He criticizes the UN for it’s failure to act to prevent conflicts knowing full well and ignoring that the US VETO has been a major contributor to that ongoing problem

“claiming that his own administration had resolved several potential wars,”

To my knowledge the Trump administration has not ended any wars, active or potential. This is the stuff of delusion. I’m thinking this was an appeal to the US audience from UN headquarters in New York. He said he’d end the Ukraine conflict- He hasn’t. He claimed it was Biden war, but, he increased weapons deliveries in his first term. Armenia/Azerbaijan was settled years ago with Russia as a mediator. Pakistan has launched attacks against India peacekeepers in recent days. Syria is run by Usreal terrorists and is not at peace.

Trump dismissed climate change efforts as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” questioning green energy programs and a bigger hidden environmental agenda promoted by the U.N.

I do believe the man made climate change is a con job- I don’t believe carbon is pollution. That said,this is a big business agenda with a green veneer. Trump surely has to be aware of that- Carbon was commodified for profit– Big global banks have been firmly behind this. Insurance companies love the idea because they can increase premiums while reducing or deny pay outs because “climate change”
Big oil has been firmly behind this as the plan has driven up energy costs and carbon capture is used to keep oil wells going longer- making them more profitable

It’s not an environmental project so much as it is a money making (green/cash cow) project

Trump called out European leaders for continuing to buy Russian oil while supporting Ukraine, labeling the practice “embarrassing” and warning of future tariffs if the purchases did not stop. He also mentioned that the war would not have even started under his leadership, reiterating a commitment to find peace between the two countries.

He calls them (EU) out for this because he wants to force their hand into purchasing more expensive US energy- And he’s incensed they haven’t done this even though it would be to their own detriment- In other words the EU has not bent the knee enough in his opinion.

Trump also condemned what he called uncontrolled migration, describing it as an “invasion” in Europe and further criticizing U.N.-funded programs he said supported the mass wave of illegal immigration.

Uncontrolled migration that results from US waged/supported wars- Including the latest batch of Ukrainian refugees. And the inevitable number of Palestinian refugees. The US is the largest funder of the UN- so it is both making the refugees and paying for them to be relocated. The US has by and large been the biggest creator of refugees through it’s endless warmaking.

Meanwhile at the UN;

CFR

The United States today remains the largest donor to the United Nations. It contributed close to $13 billion in 2023, accounting for more than a quarter of funding for the body’s collective budget

The United States leads the pledges with $200 million, followed by Denmark and Sweden, while Armenia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania have emerged as new or strengthened donors, expanding their funding base.

https://publish.twitter.com/?url=https://twitter.com/PeterDClack/status/1971151037840097523#

Trump is clearly opposed to the recognition of a form of Palestinian state- Claiming it as a “reward for Hamas,”– (that’s a big subject on it’s own) But, Trump himself has continued to support Israel unquestioningly with an abundance of weaponry instead of being the peacemaker, while endlessly vying for a Nobel Peace Prize in a blatant and self promoting manner.

French President Emmanuel Macron responded that U.S. pressure on Israel would be key to achieving a resolution in the conflict.

Macron, as detestable of a weasel he is, is correct. The US has done nothing but coddle Israel as it commits genocide/ethnic cleansing- A goal or desired outcome Israel has made very clear.

Lastly, Trump’s speech at the UN was aimed at his MAGA base. Presenting himself as the boss and no doubt it played well to his base. Still, my perception of the speech was as an attempt to try to stay or present as relevant in a changing global word. The US is still a super power, but, the writing is on the wall. And that makes this a dangerous time.

The US- Rogue State and Global Outlier

PBS

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States once again vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday that had demanded for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages after saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning Hamas.

All 14 other members of the United Nations’ most powerful body voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory. The outcome further highlights U.S. and Israeli isolation on the world stage regarding the nearly two-year war (ethnic cleansing/genocide) in Gaza.

