NATO ambassadors will gather on Monday in Brussels for an urgent meeting convened by the head of the military alliance to discuss the situation in the Middle East after a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad killed a top Iranian general, a NATO official said.
Daily Archives: 5. Januar 2020
Israel’s opposition seeks swift end to Netanyahu immunity bid
The Israeli opposition pushed Sunday for parliament to swiftly address Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s immunity request, potentially speeding up the embattled leader’s appearance in court.
Japan opposition chief seeks debate on planned SDF deployment to Middle East
“I oppose the dispatch of SDF troops based on vague legal grounds,” Tamaki said.
La Asamblea Nacional de Venezuela renueva su directiva: por qué es importante?
Este 5 de enero se instala un nuevo periodo legislativo en la Asamblea Nacional (AN) de Venezuela, parlamento unicameral dominado por una mayoría opositora, tras la victoria electoral de la derecha en diciembre del 2015.
Venezuela crisis: Juan Guaidó rival declares himself new Speaker
Dissident opposition politician Luis Parra, Mr Guaidó‘s rival, then declared himself parliament‘s new Speaker by megaphone – a move denounced by the opposition as a „parliamentary coup“.
Venezuelan Opposition Rejects Juan Guaido‘s Leadership
The parliamentarians declared themselves in revolt against Guaidó for having used the presidency of the parliament as a personal project to enrich himself.
Regierungsprogramm sieht Stopp für Kernkraftausbau in EU vor
Die neue Bundesregierung will gegen den Neu- und Ausbau von Kernkraftwerken in Europa vorgehen und einen europaweiten Kohleausstieg forcieren. Gemäß Regierungsprogramm planen ÖVP und Grüne, „dem Neu- und Ausbau von Atomkraftwerken in Europa, insbesondere in den Nachbarländern, mit allen zur Verfügung stehenden politischen und rechtlichen Mitteln entgegenzuwirken“.
Netanyahu Accidentally Calls Israel a ‚Nuclear Power‘
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accidently referred to Israel as a „nuclear power“ during a cabinet meeting Sunday, immediately correcting himself to „energy power.“
Speaking about a trilateral summit in Athens over the weekend, where Israel signed a deal with Greece and Cyprus for the construction of the EastMed natural gas pipeline to Europe.
Iraqi Parliament Calls For US Troops to Leave
Parliamentary resolutions are nonbinding to the government, but Abdul-Mahdi had earlier urged parliament to take urgent measures and end the presence of foreign troops as soon as possible.
QCA joins in on nationwide anti-war demonstrations
Rock Island
“I’m not supporting another war in Iran. We have already lost too many lives in the Middle East,” said Wes Frenell, a protester. “Invested trillions of dollars that can be used domestically to improve the lives of people here. We don‘t need to buy bombs to kill people,” he said.
Madison protest joins thousands across the country against potential war with Iran
„Maybe they won‘t change the government‘s mind but it will help organize the working class here in America and make them realize that they should be treated better and when we work together we can make a difference,“ Lee said.
WATCH: @JoeBiden rips @realDonaldTrump‘s tweets on Iran and calls them “incredibly dangerous and irresponsible” @CBSNews
Killing Iranian commander ‚enormous escalation‘: Biden
2020 Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden in Iowa on Friday said President Donald Trump had put the US on the „brink of a new kind of conflict,“ after Trump authorized the attack on the top Iranian commander in Iraq.
How Joe Biden is campaigning in Iowa a month from the caucuses
Waterloo, Iowa — Less than a month from the Iowa caucuses, Joe Biden is continuing to overwhelmingly target rural communities throughout the state. In fact, the last event he held in Des Moines before his current bus tour was in November, when former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack and wife Christie Vilsack, endorsed him. He is currently on day three of a six-day bus tour.
BREAKING: 2020 IOWA CAUCUS POLL: @BernieSanders 31% @JoeBiden 24% @ewarren 13% @PeteButtigieg 12% @AndrewYang 10% @amyklobuchar 5% Don’t know/refuse: 5% “Sanders leads the rest of the candidates and has a marginal buffer over Joe Biden.” #IowaCaucus #NYE2020
(31.12.2019)
The Memo: Iran crisis reverberates for Trump, Democrats
Clinton’s vote became a major vulnerability when she ran against then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Biden’s backing for the war remains a sore point for some on the left even now.
