| To: Les H who wrote (42971) | 7/21/2024 6:42:32 PM | | From: Les H | | | | Israeli Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi met with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. In accordance with the agreements signed with them, he informed them that Israel would attack Lebanon on the evening of Saturday, June 22.
The revelation of this secret meeting quickly spread on the web. Various official sources confirmed it. In passing, we learned that an agreement between Tel Aviv and Riyadh had been concluded. This information helps us understand why Saudi Arabia participated, alongside the Western alliance, in protecting Israel during the Iranian response of April 14.
During the days of Friday 21 and Saturday 22, the chancelleries of the whole world were buzzing with contradictory information and statements. António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN, declared that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could in no case be resolved by means of arms. "The people of the region and the world cannot afford for Lebanon to become a new Gaza (...) On both sides of the Blue Line, many lives have already been lost, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and homes and buildings have been destroyed (...) Unexploded ordnance (...) poses an additional threat to the inhabitants of Israel and Lebanon, as well as to UN personnel and humanitarian workers (...) It is time for the parties to engage practically and pragmatically in the diplomatic and political avenues available to them," he said at a press conference.
But Israel refuses any negotiation and Hezbollah, refusing to abandon the Palestinians, has declared that it will not negotiate the delimitation of the Israeli-Lebanese border as long as the massacre continues in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded to Guterres: “Israel cannot allow the terrorist organization Hezbollah to continue to attack its territory and its citizens, and we will soon make the necessary decisions. The free world must stand unconditionally with Israel in its war against the axis of evil led by Iran and extremist Islam. Our war is also your war, and Nasrallah’s threat against Cyprus is just the beginning.” [ 1 ] He announced that he would “soon make the necessary decisions” on this issue.
Meanwhile, both sides have intensified skirmishes.
Thus, Israel fired shells at Yaroun (Bint Jbeil caza) and Naqoura (Tyre). It also struck an area between the towns of Taybe and Deir Seriane (Marjeyoun) using white phosphorus weapons, starting a fire in the area. In the evening, two consecutive attacks hit the town of Khiam, in the same caza. The Israeli air force also carried out an attack in the Kandouli neighborhood of Meiss el-Jabal.
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed responsibility for at least four attacks during the day. It targeted the Ras Naqoura maritime military site (which corresponds to the Israeli site of Rosh Hanikra, opposite Naqoura) "using several suicide drones, in response to an Israeli strike in Deir Kifa (Tyre district)" on Thursday, which killed a Hezbollah fighter. It claimed "to have destroyed part of the site and injured several people". It also launched another suicide drone attack on "an Israeli artillery base" in Za'oura, in northern Israel, and carried out attacks on the Israeli sites of Ruaissat el-Qarn and Zebdine, located in the disputed Shebaa farms, as well as on Sammaka, in the Kfarchouba hills.
The United States, which has been advising its citizens since January 29 not to travel to Lebanon for fear of kidnappings [ 2 ] , has remained silent, while the Iranian mission to the UN tweeted: "Any reckless decision by the Israeli occupation regime to save itself could plunge the region into a new war, the consequence of which would be the destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure as well as that of the territories occupied in 1948. There is no doubt that this war will have a big loser, namely the Zionist regime. The Lebanese Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, has the capacity to defend itself and Lebanon - perhaps the time for the self-annihilation of this illegitimate regime has come" [ 3 ] .
Indeed, the balance of military forces has changed considerably since the 2006 Israeli-Lebanese war [ 4 ] . At the time, Hezbollah was inexperienced. Today, on the contrary, it has experienced 12 years of war in Syria against jihadists armed by NATO and protected by the Israeli Air Force [ 5 ] . It is said today to have 2,500 Special Forces (Radwan), 20,000 highly trained men, 30,000 reservists and 50,000 inexperienced fighters. It had short-range missiles. Today, it has 120,000 projectiles of all kinds, including 150,000 guided missiles, several thousand Zelzal ("earthquake") missiles, with a range of more than 120 kilometers, and several hundred Fateh-110 ("Liberation-110") guided missiles [ 6 ] , with a range of 300 kilometers and still tens of thousands of short-range missiles such as Fajr-1, made in Iran, and Type-107, made in China. This gigantic arsenal should allow it to saturate the Iron Dome and thus deprive Israel of its anti-aircraft defense [ 7 ] . If it fails to saturate it, Hezbollah has already shown since December 2023 that it could destroy elements of the Iron Dome, thus rendering it inoperable. Above all, it has Sayyad-2 ( Hunter-2 ) surface-to-air missiles and perhaps Russian SA-22 Pantsir batteries [ 8 ] , with the former, it ended, on May 20, 76 years of Israeli air domination. While it is not certain that Hezbollah can shoot down high-altitude planes, it is clear that it can destroy helicopters and planes at low altitude. In addition, Hezbollah has acquired all kinds of drones, including al-Hodhod ("Hoopoe") which infiltrated Haifa where they filmed the naval base and the RAFAEL (Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd) arms factory, without being detected by Israeli radars. And that's not all: it now has Russian AT-14 Kornet and Iranian Toophan anti-tank missiles, heavy armored vehicles such as T-72 tanks, made in Russia. It still has surface-to-sea missiles, such as Russian Yakhonts.
