likely, due to convenience, that 5 to 10 10 more people would have downvoted you. So don't make shit up.
You are not paying attention , there has been almost 350 comments thus far , and you are saying i am loosing 5 to 10 which is five more negative on my side . that is less than 1.5 % of the total comments . That is below statistical error . Secondly why is it that , this guy you protecting so vehemently not speaking up for himself ? He should be doing some real verbal dancing in the comment section , to convince others with his captivating content . All is visible from him is , just repetition what he picked up here and there . Thirdly if he want to have an English speaking audience then first come up with a fitting easy to remember name , like " the solicitor" . Have some imagination ! Fourthly , I am not angry with anyone , just not willing to overlook the false . Here I am to challenge him to prove me wrong , and put up some eloquent , captivating content that will make me to change my mind .
With all due respect, you jump on every single post with this advert ... might get better traction if you take a break
I am here more than once every day. I just added thefallofthewest to my bookmarks after seeing his link and following it three day ago.
Not yet convinced that the US will pull out of the ME - at least not in the short term. As long as the zionist cancer remains there, the US will as well. The zionists own the US government and its foreign policy, and have for years. Indeed, it is remarkable how many zionists occupy the highest positions in the USG. The tumour and the USA are of one body now - you can not remove one without killing the other.
Only if the more reasonable factions within US elites prevail. As Simpli wrote, an engagement with Iran would mean the definitive and drastic end of imperial USA.
I have a slight hope that there are some US elites left that realize salvaging a great power-status for them is possible if they finally let go of global warring empire ambitions.
All of that is down to zionist choices. It is they who determine US foreign policy. Even the elites know better than to cross them - see Musk for advice.
I hope so too but have my doubts. See this quote from 1815 by Mayer Rothschild. This cabal of financiers have run the show ever since. Here’s the money quote and the secret of absolute power.
In 1815, Rothschild made his famous statement: "I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls the British money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply."
Sheer rhodomontade.
Ooh, cool new word...
I even spell it with the h. ;O)
Yes I agree with you. Election year ploy. Soon as that is over it will be scorched earth for anyone who gets in the way.
I must admit, if we go back even 5 years I would admit "the lobby" had a strong effect on US policy BUT I did not believe it would/could be so complete. Now, the idiots in DC (Pelosi) is just 1 example of openly admitting that Israel comes before any other interest. I believe that now that they can control the elections there is no need to pretend. I have never seen DC openly flaunt their contempt for American citizens like they have been doing since the last 2 rigged elections
Good comment. . They were snug in the last few decades but how quickly the global south organised and BRICS which was and still laughed at first by DC and now only to dumb sky news readers , the UAE China doing a 16 billion energy transfer in non usa dollars the other day, if at first slowly then all at once we are in the middle. And I'm glad I will get to see this downfall in my lifetime
Talk is cheap, this looks like a smoke screen.
If Saudi Arabia normalizes relations with Israel on a 'promise' of "eventually" establishing a Palestinian state, it will be a serious betrayal of the Palestinian people.
Also, I suspect that the only "security guarantee" that would be acceptable to Israel would be a completely demilitarized Palestine with Israel fully armed with the most modern weapons.
The USA may be able to "persuade" the Saudis, but I would not wager a wooden nickel on them pressuring Israel to comply.
I think those defections are very likely. There is a certain sort of man who cannot be paid enough to just sit still and do nothing when there is fighting going on. Men who are willing to fight, especially if they are fighting a larger opponent will always find other men to fight with them, it's part of the masculine spirit.
It is beyond me why anyone would trust the West in good faith at this point. As my endearing mother used to say “You have shit in your nest.” Right now I would be skeptical this is nothing more than an election year stunt. The goal would be not to make the US look like it was completely FUBAR. The elites need to at least go into October with some sanity intact.
Well you can bet your ass just as soon as the smoke has cleared and the media has soaked the American public with “free and fair” propaganda the gloves will come off. When I say that I mean here and abroad. I don’t believe there is an avenue to peace. There are only the conquerors and the conquered.
Lots of talk about the CBDC and the technogulag on the horizon. That’s in place now for the most part though the intensity of the state would certainly be raised after the implementation of CBDC. This unipolar system which has the West controlling the money (status quo) cannot function now or in the future if there is another game in town (multi polar). If my uneducated ass can figure this out am quite certain everyone else can.
I for one understand how important it is for the elites to hold their position as the economic system disintegrates and rebirths. Think of the power they have held over multiple generations. They are never going to willingly give that up I’m afraid. Not until it is physically impossible to achieve or until they are DEAD!