The vote came just days ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, where Gaza will be a major topic and where major U.S. allies are expected to recognize an independent Palestinian state. It is a largely symbolic move that is vehemently opposed by Israel and the U.S., dividing the Trump administration from close allies, including the U.K. and France.

The resolution, drafted by the council’s 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, goes further than previous drafts to highlight what it calls the “deepening of suffering ” of Palestinian civilians.

It also reiterates demands from previous resolutions, including for the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups following their Oct. 7, 2023, (not a) surprise attack in southern Israel that launched the war in Gaza.

In opposing similar resolutions since November, the U.S. has complained that the demands, including a ceasefire, were not directly linked to the unconditional release of hostages and would only embolden Hamas militants.

Israel was always going to use October 7 as the catalyst for the desired expansion. Cui Bono?

There’s a near media blackout in Gaza, but, the little information I’ve seen… Israel is going big on the attacks- It’s going to be a slaughter- Israel knows this and they are proceeding anyway

France 24

Gaza residents who own land would be given a digital token by the trust in exchange for the right to develop their property.

Recipients can use this token to start a new life somewhere else or eventually redeem it for an apartment in one of six to eight new "AI-powered, smart cities" to be built in Gaza, according to the plan.

The entire population of Gaza would be "relocated" ethnically cleansed and the United States would take control of the Palestinian territory under a plan being considered by the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

The Post said the proposal was developed by some of the same Israelis who created the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

The US will administer Gaza for at least a decade and surely afterwards the digital gulag will transfer to Israe

Look through the pdf

https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/f86dd56a-de7f-4943-af4a-84819111b727.pdf

Gazans relocate to a different country

✓ Receive $5K/person relocation package
✓ Rent subsidized for 4 years (100% in year 1,
75% in year 2, 50% in year 3, 25% in year 4)
✓ Food subsidized for year 1

The US and Israel have rejected an Arab plan for the post-war reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that would allow the 2.1 million Palestinians living there to stay in place.

The proposal, endorsed by Arab leaders at a summit in Cairo, is their alternative to President Donald Trump’s idea for the US to take over Gaza and permanently resettle its population.

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas welcomed the Arab plan, which calls for Gaza to be governed temporarily by a committee of independent experts and for international peacekeepers to be deployed there.

But both the White House and Israeli foreign ministry said it failed to address realities in Gaza and stood by Trump’s vision.

Israel has blocked aid from entering the territory to pressure Hamas to accept a new US (Israel) proposal for a temporary extension of the truce, during which more hostages held in Gaza would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The $53bn (£41bn) Arab plan for rebuilding Gaza once the war ends was presented by Egypt at an emergency Arab League summit on Tuesday.

A statement endorsing the plan stressed “the categorical rejection of any form of displacement of the Palestinian people”, describing such an idea as “a gross violation of international law, a crime against humanity and ethnic cleansing”.

Middle East Eye for additional reading

And yes Israel reneged as expected, with Trump on side.

On tariffs- With friends like Trump in the US, Canada doesn’t need any enemies. Clearly the whole border immigrant/ drug issue was the start of Trump’s bully campaign’.

Ethnic Cleansing is on the agenda in Gaza and US troops will NOT leave Syria

We’re going long!

Tariffs are coming to fruition– BBC

President Donald Trump has ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US in a major expansion of existing trade barriers.

The tariffs, which will increase the costs of importing the metals into the US, come despite warnings of retaliation from some political leaders in Canada – America’s biggest supplier of the metals – as well as other countries.

US businesses dependent on the imports have also raised concerns, but Trump has said his plans will boost domestic production.

He warned there would be no exceptions, saying he was “simplifying” the rules, which are set to come into effect on 12 March.

I’m not sure how he’s going to boost domestic production in such a short time frame but that’s his claim.

You may be able to get this entire report at the archive of my former site below, an excerpt is included:

https://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com/2020/05/covidocracy-news.html

2- Trump’s Vaccine Chief Has Vast Ties to Drug Industry, Posing Possible Conflicts

Moncef Slaoui, a former pharmaceutical executive, is now overseeing the U.S. initiative to develop coronavirus treatments and vaccines. His financial interests and corporate roles have come under scrutiny.

