Tag: Airstrikes

War Hawks Get Their War

It has been a long time coming.

The day has come…..the day when war hawks and Israel have their way…..Iran’s capital has been hit and now the world waits for the response.

Israel launched air strikes on the Iranian capital Friday night. While the extent of the damage is unclear, the US is expecting Iran to retaliate.

Iranian media reported that some sites in the capital city of Tehran were targeted. A statement from the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strikes. “In response to months of continuous attacks … The Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” it said.

According to Axios, the US expects Iran will retaliate. “US and Israeli officials believe Iran will respond militarily,” the outlet reported, adding, “but hope it will be limited and allow the two adversaries to break the tit-for-tat cycle.”

However, the White House is concerned that Iran’s response to Israel will lead to a regional war. An official speaking with the Wall Street Journal confirmed that Tel Avi did inform Washington it was preparing to strike Tehran but did not specify how far in advance Israel warned the US of its plans.

The US claimed Israel’s attack on Iran was an act of self-defense. “We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defense and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st.” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett continued, “We would refer you to the Israeli government for more information on their operation.”

Last week, top-secret US intelligence documents provided some details of Israel’s preparations to strike Iran.

Over the past year, the Middle East has moved closer to an all-out regional war as Israel has attacked several neighboring countries, conducted assassinations throughout the region, and slaughtered Palestinians.

On October 1, Iran attacked military sites in Israel with nearly 200 missiles in response to Tel Aviv killing Hamas’s political leader in Tehran and assassinating Hezbollah’s leader in Beirut. Tel Aviv has been vowing retaliation for the Iranian attack throughout the month. Tehran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.

Just before Israel attacked Iran on Friday, the US moved fighter jets from Europe to the Middle East.

In the leadup to the Israeli strike on Iran, Tel Aviv requested the deployment of an American THAAD air defense system. The White House granted the request, and now 100 American soldiers are manning the system in Israel, making them a potential target for any Iranian response.

(antiwar.com)

Precise airstrikes on military targets?   You mean like schools and hospitals?

The White House is concerned?  What total bullshit….they made this possible war inevitable.

And now Israel and the US War Hawks have their war with Iran….and the world awaits the response.

Not to worry the “Dump” will appear later today.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is This A Good Idea?

We know that Israel will attack Iran in the near future….just we are not sure what the targets will be….and a US official stated the US could hit Iranian targets as well….

Why?

The US has discussed the idea of supporting Israel’s expected attack on Iran with intelligence or with airstrikes of its own, NBC News reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed US officials.

The report said senior US military officials have discussed launching “very limited” airstrikes against Iranian targets inside Iran or outside of the country, though the US officials said intelligence support for Israel was more likely.

So far, no final decision on US action has been made, according to the report, and the US officials said Israel has not briefed the US on its specific plans to strike Iran in response to the Iranian missile barrage that hit Israel last week.

…

The Israelis are considering several types of targets to hit in Iran: military and intelligence infrastructure, air defenses, and energy facilities. Based on media reports, Israel does not plan to strike Iranian nuclear facilities in its first attack, but could if Iran hits back and the situation turns into a full-blown war, which Israeli officials think is likely to happen.

(antiwar.com)

This one statement should make all those warmongers in Congress giddy with delight.

So I ask again….is this statement a good idea?

Does it paint a target on US assets in the Middle East?

Personally I think it is a stupid statement to make and the person that made it should be terminated immediately.

Nothing about this situation will lessen any tensions and the election will not help either…..

No matter who wins the presidential election next month, US policy towards Iran seems likely to remain extremely hostile and confrontational. Both campaigns seem determined to out-hawk each other. The Iran policy debate in Washington, such as it is, is focused entirely on the same bankrupt coercive measures of sanctions, threats, and military action that are guaranteed to make things worse. There is no serious discussion of reducing tensions or resuming negotiations in the new year. The persistence of this failed hawkish consensus is dangerous for the US, Iran, and the wider region, and it needs to end.

The failed bipartisan hawkish consensus on Iran closes off paths for resolving disagreements peacefully, and it paves the way for unnecessary wars. The consensus embraces escalation as the solution to each new crisis, and it writes off diplomacy as naïve and useless. It is the same kind of bankrupt, outdated thinking that has dominated US foreign policy in the region for at least the last thirty years, and it is why US Iran policy remains so destructive and dangerous. We are desperately in need of some fresh and different policy ideas.

