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Lebanon

What Are The Biden Administration’s Motivations In The Middle East?

Days after Israel began its attacks on Lebanon, Politico reported that White House officials had privately told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government that it would support his military push against Hezbollah. That push led to an Iranian missile attack on Israel, which Netanyahu has vowed to avenge. Once again, the region seems to be teetering on the verge of a large-scale war. Why is Biden administration supporting such actions and what does the U.S. hope to gain? Mondoweiss U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya, and a non-resident fellow with the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, about U.S. motivations in the region, Biden’s consistent support for Israel, and how the administration’s Iran policy has made things worse.

US-British Warplanes Launch Airstrikes Across Yemen

The United States and the United Kingdom launched joint airstrikes on different cities across Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, Hodeidah Dhamar, and Baidha governorates on Friday, October 4. According to Yemen’s Ansar Allah-run news network Almasirah, a series of US-UK airstrikes hit the Al-Siyanah military camp north of Sanaa, the airport and Al-Khathib areas west of Hodeidah city, several areas south of Dhamar, and Mukayras district southeast of Baidha. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for the US forces in West Asia, wrote on X on Friday: “US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted strikes on 15 Houthi targets in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen today at about 5 pm (Sanaa time).

Israel’s Genocide Day 363: Israel Admits To Military Losses

The U.S. is discussing the nature of Israel’s response to Iran’s missile strikes last Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, adding that he does not support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Biden’s remarks came a day after Iran launched a large missile attack against Israeli targets on Tuesday in response to Israel’s assassination of Hamas’s politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July, as well as the assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Hasan Nasrallah, and the Deputy Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abbas Nilforushan, according to the IRGC.

Khamenei To United States And Europe: ‘Get Lost’

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that the United States and some European nations are responsible for the turmoil in the Middle East, and that the people of the region will enjoy peaceful coexistence only after the interlopers leave. Khamenei — who has led the Islamist theocracy since 1989 — spoke to a group of scientists and scholars in Tehran on Wednesday, one day after Iran retaliated for recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian, Hezbollah, and Hamas leaders by firing around 200 missiles into Israel. “In our region, the root cause of problems, which leads to conflicts, wars, concerns and hostilities and such like, results from the presence of the same people who claim to advocate peace and tranquility in the region; that is America and some European countries,” the 85-year-old Shia cleric said, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.

Who Do You Want To Win?

A friend in England, a dweller in bucolic Somerset along with the Black Angus herds and the sheep, forwards a piece by a Times of London columnist that merits careful consideration. Matthew Syed, who has distinguished himself as a ping–pong champion, titles his commentary, “Israel–Hezbollah conflict hinges on a crude question: Who do you want to win?” Syed, who has also done well writing high-end self-help books (You Are Awesome, 2018; Dare to Be You, 2020) has posed a crude question. He is right about this, if little else. And because it is crude, an essentially unserious question, we must take it seriously.

US-Israeli Rampage in the Middle East: Barreling Towards WWIII

Israel has started a ground invasion into Lebanon with the approval of the Biden/Harris administration. This is following an intense bombing campaign by Israeli authorities against Lebanon killing hundreds of civilians and leaving thousands injured. Hezbollah, the militant group Israel claims it's targeting, has been engaged in cross border exchange with the Israeli military over the last year, primarily hitting military targets. This is a defensible military action considering they are trying to prevent a full-scale genocide in Gaza. Joining Abby Martin is Séamus Malekafzali to talk about Israel's invasion of Lebanon, the assassination of Nasrallah, and the potential for war with Iran. They are also joined by Empire Files producer Mike Prysner.

Regional War Is Heating Up In West Asia

“The UAV force of Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting a vital target in the [Tel Aviv] area in occupied Palestine with several Yaffa drones. The operation successfully achieved its objectives, as the drones reached their targets without the enemy being able to [shoot them down],” Saree said in a statement shared on social media. The Ansrallah official did not give any details about the target of the strike, which he described as being part of the “fifth phase” of Yemen's military operations in support of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Saree also called on “all Arab and Islamic peoples to [stand in support of] the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples” as the first anniversary of the 7 October Operation Al-Aqsa Flood approaches.