Head of Operation Warp Speed under Trump’s admin and recently appointed to Abzena (might be a name worth watching?)

The chief scientist brought on to lead the Trump administration’s vaccine efforts has spent the last several days trying to disentangle pieces of his stock portfolio and his intricate ties to big pharmaceutical interests, as critics point to the potential for significant conflicts of interest.

The scientist, Moncef Slaoui, is a venture capitalist and a former longtime executive at GlaxoSmithKline. Most recently, he sat on the board of Moderna, a Cambridge, Mass., biotechnology firm with a $30 billion valuation that is pursuing a coronavirus vaccine. He resigned when President Trump named him last Thursday to the new post as chief adviser for Operation Warp Speed, the federal drive for coronavirus vaccines and treatments.

Just days into his job, the extent of Dr. Slaoui’s financial interests in drug companies has begun to emerge: The value of his stock holdings in Moderna jumped nearly $2.4 million, to $12.4 million when the company released preliminary, partial data from an early phase of its candidate vaccine trial that helped send the markets soaring on Monday.    

Yet somehow people believe exactly the opposite of reality and see the Covid psyop as belonging entirely to Biden- Wrong!

Donald Trump- Ethnic Cleansing is the way

As Trump plans to gentrify the land- No doubt gaudy casinos will dot the beach front property. Oh and the Palestinians have to leave and they will have no right of return- Coincidentally, or not, Jared Kushner had suggested this outcome about a year ago

Jared Kushner- I’ve got money to make off the suffering of the exploited masses!

The former property dealer, married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, made the comments in an interview at Harvard University on 15 February.

“It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” Kushner said. “But I don’t think that Israel has stated that they don’t want the people to move back there afterwards.”

Donald peace president Trump, said it for the Israeli government as he does their bidding

The remarks are the latest effective endorsement of ethnic cleansing by the US president, who announced his plan last week during a summit with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the outrage of the Arab world and the surprise of even his closest aides.

In the interview with Fox’s Bret Baier, Trump said that he would “own” the Gaza Strip and declared it would be a “real estate development for the future”.

Right of return is enshrined in international law and is in fact how Israel came to be.

Trump’s Ultimatum

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Hamas should release all hostages held by the militant group in Gaza by midday Saturday or he would propose canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out.”

Trump cautioned that Israel might want to override him on the issue and said he might speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

His concern lies with Israeli hostages and not Palestinian hostages kept and released in emaciated, diseased, traumatized conditions

Yup, Mr Peace President

The US isn’t going to pull troops out of Syria- They never left Iraq, despite claiming to have done so under the other Peace President, Obama. Past being a very good indicator about the future. As covered in 2014 at my old site

https://pennyforyourthoughts2.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-us-departure-from-iraq-was-all.html

Leading back to the report linked below

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/oct/25/us-departure-iraq-illusion

Jonathan Steele wrote that the Iraq war was over and the US had learned “that putting western boots on the ground in a foreign war, particularly in a Muslim country, is madness”. Yet this madness may continue in a different guise, as there is a huge gap between rhetoric and reality surrounding the US departure from Iraq. In fact, there are a number of avenues by which the US will be able to exert military influence in the country.

The madness continued because the US never left and they were never going to. The needed occupied Iraq as a staging ground for the attack on Syria, as well as targeting Iran. Possibly for other reasons one of which would surely be arms/drug smuggling.

Onto Trump’s claim regarding withdrawing from Syria

Apparently he’s expressed interest. In 30, 60 or 90 days?

Trump and officials close to him expressed interest in pulling all U.S. troops out of Syria, prompting the Pentagon to draw up plans for a full withdrawal in 30, 60 or 90 days.

