Washington. US-Präsident Donald Trumps Plan, im großen Stil Bundesbedienstete zur Kündigung zu drängen, stößt auf juristischen Widerstand. Ein Bundesrichter hat am Donnerstag vorerst eine Frist ausgesetzt, nach der sich Bundesbedienstete bis Donnerstag entscheiden mussten, ob sie das Angebot der Regierung annehmen, wie mehrere US-Medien übereinstimmend berichteten. Der Richter setzte demnach eine neue Anhörung für Montag an.
Archiv: Biden Administration 2021-2025
U.S.-Imperium will „globale Koalition“ für Terrorkrieg 2.0 und bastelt an „Nachrüstung“ der Kriegsvollmacht aus 2001
(September 2, 2014)
Auf dem Gipfel des Nordatlantikpakts in Wales wird es weniger um Russland als um die Frage gehen, mit welcher schwachsinnigen Ausrede nun die N.A.T.O. den am 4. Oktober 2001 ausgerufenen „kollektiven Verteidigungsfall“ aufrechterhalten will.
Eine Option: Noch mehr Eroberungen islamischer Staaten, wegen dem „Islamischen Staat“.
Regime change in Syria has Iraqi factions backtracking on push for US withdrawal
(January 31, 2025)
The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country. (…)
But the fall of Assad in a lightning offensive led by Sunni Islamist rebels in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.
Biden‘s Enduring Legacy: Awful. No Worse
If ever there was a searing, sanctimonious self-immolation in presidential politics, this was it and the costs are incalculable. The damage will reverberate for decades and might never be recovered.
It will be all but impossible for the Democratic Party to accept responsibility for the catastrophe it has inflicted on America, through its head, Joe Biden, and the complicity of all of the party’s upper echelon. It will, thus, ensure that nothing will change. We desperately need a new party that reflects the interest and needs of the American people, and not those of the party’s corporate owners. Change cannot come too soon.
In an interview, Putin echoes Trump’s claim that conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided had he been in office
In an interview with Russian state television, Putin praised Trump as a “clever and pragmatic man” who is focused on U.S. interests.
“We always had a business-like, pragmatic but also trusting relationship with the current U.S. president,” Putin said. “I couldn’t disagree with him that if he had been president, if they hadn’t stolen victory from him in 2020, the crisis that emerged in Ukraine in 2022 could have been avoided.”
The Imperial Presidency and the War on Terror
(March/April 2006)
Since the start of the war on terror, the Bush administration has singlemindedly advanced the view that, in time of war, the president is the law, and no statute, no constitutional barrier, no coordinate branch of the U.S. government can stand in the president’s way when, by his lights, he is acting to preserve national security. Bush administration officials have argued
– that the president has the inherent constitutional authority to designate American citizens suspected of terrorist activity as “enemy combatants,” strip them of any constitutional protection, and hold them for the duration of the war on terror;
– that the president has the power to ignore validly enacted statutes prohibiting war crimes if he believes those statutes impede his prosecution of the war on terror; and
– that the president has the power to launch invasions of other countries at his discretion, without so much as a by-yourleave to Congress.
In a 1977 interview with David Frost, Richard Nixon described his view of the president’s national security authority: “Well, when the President does it, that means it is not illegal.” In the arguments it has advanced, both publicly and privately, for untrammeled executive power, the Bush administration comes perilously close to that view.
RESTORING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ENDING FEDERAL CENSORSHIP
Section 1. Purpose. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, an amendment essential to the success of our Republic, enshrines the right of the American people to speak freely in the public square without Government interference. Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve. Under the guise of combatting “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation,” the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate. Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to: (a) secure the right of the American people to engage in constitutionally protected speech;
(b) ensure that no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen;
(c) ensure that no taxpayer resources are used to engage in or facilitate any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen; and
(d) identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the Federal Government related to censorship of protected speech.
Sec. 3. Ending Censorship of Protected Speech. (a) No Federal department, agency, entity, officer, employee, or agent may act or use any Federal resources in a manner contrary to section 2 of this order.
