Archiv: Jacob Jeremiah Sullivan / acting Caesar (de-facto ruler of the USA)


16.01.2025 - 19:48 [ Propublica.org ]

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….

16.01.2025 - 19:45 [ Common Dreams ]

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.

13.01.2025 - 12:30 [ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ]

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.

13.01.2025 - 11:49 [ Antiwar.com ]

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.

13.01.2025 - 11:47 [ NPR.org ]

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.

13.01.2025 - 11:04 [ Jacobin ]

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.

13.01.2025 - 10:57 [ Reason.com ]

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.

11.01.2025 - 15:30 [ FirstPost.com ]

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

11.01.2025 - 09:05 [ theCradle.co ]

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.

10.01.2025 - 10:25 [ Antiwar.com ]

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.

10.01.2025 - 10:20 [ Middle East Eye ]

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.

08.01.2025 - 11:20 [ israel-alma.org ]

Joseph Aoun – Will He be The Next President of Lebanon?

After the explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020, countries friendly to Lebanon diverted their aid to the military, claiming that they only rely on the army to distribute it. Therefore, all the aid, estimated at tens of millions of dollars, was directed directly to the army and was at Aoun’s disposal and under his direct management. It appears that the military establishment has effectively managed the funds and has never experienced a shortage due to corruption.

08.01.2025 - 10:31 [ Middle East Eye ]

US dangles Saudi Arabia‘s cash to push candidate for Lebanon‘s presidency

The US has told Lebanese officials that Saudi Arabia is prepared to deploy hundreds of millions of dollars to reconstruct their war-torn country if Lebanese army commander Joseph Aoun is elected president, one senior Arab official and one former senior US official told Middle East Eye.

07.01.2025 - 17:26 [ Common Dreams ]

‚Morally Bankrupt‘ Biden Blasted for $8 Billion More in Arms to Israel Amid Gaza Genocide

Human rights advocates in the United States and around the world on Monday condemned outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden for continuing to fuel Israel‘s genocidal assault on the Gaza Strip with a pending $8 billion weapons package.

Since Axoisrevealed late Friday that his administration had notified Congress of the deal, Biden has faced a fresh flood of outrage, with critics calling the president „morally bankrupt“ and his decision to keep arming Israel „willful madness.“

05.01.2025 - 13:35 [ Common Dreams ]

Biden Greenlights ‚Racist‘ and ‚Sociopathic‘ $8B Arms Sale to Israel

The administration of US President Joe Biden announced on Saturday an arms sale to Israel valued at $8 billion, just ahead of President-elect Donald Trump‘s return to the White House.

Biden has repeatedly rejected calls to suspend military backing for Israel because of the number of civilians killed during the war in Gaza. Israel has killed more than 45,000 people in Gaza, primarily women and children.

04.01.2025 - 13:59 [ Axios ]

Scoop: Biden notifies Congress of $8 billion arms sale to Israel

„The President has made clear Israel has a right to defend its citizens, consistent with international law and international humanitarian law, and to deter aggression from Iran and its proxy organizations. We will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel‘s defense,“ a U.S. official said.

04.01.2025 - 13:51 [ Middle East Eye ]

Live: Israel kills dozens of Palestinians since dawn

Meanwhile, the US is preparing an $8bn arms package for Israel, including heavy bombs

25.12.2024 - 15:25 [ Daily News Egypt ]

Syria’s Shifting Sands: A New Middle East Order

The final outcome in Syria appears stark: Assad’s regime has fallen, and the Syrian army has been entirely dismantled—an unprecedented event even compared to the 1967 war. Israel now firmly controls the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. Turkish forces have seized more than 13 cities, cementing their influence. The United States has solidified its presence in oil-rich regions while extending legal protection to the Kurds and the SDF.

21.12.2024 - 07:14 [ TKP.at ]

Gaza-Deal zwischen Saudis und Netanjahu?