Maybe it’s 120 days, but, more likely it’s a never. Same as in Iraq

A White House official said the potential reduction of U.S. forces in Syria was not a topic of the briefing or the purpose of Waltz’s visit

Jerusalem Post is covering this claim as well, with more caveats

Things are moving fast in Syria because the new government in Damascus is acting with pragmatism and is stabilizing the country. (Interesting how Jerusalem Post is claiming the new government is acting with pragmatism) Recently, Damascus sent forces into Afrin in northwest Syria.

It is moving to create deals and secure the country. If it does a deal with the SDF, then the US’ role in eastern Syria might not be necessary. Trump could say it has been “mission accomplished” in eastern Syria.

Trump could say that but it would be more hyperbole

There are up to 2,000 US troops in Syria. They play a role at several bases and posts east of the Euphrates.

Many things appear to be moving in the right direction. The US role in eastern Syria was to fight ISIS. Will ISIS feel it can re-emerge if the US leaves? That is a key question that will need to be answered.

We’re supposed to believe these people are Islamist terrorists? Though the Israeli press is very positive on their proxies in Syria. And why not? These fighters are western backed, bought and paid for.

Apparently I’m not alone in believing Netanyahu will renege as soon as possible, because he never intended for this issue to resolve. This is a ploy. Because the hostages were not his concern. Primary or secondary.

The cease-fire agreement has yet to be signed.
Potential last-minute complications still hover above it, as an insensitive prime minister, a convicted criminal in the role of the national security minister and a conscienceless charlatan called the finance minister threaten the lives of 33 hostages.

The Gaza cease-fire deal hasn't changed in eight months. Why did Netanyahu accept it now?

Their hope now hangs on the muscles of another dark felon, who has managed to prove (again), even before entering the White House, that Benjamin Netanyahu only understands force. Donald Trump threatened to open the gates of hell if a deal wouldn’t be reached, and while he didn’t mention the target of the threat by name, the threatened one understood.
The only ones who aren’t impressed by the threat of hell are the hostages. They know it well. They and we can only wait in horror for the moment they emerge from the abyss and cast their dead eyes upon us to ask: “Where were you until now?“

The time for public soul-searching will arrive, and it will require an answer to one burning question: How did the public fail to use its power to twist the government’s arm, to force the cease-fire and save the hostages when Joe Biden presented his plan, which is nearly identical to the present deal, many months ago, when the list of living hostages was longer?

And if things go well, the rest of the hostages will be released, but this will also require full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

If the government were serious about its intention to complete a comprehensive agreement, to get “every last” hostage back, to save soldiers’ lives and to pay the price for a deal, why didn’t it go for one comprehensive deal, in one go, without dividing into phases, when it’s clear that the results will be identical to a two-stage deal?

Why not save the lives of more hostages, who could die precisely during negotiations for their release?

Why risk the lives of soldiers whose entire mission will be only to be present on the ground until the end of negotiations while awaiting the order to withdraw?

The answer to this leads to the conclusion that the government doesn’t intend to reach the second phase of the deal, and the phase’s very existence attest to its malicious intentions. And indeed, this conclusion makes it imperative to save every life possible in the first phase, as if there would never be a second phase.

Don’t be deceived by illusions.

The aspiration to reestablish a presence in Gaza and the dream of settling it never disappeared. They were only postponed by a couple of weeks.

Call me pessimistic, while keeping in mind I do hope to be wrong.

Pay attention to what Netanyahu is saying..

Benjamin Netanyahu said that the first stage of the ceasefire deal was temporary, adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.”

Netanyahu, who also said that Israel’s “campaign is not over yet”, added that both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”.

The Israeli prime minister’s comments on Saturday evening come as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is set to take place on Sunday at 6.30 GMT.

As part of the deal, 33 of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas are expected to be freed in this phase, according to Reuters. In exchange, Israel will release approximately 2,000 Palestinians currently detained across multiple prisons.