There is no doubt that, if it were to confront Israel alone, without US intervention, Hezbollah would destroy the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a matter of days. It is unclear what would happen if the Pentagon were to continue its unwavering support for its creation.
In this perspective, the opposition to the Israeli occupation, which is growing particularly among young American voters, is a challenge. To be re-elected, President Biden must abandon Israel. However, this abandonment means the disappearance of the Hebrew state. On the contrary, the entry into war of the United States armada would also provoke that of Iran. But we know, since April 14, that Tehran has hypersonic missiles, probably of Russian origin, that the West as a whole is incapable of intercepting [ 9 ] .
How did Russia and the Axis of Resistance achieve such progress in terms of weaponry and military science? Already in 2012, Israeli intelligence services claimed that Hezbollah had increased its bombing capacity by 400 (four hundred). They were only talking about quantity. Today, it is also about quality that we must be aware of [ 10 ] . The reversal took place during the war against Syria. We have described it at length, but the Atlanticist press denigrated our remarks. Indeed, it was essential to convince Western public opinion that Syria was a weak state and that barefoot people were going to overthrow the Republic. Today, all of NATO's armies are in a pitiful state, with the exception of France for its atomic capabilities and the United States, not only for its deterrent capabilities, but also for its conventional weaponry from before 1991. For 23 years, NATO has transformed itself into a supposedly "anti-jihadist" coalition, certainly strong, but incapable of waging a "high-intensity war."
Planning to destroy the tarmacs of Israeli air bases, Hezbollah anticipated the movement of IDF aircraft to the British military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus. Hassan Nasrallah therefore warned Nicosia that if it allowed Israeli military aircraft to stop over on its soil, it would be involved in the conflict and would have to bear the consequences.
Since the beginning of Operation Iron Sword (October 8, 2023), the IDF has been massacring, while Hezbollah is careful to cause as few casualties as possible. While 37,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza, only about fifteen Israeli soldiers have been killed by the Lebanese Resistance, compared to more than 300 Hezbollah fighters by the IDF. This asymmetrical record gives the impression, at first glance, that Israel is still the strongest, when in reality it shows that Hezbollah is trying to postpone a war that it foresees as terrible.
The change in the balance of power has been achieved. It is no longer reversible, neither in the short nor in the medium term. From this point of view, it is astonishing to see NATO behaving as if it were still the master of the world. This stubbornness will make its fall all the more painful.
The only alternative for the United States and Israel would be to encourage a military coup in Tel Aviv. Already, a thousand senior officers and non-commissioned officers have gathered with this in mind around the slogan: "Whoever thinks there is a maneuver in Rafah is mistaken.
Whoever knows there is not and says there is is lying!" [ 11 ] They are ready.
It is unclear what the White House's decision was, but the State Department's top official on the issue, Andrew P. Miller, deputy assistant secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, resigned on June 22. The State Department insists it was for personal reasons, but everyone knows he opposed President Joe Biden's Bear Hug strategy [ 12 ] . He had implemented sanctions against Jewish supremacists.
voltairenet.org |
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| From: Don Green | 7/21/2024 7:33:57 PM | | | | | | Aaron Sorkin Takes Back Divisive Op-Ed Urging Democratic Party to Select Mitt Romney: Kamala ‘Harris for America!'
Story by Michaela Zee
Aaron Sorkin no longer believes the Democratic Party should select Republican Senator Mitt Romney as its candidate in the 2024 presidential race.
Earlier on Sunday, an op-ed by Sorkin was published by the New York Times, in which the "West Wing" creator suggested that the Democratic Party should select a Republican candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump this November.
"At their convention next month, the Democrats should nominate Mitt Romney," Sorkin wrote.
However, after President Joe Biden announced hours later that he was dropping out of the race, Sorkin retracted his sentiment - or his "pitch to the writers' room," as he put it in his op-ed. He also publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who launched her campaign for the White House.