Unfortunately, both presidential candidates are content to keep the US on a collision course with Iran for the time being, and that means that the US will be stuck with the same rotten foreign policy in the Middle East for at least another four years. Donald Trump recently expressed support for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. During the vice-presidential debate, Sen. Vance said that he would support whatever Israel wanted to do. On the Democratic side, Vice President Harris bizarrely claimed that Iran is America’s “greatest adversary” in response to a question in her interview with 60 Minutes. Harris asserted that Iran was an “obvious” candidate for being the greatest adversary because its government “has American blood on its hands.”

(antiwar.com)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Are We Still In Somalia?

I got to thinking after I read a news story about the latest attack by the US in Somalia….and it made me ask the question in the title.

US Africa Command announced that it launched an airstrike in Somalia on March 10 in support of the Mogadishu-based government, marking the second time the US bombed the country this month.

AFRICOM said the strike hit a target in the vicinity of Ugunji, a village about 44 miles southwest of Mogadishu.

The command claimed its “initial assessment” found three al-Shabaab fighters were killed and no civilians were harmed, but AFRICOM is notorious for undercounting civilian casualties, and US military operations in Somalia are shrouded in secrecy.

The last strike AFRICOM reported in Somalia took place on March 2, and the command claimed it killed two al-Shabaab members. It’s unclear if AFRICOM reports all US airstrikes in Somalia, as the CIA could also be carrying out covert drone strikes.

(antiwar.com)

After reading the news I thought back to something I read a couple of days ago about our fixation on Somalia….

The Pentagon has known of fundamental flaws with U.S. military operations in the Horn of Africa for nearly 20 years but has nonetheless forged ahead, failing to address glaring problems, according to a 2007 study obtained exclusively by The Intercept.

“There is no useful, shared conception of the conflict,” says the Pentagon study, which was obtained via the Freedom of Information Act and has not previously been made public. “The instruments of national power are not balanced, which results in excessive reliance on the military instrument. There is imbalance within the military instrument as well.”

The 50-page analysis, conducted by the Institute for Defense Analyses, a private think tank that works solely for the U.S. government, is based on anonymized interviews with key U.S. government officials from across various departments and agencies. It found America’s nascent war in the Horn of Africa was plagued by a failure to define the parameters of the conflict or its aims; an overemphasis on military measures without a clear definition of the optimal military strategy; and barriers to coordination between the military and other government agencies like the State Department and local allies like the Somali government.

Who Could Have Predicted the U.S. War in Somalia Would Fail? The Pentagon.

The US military hypes the threat of al-Shabaab due to its size and al-Qaeda affiliation, but it’s widely believed the group does not have ambitions outside of Somalia.

If so then why waste the ordinance?

Speaking of AFRICOM….their record is not something to be proud of in any way.

Africa–“We Are Here To Help”

Please stop wasting money and time on things that are not that important.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“It’s Not Working”

Just last week the US has taken upon itself to start yet another conflict….this time it is Yemen.

These airstrikes were to make the Houthi rebels cease their rocket attacks on commercial shipping….

President Biden acknowledged on Thursday that his strikes against the Houthis were not working to stop the Yemeni group but vowed they would continue anyway as the US military bombed Yemen for the fifth time within a week.

The president made the comments when asked by a reporter if his strikes against the Houthis were working. “Well, when you say ‘working’ — are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” he said.

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have vowed they won’t back down in the face of the US military. Ansar Allah’s leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said Thursday that it was a “blessing” for the Houthis to be in a direct fight with the US. “We praise god for this great blessing and great honor — for us to be in a direct confrontation with Israel and America,” he said.

Since Biden ordered the first strikes against them last week, the situation in the region escalated dramatically. The Houthis are now targeting American commercial shipping, hitting two US-owned cargo ships with missiles earlier this week, and more shipping companies have suspended transits through the Red Sea. Before the US escalation, the Houthis made clear they would stop attacks on Israel-linked commercial shipping only if Israel’s onslaught in Gaza ended, but President Biden is determined to continue supporting the slaughter of Palestinians.

The US backed a Saudi/UAE-led coalition against the Houthis in a brutal war that killed 377,000 people between 2015 and 2022. During that time the Houthis only became a more formidable fighting force and developed missile and drone technology that gave them the ability to hit Saudi oil infrastructure. A ceasefire between the Saudis and Houthis has held relatively well since April 2022, and Riyadh is now calling for the US to exercise restraint in Yemen.

(antiwar.com)

The shipping ;lanes of the Red Sea…..should that have not been the area where locals should have handled any problems…..why was the US involved?

If this fiasco does not stop the attacks will the US be prepared for yet another Middle East invasion and war?