We’re supposed to believe Trump’s pick for Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pivotal in making this happen

Trump had demanded a deal to release Israel’s hostages before he took his oath of office, and the man charged with making that happen was Steve Witkoff – a New York property developer confident that a long relationship with Trump could offset a lack of diplomatic experience

Witkoff, who is Jewish, made clear that would not be happening. Trump was in a hurry – and he wanted to get on with the mission.

Who are Mike Huckabee and Steve Witkoff

Huckabee is a dangerous crackpot, in my opinion.

Steven Witkoff

Steven Witkoff, who was named on Tuesday as the incoming administration’s Middle East envoy, raised a vast amount of money for Mr. Trump’s campaign — including from Jewish voters

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addressed Congress in July, Mr. Witkoff was in the audience.

When Biden claimed to stop the flow of US weapons to Israel, if they entered Rafah, but didn’t, Trump’s Pro Israel fundraising accelerated

“Every one of my friends started calling and asking, ‘What can I do for Donald Trump?’” Witkoff, a pro-Israel donor and fundraiser for Trump’s presidential campaign, told The Bulwark.

Witkoff and the Trump campaign had been waiting for these calls ever since October 7

“It was a notable shift,” Witkoff said. “I personally received and helped secure large Jewish donors over the last two weeks . . . and I’m not talking four-figure donations. I’m talking six-figure and seven-figure donations.”

I’m not a believer in the authenticity of this agreement or the bona fides of the US envoy, Israel will renege in very short order

Regarding the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant?

I have my doubts they will be arrested. However, from a public relations/perception management point of view. This is very bad for Israel’s reputation in the world. And the over reaction of some parties suggests to me, this is a blow out in the court of public opinion to Israel, US and UK, in particular.

From the Economist via Archive.ph

Both the prime minister and the court that issued the warrant will suffer

FOR MONTHS the decision seemed both inevitable and improbable. On November 21st it finally came. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, until recently the defence minister (pictured right).

They are accused of overseeing war crimes during Israel’s year-long war in Gaza against Hamas, a Palestinian militant group. The court also indicted the top commander of Hamas, which carried out a massacre of Israelis that triggered Israel’s assault on Gaza. But it is the charges against the two Israeli politicians that are the real earthquake: a diplomatic disaster for Mr Netanyahu, and perhaps also for the court itself.

This decision is vastly worse for Mr Netanyahu, but the ICC will come under attack, particularly by the US.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s prosecutor, requested the warrants in May. The case he brought is separate from allegations of Israeli acts of genocide against Palestinians pending before the International Court of Justice, which hears disputes between states (the ICC prosecutes individuals). The type of charges brought against Messrs Netanyahu and Gallant are easier to prove than a charge of genocide against Israel would be: they are accused of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza, and of directing attacks against civilians in the territory.

A three-judge panel found “reasonable grounds to believe” that such crimes had occurred. Recent events no doubt bolstered Mr Khan’s case: the United Nations continues to warn of imminent famine in northern Gaza, which has been largely cut off from humanitarian aid for the past 40 days. The panel rejected a procedural challenge from Israel, which argued that the court has no jurisdiction in Gaza. Palestine, of which Gaza forms a part, is a signatory to the Rome Statute, the legal framework for the ICC. The judges ruled that gave them authority to investigate crimes committed there.

The ICC is meant to be a court of last resort that steps in when a country’s own courts fail to prosecute abuses. Israel’s attorney-general told Mr Netanyahu this year that forming a state commission of inquiry might stall the ICC’s probe. But he has yet to appoint one, and the judges noted Israel’s failure to do so in their decision.

The ruling drew near-universal condemnation from Israeli politicians. Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right finance minister, called it a “mark of Cain” on the ICC, while Yair Golan, the head of a left-wing party, called it a “shameful decision”. Many Israelis argued that it was the result of antisemitism: Mr Netanyahu himself called it a “modern Dreyfus trial”, referring to the wrongful prosecution of a Jewish officer in the French army in 1894.

