Will Duckworth finally join Durbin in opposing weaponizing Israeli genocide in Gaza next week?

 

Will Duckworth finally join Durbin in opposing weaponizing Israeli genocide in Gaza next week?

Seventeen of Illinois’ 36 US Senators have served during my 80 years. But none has been more supportive of senseless US war than current Junior Senator Tammy Duckworth.

She exploited her service in America’s monstrous Iraq war to gain first, the House of Representatives, and for the past 9 years, the Senate.

Duckworth never fails to embrace unrelenting US wars and regime change operations worldwide. But her support of US enabling the Israeli genocide in Gaza with tens of billions in weapons is the most grotesque.

Last November Duckworth voted to kill Bernie Sanders 3 Senate Joint Resolutions to end the Israeli genocide by cutting off the genocide weapons train, without which it would collapse. To his credit, colleague Dick Durbin voted for all 3 resolutions.

Genocide opponent Bernie will try again next week, introducing 2 Senate Joint Resolutions to block Trump’s latest tranche of $8.8 billion in weapons designed to kill or remove every last Palestinian from Gaza. That massive 8.8 billion includes 35,000 two thousand pound bombs and 3,000 Hellfire missiles among thousands of other munitions and guidance kits.

I frequently implore Senator Duckworth to switch from supporting US enabling Israeli genocide to opposing it. She replies with long, disingenuous responses declaring her support for peace and aid for the 2,300,000 Palestinians marked for death and disappearance from the Gaza Israel covets. But she never works to end the genocide by voting down the genocide weapons deliveries making the genocide possible. Weapons deliveries are good for US weapons makers, Israeli genocide practitioners and Duckworth's political career. 

 

Let’s hope Sen. Duckworth has an epiphany next week and votes to end the US weapons train enabling genocide instead of continuing it till every last Palestinian in Gaza is dead and gone.

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL

UK to push 250,000 Brits into poverty to increase unneeded defense spending

 

UK to push 250,000 Brits into poverty to increase unneeded defense spending

 

Now that President Trump has bailed on endless US funding of failed Ukraine war, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has picked up the slack.

 

Starmer is delusional that Russia seeks to recreate the Soviet empire. He joins equally delusional French President Emmanuel Macron that the EU must replace the disappearing $175 Billion in

US treasure to continue the lost Ukraine war.

 

Starmer wants to boost UK defense spending to 3% of GDP from the current 2.3% tho no foreign enemy is anywhere in sight. To pay for this senseless squandering of UK treasure, Starmer proposes cuts in welfare spending. He appears oblivious of reports that such cuts may push 250,000 Brits into poverty, including 50,000 kids.

 

Alas, Starmer also remains oblivious that the hundreds of billions the US and EU has squandered in Ukraine has merely cost Ukraine hundreds of thousands of casualties, 10 million fled and 45,000 lost square miles of land. But the only words echoing in Starmer’s brain are: ‘The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.’

Criminal Yemen war, not criminal war plan leak is what should provoke outrage

 

Criminal Yemen war, not criminal war plan leak is what should provoke outrage

 

Congressional Democrats are apoplectic Trump’s national security team allowed a journalist onto their Signal app chat discussing upcoming US bombings in Yemen. Interloper Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine, then wrote in a piece he was informed of plans for the Yemen strikes which included information about "weapons packages, targets and timing" shortly before the attacks took place. Astonishing.

 

Trump’s critics are calling for an investigation and immediate resignation of top Trump officials Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security advisor Mike Waltz. They further charge criminal violations of US national security laws.

 

Instead of playing politics, they should be playing peace, demanding President Trump cease all military actions against Yemen without first requesting war authorization from Congress as required in the Constitution. Should Trump make that request they should turn him down flat.

 

America has no urgent national security interest to drop a single bomb on the pitifully poor country of Yemen over 7,000 miles from the Homeland. Yet America has spent most of the last decade causing death to hundreds of thousands of Yemenis. From 2015 to 2022 under Obama, Trump, then Biden, the US fueled the crazed Saudi Arabia war to pick the winner in the Yemen civil war. To placate our murderous ally Saudi Arabia, the US turned on the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) who we had been allied with to combat al Qaeda in the region.

 

That Saudi intervention failed spectacularly, resulting in a ceasefire in 2022 that humiliated Saudi Arabia. But when the US fueled Israeli genocide in Gaza largely destroyed the 139 square miles there, the Houthis came to Gaza’s defense, attacking Red Sea shipping to disrupt Israeli operations. Instead of ending the genocide by cutting off the US weapons making it possible, President Biden ordered massive bombing to keep the genocide unhindered.

 

Trump returned to the presidency during a genocide ceasefire he largely brokered. That was good. But when Israel restarted the genocide several weeks ago, Trump jumped all in with a massive new bombing campaign. For Trump and his war crazed minions, thousands of Yemenis must die in order for Israel to kill or remove all 2,300,000 Palestinians from Gaza. That was grotesque.