What a waste!

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The M-IC Wins Again.

I recently wrote a report about the War Department looking at direct attacks on the Houthis in Yemen….

Here We Go!

Just a couple of days later the conflict began.

The US is carrying out airstrikes in Yemen.

Along with allies, the US launched airstrikes against more than a dozen Houthi installations in Yemen on Thursday, retaliation that President Biden said demonstrates that a 20-nation coalition “will not tolerate” the persistent attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The US strikes involve Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a Navy submarine, and fighter jets that took off from the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, the New York Times reports. The Houthis’ attacks, purportedly a message opposing Israel’s offensive in Gaza, had been escalated this week. A 20-nation coalition that includes the US had warned that a response was imminent if the Red Sea attacks did not cease.

The initial wave of airstrikes hit radars, missile and drone launch sites, and weapons storage areas. Senior American officials have blamed Iran, saying its technological and intelligence support of the Houthis made the shipping attacks possible. Britain took part in the strikes Thursday, and US officials said the operation is to also include the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, and Bahrain. The Houthis have controlled parts of Yemen since 2014, per ABC News reports. Earlier Thursday, Houthi leader Abdul Malek Al-Houthi said in a speech that any US attack on Yemen sites “will not go unanswered,” per CNN.

In a statement, Biden said the strikes are in response to the attacks on international vessels, which he called unprecedented. “These attacks have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” he said. The strikes were the first military action by the US since the Houthis’ drone and missile attacks began early in the Israel-Hamas war, per the AP. For the first time, Biden said, the military used anti-ship ballistic missiles. In his statement, the president said he won’t hesitate to “direct further measures” if necessary.

Why?

Why not ask our good buddies in Saudi and UAE to do this after all they have been bombing Yemen into the stone age for years.

I guess the old M-IC saying holds true….’an used weapon is a useless weapon’.

Why did we have to be the ones doing this deed….what we no longer have ‘allies’ in the Arabian peninsula?

If not why are we wasting so much some sucking up to the desert royalty?

This is BS and will probably come back to bite us in the exposed ass.

Stupid has consequences.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Do Something Now!

The Middle East is once again in the midst of another war in the making….Hamas is firing rockets into Israel and Israel retaliates….the continuing saga…..

The problem is that Israel is not punishing Hamas but rather the Palestinian people and now even news organizations…..

An Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of the Associated Press and other media outlets. AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the building after the military telephoned a warning that the strike was imminent within an hour. Three heavy missiles struck the 12-story building, collapsing it in a giant cloud of dust. For 15 years, the AP’s top-floor office and roof terrace were a prime location for covering Israel’s conflicts with Gaza’s Hamas rulers, including wars in 2009 and 2014. The news agency’s camera offered 24-hour live shots as militants’ rockets arched toward Israel and Israeli airstrikes hammered the city and its surrounding area this week.

“We are shocked and horrified that the Israeli military would target and destroy the building housing AP’s bureau and other news organizations in Gaza,” said AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt. “We narrowly avoided a terrible loss of life.” The building also housed the offices of Qatari-run Al-Jazeera TV, as well as residential apartments. The Israeli military said Hamas was operating inside the building, a standard explanation, and it accused the militant group of using journalists as human shields. But it provided no evidence to back up the claims. Hours earlier, another Israeli air raid on a densely populated refugee camp killed at least 10 Palestinians from an extended family, mostly children, the deadliest single strike of the current conflict.

It was an accident?

Really?

All the sophisticated weaponry that the US sends to Israel and they cannot hit the targets they should……or maybe it was hitting the news media for their perceived slight in the reporting.

My feeling is that it was NO accident.

The US can stop all this chaos.

The US should suspend contracts with Israel until such time as they act in a civilized manner.

Time to hold the Arab nations up to the same pressure…..they could intervene and do the right thing…..such they also get massive aid from the US.

Time for the US to step up and make this stop and promote civility not armed response.

Just a thought.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Biden Just Stumbling Along?

As his first major foreign policy act Pres. Biden ordered a ‘revenge’ strike at units within Syria…..

President Biden ordered an airstrike in Syria on Thursday, after recent rocket attacks launched on US forces in Iraq. The target was a structure thought to be used for smuggling weapons by two Shia militias backed by Iran, CNN reports. The goal of the US attack was to hurt the militias’ capability of carrying out any more attacks, per Politico, though the site, in the eastern Syrian town of Al Bukamal, has not been tied to the rocket attacks. The Defense Department had not publicly blamed any Iran-backed militias. Last week, per ABC, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the US “reserves the right to respond in the time and manner of our choosing.”