But the charge of antisemitism cheapens the term. Nothing about the court’s history suggests a fixation with Jews. Since it was founded in 2002 the ICC has mostly prosecuted African warlords and despots, the likes of Omar al-Bashir, a Sudanese dictator, and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s longtime tyrant. Over the past two years it has issued warrants for a number of Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, for the invasion of Ukraine. This is the first time it has indicted Israelis.

Along with Messrs Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC issued a warrant for Muhammad Deif, the longtime Hamas military chief. He is accused of directing the murder, torture and rape of civilians on October 7th 2023, among other offences. Mr Deif probably cannot stand trial: Israel believes he was killed in an air strike in July (the court issued a warrant because it could not confirm his fate). Mr Khan had also requested warrants for Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the massacre, and Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s leader at the time. Those requests were withdrawn because both men were killed by Israel this year.

There is no risk that Israel will extradite Messrs Netanyahu or Gallant to The Hague, since the country is not a member of the ICC. But 124 other countries are, including many of Israel’s closest friends. The most immediate consequence of the judgment is that both men will be unable to travel to those countries for fear of arrest. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, said the court’s decision was binding on all EU members. “Netanyahu has ended his journey as a legitimate leader in the international arena,” wrote Eran Etzion, a former deputy national security adviser under Mr Netanyahu.

The main exception, of course, is America, which is not a member of the court. The decision has thrown a bombshell into America’s presidential transition. It will embarrass Joe Biden’s outgoing administration, divide Democrats and outrage Republicans as they prepare to take control of the White House and both houses of Congress in January.
Leading Republicans have warned that America will impose sanctions on the ICC—with support from Democrats if possible or without it if necessary. Mike Waltz, whom Donald Trump has chosen to be his national security adviser, promised a “strong response” to the court’s “antisemitic bias”. John Thune, the Senate’s incoming majority leader, denounced the ICC’s move as “outrageous, unlawful and dangerous”. He said that its actions, left unchecked, “could pose a threat to the United States in the future”.

He urged Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, to take up a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House in June that would apply sweeping economic sanctions and visa restrictions to judges and others linked to the ICC, including their family members. If not, he warned, Republicans would do so in January as a “top priority”.

The writing was on the wall- the US knew this. Hence a bill passed in June to apply sweeping sanctions etc.,

Democrats, for their part, are increasingly split over the war in the Middle East. On November 20th the Senate firmly rejected three motions calling on Mr Biden to halt various weapons shipments to Israel, but 17 of the 47 Democrats, and two independents who support them, voted for at least one of the critical motions. The Biden administration is in a quandary. It has opposed legal action against Israel, but it has supported the court in issuing an arrest warrant for Mr Putin and has resisted the House sanctions bill as going too far.
Ironically, it may be the court that suffers the most immediate consequences in the form of sanctions imposed by America. Mr Netanyahu is not about to end up in the dock, nor is Israel about to end its war in Gaza. But the judgment will have long-term consequences: both Mr Netanyahu and the country he leads will be more isolated and more dependent on the United States. ■

The US loved the ICC when it was issuing arrest warrants for African warlords and Vladimir Putin- who were, not coincidentally, being targeted by the US. Now it is the US alone that stands unquestioningly beside Israel as it commits very obvious and open war crimes. Israeli leadership doesn’t hide what they are doing. Israeli soldiers do not hide what they are doing. The rest of the planet is aware of what is being done by the Israelis against the Palestinians.

The world is changing. The US refuses to accept the change. Pax Americana is weaker and more dangerous-

Re: Orban and Netanyahu- This is politics. He hasn’t supported the arrest warrant for Putin, so he’s not going to support this one.

Biden says he has good idea of how and when Israel will respond to Iranian attack

US President Joe Biden said Friday that he has a good understanding of how and when Israel plans to respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack.

How are we defining “good understanding”?

Pressed by reporters during a visit to Germany, Biden declined to share any details regarding Israel’s planned response to the October 1 attack missile attack, though his remarks appeared to mark the first time the US indicated it has reached an understanding with Israel on the nature of the retaliation.