(b) The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of executive departments and agencies, shall investigate the activities of the Federal Government over the last 4 years that are inconsistent with the purposes and policies of this order and prepare a report to be submitted to the President, through the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, with recommendations for appropriate remedial actions to be taken based on the findings of the report.
Trump orders government not to infringe on Americans’ speech, calls for censorship investigation
It’s not yet clear how the order could affect the work that several U.S. agencies do to track false claims that pose threats to election security, including the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA.
Biden issues preemptive pardons for Milley, Fauci and Jan. 6 committee members
Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Disease for decades, including during the outbreak of Covid in Trump’s first presidency, and Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term and has warned Trump is a fascist.
Gaza death toll climbs to nearly 47,000 on eve of ceasefire
Israel‘s military offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,899 Palestinians and injured 110,725 since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave‘s health ministry said in an update on Saturday.
23 Palestinians were killed and 83 were injured over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said.
No, Biden Wasn’t Unable to Stop the Gaza War—He Was in on It
The truth of the matter is that every day for the past year, Biden could have secured a cease-fire by using America’s vast leverage, and every day for the past year, from all the evidence we have today, Biden chose not to.
Despite truce deal, Israel kills 88 more Gazans as death toll nears 47,000
(January 17, 2025)
Despite a cease-fire agreement, Israeli attacks killed at least 88 more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 46,876, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Friday.
Hope fades into anguish as deadly airstrikes hit Gaza after ceasefire news
Abdel Aal, who lost two children to airstrikes in the 15-month war, said he is not hopeful for an end to the killings in Gaza.
„The Palestinian people have not been able to take delight even just for a moment in the past 75 years while the death and destruction has taken place in these countries,“ he said.
There was no comment from the Israeli military on the latest strikes.
Israel has killed over 117 Palestinians since announcement of cease-fire deal on Wednesday: Civil Defense
Israeli airstrikes have killed 117 Palestinians since the announcement of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, according to an official tally on Friday.
According to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza‘s Civil Defense service, the latest attacks include 32 women and 30 children.
A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy: How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza
In early November, a small group of senior U.S. human rights diplomats met with a top official in President Joe Biden’s State Department to make one final, emphatic plea: We must keep our word….
Report Says Biden‘s ‚Empty Threats‘ on Gaza Fed Israeli Impunity
New reporting published Wednesday details the impotence and insincerity of President Joe Biden‘s „multiple threats, warnings, and admonishments“ to Israel as it annihilated the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians while receiving tens of billions of dollars in U.S. arms and unwavering diplomatic support.
Writing for ProPublica, Brett Murphy showed how multiple „red lines“ issued by Biden administration officials were ignored by Israel with impunity.
Israel kills 81 more Gazans as death toll nears 46,800
Medical sources told Anadolu that most of the victims were killed in intensified Israeli attacks across Gaza following the announcement of a cease-fire deal Wednesday evening.
At least 81 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours: health ministry
At least 81 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, the health ministry announced on Thursday.
Netanyahu delays cabinet vote on Israel-Gaza ceasefire deal and hostage release
An Israeli cabinet meeting to approve a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas was delayed Thursday morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the militant group of “reneging” on parts of the agreement.
Israel gov‘t expected to vote on Gaza deal by Thursday, according to FM statement
Israel‘s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he was cutting his visit to Europe short on Wednesday so that he could take part in security cabinet and government votes on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal.
Officials tout a Gaza ceasefire deal and plan to free hostages. Israel says details still in flux
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said final details were being ironed out, saying in a statement that it hoped “details will be finalized tonight.”
Gaza death toll tops 46,700 as Israeli attacks continue unabated
(7 hours ago)
At least 62 more Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 46,707, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Wednesday.
A ministry statement added that some 110,265 others were injured in the ongoing assault.
Protests Erupt in Washington: Blinken Dubbed ‚Secretary of Genocide‘ by Activists!