"I take it all back. Harris for America!" Sorkin wrote on Sunday, asking "West Wing" star Josh Malina to share the statement on his X/Twitter account. Sorkin's publicist Jodie Oriol confirmed to Variety that the statement is real.
In his NYT op-ed, Sorkin argued that Romney as the Democratic presidential nominee would be "a clear and powerful demonstration" about "stopping a deranged man from taking power."
"The choice is between Donald Trump and not-Trump, and the not-Trump candidate needs only one qualification: to win enough votes from a cross section of Americans to close off the former president's Electoral College path back to power," Sorkin added.
Harris is unchallenged as yet for the Democratic nomination, which will be formally decided at the Aug. 19 convention in Chicago.
"I am honored to have the President's endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Harris said in a statement. "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party-and unite our nation-to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win." |
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| From: tntpal | 7/21/2024 8:05:35 PM | | | | | | Sen. Joe Manchin considering rejoining Democratic Party to challenge Harris
Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.V.) is considering running against Vice President Harris for the Democratic nomination.
A source familiar with Manchin confirmed that the West Virginia senator is considering reregistering as a Democrat to seek the nomination.
thehill.com
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| From: Don Green | 7/22/2024 6:28:19 AM | | | | | | Frank Biden makes shocking statement about his brother's decision to drop out of the race that sparks fury from Joe's familyPresident Joe Biden's youngest brother said Sunday that he believed the 81-year-old was bowing out of the race due to health concerns.
Frank Biden made comments to both CBS and ABC News, telling CBS 'in my humble opinion absolutely' the president's health was part of Biden's decision to announce that he wouldn't run for reelection - endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the process.
'Selfishly, I will have him back to enjoy whatever time we has left,' Frank Biden told CBS.
He also told ABC News that the decision 'boils down' to Biden's 'overall health and vitality' but also 'beating this genuine threat to our nation in the form of Donald Trump.'
But a Biden family source poured very hot water on Frank's claims. 'Frank Biden suffers from alcoholism and hasn't spoken to his brother in weeks,' the source told CBS. 'What he said ... is completely untrue.'
Frank Biden, the president's youngest brother, said he believed Biden bowed out of the race due to health concerns
Biden is also said to not have made his decision based on his health or age, despite showing signs of cognitive decline.
He was in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, battling COVID when he and his closest aides composed the letter announcing he would step aside.
Frank Biden has caused tension with the rest of the family for using the president's name when discussing his business.
On his brother's inauguration day in 2021, he touted his relationship with the new White House occupant in an advertisement for a law firm where he worked as an advisor.
The back-and-forth with Frank came after Hunter Biden put out a statement where he praised his father for being able to 'absorb the pain of countless everyday Americans' after he withdrew from the presidential race.'
The 54-year-old first son was spotted near his home in Los Angeles over the weekend before his dad made the extraordinary decision to step aside and endorse Kamala Harris to take on Donald Trump in the November general election.
'That unconditional love has been his North Star as a President, and as a parent. He is unique in public life today, in that there is no distance between Joe Biden the man and Joe Biden the public servant of the last 54 years,' Hunter said in a statement on Sunday night.
'He is unique in public life today, in that there is no distance between Joe Biden the man and Joe Biden the public servant of the last 54 years.
'I'm so lucky every night I get to tell him I love him, and to thank him. I ask all American to join me tonight in doing the same.
Thank you, Mr. President. I love you, Dad.'
Biden's move throws the presidential race into chaos, but leaves time for Democrats to get their house in order before their August convention.
Hunter and his father speak on the phone, and in the weeks since the disastrous debate he has been seen in meetings in the White House and with the president's inner circle.
Joe Biden has supported his troubled son through his many battles, including his addiction to crack cocaine and the trial where he was found guilty of three federal gun charges - for which the president has vowed not to pardon him. dailymail.co.uk |
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| To: Don Green who wrote (42979) | 7/22/2024 6:32:32 AM | | From: Don Green | | | | |
| "You can just feel it: Let's go" | | | 
Data: The Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Chart: Simran Parwani/Axios
President Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Harris for the nomination, as did the Clintons. But the Democratic Party is leaving open the possibility of a competitive nomination process, Mike and Jim write.
- Former President Obama held off on an endorsement, saying: "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead."
Between the lines: As we told you in a column two weeks ago, Harris will be almost impossible to beat for the nomination, thanks to endorsements, money, optics and 2028 politics. Given the Democratic base, are you really going to take down the first Black American, the first South Asian American and the first woman to be elected vice president?
- Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) is making noises about re-registering as a Democrat to take on Harris. There may be other flurries around Democrats who know talk of challenging Harris would bring huge publicity.