Asked by reporters about the prospects of “Middle East peace,” Biden said he sees an “opportunity…that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for a while… stops the back and forth.”

“We think that there’s a possibility of working for a ceasefire in Lebanon. It’s going to be harder in Gaza, but we agree that there has to be an outcome, what happens in the day after,” the president added, without elaborating why he thought this way.

For nearly two weeks, Israeli officials said they were still deliberating how to respond to the roughly 200 ballistic missiles fired by Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to consult first with Biden, which didn’t happen until October 10.

Since the call, the US has dispatched a THAAD air defense battery to Israel to protect the country in case of an Iranian reaction to Israel’s reprisal. US soldiers were deployed to operate the system, underscoring US support for Israel’s defense while also undercutting the Jewish state’s long stated position that it will defend itself by itself.

On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned UN chief Antonio Guterres that Tehran is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks his country.

Israel has never and was never going to defend itself alone. (Unless it used nukes) The Israeli leadership can make such claims, but, they are just empty words-

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said this week that Israel “will soon respond” to the missile attack, vowing it will be “precise and deadly.”

According to reports this week, Israel has decided on the targets it could potentially strike in Iran.

Channel 12 said the military presented a list of targets to Netanyahu and Gallant as it finalizes preparations, which include “sensitive coordination” with other countries in the region.

2nd- Why Israel Won’t Take the Win ( The killing of Sinwar etc.,)

An interesting opinion peace

Select excerpts,

So maybe, if Biden finally uses his full leverage as Israel’s arms supplier, he can compellingly argue that, as he put it at an earlier juncture, Netanyahu should “take the win.”

But there’s little chance that much of this will happen, and this week’s second big development—the deployment to Israel of that American anti-missile battery—helps explain why. The deployment symbolizes with particular power the longstanding tendency of America’s Israel policy to create what economists call “moral hazard.” (Moral hazard=Lack of incentive to guard against risk where one is protected from its consequences.) The basic idea is that being shielded from the adverse consequences of your actions can encourage risky behavior.

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute argued in Zeteo this week that Biden has over the last year repeatedly provided such shields for Israel. Whenever Netanyahu escalates the conflict—by, say, invading Lebanon or bombing Iran’s embassy compound in Syria or assassinating (relatively moderate) Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh on Iranian territory—Biden “rushes to defend Israel from the consequences of its own escalation,” Parsi writes. The result is to encourage more escalation.

Bear hug approach?

The Biden administration has argued that this “bear hug” approach allows US policymakers to influence, and sometimes restrain, Israel. But evidence for that argument is sparse.( Actually it’s non existent)

As Biden has continued to arm Israel and defend it on the world stage—and has helped it fend off two rounds of missile strikes from Iran—Netanyahu has opted to expand the war. Parsi writes: “Had Biden refrained from adding additional defensive capabilities to Israel after it needlessly intensified the conflict, the cost of escalation would have been higher for Israel—perhaps even prohibitive.”

Biden officials might argue that they pulled off a successful bear hug this week. Media reports suggest that agreeing to send the missile defense system to Israel, along with those 100 troops, played a role in getting Netanyahu to agree that in striking Iran he will avoid particularly sensitive targets, like nuclear facilities and oil refineries.
At least: Those targets won’t be hit this time around. But Netanyahu knows that Tehran will feel compelled to respond forcefully to any powerful Israeli strike, so he can assume there will be a next time. And, with US troops in Israel, he can then feel even more confident than he otherwise would that America will help him deal with blowback from a strike on Iran’s refineries or nuclear facilities. Moral hazard.

The US, Parsi argues, has strong incentives to change course. One is that Iranian missiles could kill US soldiers. If that happens, America could find itself drawn deeply into an intensifying and expanding war. (Of course, from Netanyahu’s perspective, direct American involvement is a feature, not a bug. And note that it could further heighten moral hazard.)