„Als Gegenleistung für ihre Unterstützung und ihr Geld, so sagte mir der Israeli, würden die Vereinigten Staaten der saudischen Führung ein erweitertes Verteidigungsabkommen anbieten, das Saudi-Arabien in ihren nuklearen Schutzschirm einbeziehen würde – für den Fall, dass der Iran, Israels letzter verbliebener Feind, in den Besitz einer Atombombe gelangen sollte. “
(…)
„Der Israeli sagte mir, dass das saudische Paket einen zusätzlichen Anreiz enthält: Die Saudis würden wegschauen, wenn die Israelis Bombenangriffe durchführen, einschließlich der Bombardierung militärischer Ziele im zerrissenen Syrien, und würden Israel Zugang zu einem Flugplatz innerhalb der saudischen Grenzen gewähren. Auf diese Weise könnten israelische Bomben, die zumeist von den Vereinigten Staaten geliefert werden, innerhalb von Minuten, nicht Stunden, auf wichtige iranische Ziele abgefeuert werden.“

21.12.2024 - 01:56 [ New York Times ]

Israel Found the Hamas Money Machine Years Ago. Nobody Turned It Off.

(December 16, 2023)

Israeli leaders believed that Hamas was more interested in governing than fighting. By the time the agents discovered the ledgers in 2018, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was encouraging the government of Qatar to deliver millions of dollars to the Gaza Strip. He gambled that the money would buy stability and peace.

Mr. Levy recalled briefing Mr. Netanyahu personally in 2015 about the Hamas portfolio.

21.12.2024 - 00:37 [ Seymour Hersh ]

THE NEW CEASEFIRE EQUATION: Saudi Arabia’s entry into talks between Israel and Hamas may change Gaza’s future

In return for its support and money, the Israeli told me, the Saudi leadership would be offered an expanded defense treaty by the United States that would include Saudi Arabia in its nuclear umbrella—its zone of protection—in case Iran, Israel’s last standing enemy, were to acquire a nuclear bomb.
(…)
There is an added inducement in the Saudi package, the Israeli told me: the Saudis would look the other way as the Israelis conduct bombing raids, including bombing of military targets inside fractured Syria, and would give Israel access to an airfield within Saudi borders. This would bring Israeli bombs, most supplied by the United States, within minutes, and not hours, of key Iranian targets.

21.12.2024 - 00:12 [ Middle East Eye ]

Israel, Saudi Arabia closer to normalisation deal: Report

(December 18, 2024)

Israel and Saudi Arabia have reached a breakthrough in talks around normalising relations, Haaretz reported on Tuesday, adding that the normalisation could be related to an elusive ceasefire deal that would bring about an end to Israel‘s war on Gaza.

Sources familiar with the negotiations told Haaretz that rather than Israel agreeing to Saudi Arabia‘s demand for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the two sides agreed that Israel would give a vague commitment on a „path towards Palestinian statehood“.

08.12.2024 - 02:00 [ Antiwar.com ]

Jake Sullivan Says US Won’t ‘Cry’ About the Pressure Syria Is Facing from Al-Qaeda-Linked Fighters

(December 2, 2024)

US officials have not been shy in the past about their preference for HTS and its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, over other factions in Syria. James Jeffrey, an American diplomat who served as a special envoy to Syria under the Trump administration from 2018-2020, said in a 2021 interview that HTS was “an asset” to the US’s strategy in Idlib, a northwestern Syrian province that’s been under HTS control since 2017.

07.12.2024 - 16:30 [ Ben Norton / Geopoliticaleconomy.com ]

Al-Qaeda-linked ‘rebels’ in Syria say they ‘love Israel’. USA gave them billions in weapons & support

The United States spent billions over years arming and training militants in Syria, many linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS.

Current US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted back in 2012 that “AQ [Al-Qaeda] is on our side in Syria”.

30.11.2024 - 03:56 [ Paul Craig Roberts ]

Will Washington Destroy the World?

(November 25, 2024)

Americans who think themselves informed because they watch CNN, read the NY Times, and listen to NPR, regard my warnings about nuclear war as disinformation, even hysteria. They say that US government officials, such as Secretary of State Blinken and National Security advisor Jake Sullivan, are not stupid or insane.

Dear readers, you tell me how you can give permission for the US and NATO to fire missiles into Russia, especially when the Russian President has clearly stated it means the US and NATO are at war with Russia, and not be stupid and insane.

28.11.2024 - 12:25 [ Associated Press ]

White House pressing Ukraine to draft 18-year-olds so it has enough troops to battle Russia

(November 28, 2024)

A senior Biden administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private consultations, said Wednesday that the outgoing Democratic administration wants Ukraine to lower the mobilization age to 18 from the current age of 25 to expand the pool of fighting-age men available to help a badly outnumbered Ukraine in its nearly three-year-old war with Russia.

