theduran--2020-05-01--The Hunger Riots in Lebanon served with a Molotov Cocktail

Hundreds of Lebanese demonstrators took to the streets with a vengeance in what they are calling ‘ The Hunger Riots ’ .
They paused their protests in March because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 crisis , but once the spread of the virus slowed to less than 10 new reported cases per day they have resumed .
The angry protesters torched and vandalized banks across the country , as they vented their frustration over the once stable Lebanese lira losing 50 % of its value within six months , which caused rapid inflation .
The banks responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to withdraw their funds .
The protestors are reacting to a combination of hunger and their belief that their money is being stolen .
“ The problem is that you ’ re having a combined crisis , between the essential economic crisis and the Covid-19 crisis , ” said Social Affairs Minister Ramzi Musharrafieh .
Before the Covid-19 outbreak , the World Bank projected that 45 % of people in Lebanon would be below the poverty line in 2020 .
Now , the government believes that up to 75 % of people need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most violent protests .
On April 28 Fouaz al-Semaan died from being shot by the Lebanese Army , which expressed regret at the killing but without accepting responsibility .
After the emotion-charged burial , protestors began setting banks on fire and clashes ran through the night as soldiers gave chase , which resulted in dozens of arrests .
Mira Minkara , of Tripoli , said , “ It ’ s not normal pain .
It ’ s the pain of when you ’ re hungry , you ’ re angry and you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay rent anymore and you can ’ t eat.
” The central bank in Sidon was attacked with at least six Molotov cocktails , while banks in Beirut and Nabatieh were also torched .
Hassan Diab became Prime Minister on January 21 , 2020 .
Diab is a career academic who had served as Lebanese Minister of Education from 2011 to 2014 .
At the time of his appointment , he had a low public profile and was seen as an independent .
“ It is normal for the people to take to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as they did in the October 17 uprising , especially after they witnessed the presence of political attempts to prevent the government from opening the corruption files , ” Diab said during a cabinet session on April 28 .
“ As I said before , tampering with security stability is prohibited and there should be accountability against these violators and the state won ’ t stand idly by , ” he added .
Lebanon ’ s Energy Minister , Raymond Ghajar , delivered bad news on April 27 : the exploration of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commercially-viable amount of gas .
The 2019 budget was partially based on the supposed , but unproven energy resources .
Lebanese government officials have imagined the natural gas reserves as the savior of the struggling economy .
In 2017 , an international energy consortium including French , Italian , and Russian firms were awarded contracts to drill in “ block 4 ” , as well as southern “ block 9 ” .
If and when a discovery is made , it would take seven to nine years to extract the hydrocarbons from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reach the treasury .
Lebanon has the third-highest debt burden in the world compared to the size of its economy , with $ 90 billion of debt .
It defaulted on a $ 1.2 billion Eurobond in March and is trying to restructure its debt .
Since the currency depreciated by more than 50 percent , shops have closed and thousands have lost their jobs .
Human Rights Watch warned that the Lebanese are facing hunger .
The government has been criticized for repeatedly delaying aid distribution to the needy due to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruling establishment has always depended on money coming in from abroad to patch up their failing finances , instead of structural reforms and cracking down on corruption which has become part of the government ’ s culture .
Their draft rescue plan calls for an infusion of $ 10 to $ 15 billion from oil-rich Gulf monarchies , who are always the honored guests at donor conferences .
In 2019 the banking sector began limiting withdrawals from customer accounts , and later completely shut the banks , depriving customers of access to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hurts small investors , while the economic elite and government officials have unfair access to funds .
Prime Minister Diab announced that $ 5.7 billion was transferred out of Lebanon ’ s banks in January and February 2020 .
Diab has been critical of the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh of the Banque du Liban and has called for an audit .
On April 29 Salameh gave a televised statement , in which he blamed ‘ someone ’ for a smear campaign against the central bank based on misinformation .
He claimed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ billion in the budget , and there are no secret spending decisions at the bank .
It began on October 17 , 2019 , when the communications ministry announced a new tax on the phone app “ Whatsapp ” .
Protesters then spray-painted graffiti to a cement wall .
“ Down with the rule of the mafia ” was painted next to “ revolution ” and the word “ thieves ” was a reoccurring accusation hurled at government officials by hundreds of thousands protesting in the streets of Lebanon from North to South @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government of experts , not political parties , to run the country .
The government had failed for years to provide free education for children , which has led to generations of the uneducated , unskilled and unemployed .
The government has not provided water , electricity , or garbage services consistently , with sporadic cut-offs , and piled refuse in a country that is supposed to be a tourist attraction .
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is accused of ‘ misplacing ’ $ 11 billion during his term from 2005-2006 , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ .
Lebanon is a sectarian run government , with some democratic aspects .
The President must be Maronite Catholic , the Prime Minister must be Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the Parliament must be a Shia Muslim .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
Hundreds of Lebanese demonstrators took to the streets with a vengeance in what they are calling ‘The Hunger Riots’. They paused their protests in March because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 crisis, but once the spread of the virus slowed to less than 10 new reported cases per day they have resumed.
The angry protesters torched and vandalized banks across the country, as they vented their frustration over the once stable Lebanese lira losing 50% of its value within six months, which caused rapid inflation. The banks responded by shutting and refusing to allow customers to withdraw their funds. The protestors are reacting to a combination of hunger and their belief that their money is being stolen.
“The problem is that you’re having a combined crisis, between the essential economic crisis and the Covid-19 crisis,” said Social Affairs Minister Ramzi Musharrafieh. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, the World Bank projected that 45% of people in Lebanon would be below the poverty line in 2020. Now, the government believes that up to 75% of people need aid.
Tripoli saw the largest and most violent protests. On April 28 Fouaz al-Semaan died from being shot by the Lebanese Army, which expressed regret at the killing but without accepting responsibility. After the emotion-charged burial, protestors began setting banks on fire and clashes ran through the night as soldiers gave chase, which resulted in dozens of arrests.
Mira Minkara, of Tripoli, said, “It’s not normal pain. It’s the pain of when you’re hungry, you’re angry and you’re sad that you can’t pay rent anymore and you can’t eat.”
The central bank in Sidon was attacked with at least six Molotov cocktails, while banks in Beirut and Nabatieh were also torched.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab
Hassan Diab became Prime Minister on January 21, 2020. Diab is a career academic who had served as Lebanese Minister of Education from 2011 to 2014. At the time of his appointment, he had a low public profile and was seen as an independent.
“It is normal for the people to take to the streets and explore their anger anew, as they did in the October 17 uprising, especially after they witnessed the presence of political attempts to prevent the government from opening the corruption files,” Diab said during a cabinet session on April 28. “As I said before, tampering with security stability is prohibited and there should be accountability against these violators and the state won’t stand idly by,” he added.
Energy resources disappointment
Lebanon’s Energy Minister, Raymond Ghajar, delivered bad news on April 27: the exploration of “block 4” off-shore found no commercially-viable amount of gas. The 2019 budget was partially based on the supposed, but unproven energy resources. Lebanese government officials have imagined the natural gas reserves as the savior of the struggling economy.
In 2017, an international energy consortium including French, Italian, and Russian firms were awarded contracts to drill in “block 4”, as well as southern “block 9”. If and when a discovery is made, it would take seven to nine years to extract the hydrocarbons from the seafloor, and revenues would take longer to reach the treasury.
Economic collapse
Lebanon has the third-highest debt burden in the world compared to the size of its economy, with $90 billion of debt. It defaulted on a $1.2 billion Eurobond in March and is trying to restructure its debt. Since the currency depreciated by more than 50 percent, shops have closed and thousands have lost their jobs. Human Rights Watch warned that the Lebanese are facing hunger. The government has been criticized for repeatedly delaying aid distribution to the needy due to crass political maneuvers.
Lebanon’s ruling establishment has always depended on money coming in from abroad to patch up their failing finances, instead of structural reforms and cracking down on corruption which has become part of the government’s culture. Their draft rescue plan calls for an infusion of $10 to $15 billion from oil-rich Gulf monarchies, who are always the honored guests at donor conferences.
In 2019 the banking sector began limiting withdrawals from customer accounts, and later completely shut the banks, depriving customers of access to their money. Most Lebanese believe the situation hurts small investors, while the economic elite and government officials have unfair access to funds.
Prime Minister Diab announced that $5.7 billion was transferred out of Lebanon’s banks in January and February 2020. Diab has been critical of the Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh of the Banque du Liban and has called for an audit.
On April 29 Salameh gave a televised statement, in which he blamed ‘someone’ for a smear campaign against the central bank based on misinformation. He claimed the bank’s liquidity exceeds $20 billion in the budget, and there are no secret spending decisions at the bank.
The crisis begins
It began on October 17, 2019, when the communications ministry announced a new tax on the phone app “Whatsapp”. Protesters then spray-painted graffiti to a cement wall. “Down with the rule of the mafia” was painted next to “revolution” and the word “thieves” was a reoccurring accusation hurled at government officials by hundreds of thousands protesting in the streets of Lebanon from North to South.
They began asking for an interim government of experts, not political parties, to run the country. The government had failed for years to provide free education for children, which has led to generations of the uneducated, unskilled and unemployed. The government has not provided water, electricity, or garbage services consistently, with sporadic cut-offs, and piled refuse in a country that is supposed to be a tourist attraction.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora is accused of ‘misplacing’ $11 billion during his term from 2005-2006, which he tried to explain as ‘expenses’.