On January 14, 2025, during a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was interrupted by activists:
„you will forever be known as bloody blinken, secretary of genocide.“
Gaza death toll reaches 46,645
Since the Israeli onslaught began on 7 October 2023, the death toll has risen to 46,645, with 110,012 people wounded, according to the ministry‘s latest figures.
32 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza since dawn
(14 January 2025 12:25 GMT)
Medical sources reported to Al Jazeera Arabic that Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed 32 Palestinians since dawn today, with 24 of the victims located in the central and southern regions of Gaza.
Kamal Adwan’s Hussam Abu Safia held in Ofer Prison, rights group says
An Israeli rights group says Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital who was detained by Israeli forces during their raid on the facility in Beit Lahiya last month, is being held in a notorious Israeli military prison in the occupied West Bank.
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), said the Israeli military confirmed in an email that Abu Safia was at Ofer Prison. A lawyer for Abu Safia’s family was told that he would not be allowed to see him until January 29, said a spokesman for PHRI, Ran Yaron, according to The Associated Press.
Gaza death toll reaches 46,584
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that the death toll from Israel’s ongoing military onslaught has climbed to 46,584, with 109,731 people wounded since Israel‘s war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023.
What a second Trump administration may mean for the Saudi nuclear program
(January 6, 2ß25)
Riyadh has been very clear on the kind of nuclear partnership it expects, and it is no secret that its favored option is cooperation with South Korea, similar under a 123 agreement (a nuclear cooperation document that establishes the legal basis and prerequisites for nuclear deals with the United States) allowing it to enrich uranium domestically. The problem, however, lies in the last bit of the sentence. The United States currently insists on an agreement that requires the Saudis forgo enrichment and reprocessing capabilities—two pathways to building a bomb. The reelection of Trump might be the Saudis’ chance to tip the balance in their favor.
CIA Director Reiterates There’s No Evidence Iran Has Decided To Build a Nuclear Bomb
(January 12, 2025)
The hype about Iran’s nuclear program is focused on the enrichment of some uranium at 60% purity, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Iran took the step to enrich at 60% in response to an Israeli covert attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in 2021.
Iran is also a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, unlike Israel, which never signed the NPT and has a covert nuclear stockpile that’s not officially acknowledged by the US.
Transcript: NPR‘s full conversation with CIA Director William Burns
(January 10, 2025)
Kelly: Iran, which had a pretty lousy 2024, weakened internally, mounting pressures externally. We interviewed Jake Sullivan, the national security, the national security adviser at the White House the other day. He told me the big question on his mind is, given the losses Iran has sustained, will it make it more likely, more likely that Iran tries to go for a nuclear weapon? Director Burns, will it?
Burns: It‘s something we watch very intently, because you‘re right, Iran has it‘s strategic position has suffered considerably over the course of the last six or seven months. You know, two failed efforts to launch significant ballistic missile strikes against Israel, the collapse of its leading proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the severe degradation of Hamas in Gaza, and then the fall of the Assad regime in Syria. All of that, I think, strategically puts the Iranian regime in a much weaker position. And so Jake Sullivan was right to express the concern that, you know, the Iranian regime could decide in the face of that weakness that it needs to restore its deterrence as it sees it and, you know, reverse the decision made at the end of 2003 to suspend their weaponization program. We do not see any sign today that any such decision has been made, but we obviously watch it intently.
Is Iran Next?
(January 10, 2025)
Israeli military sources claim that its strikes inside Iran (precipitated by an Iranian missile assault on Israel) dismantled much of its air defense systems. These security officials note that this was a key mission: to eliminate Iran’s air defenses in preparation for a future all-out assault on its nuclear program. The sources estimate it will take a year or more for Iran to repair the current damage and restore its capabilities.
Is Biden Teeing Up an Iran War for Trump?
(January 3, 2025)
President Joe Biden has less than a month in office, but that might be enough time to leave a very big mess on President-elect Donald Trump‘s desk. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan presented Biden with plans to bomb Iranian nuclear sites before the end of his term „in a meeting several weeks ago,“ Axios reported on Thursday. A source told Axios that Biden‘s inner circle believes that he has both „an imperative and an opportunity to strike“ now.