Read that post on MOA maybe you posted it there . Good info to know the ship all changes sides and upsets the empire. Sort of sad they were even aligned with them in the first place
Arab solidarity runs deep. Deeper than politics.
I've read even on more official sources like MEE about how people in non-Houthi territory who were previously opposed to Ansar Allah are now supporting it in its war against the Zionists.
It's easy to forget that the Yemeni Civil War was very much a Brother War. Whatever their disagreements, the men on the ground all feel for their brothers and sisters in Palestine, and if Israel is killing them and the Houthis are willing to raise the black flag of War on their behalf, then why wouldn't you stand with them?
Yes, and corroborated by this from The Cradle:
https://thecradle.co/articles/yemenis-ditch-uae-saudi-coalition-for-gaza
Good 'Stack, by the way.
Unfortunately, my investigative journo budget is at $350+...
Totally understand! Thank You for the Kind words!
Hopefully in the future I can earn your free subscription at least via my own efforts! 😉
Armstrong has been pounding on the table since 2020 that Great Reset is coming and NATO and neoCons need to stop any anti-Globalist candidate. The situation is very DIRE right now. Please see that link to today's update. Only for Simplicius's participants since this private subscription stuff from Armstrong. https://smallpdf.com/file#s=226065b6-98f1-4638-9b40-a4af391e5fb9
I can't tell you how hilarious it is your first reference was the famous "Secret Squirrel" of twitter.
I still have a hearty chuckle every time I think of the Canadian dunce cap helmet he bragged so proudly of having got from his "front line Ukrainian contacts" who for sure got it "off of a dead Russian." Only to delete the tweet after it was shown it was a Canadian dunce cap that was 100% donated to the UA by Canada.
Welcome to the Middle East, where nothing is ever as it appears... and that's generally for the best.
To be fair, that is also true of Asia. And Africa. And South America.
The USA "for once doing the just and honorable thing. " I'll believe it when I see it.
Exactly; they'll say yes to the two state and do nothing and of course expect full credit and compensation - I mean who believes anything from DC or Tel Aviv? As for the Brits sending in some "troops", well that's not going to frighten the Russians, ditto any other NATOstanis venturing into what's becoming the former Ukr.
UK currently could not field an infantry division if they were required to.
The UK can fill a stadium with more football hooligans than troops.
Yes the 2 state talk is nothing but Biden fan fiction. The Dems are trying to get their pro Palestine voters back in the fold, once they steal the election, and there is a fair chance they will, it will be a memory.
Biden "retires" and Michelle Obama takes over (that's Martin Armstrong's thinking) which seems plausible, as is the contention of no election in 2028.
great article - I love your stuff on the ME...thanks so much
Russia is strangling the entire contact line like a python. I'm not sure anymore if a surrender will be reached before we see the AFU collapse and a disorderly retreat to the west side of the Dnipro river.
I guess all of the dumb Polack jokes are based in reality.
Nah, at least 20%-30% of them see it like most of us here at Simplicius do. The rest is heavily brainwashed, as is almost every Western nation. The global Western Elites are working really good in that regard, every other topic, economy, military, ethics, basic math and basic physics not so much.
I know the Polish mentality well. Too many Poles would gladly slit their own children's throats if that meant that an American would pat them on the head and call them a good dog.
For those who still still doubt, look at how Poles embraced the literal direct ideological and biological descendants of the very people who so gleefully murdered their grandparents.
I saw this pretty intense Polish movie recently, I think this is what you are referring to?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdWPAwAjSEs
I don't know a Polish family that didn't suffer at the hands of the Ukrainian nationalists.
Some good clean hypersonic therapy Will help educate dumb Polaks right fast.
FJB and Blinken obviously didn't understand Netanyahoo's memo that America is Israel's bitch, not the other way around.
Interesting times ahead.
Don't be fooled, they're on board with Netanyahu.
This is just a headfake - a stylistic motif of the Blinken-Sullivan foreign policy. They'll "balance" in a few days or a week by taking an overtly pro Israel action.
Things are much worse than that diplomatically for the US Genociders. This is the era of drone warfare, unmanned speed boats, and urban fighting that we aren't prepared to fight. And yes, Israel is a nuclear terrorist state, and were partners in 911 and hit us before. We need to go to a two state solution with neither having nukes or weapons of mass destruction. Image getting the fanatical Caucasians out of Israel and having Jerusalem a Holy City for all.
They not only got it, they are entirely on board with it. This talk of a 2 state arrangement is just pre election smoke.