Lebanon is a sectarian run government, with some democratic aspects. The President must be Maronite Catholic, the Prime Minister must be Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the Parliament must be a Shia Muslim.
Steven Sahiounie is an award-winning journalist
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theduran--2020-05-01--JESSICA and JESSICA — Dumb And Dumber

JESSICA and JESSICA — Dumb And Dumber

Or perhaps that should be nasty and nastier .
If you haven ’ t heard of Jessica Valenti , she is the attractive woman photographed above .
She is thirteen years older now , but at the age of 41 she is still a looker ; objectively she is at least 8 out of 10 on looks alone .
Sadly , that is where her attractiveness ends .
The other woman is apparently quite a bit younger , but even without the tattoos most people of either sex would rather meet Jessica Valenti in a dark alley than Jessica Taylor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Her PhD is in psychology ; Jessica Valenti has a masters degree in gender studies .
The latter is by definition worthless ; the former begs one to ask exactly what kind of psychology is being taught in our universities nowadays .
Both women have new books out .
Jessica Valenti ’ s was discussed here recently .
At the time of writing , it has 8 ratings on the Amazon website , all 5 out of 5 .
Clearly all the reviewers are personal friends and/or fellow travellers .
Jessica Taylor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Women Are Blamed For Everything .
According to the Guardian , no sooner had it been published than she was deluged with “ misogynistic abuse ” .
As might be expected , Jessica Taylor ’ s definition of misogynistic abuse is a great deal more liberal than most people ’ s .
Simply pointing out that women are not blamed for everything and indeed are often excused on account of their sex , counts as misogyny for her .
For example , Cyntoia Brown murdered a man as he lay sleeping , shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then robbing his home and stealing his truck .
But Brown claimed to have been a victim of sex trafficking , so that makes it all right .
The former Virginia Roberts travelled to London with Jeffrey Epstein when she drank champagne with celebrities in an exclusive nightclub before allegedly having sex with Prince Andrew .
She too is still being touted as a victim of sex trafficking , even though by her own admission she recruited underage girls for Epstein and was paid handsomely for the privilege .
You see , women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one of the immutable laws of feminism .
Jessica Valenti ’ s latest toxic screeds include The Importance of Believing Women — Even When It ’ s Politically Inconvenient .
She is alluding in particular to the allegations made by Tara Reade against Joe Biden .
Her main concern is that most of her fellow feminists have exposed their hypocrisy by failing to denounce Biden the same way they trashed the hapless Brett Kavanaugh .
After all , a woman has “ credibly ” accused Biden , so she must be telling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Reade ’ s recent allegations have been corroborated by a 1993 phone call her mother made to a Larry King programme .
No , they have not .
Reade worked for Biden but was let go , ostensibly after complaining about sexual harassment .
Biden was a mere 51 in 1993 , and wasn ’ t senile as he clearly is now .
He was a powerful man , and contrary to the claim that powerful men have nothing better to do that hunt skirt day in day out , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ woman .
The Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky case – let us not dignify it with the word affair – is a classic example .
Lewinsky was obsessed with Clinton , and he took advantage of her , far from the first time he had done so with a female admirer .
Unlike some of his other admirers , Monica didn ’ t become a scorned woman when it was over .
It is quite likely that a young Tara Reade lusted after Biden in similar fashion , and was let go because of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Valenti have poured cold water on Reade ’ s claims , and others have pointed out that like all the women who have accused Donald Trump she is either seeking attention or away with the fairies .
Actually , she is both .
While Valenti sees a pattern of powerful men preying on powerless women , what she is really seeing is quite the opposite , namely power groupies lusting after a certain type of man .
These women are dangerous , and wise men realise it .
Powerful people of both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outrageous allegations ; powerful women are often accused of sleeping their way to the top , something that is undoubtedly true of Kamala Harris , but not of Elizabeth Warren who lied her way to the top .
Once more it needs to be pointed out that when the accuser is a reasonably intelligent , educated woman , nothing but a contemporaneous allegation should be taken seriously , and if the allegation is extremely serious , it should be accompanied by a police report .
Believing women like Tara Reade or giving any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two Jessicas is a recipe for future witch-hunts , and not only of Republicans .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Or perhaps that should be nasty and nastier. If you haven’t heard of Jessica Valenti, she is the attractive woman photographed above. She is thirteen years older now, but at the age of 41 she is still a looker; objectively she is at least 8 out of 10 on looks alone. Sadly, that is where her attractiveness ends.