 

Every Democrat complaining about an insignificant communications boo-boo should hang their heads in moral shame. They care not one whit about how many Yemenis and Palestinians must die in or to stay on the good side of the US Israel Lobby.

Chicago Tribune still not allowing valid opinion supporting Trump peace initiative in Ukraine

 

Chicago Tribune still not allowing valid opinion supporting Trump peace initiative in Ukraine

For at least the third time the Trib published multiple letters, none of which support the US Russia peace talks in Ukraine

The letter ‘Comfort to enemies’ asserts without substantiation that Trump’s peace initiative is giving “aid and comfort to our enemies.” While we have no direct knowledge of what transpired between Trump and Putin, it is clear both are seeking a quick end to senseless war in its fourth year. Everyone of good will should support a prompt, successful resolution.

‘Reminiscent of 1938’ is even more unhelpful in seeking an end to this war. The author turns history on its head. England, France and Italy allowed Germany to annex the Czech Sudetenland that was still untouched by Nazi Germany in a time of peace. The negotiation today is not appeasement; it’s quickly getting the best possible settlement given the facts on the ground. The current four Ukraine oblasts conquered will never return to Ukraine. This stark reality is recognized by everyone involved, including Ukraine President Zelensky. Disastrously for Ukraine, more territory is lost to Russia every day this war continues. Most important of all is urgency of achieving peace to eliminate the risk of this conflict spiraling into a nuclear one.

Time for the Trib to put that critically needed viewpoint into print and online.

Ukraine and Israel are not US allies

 

Ukraine and Israel are not US allies

 

They are essentially US Trojan Horses used to project US power dominance in Europe and Middle East respectively.

 

Both US Trojan Horses have come up lame and are heading for the glue factory.

The US marched their Ukraine Trojan Horse up to Russia’s borders armed with NATO entrance papers and billions in US weapons. When Russia pleaded with the US for years to discuss Russia’s valid security concerns, the US replied ‘Nyet.’ Former President Biden knew Russia would attack but believed any invasion would be a Vietnam style quagmire for Russia. Biden saw the upcoming Russian collapse as the shining achievement of his half century anti-Russian Cold War mantra. That failed spectacularly.

 

The election of Trump has injected a healthy dose of realpolitik that acknowledges Biden’s folly. Trump is currently in negotiations to put America’s Ukraine Trojan Horse to pastoral retirement. Can’t come soon enough.

 

America’s Israeli Trojan Horse to dominate the Middle East is a horse of a different color. It’s more like Israel’s Trojan Horse near totally financed by Uncle Sam. America gets to sit back while Israel marches around their neighborhood committing genocide is Gaza, indiscriminately bombing innocents in Syria and Lebanon, and promoting US attacks on Yemen and eventually Iran. All this senseless carnage constitutes Israel serving as the US battering ram to recreate the Middle East according to its dominant worldview.

 

Like our Ukraine Trojan Horse, our Israeli Trojan Horse is failing to promote America’s true national interests. Most of the world’s 193 countries are aghast America promotes the most grotesque genocide this century. America’s standing may be at an all time low. Like with Ukraine, we’re enabling Israel to self destruct. It’s now a pariah state. Tourism and investment are in decline. Its military is demoralized both from significant casualties and having to commit genocide.

 

Both allies are flirting with wider war; nuclear in Ukraine, regional war in Israel.

America gets nothing from allies Ukraine and Israel except worldwide condemnation, squandered treasure and diminishing unipolar world dominance.

 

With allies like Ukraine and Israel, America does not need enemies.

Shackelford should be cheering, not lamenting US abandonment of global leadership in Europe

 

Shackelford should be cheering, not lamenting US abandonment of global leadership in Europe

 

In her Chicago Tribune op-ed ‘Who will pick up the global leadership America has abandoned?’ Elizabeth Shackelford is distraught America under Trump is pulling back from supporting the clearly lost war in Ukraine. She envisions Russia exploiting the demise of massive American defense spending in Europe to recreate the Soviet Union into Western Europe.

 

Shackelford appears oblivious NATO and endless US defense of Europe became obsolete when the Soviet Union disbanded 34 years ago. Instead of pulling back from defending Europe, America went on an expansion binge bringing NATO and its nukes right up to Russia’s borders. Sensible diplomats, historians and political scientists kept warning the US that this would eventually provoke violent Russia response, not suppress it.

 

Here we stand three years and a month today enmeshed in that violent Russian response largely destroying Ukraine as a viable state. Instead of praising Trump for seeking its settlement, Shackelford wants Europe to become the “Arsenal of Democracy” to keep that lost war going ad infinitum.

 

Shackelford is correct in wanting Europe to replace the upcoming US defense pullback with their own treasure. That process should have begun 34 years ago. But to claim that buildup must start with replacing America as Ukraine’s weapons supplier is preposterous, even delusional. 

 

Shackelford is in denial the longer the war continues, the more territory Ukraine will lose.

It’s time for Elizabeth Shackelford to bone up on US history. She should start with the sage advice of former president statesman John Quincy Adams who admonished current and future US leaders 204 years ago, America must not go abroad “in search of monsters to destroy.”