43 Febuary 2024 FT Finally - The penny drops on Sanctions
‘The surprising resilience of the Russian Economy’
https://www.ft.com/content/d304a182-997d-4dae-98a1-aa7c691526db
Curious but evidently true – what was obvious no surprise from any kind of non propagandised perspective was difficult to see from inside the garden, and impossible for any of the Head Gardener Class
Nonetheless the article is written kicking and screaming against the evidence and trying to find disaster lurking in Russian success, with no attempt to discover any reason for that success
The FT manages to retain/repeat the Cold War clichés of the gas station, claims the militarised economy is overheating, complains about inflation and overtight labour market, import restrictions, is surprised and calls ‘staggering’ the degree of increment in military spending
While failing to observe this spending remains well below that claimed by Nato, yet much more efficient in quantity and quality, not to mention equity – no hint of this in FT reporting
It’s not the size it’s the way you use it
One reason – the RF pays arms manufacturers upfront – a method which might hint at a solution for struggling Nato programs
Conclusion – the RF economy would have been (a little) better off without the war – a surprising
but very timid statement coming from a European newspaper well aware of the considerable damages Europe has inflicted on Europe’s economy by initiation of this war
“Other economists argue that Russia’s economy would have grown in consecutive years at a much more sustainable level if Putin had not ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“2022 began from a very optimistic note, and the growth even surpassed most expectations. I would have expected that both in 2022 and 2023, we could have anticipated an annual GDP growth of around 3 per cent,” says Ruben Enikolopov, a research professor with Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona.”
President Putin was bolder and braggy er– and more informative as to the why and how, as reported by Tass, and by the Kremlin
"Our economy is growing, unlike the other economies, and has currently become the largest in Europe, the top one in Europe. And in terms of the purchasing power parity, it has become the first in Europe and the fifth worldwide," Putin said. "This process will continue gaining momentum," he added.”
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/73368
One point overlooked by the FT is the melding of civilian and military production in the same plants – even tho’ westerners often talk about Russia’s use of dual use technology they fail to understand what this means
Putin mentions that the arms industry also exports to the amount of ‘billions of dollars’
“But I would like to note that overall, the defence industry plants (strange as it may seem at first sight because of the need to deliver armaments to the frontline) have increased the manufacture of civilian products by almost 30 percent – 27 percent, to be precise, in the past year and a half. This is a very good figure.
This means that we will first load them up with orders for military products now and continue doing this in the future because we need to create reserves and replenish what was spent during hostilities. But, at the same time, we will support all undertakings linked with the development of civilian production”.
You wrote: "Now there are new reports that the US has fully doubled down on the creation of a Palestinian state—in other words, the long-sought-after two-state solution"
That's entirely unrealistic since there are actually 3 governments involved, not 2. Israel, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority on the west bank means 3 states, no matter what some clueless politicians say about a 2 state solution. Maybe these fools think that 2 different governments in 2 different areas are supposed to be considered one state . Really stupid. Who is going to appoint the U.N. representative? Hamas or the Palestinian Authority?
It's like saying there is only one China when Taiwan has its own government and is not actually part of mainland China with an ocean between the 2 states.
You wrote: "For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." We know where your sympathies lie. I suspect you would never say that Russia, China, Iran, or Hamas are "evil."
Looking forward to your thoughts on the U.S. bombing response in Syria and Iraq after area 55 was attacked.
Another brain dead, US flag draped, imbecile has wandered in from the trailer park, crack pipe in hand.
Is there a need for abuse, when one comments with a different opinion to your own?
Cliff, there are different opinions and then there is blatant disinformation.
He is not delivering blatant disinformation in his comment. He is making a valid point. I myself believe that there will be no success of a 2-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians, as long as Hamas and Hezbollah and all other terrorist groups backed by Iran are allowed to exist.
And my statement does not even address the hard-liners in Israel.
"It's like saying there is only one China when Taiwan has its own government"
"You wrote: "For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." We know where your sympathies lie. I suspect you would never say that Russia, China, Iran, or Hamas are "evil." "
Was referring to the two gems above.
He has the right to say that. It is not abuse but he is questioning the statement by Simplicius. I have also questioned Simplicius's statements at times. That is what "comments" are for. They are not for abuse or being targeted as disinformation. It is not disinformation. You can state that it is disinformation but then explain how it is!
As for Taiwan, there are 2 x Governments, but people say there is only one China. Currently within the World there are two countries of predominantly Chinese people - China and Taiwan. The official name of Taiwan is "Republic of China".
