Israel Leads Its US Proxy Into War On The World. What Could Go Wrong?
Obviously a lot of things can, and probably will, go wrong—the blowback from our War on the World, which is what our Middle East involvement has become, is likely to have serious effects abroad, with ramifications at home. But please, don’t kid yourselves. The Israel Lobby has purchased the American Empire’s foreign policy. They paid good money for that and now they’re demanding value for their money—on their terms. Doug Macgregor, as usual, is succinct:
Douglas Macgregor @DougAMacgregor
Last night, US Forces attacked targets in Yemen that the U.S. attacked a few years ago during Saudi Arabia’s conflict with the Houthis.
In addition, we informed the Houthis that we were going to attack them before we did it.
It seems the strike was primarily designed to pacify Netanyahu’s ceaseless demands for war with Iran and its regional allies.
However, from the perspective of the Arabs, Turks, and Iranians Washington is now on the slippery slope to regional war against them on behalf of Israel.
12:13 PM · Jan 12, 2024
Larry Johnson has a good summary on the overall significance of the attack. His major points (WILL CROSSING THE RUBICON IN YEMEN EXPOSE U.S. AND U.K. WEAKNESS?) are three:
First, the attack on Yemen will certainly prove ineffective;
Second, the US co-belligerent genocide in Gaza, combined with the attack on Yemen, will likely lead to terror style blowback in addition to military responses from state actors; the economic effects will likely be global in scale
Third, this act, with such serious likely consequences, is illegal in law and unconstitutional—we all suffer when our rulers abuse constitutional order. Yes, I know abuse of constitutional order has, to a great extent, become the order of the day since WW2. Nevertheless, forever war ends up with forever consequences.
Anyway, …
We already have evidence that the attack on Yemen is not deterring the Houthis. They have attacked a ship in the Gulf of Aden. Further, Megatron_ron has a useful summary that addresses the first two points (excerpt):
Sky News Arabia reported that America had briefed the Houthis before the strikes to prevent a "greater escalation of the war", meaning the whole circus was staged just to show some muscle to the world.
From here, the Houthis have already carried out a complete evacuation of the bases for several days, and most likely they have hidden all the equipment in their mountainous regions.
The strikes were mainly on observation posts and an empty military base, which the Houthis joke that only Saudi Arabia has announced since 2015 that it has destroyed it 3 times. However, 11 members of the movement died from those bombings.
The US cannot afford a major regional war in any case, because in that case it is clear to everyone that Israel will be gone. After all, many analysts in the West also stated that.
The Houthis have threatened to strike the oil platforms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which will cause a huge jump in the price of oil and a major economic crisis in Europe, which is very dependent on this oil.
On the other hand, all the Biden administration has managed to achieve is to completely close the Suez Canal as a route for commercial ships, not only to Israel but also those to Europe and the United States. Great economic damage.
Immediately after the US and UK launched the strikes, the Houthis hit back with ballistic missiles and US bases across Syria and Iraq were again attacked. Which shows that if the US enters a war in the Middle East in the name of Israel, it will bear great consequences. It will be a war on a grand scale.
Now, just because this attack was staged doesn’t make it less consequential. Yemen and Iran are not going to join this play acting and, in the long run, Saudi Arabia and the UAE know that calling on the US for protection if they side with us will be disastrous for them—they will find a way to come to terms with their more powerful neighbors. Their populations know that this attack has nothing to do with freedom of navigation—its all about Israel dominating the region through their US proxy, and that will be resisted. As Megatron says, the only thing this attack assures is that the Suez will be closed to commercial shipping—world giant Maersk has already said as much, noting that this could go on for months. In the meantime, attacks on our illegal bases in the region will likely escalate.