“The elites and the establishment are going to try to say that because Joe Biden sat next to Barack Obama he has the most ‘foreign policy credentials,’ but that is insane,” said progressive strategist Jonathan Tasini, who supports Sanders. “Joe Biden made one of the worst foreign policy blunders ever by voting for the Iraq War, which shows he is completely without judgment.”
Iran has vowed revenge against the U.S. But it seems to be in no hurry.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran refuses to take any emotional and hasty action,” Brig. Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for the armed forces, told Iran’s Mehr news agency on Saturday.
“We will set up a plan, patiently, to respond to this terrorist act in a crushing and powerful manner,” he said. “We are the ones who set the time and place of our reciprocal response.”
Exclusive: Supreme Leader‘s military adviser says Iran‘s response will be ‚against military sites‘
„Let me tell you one thing: Our leadership has officially announced that we have never been seeking war and we will not be seeking war,“ Dehghan said.
„It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions. The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they have inflicted. Afterward they should not seek a new cycle.“
Bundesregierung hält an Irak-Einsatz fest
„Der Irak darf nicht im Chaos versinken. TerrorkriegUnd schon gar nicht darf der Irak unter die Kontrolle von Extremisten geraten“, sagte Verteidigungsministerin Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer am Samstagabend nach Regierungsberatungen und einer Unterrichtung der Obleute im Bundestag zur Lage.
Trump droht Iran mit Angriffen auf 52 Ziele
Auf Twitter richtete Trump äußerst konfrontative Worte an die Islamische Republik, der er dringend von Vergeltungsakten abriet: Die für den Iran und dessen Kultur teils sehr bedeutsamen Orte auf der Liste würden sonst „sehr schnell und sehr hart angegriffen“, schrieb er in Großbuchstaben – ebenso wie das Wort „Warnung“. Seine Tweet-Serie schloss Trump mit den Worten: „Die USA wollen keine Drohungen mehr!“
Libya conflict: Tripoli military school suffers deadly air strike
The UN-backed government blamed rebel forces loyal to Gen Khalifa Haftar for the attack. The rebels denied involvement.
Bei einem #Luftangriff auf die Militärakademie in #Libyen hat es mindestens 28 Tote gegeben. Das Militär der international anerkannten Regierung beschuldigt „unbekannte ausländische Kampfflugzeuge“, die Rebellengeneral Chalifa Haftar unterstützen sollen
Krystal and Saagar warn Trump on Iran
Krystal and Saagar talk about the latest developments in Iran and what it means for U.S.-Iranian relations.
Majority of Senate Democrats enabled Trump‘s unconstitutional airstrike
“Any member who voted for the NDAA — a blank check — can’t now express dismay that Trump may have launched another war in the Middle East,” thundered Khanna. “Our Congress let our nation down again by failing to stand up against a war in Iran.”
Khanna originally included legislation in the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act that specifically would have prevented the president from carrying out Thursday’s airstrike (co-sponsored with Rep. Matt Gaetz, Republican from Florida), as did Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee.
INBOX: Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna are reintroducing their former amendment prohibiting funding for unauthorized, offensive force against Iran as standalone legislation. Earlier today Sen. Kaine also filed a war powers resolution to stop an unauthorized use of force.
STATEMENT: Sanders, Khanna Announce New Legislation to Block Funding for War with Iran
“Today, we are seeing a dangerous escalation that brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East. A war with Iran could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, more displacement in that already highly volatile region of the world.
“War must be the last recourse in our international relations. That is why our Founding Fathers gave the responsibility over war to Congress. Congressional inaction in the face of the threat of a catastrophic and unconstitutional Middle East conflict is not acceptable.
“After authorizing a disastrous, $738 billion military budget that placed no restrictions on this president from starting an unauthorized war with Iran, Congress now has an opportunity to change course. Our legislation blocks Pentagon funding for any unilateral actions this president takes to wage war against Iran without Congressional authorization.“
USS Bataan, Marines 26th MEU Heading to Middle East Amid Tensions with Iran
Amid rising tensions with Iran, the Navy is scrapping an exercise with Morocco as it redirects amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, a defense official confirmed to USNI News on Friday.
