The death toll in Gaza has reached at least 83, including 17 children, and hundreds of people have been injured, as Israel’s aerial bombardment of the besieged territory continues. Israel is now sending troops to the Gaza border for a possible ground invasion as many Palestinians are celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. The Biden administration on Wednesday gave Israel a green light to continue its assault, and Israel has reportedly rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire, despite growing international condemnation.
Issam Adwan, Gaza project manager for We Are Not Numbers, a youth-led initiative to share Palestinian stories with the wider world, says many international observers make the mistake of viewing the latest violence in isolation. “They think this war is the only violation of human rights Israel is doing to the people of Gaza. Over the past 15 years, we have witnessed three brutal wars, and this is a fourth one,” says Adwan.
Read more at
'The Scene Is Horrific:' Gazans Trapped as Israel Escalates Bombing, Killing Dozens in the Territory | Link TV
Showing posts with label Bombing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bombing. Show all posts
5/15/21
9/16/19
Middle East - Saudi Arabia: Putin proposes Russian missile defence for Saudi after oil attack
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated following drone attacks on two major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
The pre-dawn strikes on Saturday knocked out more
than half of crude output from the world's top exporter - five percent
of the global oil supply - and cut output by 5.7 million barrels per
day.
Yemen's Houthi
rebels, who have been locked in a war with a Saudi-UAE-led coalition
since 2015, claimed responsibility for the attacks, warning Saudi Arabia
that their targets "will keep expanding".
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has promised to "confront and deal with this terrorist aggression", while US President Donald Trump hinted at possible military action after Riyadh concluded its investigation into the attacks.
Note EU-Digest: The recent Saudi and US so-called "investigations", based on how the Jamal Khashoggi murder by Saudi Arabia was handled, does not give much reasons for "optimism", that the present investigations, by Saudi-Arabia and the US, re: the bombing of the Saudi oilfields and refineries, will be handled in an impartial manner.
Read more: Putin proposes Russian missile defence for Saudi after oil attack | Saudi Arabia News | Al Jazeera
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10/5/16
Middle East: Opinion: Unbearable helplessness in Syria - by Alexander Kudascheff
As the saying goes, hope dies last. Given the clearly conflicting
interests of the forces taking part in the Syria war, no solution is on
the horizon at the moment, writes DW's editor-in-chief, Alexander
Kudascheff.
The war, the killing and the dying goes on relentlessly in Syria. It is a war that has still not bled out, even in its fifth year. This is war being waged with inconceivable cruelty, primarily at the expense of the population, which is already being held hostage by all sides. And now, the last hope of containing the war - and perhaps even ending it - through negotiations between the Americans and Russians has died. The communication lines between Moscow and Washington have broken down and the last glimmer of hope has thus been extinguished.
The failure of the talks - as one is not certain whether they can be called negotiations - was foreseeable. Negotiations are based on the capability of perceiving the interests of the other party and comparing them with one's own to see whether a deal can be struck. How were the Syria talks conducted? The Russians have one overwhelming interest: They want to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and come into play as a global force that is once again a weighty influencer in the Middle East. To Russia, any means, especially military means, justifies the end. Assad obviously wants to stay in power and is not at all interested in compromise because any compromise would herald the end of his political career. Turkey does not want a Kurdish state to be established. Iran would like to expand Shiite domination; Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, wants to prevent it. They are all against "Islamic State" (IS) whenever it suits their political or military aims.
The international power struggle will continue after the new American president has been elected. In the meantime, one cannot ignore the fact that Putin is taking swift action in Syria. However, Moscow will recall that it its military and political involvement in Afghanistan was initially successful before the Soviets were weakened and had to leave the country as losers. What will happen to Syria if Russia's and Assad's military forces are successful? Will it become a deathly silent Middle Eastern Chechnya? Or will it become a Middle Eastern Afghanistan that will descend into the chaos of everyday terror? The West must immediately decide on a containment policy but no one seems to be anywhere near such a decision. Right now, it looks like the West will have to resort to standing by helplessly and watching people get killed in Syria. Then the war will really become morally unbearable.
Read more: Opinion: Unbearable helplessness in Syria | Opinion | DW.COM | 05.10.2016
The war, the killing and the dying goes on relentlessly in Syria. It is a war that has still not bled out, even in its fifth year. This is war being waged with inconceivable cruelty, primarily at the expense of the population, which is already being held hostage by all sides. And now, the last hope of containing the war - and perhaps even ending it - through negotiations between the Americans and Russians has died. The communication lines between Moscow and Washington have broken down and the last glimmer of hope has thus been extinguished.