Was this a return to the old norm?

Is it a preview of what we have in store for our nation….more and a continuation of our endless wars?

US President Biden bellicosely proclaimed, “American is back,” in his major foreign policy priorities speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 19. Repeated twice for effect, Biden signaled the end of the Trump interregnum.

No more assuring words could have been uttered for George W. Bush’s former Defense Secretary Colin Powell and the 70 odd Republican national security officials, who wrote an open letter endorsing Biden out of fear that Trump would upset the bipartisan foreign policy consensus of regime change, forever wars, and the NATO alliance. Republican neo-cons now shelter in the Democrat’s big tent, today’s party of war.

The major difference from his predecessor is that the new US president promises a greater reliance on multilateral diplomacy and international cooperative agreements to achieve US imperial goals. Biden pledged to remain in the World Health Organization and to return to the Paris Climate Agreement, although compliance with the latter is voluntary and Biden defends fracking. After Trump withdrew the US from the UN Human Rights Council three years ago, the US will reengage as an observer. And Trump’s “Muslim ban” was reversed in Biden’s first day in office.

Joe Biden’s US Foreign Policy: Return to the Old Normal?

As I predicted earlier….there will be little change with the Biden presidency….our endless wars will continue to be endless.

The non-partisan Congressional Research Service maintains a list of every “notable” use of U.S. military force abroad. As of June of last year, the list ran on for 46 pages. Last night, President Joe Biden added his first entry when he ordered airstrikes on militia forces on the Iraq-Syria border. What happens next will help determine just how many more pages get added during the rest of the Biden administration. 

While details are still emerging, the basic outlines of the airstrikes appear to be that the president ordered them in retaliation for recent missile strikes on U.S. forces in Iraq, particularly the February 15 strike that killed a Filipino defense contractor and injured a U.S. servicemember in Erbil, Iraq. It’s worth noting that this was seemingly not an isolated incident, with multiple attacks having occurred off and on for some time now on various bases housing U.S. personnel throughout Iraq. 

As is often the case with recent instances of U.S. military force abroad, a debate has quickly emerged on what legal authority such an attack was conducted under and if it complied with international law. The administration claims it acted in self-defense. Multiple members of Congress have weighed in, with some of Congress’s strongest war powers champions either outright rejecting or raising significant concerns about the administration’s claims. 

Biden’s Syria strikes: A perpetual cycle of endless war

Our weary troops have nothing to look forward from a Biden Admin…..he will do little to end these continuous wars and conflicts….

You would think the the American people would grow weary of our endless adventurism and interventions…..but so far the sound of crickets prevails.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Biden Flexes US Muscle

In case anyone was worried that Biden would be a ‘peace’ president then yu may calm your tortured mind….

Biden has ordered his first military action….

President Biden ordered an airstrike in Syria on Thursday, after recent rocket attacks launched on US forces in Iraq. The target was a structure thought to be used for smuggling weapons by two Shia militias backed by Iran, CNN reports. The goal of the US attack was to hurt the militias’ capability of carrying out any more attacks, per Politico, though the site, in the eastern Syrian town of Al Bukamal, has not been tied to the rocket attacks. The Defense Department had not publicly blamed any Iran-backed militias. Last week, per ABC, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the US “reserves the right to respond in the time and manner of our choosing.”

The Pentagon said the strikes were specifically in response to an attack in Iraq that killed a civilian contractor and wounded a service member, per the AP. A Pentagon spokesman called the airstrike a “proportionate military response.” It was the first military action taken since Biden took office. “The operation sends an unambiguous message: President Biden will act to protect American and coalition personnel,” John Kirby said. “At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to deescalate the overall situation in eastern Syria and Iraq.” The airstrikes, which took place about 6pm ET, successfully “destroyed multiple facilities at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups,” Kirby added. Attacks by Shiite militia groups against US targets in Iraq decreased in the months before Biden became president.

After strike briefing the SecDef issued his statement….

“I’m confident in the target that we went after, we know what we hit,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday after the US launched airstrikes in Syria, targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups. The Pentagon said the strikes, Biden’s first military action, were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops. An Iraqi militia official told the AP the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side. Syria war monitoring groups said the strikes hit trucks moving weapons to a base for Iranian-backed militias in Boukamal.