?? James Carville, who two weeks ago had advocated for regional town halls to help determine a nominee, now tells us it's too late for such a process. "You can just feel it: Let's go," he said. "I don't have any sense there's time or appetite."
- Harris immediately enjoyed "broad, swift consolidation" among major Democratic donors, who are feeling optimism for the first time in weeks, the N.Y. Times reports.
- But Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, the first Democratic senator to call for Biden to drop out, told CBS' Norah O'Donnell during yesterday's breaking coverage that Harris would "be strengthened by a process that's seen as open." He said the party should "take advantage of the extraordinary energy that's been unleashed by the president's decision ... and show that we're confident about engaging everyday Democrats to participate."
A campaign sign with President Biden's name cut out in Northwood, N.H., yesterday. Photo: Holly Ramer/AP
Carville said the expected convention photo of Harris with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and their large blended family will send a message of "change, youth, vigor, different — every f***ing word that counts is in that photograph."
- "The most thunderous sound in politics is the sound of a turning page," Carville added.
?? What we're hearing: Many top Democrats have reservations about Harris, including the fact that few loyalists have risen with her — a rarity in politics.
- Two months into the administration, Biden named her to lead diplomatic and other efforts to reduce illegal migration at the Southwest border — one of the top issues former President Trump will try to use against her.
- Watch for Trump to claim the fix is in by the "real powers"— an argument Elon Musk made mere minutes after Biden's announcement. Some of the claims are contradictory. David Sacks, a top Silicon Valley venture capitalist who spoke at the GOP convention in Milwaukee, yesterday took to Musk's X to assert that Harris had "staged a coup."
Threat level: Democrats tell us Harris instantly puts reproductive rights at the center of the campaign — a potential game-changer. Harris — age 59, making her 19 years younger than Trump — will try to turn the age and fitness issue on the GOP. And as a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, she'll push a "prosecutor vs. convicted felon" frame.
- Trump officials know there's danger for him in debating a woman with historic status. "When women confront Trump, he can be impolitic and imprudent, and say politically dangerous things," one GOP insider told us.
- So Trump could alienate women and many other non-MAGA voters the campaign is eyeing. Plus Harris could look better-versed on reproductive rights, and more evocative of the future than the past.
Via Truth Social
?? The other side: Republican officials won't admit it publicly, but they know they were better off running against Biden. The Atlantic's Tim Alberta wrote in a lengthy article before the convention that they're "all but praying that he remains their opponent."
- Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Trump's campaign, told us his candidate "survived an assassin's bullet. The last thing we are worrying about is Laffin' Kamala" — the nickname Trump recently gave her. "You can move the chairs on a sinking boat all you want ... doesn't change the result," LaCivita added.
- We obtained a 12-page internal memo showing the Trump campaign was preparing for the possibility of a Biden alternative back in May — with section headings that include "Act of God," "Insider Rebellion" and "Popular Uprising."
The bottom line: If Harris loses, history will likely be harsh on Biden for running again, on aides who concealed his condition, and on Democrats who wanted to coronate Harris rather than letting a process play out.
Go deeper: Jon Meacham sketches in the N.Y. Times the story that "history will tell of Joe Biden. With American democracy in an hour of maximum danger ... [h]e staved off an authoritarian threat at home, rallied the world against autocrats abroad, laid the foundations for decades of prosperity, managed the end of a once-in-a-century pandemic ... History and fate brought him to the pinnacle in a late season in his life, and in the end, he respected fate — and he respected the American people." ( Gift link)
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| To: Don Green who wrote (42980) | 7/22/2024 6:36:22 AM | | From: Don Green | | | | | Biden doubted Harris' chances | | |  | | Photo illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios. Photos: Brandon Bell/Getty Images, Chris duMond/Getty Images
| | | President Biden hesitated to drop his re-election campaign in part because he and his senior advisers worried that Vice President Harris wasn't up to taking on Donald Trump, Alex Thompson reports from three Biden aides familiar with recent talks about his plans.
- Why it matters: Biden, 81, ultimately decided to withdraw under pressure from the partyand endorsed Harris. But his private anxieties reflect broader questions among some Democratic leaders about Harris as their nominee this November.
This next week will be critical for Harris, 59, to prove doubters wrong as she moves quickly to try to clear the field of potential challengers for the Democratic nomination.
- Harris' time as vice president has been occasionally rocky, defined in part by staff turnover and retreating from politically risky responsibilities.
?? The intrigue: The relationship between the vice president's office and the West Wing has often been tense.
- At times, Harris aides suspected Biden's team didn't want to give Harris opportunities to shine to avoid her being seen as a viable alternative to Biden ahead of his re-election bid.
Keep reading.
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