Interesting Articles: 2023, Early February
How many concurrent wars, Understanding Media, Russia and the Middle East, Release the Leopards and the "Three State Solution" to Palestine/Apartheid-Israel.
Published: 2023-02-04
Articles
War Fronts
[Image: the title image from the Escobar article.]
It seems that the unannounced but revealed visit to Kiev by the current CIA director Burns was to communicate a potential "solution" to the generated conflict in Ukraine. Territory would be conceded for peace. The intention is to end this conflict so that the USA can begin one with China and avoid a two front war. Some commentators are describing this as a fracture in the USA foreign policy establishment. It is not. The only question is how many concurrent wars they want to fight. The article by Escobar and report by Anzalone contain interpretation and details.
Understanding Liberal Media
At a recent gathering at St. Pancreas church in London, Jonathan Cook presented a quote from Julian Assange delivered in 2011 in which Assange refers to the "liberal media" as filling a market niche. Cook expands upon this observation to describe media in a manner which forms a modern interpretation parallel to that laid out in Herman and Chomsky's celebrated "Manufacturing Consent". After establishing his position, Cook uses it to explain why the media’s journalists should be alarmed by Assange's treatment and have been so tepid in covering it. If you are familiar with the Assange persecution and are interested in understanding the perverse nature of the media's response to it, this excellent article by Cook will assist.
Russia, Turkiye, Syria and Iran
[Image: a drone explodes of a military production facility in the ancient city of Isfahan in Iran. Source.]
Bhadrakumar weaves a narrative of two recent developments which highlight Russia's deft diplomacy in the Middle East. Russia has facilitated a dialogue between Syria (al- Assad) and Turkiye (Erdogan) to resolve the northern sector of the Syrian civil war. Russia has also been engaging with Iran on multiple fronts. Militarily, Iran has been providing technical assistance to Russia for its military drone program as used in the Ukrainian conflict. Iran is shortly to become a fully fledged member of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and potentially a member of BRICS+. The North-South trade corridor from Russia, through Kazakhstan via the Caspian Sea and then through Iran to India via pipelines, ports or rail is being developed. Energy, in which both Iran and Russia are rich, will be one of many commodities exchanged via this new trade infrastructure. The recent protests in Iran, largely incited by Kurds though backed by foreign influencers (e.g USA/Israel/NATO), has calmed. This brings both Turkiye and Iran together in recognizing that the Kurds are being used by "the west" to destabilize their governments. Against this backdrop, Iran has been invited to join the Astana Troika to resolve the conflict in northern Syria. With the USA beginning to squeeze the Iraqi economy by limiting her access to her foreign reserves, the USA is potentially further advancing the unification of a Shia alliance from Tehran, via Baghdad and Damascus to Beirut. Bhadrakumar provides additional analysis and detail.
Tombs on Tracks
[Image: A modern tank under battlefield repair. Source.]
Many independent commentators including The Duran and The New Atlas have been describing the small supply of a mixture of Leopards (German), Leclerks (French) and Abrams (USA) tanks to Ukraine as very poorly thought out largely due to training and repair problems. Scott Ritter takes this one step further by noting that without these tanks receiving integrated combined arms support they are essentially coffins on tracks. He rightfully sidesteps the political angle of these tank deliveries and purely considers the logistics and effective use, both of which seem nigh impossible for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Apartheid Part II
[Image: Abdel Rahmen al-Mozayen, Palestine, “Jenin,” 2002. Source.]
Vijay Prashad provides an update on events in Palestine/Apartheid-Israel and looks back over the last year to Operation Breaking the Wave by the IDF. He coins a rather clever phrase, the "Three State Solution". I wont spoil it for you. His writing is such a pleasure to read. Enjoy.
Sources
A Panicked Empire Tries to Make Russia an 'offer It Can’t Refuse', Pepe Escobar, Unz Review, 2023-01-30
Report: Biden Pushed Peace Plan that Recognized Russia’s Control Over 20% of Ukraine, Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar, 2023-02-03
Why the Western Media Is Afraid of Julian Assange, Jonothan Cook, Unz Review, 2024-01-30
The West sees Iran in a new way, M. K. Bhadrakumar, his website, 2023-02-02
Truth About Tanks: How NATO Lied Its Way to Disaster in Ukraine, Scott Ritter, Consortium News, 2023-01-28
Zionism’s ‘Three State Solution’, Vijay Prashad, Consortium News, 2023-02-03
Culture
Cowboy Junkies - Misguided Angel (Official Video), Cowboy Junkies, from the 1988 Trinity Session album, uploaded to youtube 2018-09-14
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