Israel kills 13 Palestinians in northern Gaza Strip since dawn
(13 January 2025 07:49 GMT)
At least 13 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes on the northern Gaza Strip since the early hours of today, Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Biden and Netanyahu discusses ceasefire deal
(12 January 2025 17:39 GMT)
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over the phone on Sunday, according to several reports.
Trump‘s incoming national security advisor urges ceasefire before 20 January
(12 January 2025 16:15 GMT)
Donald Trump‘s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, spoke with ABC News on Sunday, where he called for a ceasefire deal in Gaza to happen before Trump‘s inauguration on 20 January.
„Hamas has nowhere else to go but enter some type of agreement. Let‘s have a ceasefire, let‘s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across a tarmac. At a minimum, some type of agreement before inauguration,“ he said.
Gaza Death Toll Reaches 46,565, 70 Children Killed in the Last 5 Days Alone
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday that two separate massacres committed by Israeli forces over the past 24 hours resulted in the deaths of 28 Palestinians, with 89 others injured.
The Civil Defense in Gaza further revealed that in the past five days, nearly 70 children have been killed due to relentless Israeli bombing across the strip.
Sullivan calls Yoon‘s martial law bid ‚shocking,‘ ‚wrong,‘ says alliance still set for success despite turmoil
(January 10,2025)
North Korea has so far been largely silent on the domestic turmoil that took hold of South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law last year. However, the US is of the view that Pyongyang could exploit this internal chaos
South Korea’s political crisis and Uncle Sam’s silence
(January 7, 2025)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who was in Seoul this week for meetings as though nothing unusual had happened — released a readout that made no mention of South Korea’s political situation. His response to a direct question about the U.S. position on Yoon’s actions vaguely referenced private intergovernmental discussions before pivoting to boilerplate about democratic resilience. Despite a shocking breach of liberal democracy, Seoul has faced the bare minimum of consequences from its supposed “democratic values-based partner.” Why?
Impeachment in South Korea Has Cost Washington a Staunch Ally
(December 16, 2024)
President Yoon Suk Yeol has changed the course of South Korea’s diplomacy like no leader before him. He put his country in lock step with the United States by countering North Korea with sanctions and joint military drills. He won Washington’s plaudits when he overcame a century of historical grievances Koreans held against Japan and helped lay the ground for trilateral cooperation to deter China.
He sang the praises of Western values such as freedom.
United States support for Saudi Arabian–led operations in Yemen
During the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States began providing Saudi Arabia with critical support to „sustain“ the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War,[1] later expanded during the presidency of Donald Trump.[2] This support included logistical and intelligence aid. Trump vetoed a bipartisan bill in 2019 aimed at stopping U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In 2021, Joe Biden vowed to halt U.S. support for the war, though U.S. arms sales to the coalition have continued.[3][4]
From 2015 to 2019, Saudi Arabia was reportedly the largest importer of U.S. arms.[2]
Over 20 warplanes bomb Yemen in three-way attack by Israel, US, UK
Eleven air raids hit the Yemeni capital Sanaa, including the vicinity of Al-Sabeen Square, where around one million people were taking part in a weekly pro-Palestine march.
The Harf Sufyan District was hit by 12 airstrikes in the Amran Governorate of northern Yemen, while six hit the Hodeidah port west of the country. One strike also targeted the Ras Issa port north of Hodeidah.
The main power station in Haziz, south of Sanaa, was struck as well.
Humanitarian Situation Update #253 | Gaza Strip
Key Highlights
– Child Protection partners are facing severe challenges in bringing needed winter clothing kits into Gaza; only 19,000 kits have been distributed out of 220,000 procured.
– At least 369 aid workers, including 263 UNRWA staff, have been killed since October 2023, according to data received by the UN and its partners.
– Zero fuel reserves to operate electricity generators at hospitals across Gaza are placing the lives of patients and newborns at grave risk.