The US has in the past targeted facilities in Syria belonging to Kataeb Hezbollah, which it has blamed for numerous attacks targeting US personnel and interests in Iraq. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group that monitors the war in Syria, said 22 fighters from the Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi umbrella group of mostly Shiite paramilitaries that includes Kataeb Hezbollah, were killed. The report could not be independently verified. Defense Secretary Austin said he was “confident” the US had hit back at the “the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes,” referring to the Feb. 15 rocket attack. Austin said he had recommended the action to Biden. “We said a number of times that we will respond on our timeline,” Austin said. “We wanted to be sure of the connectivity and we wanted to be sure that we had the right targets.”

There can be NO doubt that Biden is a Hawk….just as I predicted when he was elected.

This is just the beginning.

Some things never change.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Big News In The Middle East

Breaking news has the tale of the US killing a top Iranian general in an airstrike in Iraq…..

Iran vowed “harsh retaliation” after its top general was killed by an American drone strike in Iraq Thursday night. The Pentagon confirmed that it had taken “decisive action” against Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, who was killed as he left Baghdad airport in a convoy with leaders of Iran-backed militias, the Washington Post reports. Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in a statement. “This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.” Officials said the strike was carried out by order of President Trump, who tweeted an image of an American flag.

At least four other people are believed to have been killed in the strike, including Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandi. Soleimani, 62, was responsible for Iran’s interventions across the Middle East and was “hailed as a heroic national figure,” reports the BBC. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the general the ” international face of resistance” and called for three days of public mourning, the AP reports. An Iranian government spokesman said the country’s top security body will meet to discuss a response to the ” criminal act of attack.”

Sorry but this is not the best way to start a new year.

With that said…just how will Iran react to the death of their general?

Six months ago, WhoWhatWhy presented a cast of characters that could trigger a war between the US and Iran. Now that Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani has been assassinated in an American drone strike in Baghdad, that list is shorter … but the possibility of another armed conflict in the Middle East is much higher.

For Americans, the Fourth of July is a day filled with fun, family barbeques, poolside parties, fireworks, and overt displays of patriotism. For Iranians, however, it is a solemn day, a day of mourning, and a day of remembrance.

How Will Iran Respond After US Kills Top General?

The spin has begun…..why attack now?  Who will benefit the most?

Question with few answers…..

My thought is that this will do nothing to weaken the “Guard”….if anything it will strengthen their resolve…..and that could be just the trigger a war needs.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yemen Finally Makes The News!

For about half a decade the Saudis have been hammering Yemen, the Middle East poorest countries, with airstrikes…..most Americans have no idea where it is or why it is being fought….please take 8 minutes and learn about this conflict…..

Now that I have caught you up…..the incident that finally put the Yemen war in the news was the Saudi attack on a school bus…..

An airstrike hit a bus in a market in northern Yemen on Thursday, killing at least 43 people, including children, and wounding as many as 63, according to Yemen’s rebel-run Health Ministry. The airstrike came from the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite Houthi rebels in the country, and the coalition said it was in retaliation for a missile fired at the kingdom the previous day. Yemen’s rebel-run Al Masirah TV aired dramatic images of wounded children, their clothes and schoolbags covered with blood as they lay on hospital stretchers, per the AP. The attack took place in the Dahyan market in Saada province, a Houthi stronghold that lies along the border with Saudi Arabia. The bus was ferrying local civilians, including many children, according to Yemeni tribal leaders.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said an ICRC-supported hospital received dozens of dead and wounded following the attack. “Scores killed, even more injured, most under the age of ten,” adds the head of the ICRC in Yemen. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said the attack targeted rebels who had fired a missile at the kingdom’s south, killing one person and wounding 11 others. The coalition said Wednesday’s projectile, fired toward the southwestern Saudi city of Jizan, was intercepted and destroyed but its fragments caused the casualties. The spokesman insisted Thursday’s attack was a “legitimate military action.” Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government and has been at war with the Houthis since March 2015. The rebels control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sa’naa.

The Saudis are one of the US biggest customers for weapons and armament….as can be seen in this photo from the bus attack….

A prominent Yemeni journalist who throughout the war has been instrumental in getting images and information out of the country ahead of Western journalists has photographed and examined fragments from one of the exploded missiles found at the site of the US-Saudi coalition airstrike on a school bus in Yemen, which left as many as 50 people dead and 63 injured — the vast majority of which were children. 

https://theantimedia.com/yemen-bus-bombing-lockheed-martin/

The price of war that few want to hear….the death of children….unacceptable from a country that cares so little for their fellow man…..

This transgression will go the way of all such attacks….swept under the proverbial rug…..for you see NO ONE gives a shit especially Americans!

Turn The Page!