And at times, I myself question in my mind many statements made on this forum, re, the full-on verbal attacks on Israel and very little attack on Hamas, and Hezbollah. Terrorist organizations should never be supported. And as I stated above, Israel is attacking Hamas, civilians are being killed - but not one comment against Israel has offered a method whereby Israel can destroy Hamas and Hezbollah without killing civilians.
So, at times, Simplicius' statements can be seen as being critical of the West, and there is cause, but the same critique is, at times, not applied to those listed above. And Simplicius is quite capable of making his own comment on a questioning critique.
"Terrorist" is in the eye of the beholder. I see neither Hamas nor Hezbollah as terrorists, nor Iran as an evil actor. On the other hand, the IDF and many Israeli settlers are unabashed terrorists, and the USA regime is the world's foremost sponsor of terrorism.
Seems that you have a love of terrorists. Have you ever worked in an Islamic country? Have you ever seen the way that these terrorist organizations treat their own people?
You are welcome to not see Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorists but when they come looking for you, after (and if) they destroy Israel, and they will come looking for you, then please see who will protect you then. The embers of Hamas and Hezbollah are not the Muslims that one sees on a daily basis of interaction, and I have interacted with many Muslims in the countries where I have worked. These terrorists see you as the enemy, the Infidel, be you Jewish or Christian or Buddhist - if you are not Muslim, then these terrorists see you as the enemy.
And many Muslims have told me that same fact. Even if you are Muslim and you question their actions, you are the enemy. Hamas have murdered many, many Palestinians since 1987 to now.
But each to their own.
Grr, you are a veteran of most of these forums and chatrooms for many years, and so for that I've extended to you a lot more leeway than would be the case normally. However, I've warned you in the past and you continue to disrespect my comments section and as a consequence, me, by spewing non stop attacks and even threats against people. At a time when we are under a particular microscope in this community, and every little instance is used as a deplatforming tool against us, we have no choice but to be increasingly vigilant and consider anyone who continues to flaunt even the highly lax rules here, to be a potential provocateur whose aim is to draw attention to this blog.
Therefore, consider this another final warning. Stop the constant racial and nonracial attacks on posters here, or next time I will very reluctantly be forced to take action.
Simp, it wasn't my intention to to disrespect your comments section and as a consequence, you.
I disrespect ignorant trolls and propaganda (hasbara and other types) merchants.
However your points are taken on board. Cheers.
Hamas killed the Palestinian Authority leaders and took over Gaza. They killed them in front of their families. Anybody who thinks these 2 governments could somehow ever be one state is delusional. But maybe Hamas will take over the west bank. THEN there would be one state.
Now you are making shit up.
Hamas won the only democratic election in the Middle East and survived a putsch by the PA and a war by the zionazis.
"zionazis" - is that your own invented word? I've not seen it before.
Zionazis has been a common term for decades. Zionist Nazis. And yes, they are a very real thing. Take a hard look at Israeli support for the Banderista Nazis in the Ukraine. It's hardly a secret.
No I don't have the honour of coining that phrase.
Not surprising. CNN would never use that fitting name.
Seems that you do not really follow or remember history.
The facts are openly stated since 2006:
1. Hamas assassinated the leaders of the PA and the PLO in Gaza, (a known fact, reported by both Western and Arab news, at the time)
2. An election was held in Gaza in 2006
3. Hamas won that election, and there has not been since that time, an election (not 1 x democratic election in Gaza) and that is a period of some 17/18 years.
4, And any opposition party has been silenced or removed by Hamas.
5. And there was no putsch by the PA, it was Hamas that undertook the putsch in 2006.
That is very democratic.
The zionist antisemites have not not allowed an election since 2006, Hamas defended itself when attacked by the zionist antisemites, the PLO, the US and American Caesar's chief jackal, Britain. Do your homework and tell the truth next time, haSSbara.
Again, your facts are as "you believe them to be" without any data to support your statements.
(i) Palestinians in Gaza - "Following the Fatah–Hamas conflict that started in 2006, Hamas formed a government ruling the Gaza Strip without elections. Gazan Prime Minister Haniyye announced in September 2012 the formation of a second Hamas government, also without elections". So, for Gaza, Hamas has not held elections and they have not recognized any elections held in the West Bank.
(ii) Palestinians in West Bank - First Point - The West Bank is not governed by Hamas but by the PA. The PA has allowed elections.
1996 - General elections, won by Fattah. Presidental election, won by Arafat.
2005 - Presidental election, won by Abbas - 62% of the vote.