As for the third point—the lawlessness of the attack, done without consulting Congress—I can’t recommend highly enough a Danny Davis video that I’m still listening to. The first thing to say—and Davis says it—is that this attack cannot be justified under the AUMF. Biden himself, correctly, removed the Houthis from the terror list. So, this video is a half hour discussion between Davis and constitutional expert (and former Reagan DoJ official) Bruce Fein: Biden's Lawless Strikes on Yemen - Now What? Fein is articulate, he knows the Constitution and he knows the history and politics behind extra-constitutional presidential acts of war. He calls out DC insiders by name and lucidly explains Zhou’s lawlessness from multiple standpoints and in historical perspective—starting from Barbary pirates through to the present and threats of a “preventive” war against Iran. Comprehensive. Forever war inevitably leads to war on the world. Bad idea.
In a second video, Davis gets into these issues—especially the likelihood that our ineffective attacks will backfire strategically—with Ben Friedman: Strikes On Yemen Will it Harm U S Interests w Ben Friedman. Topics include the ineffectiveness of air strikes generally as well as the way in which we are playing into the hands of our opponents, and thus harming our own interests. Included also is a discussion of the latest calls for a further illegal war against Iran, as well as the potential for irregular or “terrorist” strikes against the US at home and abroad. Friedman warms up slowly, but it develops into a compelling exchange of views.
The political blowback here in the US is likely to become apparent in short order. Already, Dems are seeking to distance themselves from the illegal attack—probably because they realize that they’re alienating their base. Interestingly, Trump has responded strongly. To this point, it seems to me that Trump has been trying to run a finesse campaign, unlike in 2016. I assume that this has been part of a strategy to sideline his establishment proxy challengers. Now Trump seems to be confidently taking the gloves off, perhaps realizing that the first phase of his campaign has achieved its goal:
Megatron @Megatron_ron
BREAKING:
Donald Trump:
"Biden is going mad, we will end up in World War 3"
"Crooked Joe Biden is not only dumb and incompetent, I believe that he has gone mad, a stark raving lunatic...
He is a mental catastrophe that is leading our country to hell.
We will end up in World War 3 because of this man, and for no reason whatsoever."
6:57 AM · Jan 12, 2024
It’s pure Trump, but I suspect it will resonate with a growing portion of the American people. By getting out front here, Trump is probably positioning himself effectively to frame his campaign in anti-war terms against Zhou who—in obedience to his Neocon controllers—has accelerated America down a slippery slope. In this brief 5 minute video Danny Davis (yes, again!) acquits himself well. Toward the end, he makes the key point: There are options for the American Empire, we are not in a no-win position. The difficulty is that the way to a resolution lies through diplomacy—a Neocon no-no—by putting a stop to Israeli genocide.
Meanwhile, as if this constitutional crisis weren’t enough, we have another righteous cause closer to home, which is sure to work well for Trump (h/t Tom Luongo):
NEW: In overnight DOJ filing, Feds confirm that the TX National Guard “has deployed armed soldiers and vehicles to block federal gov from accessing the river” in Eagle Pass, & TX informed them no BP agents will be allowed to enter Shelby Park “in any operational capacity”.
This is a significant escalation by Texas after Feds fought to remove TX water barriers and razor wire, & DOJ is suing TX over its new border security law. This is potentially setting up to be the biggest state vs federal fight in a very long time. Full DOJ filing below
One genocide deserves another:
Germany will intervene and defend Israel's genocide in the ICJ
German government has announced its intention to intervene in the genocide case South Africa brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
“On the 7th of October 2023, there was a….
https://twitter.com/Megatron_ron/status/1745882730796093872
What always amazes me is the visceral hatred of so many Jews for Poles. But hardly ever that sentiment expressed toward Germans. Or so it seems to me. I think of Begin, when it suited him, saying that Poles drank in anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk. When was the last time you heard such sentiments re Germans. Maybe if the Poles provided Israel with submarines like the Germans did it would change things. Probably not.
Second City Bureaucrat
@CityBureaucrat
The Houthis delayed delivery of my Amazon Essentials long underwear