The official said “the pure math” of Ukraine’s situation now is that it needs more troops in the fight

28.11.2024 - 12:21 [ Antiwar.com ]

White House Pressing Ukraine To Draft 18-Year-Olds for War

(November 27, 2024)

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently hinted that the US was pressuring Ukraine to expand conscription, saying Ukraine’s biggest problem in the war was the lack of manpower.

“Our view has been that there’s not one weapon system that makes a difference in this battle. It’s about manpower, and Ukraine needs to do more, in our view, to firm up its lines in terms of the number of forces it has on the front lines,” Sullivan said on PBS News Hour last week.

20.11.2024 - 17:51 [ ORF.at ]

USA blockieren erneut Resolution für Waffenruhe in Gaza

Der Text war von allen zehn nicht ständigen Mitgliedern des mächtigsten Gremiums der Vereinten Nationen eingereicht worden. Nach wochenlangen Verhandlungen und Änderungen auf Wunsch des Israel-Verbündeten USA blieb am Ende Uneinigkeit vor allem über eine Formulierung: Im Entwurf hieß es, der Sicherheitsrat „verlangt eine sofortige, bedingungslose und dauerhafte Waffenruhe, die von allen Parteien zu respektieren ist; bekräftigt ferner seine Forderung nach der sofortigen und bedingungslosen Freilassung aller Geiseln“.

20.11.2024 - 17:39 [ Middle East Eye ]

US vetoes another UN Security Council resolution seeking Gaza ceasefire

Unlike several previous resolutions regarding a ceasefire in Gaza, Wednesday‘s measure was brought forward by all 10 elected members of the Security Council.

20.11.2024 - 17:22 [ New York Times ]

U.S. Vetoes Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution at U.N. Security Council

The veto was the fourth time the United States blocked an effort by the Council to demand a cease-fire since the war began over a year ago when Hamas attacked Israel and took more than 200 people hostage. In the months since, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the local health authorities.

13.11.2024 - 18:41 [ United Nations ]

Sudan: Allies of warring generals ‘enabling the slaughter,’ Security Council hears

Ms. DiCarlo condemned not only the RSF attacks but also the indiscriminate airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in civilian-populated areas such as the capital Khartoum and El Fasher, a major city in North Darfur hosting thousands of internally displaced which has been besieged for months by the RSF.

“Both warring parties bear responsibility for this violence,” she stressed.

She added that as the rainy season nears its end, both sides continue to escalate their military operations, recruit new fighters and intensify their attacks, fuelled by “considerable” external support and a steady flow of arms.

“To put it bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan. This is unconscionable, it is illegal, and it must end.”

(…)

The situation in Sudan has been in a freefall since the war erupted last April.

It is now the world’s worst displacement crisis, with more than 11 million people driven from their homes – nearly three million among them into neighbouring countries as refugees, according to the UN relief coordinating office, OCHA.

The war has also unleashed a severe hunger crisis, affecting millions.

09.11.2024 - 15:49 [ CNN ]

Biden administration to allow American military contractors to deploy to Ukraine for first time since Russia’s invasion

(November 8, 2024)

The Biden administration has lifted a de facto ban on American military contractors deploying to Ukraine to help the country’s military maintain and repair US-provided weapons systems, particularly F16 fighter jets and Patriot air defense systems, an official with direct knowledge of the plan told CNN.
(,,,)
It is not clear whether Donald Trump will keep the policy in place when he takes office in January. Trump has said he hopes to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “within 24 hours” of returning to power.

06.11.2024 - 09:32 [ i24news.tv ]

Protests break out in Israel after Netanyahu fires Gallant

The Biden administration was caught off-guard by the decision on Election Day, The Times of Israel cited a U.S. source. “Minister Gallant has been an important partner on all matters related to the defense of Israel. As close partners, we will continue to work collaboratively with Israel’s next minister of defense,” the NSC spokesperson told TOI.

27.10.2024 - 11:26 [ Shafaq.com ]

Iran says Israel used US-controlled airspace in Iraq for strikes, warns of retaliation

In a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, the Iranian Armed Forces Communications Center said, “We inform the brave and honorable Iranian people that hostile Zionist aircraft, in a blatant violation of international law, used airspace provided by the American terrorist army in Iraq early this morning to launch multiple long-range, air-launched missiles from 100 kilometers away from the Iranian border.” The statement was followed by calls to Iran’s media and experts to rely solely on official sources amid circulating rumors.