2006 - Parliamentary elections, Hamas - 44%, Fattah 41%
Local elections: --- 2005, 2010 (delayed but then held in 2012), 2016 (delayed but then held in 2017), 2021-22 - held December 11, 2021.
2010/2012 - The delay in 2010 - Hamas withdrew from the elections and so no elections were held in Gaza.
2017 - Hamas stated that it would participate, they withdrew their participation, a disagreement with Fatah.
2021 - Hamas did not agree to elections in the Gaza strip
(iii) Palestinians in East Jerusalem - Third Point
Israel has prevented Palestinians in Jerusalem (and Jerusalem only) from voting in elections. At no time did Israel interfere or prevent any election being held in Gaza or the West Bank. Israel did not agree to Palestinian elections in East Jerusalem because of their full acceptance of East Jerusalem as part of Israel (rightly or wrongly).
So, having done my homework and reviewed the history as presented in published data by both Palestinian and Western reporting and documentation, I have presented the above - FACTS on the holding of elections in both the West Bank and Gaza since 2005. The problem is, in summation, Hamas and Hamas/Fatah being unable to agree on election procedures.
It is amazing that people, who are very serious and can resort to name calling in their commenting, can read, and it is assumed that those same people can hear but are totally unable to comprehend the written word of many documents, if the presented detail or data does not meet and agree with their assumed narrative.
I didn't mention beliefs, you haSSbara casuist, do some homework and find your souil whilst you're about it.
Considering Fatah's loss in credibility throughout the leadup to the latest outbreak of hostilities and since, failing to protect West Bank civilians from the settlers and IDF, it's not unreasonable to think Hamas would be the winner in a struggle for power in the West Bank as well.
Once an actual state is formed, there could of course be a process after which a representative government can be appointed. Elections for example.
Palestine is not exactly the only place in the world where the population is roughly split along 2 political factions.
Palestine isn't really split between two political factions. The issue is that one "faction' aka Fatah or the PLO is the one who gets ALL of the money from the USA, UN, etc. because it is the only "legitimate" Palestinian government. This means they also decide who gets the thousands of cushy jobs, distribution of aid, etc., so they've become incredibly corrupt and aren't really "supported" by anyone who isn't a direct beneficiary.
The other "faction" is Hamas which hasn't won (or held) an election in 20 years. Originally, they were the protest vote against Fatah, but over time, they became the unelected mafia running Gaza. As for how popular they are, it's hard to say, but there were some anti-Hamas protests in Gaza before Oct 7.
The only other potential "factions" are ones like PIJ - radical, hardcore Islamacist. Keep in mind that not only are most Palestinians not really into that "radical" side of Islam, but around 10% of them aren't even Muslim at all (Christian).
I think there are still secular nationalist factions in the PLO.
As to elections, Hamas and Fatah agreed to holding them in 2021 but the PA side was pressured by the US and Israel not to. And Abbas feared losing, so the deal fell through...
(very useful Israeli source, FWIW)
https://www.972mag.com/hamas-fatah-elections-israel-arrogance/
The PA is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, who only became President under emergency authority because the "Israelis" had very conveniently kidnapped the elected President. Abbas only had temporary authority, and that ran out a long time ago - January 2009, I think it was. Abbas is under control because "Israel" gave his son the tobacco monopoly for the West Bank and Gaza. 10 or 15 years ago, that monopoly brought Abbas the son, about US$ 35 million. The PA routinely arrests Palestinians under orders from Israel. Palestinian prisoners have died in the big PA prison. If a free election was held today, the PA would only get 2% of the vote. So the Zionists, especially the ones in Washington, need to come up with a "pretend PA" as a fig leaf.
Hamas and Fatah (PA leader is a member of Fatah, Fatah is the biggest, but only one member group of the PLO) agreed to elections a couple years ago. Hamas joining the PLO was under consideration and Hamas was effectively agreeing to negotiations with Israel based on the 1967 borders.
