Tag: israel

Trump says “I don’t care. America comes first.”as Syria implodes

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 12.7.2024

It’s a scary thought that Donald Trump will hold the fate of the planet in his hands, again.

Donald Trump’s the ultimate transactional guy. His understanding of global events only goes so far as his bank account. If there’s nothing in it for him his attitude is “I don’t care.”

If this were an episode of The Apprentice, Trump would be telling Syrian strongman Bashar Al Assad, “You’re fired!!!” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad

I guess Trump never wanted to built a resort or casino in Damascus.

Trump may mouth the words “America First.” The reality In Trump’s world is, “Me, First.”

Excerpted from Associated Press 12.7.2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. military should stay out of the fast-escalating conflict in Syria, where a dramatic rebel offensive reached the capital and threatened the rule of Syria’s Russian- and Iranian-allied president. “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump declared on social media.

Trump’s comments on the dramatic rebel push were his first since Syrian rebels launched their advance late last month. They came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.

In his post, Trump said Bashar Al Assad did not deserve U.S. support to stay in power.

As world leaders watched the stunning rebel advance, with its potential to alter the balance of power in the Middle East, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser separately stressed that the Biden administration had no intention of intervening.

Trump says US should stay out of fighting in Syria as opposition forces occupy Damascus and Bashar Al Assad flees the country

“The United States is not going to … militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war,” Jake Sullivan told an audience in California.

Sullivan said the U.S. would keep acting as necessary to keep the Islamic State — a violently anti-Western extremist group not known to be involved in the offensive but with sleeper cells in Syria’s deserts — from exploiting openings presented by the fighting.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-syria-biden-administration-rebels-assad-72015f143aa6b40bb62c09724c71e34f

Iconic singer Umm Kulthum

Will Germany arrest Bibi? Indicted Netanyahu in cross-hairs of ICC.

SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 11.24.2024

Benjamin Netanyahu has been indicted by the international war crimes tribunal. What will Germany do if The Israeli Prime Minister sets foot in Germany?

The German government is one of 124 countries who are members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Germany was perpetrator of the Holocaust which saw the extermination of six million, mostly Jews, during the Nazi reign of terror (1933-1945), Germany is in a tough position.

Since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, which resulted in the deaths 1200 people, Netanyahu has led the ferocious reprisal against the people of Gaza. Nearly 50,000 people have been killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Supplied with American weapons.

There is no doubt unrepentant and compromising Netanyahu must be held accountable.

What will Germany do to hold the accused leader of the Jewish state liable for his war crimes?

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 11.22.2024

The German minority government made up of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens would definitely have preferred to avoid the issue, even if officials should have seen it coming a long time ago: The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The court said it had found sufficient evidence that both were complicit in crimes against humanity and war crimes as part of Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza. The military campaign began after Gaza-based group Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. An arrest warrant was also issued for Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif with the same charges, even though Israel says it killed Deif in July.

Germany is regarded as one of the biggest supporters of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which began its activities in July 2002 and is supported by 124  states. However, it does not include globally important states such as the US or Russia.

What is important in the current case is that the court has no means of enforcing the arrest warrants itself. Member states — including Germany — are formally obliged to take wanted persons into custody should they cross their borders. 

https://www.dw.com/en/would-benjamin-netanyahu-be-arrested-in-germany/a-70863500