The failure of the talks - as one is not certain whether they can be called negotiations - was foreseeable. Negotiations are based on the capability of perceiving the interests of the other party and comparing them with one's own to see whether a deal can be struck. How were the Syria talks conducted? The Russians have one overwhelming interest: They want to keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and come into play as a global force that is once again a weighty influencer in the Middle East. To Russia, any means, especially military means, justifies the end. Assad obviously wants to stay in power and is not at all interested in compromise because any compromise would herald the end of his political career. Turkey does not want a Kurdish state to be established. Iran would like to expand Shiite domination; Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, wants to prevent it. They are all against "Islamic State" (IS) whenever it suits their political or military aims.
The international power struggle will continue after the new American president has been elected. In the meantime, one cannot ignore the fact that Putin is taking swift action in Syria. However, Moscow will recall that it its military and political involvement in Afghanistan was initially successful before the Soviets were weakened and had to leave the country as losers. What will happen to Syria if Russia's and Assad's military forces are successful? Will it become a deathly silent Middle Eastern Chechnya? Or will it become a Middle Eastern Afghanistan that will descend into the chaos of everyday terror? The West must immediately decide on a containment policy but no one seems to be anywhere near such a decision. Right now, it looks like the West will have to resort to standing by helplessly and watching people get killed in Syria. Then the war will really become morally unbearable.
Read more: Opinion: Unbearable helplessness in Syria | Opinion | DW.COM | 05.10.2016
7/16/16
Turkey coup: Chaos continues in Turkey Live updates - by Lauren Said-Moorhouse
After a night of explosions, gunfire and tanks rolling along the streets, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkey Saturday that an attempted military coup was over and the government was in charge.
At least 90 people died and 1,000 people were injured and hundreds arrested across the country.
However, the sounds of fighting were still being reported in Ankara and Istanbul after the chaotic attempt by members of the military to wrest control from Erdogan.
At least 90 people died and 1,000 people were injured and hundreds arrested across the country.
Read more: Turkey coup: Live updates - CNN.com
10/11/15
Turkey: Manhunt begins in Turkey for authors of nation’s worst-ever terrorist atrocity | euronews, world news
Turkey is reeling from its worst-ever terrorist attack, which left 95 people dead and nearly 250 injured, 48 seriously.
Read more: Manhunt begins in Turkey for authors of nation’s worst-ever terrorist atrocity | euronews, world news
Eyewitnesses say two suicide bombers attacked a peace rally held by the progressive HDP party, which supports the Kurds, but this has not been confirmed. No-one has yet claimed responsibility.
A general election looms on November 1, and this atrocity could change the course of the campaign. The prime minister went to hospitals in Ankara overwhelmed with the victims, and soon after spoke to the nation, naming his government’s main suspects.
“We will continue our investigation regarding this attack. At the moment, potential groups that can carry out such an attack are obvious: ISIL, the PKK, and the Leftist MLKP and DHKP-C,” said Ahmet Davutoglu.
The HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas had few doubts that the government was to blame for the attack, either by negligence or design, an accusation Davutoglu slammed as a “provocation”.
For his ruling AK party the HDP is the force stopping it from getting an absolute majority, and in this climate it may enable the AKP to scare voters to the polls in its favour. But for the moment all campaigning has been suspended.
A general election looms on November 1, and this atrocity could change the course of the campaign. The prime minister went to hospitals in Ankara overwhelmed with the victims, and soon after spoke to the nation, naming his government’s main suspects.
“We will continue our investigation regarding this attack. At the moment, potential groups that can carry out such an attack are obvious: ISIL, the PKK, and the Leftist MLKP and DHKP-C,” said Ahmet Davutoglu.
The HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas had few doubts that the government was to blame for the attack, either by negligence or design, an accusation Davutoglu slammed as a “provocation”.
For his ruling AK party the HDP is the force stopping it from getting an absolute majority, and in this climate it may enable the AKP to scare voters to the polls in its favour. But for the moment all campaigning has been suspended.
Read more: Manhunt begins in Turkey for authors of nation’s worst-ever terrorist atrocity | euronews, world news
5/4/15
Saudi Arabia Isolated: With Saudi Arabia Faltering in Yemen, Power in the Region Has Begun To Swing East - by Alastair Crooke
Saudi Arabia has announced the end to its campaign in Yemen, but
nevertheless air attacks against Ansar Allah and former President
Saleh-allied components of the Yemeni army still continue -- albeit on a
lesser scale. A Saudi newspaper (without any trace of irony) has
announced "mission accomplished." So what is afoot, here?