BUT... the US and Israel brought pressure on Abbas/PA to cancel the agreement. Abbas may not have taken much convincing since there was a very real prospect of his losing. Abbas backed out and here we are. And Zio-backers can continue to harp on Hamas' failure to hold elections.
https://www.972mag.com/hamas-fatah-elections-israel-arrogance/
Good article and you made good points. Quote: "In essence, the message of the Hamas leadership was clear: “If you in Fatah are convinced that you can get a state from Israel along the 1967 lines through negotiations, go for it. We will not interfere.” The 1967 lines would mean many thousands of Israeli settlers leaving the west bank after being there for many years. Even if Israel eventually elects a more moderate leadership, I doubt any would agree to that just to create a Palestinian state unless they are forced to do it. Notice that Hamas was not agreeing to any Palestinian state based on the current areas of Israeli settlements in the west bank - no compromise. Also, this does not mean any unification of Gaza and the west bank where Hamas gives up any power or allows new elections. The creation of a Palestinian state does not necessarily mean the end of the wars or less fighting, or Hamas changing their goal to wipe out Israel. It would mean the Israeli military giving up ground, and allowing enemy armies to be be built up in Gaza and the west bank they could do little about until those armies started a war. We saw a very powerful and effective Hamas army built up over several wars with Israel, despite the Israeli advantage to having occupied territories versus a Palestinian state. Hamas is on their way to winning this war - they win by merely surviving and having Israel withdraw from Gaza.
If you want to go back to old borders, Jordan used to own the west bank before 1967. Does Jordan want it back again to be reunited with Jordan? I doubt they want that. Gaza was part of Egypt. Would Egypt accept Gaza being part of Egypt again? I doubt it. In 1948, as I recall, nearby Arab nations rejected the formation of a Palestinian state, thinking they could simply conquer Israel and take the territory for themselves. They did not accept the U.N. and widely supported idea of a Jewish state .
No solutions are going to be easy or painless at this point.
As for Israel being forced to accept a Palestinian state, they would be forced
to make a lot of hard choices if the US were to (or make a credible threat to) stop subsidizing and arming them and protecting them in the Security Council.
About unifying the government of Gaza & W. Bank, I believe the article says that that was part of the failed deal - that post-election Hamas would transfer governing authority to the PA.
You're right about Hamas winning at this point, but that is in a defensive conflict where they are fighting Israel on their own terms in a favorable environment given the resources they have.
Threat of conflict would not disappear, nor desire by many to see Israel gone, if a two-state solution was achieved. But I suspect it likely wouldn't rise to the point of
attempting an offensive war to try and wipe out Israel - it's hard to see that as a serious enough possibility to foreclose concluding an agreement, especially compared to the consequences of not making one.
FWIW - Gaza was never - at least since ancient times - part of Egypt. The area was under Ottoman rule from the 1500's to WWI - the current border was negotiated in 1906 between the Brits (who controlled Egypt at the time) and the Ottomans.
Under the Palestine Mandate the Brits controlled it until 1948, it was then administered by Egypt (but never incorporated as Egyptian territory) until the 1967 war when Israel took control of it...
The West Bank was put under Jordanian control, as Gaza was put under Egyptian, for convenience, not in accordance with Palestinians wishes, and in part to ensure that the Palestinians would not have their own state.
" Hamas changing their goal to wipe out Israel" Hamas once had the eradication of Israel as a stated goal, however that is no longer their stated goal. They want a sovereign Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.
"For all the corruption and evil of the US regime,..." pointing out there is corruption and evil in the US regime is not the same as saying US is evil (or corrupt). No doubt there is corruption and evil in most "regimes", as in most people, but in US government it is overwhelmingly obvious to everyone who is looking.
I like that snarky comment to Julian Roepcke
Difficult to see Hamas accepting any US 2- State deal, especially if they're removed from the leadership and any so-called peace keeping can be disrupted by US or Israeli subterfuge. Just doesn't seem realistic, to me at least.
If they can get Bargouthi out he's one of the few pro-hamas PLO leaders. So a good insurance for them would be a hostage deal including Mr Bargouthi's release
Marwan Barghouti was a real moderate, not at all a terrorist. "Israel" signaled its long-term intentions when they arrested him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think his imprisonment began under the government before Netanyahu, so intransigence is a very old "Israeli" policy.
Yeah win-win agreements are viewed as a loss by the ruling elites in the west and its zionist extension: Israel. Why cooperate when you can take what you want through violence.
But as a society, Israel is far more brittle than it looks, 50% of its jewish population are not Ashkenazi elites. The official narrative of Israeli identity is alienating to every other jewish group. The paranoia and hate is maintained for a reason, keep everyone in line.
Unless there has been a deal with Iran for the rapid withdrawal of US forces from Iraq and Syria, this strike by Biden is another invitation for humiliation. It's like the Houthis, if you attack them and they keep blocking your shipping anyway, you look like an impotent fool. If you attack 85 targets and the attacks on US bases don't stop, again, you look like an impotent fool. And they're not going to stop unless you agree to get out. It just keeps getting messier and messier.