– The UN attempted to reach the besieged area in North Gaza 165 times between 6 October and 31 December 2024, of which 149 attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities and 16 faced impediments.
(…)
– Access to North Gaza governorate, which has been under intensified siege since 6 October 2024, continues to be largely denied by the Israeli authorities. From 6 October to 31 December 2024, the UN attempted to reach the area 165 times, of which 149 attempts were denied and 16 were allowed to proceed but faced impediments. Coordinated aid missions to areas in the Rafah governorate, where there has been an ongoing Israeli military operation since early May, have faced similar challenges. Overall, in 2024, the UN and its partners carried out 5,321 coordinated humanitarian movements across the Gaza Strip, including 3,707 in the south and 1,614 in the north. Of these, 48 per cent (North: 621, South: 1,936) were facilitated, 24 per cent (North: 398, South: 864) were denied, 19 per cent (North: 434, South: 567) were interfered with or initially agreed to but then faced impediments, and nine per cent (North: 161, South: 340) were cancelled by the organizers due to logistical and security challenges. Movements facing impediments were accomplished either partially or not at all.
Traumatic injury mortality in the Gaza Strip from Oct 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024: a capture–recapture analysis
Findings We estimated 64 260 deaths (95% CI 55 298–78 525) due to traumatic injury during the study period, suggesting the Palestinian MoH under-reported mortality by 41%. The annualised crude death rate was 39·3 per 1000 people (95% CI 35·7–49·4), representing a rate ratio of 14·0 (95% CI 12·8–17·6) compared with all-cause mortality in 2022, even when ignoring non-injury excess mortality. Women, children (aged <18 years), and older people (aged ≥65 years) accounted for 16 699 (59·1%) of the 28 257 deaths for which age and sex data were available. Interpretation Our findings show an exceptionally high mortality rate in the Gaza Strip during the period studied. These results underscore the urgent need for interventions to prevent further loss of life and illuminate important patterns in the conduct of the war.
Lancet Study: Gaza Health Ministry Undercounted Death Toll By 41%
Explaining the methodology, the study said it used “capture-recapture methods to estimate total deaths from traumatic injury in the Gaza Strip from Oct 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024. By combining three data lists—official hospital lists, an MoH survey, and social media obituaries—we provide an estimate of mortality that accounts for under-reporting.”
The study only accounts for deaths caused by violence and not indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege and the destruction of medical and other civilian infrastructure.
46,006 and counting: Israel kills father, 3 sons in latest atrocities
The death toll in Israel‘s genocidal Gaza war crossed 46,006 on Thursday after at least 70 more Palestinians were killed in relentless Israeli attacks, the enclave‘s Health Ministry said.
A ministry statement added that some 109,378 others were injured in the ongoing assault.
US, Israel Cheer as Lebanon Elects Joseph Aoun as President
Aoun’s election happened only after former Interior Minister Suleiman Frangieh, the main alternative candidate, withdrew and endorsed Aoun.
Electing a president requires a two-thirds majority of parliament, which was met after Frangieh’s endorsement gave Aoun the support of Hezbollah and Amal Movements. Many media reports see Aoun’s election as a sign of Hezbollah’s weakness, despite most Hezbollah MPs supporting him.
Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon‘s army chief turned president?
Securing 99 of the Lebanese parliament’s 128 votes, Aoun garnered widespread support across Lebanon’s political spectrum, despite initial reservations from Hezbollah and its allies.
While political statements from Aoun are rare, he recently emerged as the US and Saudi Arabia’s favoured candidate for the Lebanese presidency.
The local and international push gathered momentum following Israel’s two-month offensive in Lebanon last year, which killed over 4,000 people and displaced over a million.
Gaza death toll surpasses 45,936 as Israeli attacks intensify
The death toll from Israel‘s ongoing military aggression against the Gaza Strip has exceeded 45,936, with a significant number of casualties reported in the last 24 hours.
According to medical sources, the Israeli army has carried out six massacres targeting families, killing 51 civilians and injuring 78 others.