This is a war crime. Threatening to target and kill innocent families, women and children – which is what you’re doing by targeting cultural sites – does not make you a “tough guy.” It does not make you “strategic.” It makes you a monster.
Trump warns Iran if it hits any Americans or American assets ‚we have targeted 52 Iranian sites‘
Donald Trump on Saturday drew what may come to be seen as the most significant red line of his presidency in a three-part tweet, vowing specific military action against Iran if it „strikes any Americans, or American assets.“
„We have … targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture“ and „if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets… Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD,“ Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Bay Area @RepBarbaraLee, D-Oakland, has quickly emerged as one of fiercest critics of Suleimani killing. „The airstrike… without Congressional authorization is a dangerous escalation of tensions with Iran that brings us close to the brink of war.“ @sfchronicle
… Lee reiterated her call that Congress revoke the president‘s broad war powers, the 2001 and 2002 Authorization of the Use of Military Force.
Background: Lee was only member of Congress to vote against authorizing war after 9/11:
Congress must reclaim its war-making powers
7.12.2019 This week the Congress once against debated AUMF policy, at least in the House, thanks to Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
White House gives lawmakers formal notice of Iraq strike amid complaints from Democrats
The classified notification was sent under a 1973 U.S. law called the War Powers Act, which requires the administration to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action or imminent actions.
More than 70 protests planned across US against Soleimani strike
More than 70 protests across the country are planned for Saturday to condemn the Pentagon’s killing of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, and the decision to send thousands more troops to the Middle East.
The protests are being organized by Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER), a U.S.-based anti-war coalition, in cooperation with more than a dozen other anti-war groups. Protesters are expected to demonstrate outside the White House, in Times Square, at Trump Tower in Chicago and at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, among other locations.
Jane Fonda Condemns Trump Middle East Escalation
Actress Jane Fonda spoke out today at an anti-war rally against President Trump‘s increased military action in the Middle East.
More than 70 Actions Took Place on Sat. Jan. 4 To Demand – No War With Iran!
For all who believe in peace, for all who are opposed to yet another catastrophic war, now is the time to take action. On Saturday, January 4 in cities across the country there will be protests against a new war in the Middle East and calling for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops and bases in the region.
Endorsers (partial list):
ANSWER Coalition
CODEPINK
Popular Resistance
Veterans for Peace
World Beyond War
Voices for Creative Non-Violence
American-Iranian Friendship Committee (AIFC)
Black Alliance For Peace
United AntiWar Coalition (UNAC)
Cindy Sheehan
U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker – D.C.
Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee – U.S.
Minnesota Peace Action
Labor for Palestine
Jews for Palestinian Right of Return
Pierre Labossiere, Haiti Action Network
Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network
Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational Church Washington, D.C.
Maine WTR Resource Center
Hilton Head for Peace
Initiators for this call include the ANSWER Coalition, CODEPINK, Popular Resistance, World Beyond War and many other anti-war and peace organizations.
Jane Fonda and Daniel Ellsberg protest against killing of Suleimani
Activist and Pentagon Papers whistleblower joined protest groups alarmed by US-Iranian tensions in Washington on Saturday
Anti-War Protests Form In Downtown Boston After Killing Of Iranian General
„If Iran openly assassinated a top U.S. general and bragged about it there would be no question the United States would initiate a full-scale war,“ Nino Brown, a speaker for the ANSWER Coalition, said at the rally. „Trump and the Pentagon have acted illegally.“
American strike in Iraq prompts anti-war protests in U.S. cities
“No justice, no peace. U.S. out of the Middle East,” hundreds of demonstrators chanted outside the White House before marching to the Trump International Hotel a few blocks away.
Similar protests were held in New York, Chicago and other cities. Organizers at Code Pink, a women-led anti-war group, said protests were scheduled on Saturday in numerous U.S. cities and towns.
Anti-War Protesters Rally Outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s NYC Apartment
The protesters claim that the move ultimately amounts to President Trump sounding the drums of war, concerning them that the country may be facing another long war.