I like Scott Ritter's take - which is that the strikes are basically a face-saving device.
The US knows they are mostly meaningless, but can't afford to appear to be doing nothing.
Time to declare victory, mission accomplished or whatever and get out.
Devil is in details West bank is 50% occupied by israeli fanatics and they are all armed to the teeth and get to vote. Now what?
Exactly the only way to make a 2 state solution would be war to destroy the settlers and their ideological brothers in "regular" Israeli society and military that would fight for the existence of the fascist state. Is the US going to invade Israel to carry that out? No. Is the Israeli government going to kick-start a civil war on behalf of the people it's been trying to "final solution" for the last 70 years? No. I don't believe the US for a second. If they try to create a Palestinian state, it will be "Palestinian" only so far as it is useful and obedient to Israel and the US, much like the Palestinian authority. That means no Hamas leadership. No resistance leadership if any kind. No military. When you can't have the leaders you want, the military to defend yourself, would you call that a sovereign state? I wouldn't. It's a pretext for Israel and the US to come in, dismantle Gaza and Hamas, destroy any part of Palestinian society that's inconvenient to the existence of the fascist beachhead that is Israel, and leave behind something they can control.
The world has been down this "two-state" road before. The U.S. will make some noises about it... pow wow with Saudi Arabia, who will nod and look disinterested, then declare that negotiations must begin over the exact boundaries, the fate of the settlers, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, and right of return. Netanyahu and the Likudniks will mumble quite a bit about working out some detail or another and how they cannot negotiate with a gun to their head, so all "terrorism" must stop for some unspecified time. Then, after two or three years of doing nothing to achieve an actual two-state solution, they will claim that they do not have a "reliable negotiating partner," and it will all start up again.
Yes you are right, we have been down this road before, "Oslo Accords" of 1991.
However, the geo-political terrain is different than it was 30 years ago. The Western hegemon is now being squeezed on several fronts and no longer has the military, social and literal capital it once had to invest in a never-ending shit show in the middle east.
Here is a slightly bizarre but rather interesting twist on the Oslo Accords, I think the Star Trek TV series "Deep Space 9" (DS9) which was also released in 1991 is a subconscious cultural reflection of the Oslo Accords, or at least what they were supposed to be.
Consider this, The Federation (USA/Western Alliance) moves in as peacekeepers and mediators after the Cardassians (Zionists) end their military occupation of Bajoran (Palestinian) territory. Writers are always influenced by cultural events and the parallels hold pretty tight for at least the first few years/series.
Without question the terrain has changed. All the U.S. can do, short of nuclear war, is toss handfuls of missiles at the Eurasian landmass willynilly: like pebbles into an ocean. The U.S. cannot even protect international shipping lanes from the poverty-stricken and relatively unarmed Houthis. The days of Gulf War propaganda and nifty videos of laser-guided bombs on CNN are long gone.
However, no one in the U.S. realizes this and very few in Israel do. Israel still believes that U.S. backing gives it carte blanche to do as it pleases, and the yes-man, neo-cons, and Jewish 5th columnists in Washington will retain their delusions of imperial grandeur until reality shatters these illusions. These people believe that men can be women. The intricacies of geo-strategic realpolitik are quite beyond their grasp. They will continue with business as usual, pretending to negotiate while expanding the Israeli state, like they have always done.
I think that Putin and the Iranians have come to realize that only reality, and not reason, can shatter the delusions of Washington. It is only a matter of time before they decide to inflict suffer significant losses on the U.S., such as sinking a CV battle group or a Tet-like offensive on their postage stamp bases that results in thousands of U.S. casualties and POWs. We can only hope that the Kagan clan, which has taken effective control of the U.S. via silent coup, does not resort to nuclear war in a fit of impotent rage.
Trump will provide no solutions. His delusions of U.S. grandeur rival the neo-cons, and his "America-first" bluster is betrayed by his staunch support of Israel, despite this support running counter to every conceivable American interest. His tough-guy act will be met with stony silence by Putin and the Iranians and only serve to further convince them that "things must get real" (as the blacks in the U.S. like to say) in order for their to be any significant progress toward a 2-state solution or an end to the proxy wars on Russia's border.
Not so sure about your take on Trump. Yes, he got taken in by the Saudis and Israel first time around - due in no small part to his disastrous move of letting Jared Kushner be involved in ME policy.
No doubt the Zionist lobby would do anything they can to thwart his going off-narrative, but I think he's learned a fair bit from experience and they don't have anywhere near the control over Trump that they appear to have over most of the system...