We do not know the full story, but already it is plain that a major diplomatic effort has induced Saudi Arabia to cut its immediate losses in Yemen. These immediate losses include the images of civilian bomb casualties widely broadcast in the region and the erosion of any residual support for former President Hadi in Yemen, the failure to put together the much-touted Sunni intervention force and the glaring evidence that while Saudi Arabia may have had an objective (restoration to power of the former President), it had no plan for accomplishing it.
As a consequence, Saudi Arabia has found itself isolated. While Iran, Oman and Russia have been busy working on a political initiative (while also seeking to restrain Ansar Allah on the ground), the U.S. has been quietly discouraging the Saudis from continuing the Saudi aerial campaign.
The campaign has had little impact on the Ansar Allah-Saleh military effectiveness but has made life hell for most urban Yemenis, with estimates of 1,000+ dead and thousands more injured.
The U.S. military was deeply skeptical about the Saudi air bombardment from the outset and lent targeting support mostly to reduce collateral damage caused by erratic bombing. U.S. military commanders were more than just doubtful of the merits of a land invasion; on the contrary, they (rightly) viewed Yemen as a muddy quagmire, into which Saudi Arabia was risking to plunge its boots.
Read more: With Saudi Arabia Faltering in Yemen, Power in the Region Has Begun To Swing East | Alastair Crooke
We do not know the full story, but already it is plain that a major diplomatic effort has induced Saudi Arabia to cut its immediate losses in Yemen. These immediate losses include the images of civilian bomb casualties widely broadcast in the region and the erosion of any residual support for former President Hadi in Yemen, the failure to put together the much-touted Sunni intervention force and the glaring evidence that while Saudi Arabia may have had an objective (restoration to power of the former President), it had no plan for accomplishing it.
As a consequence, Saudi Arabia has found itself isolated. While Iran, Oman and Russia have been busy working on a political initiative (while also seeking to restrain Ansar Allah on the ground), the U.S. has been quietly discouraging the Saudis from continuing the Saudi aerial campaign.
The campaign has had little impact on the Ansar Allah-Saleh military effectiveness but has made life hell for most urban Yemenis, with estimates of 1,000+ dead and thousands more injured.
The U.S. military was deeply skeptical about the Saudi air bombardment from the outset and lent targeting support mostly to reduce collateral damage caused by erratic bombing. U.S. military commanders were more than just doubtful of the merits of a land invasion; on the contrary, they (rightly) viewed Yemen as a muddy quagmire, into which Saudi Arabia was risking to plunge its boots.
Read more: With Saudi Arabia Faltering in Yemen, Power in the Region Has Begun To Swing East | Alastair Crooke
10/8/14
ISIS: Why Bombing ISIS Is Futile - by Robert Fisk
Is there a “Plan B” in Barack Obama’s brain? Or in David Cameron’s,
for that matter? I mean, we’re vaguely told that air strikes against
the ferocious “Islamic State” may go on for “a long time”. But how long
is “long”? Are we just going to go on killing Arabs and bombing and
bombing and bombing until, well, until we go on bombing? What happens if
our Kurdish and non-existent “moderate” Syrian fighters – described by
Vice-President Joe Biden last week as largely “shopkeepers” – don’t
overthrow the monstrous “Islamic State”?
Then I suppose we are going to bomb and bomb and bomb again. As a Lebanese colleague of mine asked in an article last week, what is Obama going After Alan Henning’s beheading, the gorge rises at the thought of even discussing such things. But distance sometimes creates distorting mirrors, none so more than when it involves the distance between the Middle East and Washington, London, Paris and, I suppose, Canberra. In Beirut, I’ve been surveying the Arab television and press – and it’s interesting to see the gulf that divides what the Arabs see and hear, and what the West sees and hears.
The gruesome detail is essential here to understand how Arabs have already grown used to jihadi barbarity. They have seen full video clips of the execution of Iraqis – if shot in the back of the head, they have come to realise, a victim’s blood pours from the front of his face – and they have seen video clips of Syrian soldiers not only beheaded but their heads then barbecued and carried through villages on sticks.