The missiles, reportedly fitted with warheads one-fifth the size of Iranian ballistic warheads, targeted radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan, and areas near Tehran, the statement noted.

“Thanks to timely intervention by Iran’s air defense, the damage was limited; several radar systems sustained minor damage, with some already repaired and others undergoing restoration.”

24.10.2024 - 08:57 [ B’Tselem ]

The world must stop the ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza

For a year now, since the war began, the international community has shown utter impotence to stop the indiscriminate attack on civilians in the Gaza Strip. Now, when it is clearer than ever that Israel intends to forcibly displace northern Gaza’s residents by committing some of the gravest crimes under the laws of war, the world’s nations must take action.

Without immediate, decisive action from the international community, without using every tool available – political, legal, economic – the mass killings in the northern Gaza Strip will continue and the suffering of its besieged civilians will grow. All international bodies and institutions must act now to compel Israel to stop the war and end the carnage.

23.10.2024 - 11:35 [ Middle East Monitor ]

Mercenary firm to force Palestinians into biometric screenings in Gaza control zones, in potential US, Israel plan

(October 22, 2024)

Israel and the United States are reportedly considering a joint plan to deploy a private American-Israeli security firm to administer Gaza by subjecting Palestinians to biometric screenings with the threat of withholding humanitarian aid.

According to media reports, based on an initial report by Israeli journalist, Shlomi Eldar, on Monday this week, the US and Israel are planning to run a pilot programme – starting with the Al-Atatra village in north-western Gaza – involving 1,000 private mercenaries who would create “gated communities” within the Strip where they will control the inhabitants and their movements through the use of biometrics.

23.10.2024 - 11:34 [ JNS.org ]

Report: Israel’s postwar Gaza strategy to create ‘bubbles’ of control

(July 2, 2024)

The experimental model is slated to be implemented soon in the northern Gaza neighborhoods of Al-Atatra, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia, according to the Financial Times, citing six sources familiar with the plan.

21.10.2024 - 21:22 [ Caitlin Johnstone ]

We Really Are The Bad Guys And This Really Is The Evil Empire

It’s like yes asshole, it’s very nice to be living in the imperial core that’s receiving the benefits of mass murder and imperialist extraction, and it’s less nice to live in the countries where the murder and extraction is happening. That’s the entire fucking point here.

It can be nice to live in the western world, but the western world is not nice. Ours is the most savage and thuggish civilization on this planet, and it’s not even close.

The Democratic Party really does look ready to lose yet another easily winnable election by running yet another awful, murderous candidate with awful, murderous policies, and then once again blame their loss on everyone in America who is a better person than they are.

21.10.2024 - 20:39 [ Jonathan Cook / Middle East Eye ]

The West‘s support for Israel‘s genocide is destroying the world as we know it

The old world is dying once again, but the US-Israel axis is wrong to suggest it is slaying monsters. It is the monster

21.10.2024 - 11:55 [ breakingthenews.net ]

Tehran warns IAEA about Israel‘s nuclear site threats

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday at a press conference that Tehran warned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Israel‘s threats of potentially striking the country‘s nuclear infrastructure.

21.10.2024 - 11:50 [ Middle East Eye ]

THAAD anti-missile system ‚in place‘ in Israel, US says

Austin declined to say whether the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD was operational.

21.10.2024 - 10:45 [ United Nations ]

Israeli army ‘deliberately demolished’ watchtower, fence at UN peacekeeping site in southern Lebanon

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said that an Israeli army bulldozer demolished an observation tower and the perimeter fence of a UN position earlier on Sunday in Marwahin, in the southern part of the country.

19.10.2024 - 23:18 [ New York Times ]

U.S. ‘Fusion Cells’ Assist in Israel’s Hunt for Hamas Leaders

Days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Pentagon quietly dispatched several dozen commandos to Israel to help advise on hostage recovery efforts, U.S. officials said.

Those troops from the Joint Special Operations Command were quickly joined by a group of intelligence officers, some working with the commandos in Israel and others back at the C.I.A. headquarters in Langley, Va.

19.10.2024 - 08:21 [ Common Dreams ]

Dems Are Afraid Gaza Will Cost Them the Election. They‘re Not Afraid Enough.

The ‘Gaza Effect’ may be much larger than anyone expects. Unless they change course, the Democrats are much likelier to lose in November than most people seem to realize.

It should be self-evident that genocide is bad because it’s genocide, but apparently it isn’t—at least, not to everyone.