The love of the white American in flyover country for this huckster of New York real-estate is truly one of the marvels of modern politics. Trump is a supreme narcissist. The only thing that matters to Trump is Trump. Don't believe me? What has Trump done to help out all the people he led into an FBI entrapment scheme on January 6th in Washington? Nothing. No... less than nothing. But when a bunch of rogue DAs decide to gang up on Trump, he plasters his laments of persecution all over every social media platform... while his supporters, whom he led into the trap, languish in dungeons in Washington for years. For years alternative and conservative viewpoints were censored on social media and in the news. This only bothered Trump when it affected him personally.
His political campaign in 2016 was a joke. "America first" is a campaign slogan, nothing more. He said all sorts of random things, and just repeated the things that generated the most applause. This is how he built his "platform:" pure demagoguery. He doesn't actually believe a thing that he says. How do I know this? Because he fired everyone (or allowed them to be railroaded... ala Michael Flynn) who did believe in "America first" and replaced them with an endless stream of neo-cons (John Bolton was his national security advisor), Wall-street investment bankers (his cabinet was filled with them), relatives (aka Kushner and Ivanka), and military-industrial complex hucksters. Milley was his appointment, so don't blame Biden for that one. The entire nation was locked in their homes for 2 years and Trump did not lift one finger to stop it. Give me a break with this guy.
One can only hope that the Saudis will not agree to settle for a vague "eventually" promise of 'two-state'
It's all academic anyway.
I don't think this idea of avoiding uncontrolled escalation in the region will work out.
Nice try but doomed to failure.
There won't be won't be enough discipline on Part of the US, the forces in favor of full escalation too strong.
And especially on Israel's Side.
Everyone is basically locked in ON a path to a fight to the finish.
And I doubt Israel will exist after that "finish".
Occupied Palestine is far worse than Ukraine. Crooke cites the latest polling:
"Recall the mood within Israel: The latest Peace Index survey shows that 94% percent of Israeli Jews think Israel used the right amount of firepower in Gaza – or not enough (43%). And three-quarters of Israelis think the number of Palestinians harmed since October is justified."
Do read Crooke's much earlier than usual SCF essay here, https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/02/02/the-three-strands-to-the-swarming-of-biden/
All resistance actors need to keep the pressure on as all know the Outlaw US Empire is agreement incapable along with their Zionists twin. The aim of the Resistance and the nations standing behind them is the ouster of the Empire from the entire Persian Gulf Region and West Asia--no bases, b=no boots, no nothing.
As for a ****Genuine**** Palestinian state, the ****entire West Bank**** must be cleansed of Zionists and provided with a robust physical connection with Gaza. And then there must be a settling of the Zionists decades worth of crimes IF we are to get a JUST solution. And the Zionists will go for none of that as the poll shows very well.
And all this talk happens while the Genocide continues and continues to be supported by the Empire while daily violating the Genocide Convention. They're still trying to make their own rules, but the world should tell Biden to shove it--this isn't just about Gaza and Palestine, but the whole Big Picture.
Now back to reading.
Finished reading and not too surprised. My only further comment deals with surrendering. Very few soldiers have a "fight to the death" mentality as we only get one life and it's unwise to throw it away needlessly. Yes, there are fanatics who don't give a shit about anything who are a danger to everyone including themselves. So, there are many variables revolving around your priceless life--is it better to die or face potential torture by your captors is probably the most frequent thought. Having others to live for--family--is another motivation to surrender. You're mortally wounded and know you don't have long to live, so you tell your mates you'll cover their retreat. IMO, the way Ukie troops are treated by command and their society provides incentive to surrender, particularly to those press-ganged into service. And if Ukie, would I want to be repatriated? I'd wait till the end of the conflict.
Another excellent read to complement Crooke is this excellent item about Ansarallah at The Cradle, https://thecradle.co/articles/yemenis-ditch-uae-saudi-coalition-for-gaza
> Very few soldiers have a "fight to the death" mentality as we only get one life
Those in uniform with the power to order a "fight to the death" are rarely subject themselves to death - they're company-level or higher officers sitting in HQs well behind the line of contact. Enlisted soldiers who do the actual fighting take combat battle by battle, there is no "fight to the death" - only "fight to survive in the here and now" and see what may come.
As a former GI, I can't argue with that.
"srael ends the Gaza conflict and commits to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state that includes Gaza and the West Bank."
Who in their right mind can take Israel's "commitments" at face value. Unless the Palestinian state is recognized and IDF go away, I don't think it is any point of recognizing Israel.