The Chris Hedges Report: The Looming Catastrophe In The Middle East

It has become quite rare to hear any meaningful accountability for Israel’s actions from Israeli citizens themselves. Israeli journalist Gideon Levy is an anomaly in Israel by today’s standards, as for his entire career he has challenged the apartheid and occupation of the Israeli state. On today’s episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Levy joins host Chris Hedges to discuss his book, The Killing of Gaza: Reports on a Catastrophe, and explain the spiritual destruction, both of Israel and Palestine, that the current genocide in Gaza is causing as well as the implications of new military operations in Lebanon.

Iran Hits Multiple Israeli Bases In Massive Missile Barrage

Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel late on 1 October in a massive retaliatory attack that officials in Tehran say achieved direct hits on multiple military bases across the country. “We targeted three military bases: Nevatim, which houses F-35 aircraft, Netzarim, which houses F-15 jets used in the assassination of [Hezbollah leader] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Tel Nof base near Tel Aviv with Fattah ballistic missiles,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced following the launch of as many as 400 missiles, including its first-ever use of the Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile.

The Middle East After Nasrallah

There is no doubt that leaders do matter in the life of nations and movements, no matter how much one must acknowledge the role played by the masses of ordinary, working people. The death of Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1970 changed the political landscape in the region forever and helped launch what is commonly dubbed the “Saudi era” (i.e., the domination of Saudi Arabia over the affairs of the Arab world). Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s impact on the Arab-Israeli question has been, perhaps, bigger than Nasser’s because he has been more effective — from the standpoint of the Arab struggle against Israeli aggression and occupation — in his understanding and containment of the Israeli threat towards Lebanon and Palestine.

Israel’s Genocide Day 360: Israel Says Lebanon Invasion ‘Imminent’

Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary General, Naim Qassem, delivered a televised speech on Monday stating that Hezbollah will continue to fight according to its battle plans despite the assassination of Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah last Friday, which leveled an entire residential block in Beirut’s southern Dahiya district with at least 80 “bunker buster” bombs. Qassem also said that Hezbollah was using the “bare minimum” of its fighting capabilities and rocket arsenal, denying Israeli claims that the movement’s middle and long-range missile capacity had been significantly degraded. “We are fighting according to our battle plan and in accordance with our estimation of what the battlefield requires,” Qassem said, adding that Hezbollah’s fighting forces were “ready to face any Israeli ground attack.”

Legal Experts Criticize Biden For Praising Israel’s Killing Of Nasrallah

US President Joe Biden issued a statement praising Israel for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, calling it “a measure of justice” for the victims of Hezbollah’s actions, including Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians. The assassination, carried out by Israeli airstrikes, has killed dozens of civilians in addition to Nasrallah and threatens a full-scale regional war. The US statement has sparked sharp criticism by legal experts who argue that the endorsement of extrajudicial killings undermines international law. Legal scholars and human rights advocates have expressed concern over Biden’s framing of the operation, calling it a dangerous precedent that disregards the rule of law.

US Bolsters Forces In Middle East, Issues Warning To Iran

The Pentagon on Sunday announced steps to bolster its forces in the Middle East amid Israel’s non-stop bombardment of Lebanon. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the US will reinforce its “air-support capabilities” in the coming days and said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “increased the readiness of additional US forces to deploy, elevating our preparedness to respond to various contingencies.” Ryder said Austin also ordered the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group to stay in the region. The USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group / Marine Expeditionary Unit will also continue to operate in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Milwaukee Anti-War Committee Holds Hands Off Lebanon Protest

Milwaukee, WI – On September 25, roughly 100 people gathered to demand an end to the U.S.-funded attacks on Lebanon and Palestine and an arms embargo on Israel. Protesters gathered at City Hall Square as a rally began at around 5 p.m. The rally, led by the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee and cosponsored by ten other local, national, and international organizations, had ten speakers, who connected the resistance in the Middle East to U.S. imperialism and the way it impacts us all. After the initial gathering and speeches, the group marched and chanted down Kilbourne Avenue to Juneau Park. The target of the protest was the Raytheon board member George Oliver, who lives in a condominium tower across from the park.

Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah Defeated ISIS

Israel has assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Lebanese anti-colonialist, Islamic-nationalist movement Hezbollah. Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah defended Lebanon’s sovereignty. The movement was itself born out of the resistance against Israel’s illegal invasion and military occupation of southern Lebanon in the 1980s and ‘90s. Although the US government claims Hezbollah is a so-called “terrorist” organization, only a small number of countries on Earth recognize it as such. In fact, Hezbollah’s political arm is a registered party, and has a dozen representatives in Lebanon’s democratically elected parliament.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.