Netanyahu has wanted American troops and American involvement to target Iran for as long as I can recall.

Other main stream media outlets, see below, are stating quite openly that Netanyahu is not going to “take the win” He was never going to- He was always going to escalate and the US, despite it claims to the otherwise, will aid the escalation- I’ve no reason to this situation differently. Perhaps you do?

finally: U.S. hopes Hamas leader’s death will end Gaza war. Israel may have other ideas

WASHINGTON —

President Biden and his senior leadership hailed Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an “opportunity” to end the yearlong war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and killed thousands of Palestinians.

Speaking Friday in Germany, Biden said he telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him the elimination of the radical “terror mastermind” Sinwar meant it was time to find peace.

Israel’s next steps will largely depend on Netanyahu’s own political calculations and those of his ultra-right coalition government, some members of which want to reoccupy Gaza and expel large numbers of Palestinians.

Sinwar’s death “gives Israel sort of the ladder to climb down from the total victory tree and say, ‘OK, we have won the war.’ We can … move toward a different reality on the ground in Gaza,” said Shira Efron, a former Rand Corp. fellow and Israel-based analyst with the Israel Policy Forum in Washington.

But it could also go the other way, she said. Netanyahu can conclude he is on a roll, Hamas is irreparably crippled, and “we should double down on fighting and continue this endless war.”

It is also difficult to predict Hamas’ next actions — defiant rhetoric aside. Much will depend on who succeeds Sinwar and what kind of game plan, if any, he left behind.

It became increasingly clear that Netanyahu and his government repeatedly ignored U.S. advice, or agreed to it but then didn’t follow through. This included entreaties to allow more food, water and medicine into a starving Gaza Strip and minimizing civilian casualties.

Bruce Hoffman, an insurgency expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Israel often disregarded U.S. military advice because “Israel was looking for a new status quo, not a return to the status quo ante … which I’m not sure was understood in Washington.”

I believe Washington understood this- If this geopolitical devotee, that’s me, understood this, Washington simply had too!

“The conventional wisdom is that Sinwar’s death is a potential off ramp for Netanyahu, but that assumes he wants one,” Khaled Elgindy, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington, said in an interview. “He just doesn’t have the same calculations and intentions” as the Americans. “Trying to align American rhetoric with Israeli action has led to total contradiction.”

Late Thursday, Israel released a video of Sinwar’s dying moments. He sat in an armchair in a destroyed building, covered in dust and debris, an arm apparently amputated by mortar fire. A drone moves in to observe him. He uses his last strength to shakily hurl a pole at the drone.

Israelis celebrated these images as a final humiliation to a man whom they saw as evil. But for Palestinians, the video sealed a kind of folk-hero status for the dying Hamas leader, who was seen as defiant to the end, fighting on the front lines.

The video that sealed Sinwar’s heroic status- Agree or disagree with the man and his actions. An individual, mortally wounded, at deaths door, still hurling a large stick at an IDF drone- speaks of a fearlessness that is rare. He was clearly prepared to die alongside other fighters in a way that western leaders are not. It’s usually young men who died in wars fighting for old men. But Sinwar was not a young man, he was an old man who could have been expected to direct battles from a bunker-

Pezeshkian had already been complaining that he had received little in return for listening to western-inspired pleas not to seek immediate revenge for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader assassinated by Israel in Tehran.

Pezeshkian said he had been promised that a Gaza ceasefire deal that would see the release of hostages and Palestinian political prisoners was only a week or two away.

The US state department insists it had a clear understanding on the basis of conversations with Ron Dermer, Israel’s strategic affairs minister, and Netanyahu that Israel would accept a 21-day ceasefire, and yet as soon as the plan was announced, Netanyahu reneged on the deal.

Netanyahu did play American diplomats for fools! With friends like this who needs enemies?

Or American officials are lying to give themselves some sort of distance or create some plausible deniability. Though the bombs they continue to provide to Israel did the killing!

American are fools or liars- Probably liars. Like their allies in Israel.