Understandably, Alan Henning’s murder didn’t get much coverage in the Middle East, although television did show his murder video – which Western television did not. But it didn’t make many front pages. Mostly the fighting between jihadis and Kurds at Ein al-Arab (Kobane) and the festival for the Muslim Eid – and the Haj in Saudi Arabia – dominated news coverage. In general, the Arab world was as uninterested in Henning’s murder as we have been, for example, in the car bomb that killed 50 Syrian children in Homs last week. Had they been British children, of course…
Read more: Why Bombing ISIS Is Futile | Alternet
Then I suppose we are going to bomb and bomb and bomb again. As a Lebanese colleague of mine asked in an article last week, what is Obama going After Alan Henning’s beheading, the gorge rises at the thought of even discussing such things. But distance sometimes creates distorting mirrors, none so more than when it involves the distance between the Middle East and Washington, London, Paris and, I suppose, Canberra. In Beirut, I’ve been surveying the Arab television and press – and it’s interesting to see the gulf that divides what the Arabs see and hear, and what the West sees and hears.
The gruesome detail is essential here to understand how Arabs have already grown used to jihadi barbarity. They have seen full video clips of the execution of Iraqis – if shot in the back of the head, they have come to realise, a victim’s blood pours from the front of his face – and they have seen video clips of Syrian soldiers not only beheaded but their heads then barbecued and carried through villages on sticks.
Understandably, Alan Henning’s murder didn’t get much coverage in the Middle East, although television did show his murder video – which Western television did not. But it didn’t make many front pages. Mostly the fighting between jihadis and Kurds at Ein al-Arab (Kobane) and the festival for the Muslim Eid – and the Haj in Saudi Arabia – dominated news coverage. In general, the Arab world was as uninterested in Henning’s murder as we have been, for example, in the car bomb that killed 50 Syrian children in Homs last week. Had they been British children, of course…
Read more: Why Bombing ISIS Is Futile | Alternet
9/23/14
Syria: The 7 Countries America Has Bombed Since 9/11 - by Adam Pasick
The U.S. began airstrikes
in Syria on Monday, fulfilling President Barack Obama’s vow to “degrade
and destroy” the extremist group that calls itself the Islamic State.
The Pentagon said it deployed bombers, fighters, and cruise missiles against ISIS forces within Syria, and a U.S. defense official told ABC News that “several Arab nations” are also involved in the operation.
The military operations within Syria bring the total number of countries targeted by U.S. airstrikes since September 11, 2001—either by conventional planes and missiles, or by armed drones—to seven.
In addition to Syria they include: the long-running U.S. military campaigns in Iraq (which has now been bombed by four consecutive U.S. presidential administrations, dating back to 1991) and Afghanistan; drone attacks on Islamist militant groups in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan; and NATO-led operations against ousted Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi.
Read more: The 7 Countries America Has Bombed Since 9/11 - The Atlantic
The military operations within Syria bring the total number of countries targeted by U.S. airstrikes since September 11, 2001—either by conventional planes and missiles, or by armed drones—to seven.
In addition to Syria they include: the long-running U.S. military campaigns in Iraq (which has now been bombed by four consecutive U.S. presidential administrations, dating back to 1991) and Afghanistan; drone attacks on Islamist militant groups in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan; and NATO-led operations against ousted Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi.
Read more: The 7 Countries America Has Bombed Since 9/11 - The Atlantic
9/8/13
Syria: Obama’s Syria Plan May Not Have the Votes – Will He Attack Anyway?
Suggesting an uphill fight for President Barack Obama, House members staking out positions are either opposed to or leaning against his plan for a U.S. military strike against Syria by more than a 6-1 margin, a survey by The Associated Press shows. The Senate is more evenly divided ahead of its vote next week.
Read more: Obama’s Syria Plan May Not Have the Votes – Will He Attack Anyway? | TheBlaze.com
Still, the situation is very fluid. Nearly half of the 433-member House and a third of the 100-member Senate remain undecided.
By their statements or those of aides, only 30 members of the Republican-led House support intervention or are leaning in favor of authorizing the president to use force against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government in response to a chemical weapons attack last month. Some 192 House members outright oppose U.S. involvement or are leaning against authorization, according to the AP survey.
The situation in the Democrat-controlled Senate is better for Obama but hardly conclusive ahead of a potential vote next week. The AP survey showed those who support or are leaning in favor of military action holding a slight 34-32 advantage over those opposed or leaning against it.
Read more: Obama’s Syria Plan May Not Have the Votes – Will He Attack Anyway? | TheBlaze.com
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