The other woman is apparently quite a bit younger, but even without the tattoos most people of either sex would rather meet Jessica Valenti in a dark alley than Jessica Taylor, who styles herself Dr Jessica Taylor. Her PhD is in psychology; Jessica Valenti has a masters degree in gender studies. The latter is by definition worthless; the former begs one to ask exactly what kind of psychology is being taught in our universities nowadays.
Both women have new books out. Jessica Valenti’s was discussed here recently. At the time of writing, it has 8 ratings on the Amazon website, all 5 out of 5. Clearly all the reviewers are personal friends and/or fellow travellers.
Jessica Taylor’s new book is called Why Women Are Blamed For Everything. According to the Guardian, no sooner had it been published than she was deluged with “misogynistic abuse”. As might be expected, Jessica Taylor’s definition of misogynistic abuse is a great deal more liberal than most people’s. Simply pointing out that women are not blamed for everything and indeed are often excused on account of their sex, counts as misogyny for her. For example, Cyntoia Brown murdered a man as he lay sleeping, shooting him in the back of the head then robbing his home and stealing his truck. But Brown claimed to have been a victim of sex trafficking, so that makes it all right.
The former Virginia Roberts travelled to London with Jeffrey Epstein when she drank champagne with celebrities in an exclusive nightclub before allegedly having sex with Prince Andrew. She too is still being touted as a victim of sex trafficking, even though by her own admission she recruited underage girls for Epstein and was paid handsomely for the privilege. You see, women have no agency for their bad acts, one of the immutable laws of feminism.
Jessica Valenti’s latest toxic screeds include The Importance of Believing Women — Even When It’s Politically Inconvenient. She is alluding in particular to the allegations made by Tara Reade against Joe Biden. Her main concern is that most of her fellow feminists have exposed their hypocrisy by failing to denounce Biden the same way they trashed the hapless Brett Kavanaugh. After all, a woman has “credibly” accused Biden, so she must be telling the truth.
There have been claims that Reade’s recent allegations have been corroborated by a 1993 phone call her mother made to a Larry King programme. No, they have not. Reade worked for Biden but was let go, ostensibly after complaining about sexual harassment. Biden was a mere 51 in 1993, and wasn’t senile as he clearly is now. He was a powerful man, and contrary to the claim that powerful men have nothing better to do that hunt skirt day in day out, they are a magnet for a certain type of woman. The Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky case – let us not dignify it with the word affair – is a classic example. Lewinsky was obsessed with Clinton, and he took advantage of her, far from the first time he had done so with a female admirer. Unlike some of his other admirers, Monica didn’t become a scorned woman when it was over. It is quite likely that a young Tara Reade lusted after Biden in similar fashion, and was let go because of this. Two contributors to the same website as Valenti have poured cold water on Reade’s claims, and others have pointed out that like all the women who have accused Donald Trump she is either seeking attention or away with the fairies. Actually, she is both.
While Valenti sees a pattern of powerful men preying on powerless women, what she is really seeing is quite the opposite, namely power groupies lusting after a certain type of man. These women are dangerous, and wise men realise it. Powerful people of both sexes are sitting ducks for the most outrageous allegations; powerful women are often accused of sleeping their way to the top, something that is undoubtedly true of Kamala Harris, but not of Elizabeth Warren who lied her way to the top.
Once more it needs to be pointed out that when the accuser is a reasonably intelligent, educated woman, nothing but a contemporaneous allegation should be taken seriously, and if the allegation is extremely serious, it should be accompanied by a police report.
Believing women like Tara Reade or giving any credence at all to the likes of the two Jessicas is a recipe for future witch-hunts, and not only of Republicans.
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theduran--2020-05-01--OPCW’s Own Scientists Say OPCW Is Now Just a U.S.-Propaganda Agency

The formerly respected global authority on whether or not a chemical-weapons attack has occurred , the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons , or OPCW , has now so continuously ignored its own hired expert investigators , so that in an April 28th news-report , at “ The Gray Zone ” investigative-news site , anonymous “ OPCW Insiders ” have issued a public statement saying that : A number of impartial and principled professionals no longer wish to be associated with the politically motivated reports being issued by the OPCW FFM [ Fact-Finding Mission ] and now the IIT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Many consider this work and these reports to be procedurally and scientifically flawed .
Some of us believe they should not be seen as representing the work of OPCW inspectors at all .
The recent publication of the IIT report into alleged chemical attacks at Ltamenah [ in Syria — a country whose non-sectarian Government the U.S. regime has been trying since 2009 to overthrow and replace by a fundamentalist-Sunni government that would be controlled by the Sauds ] on March 24 , 25 and 30 2017 , has highlighted again the misuse @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to further their political and foreign affairs objectives .
The news-reports that are listed below provide the essential background to this , indicating that the “ influential state parties ” which are being referred-to are the U.S. and its allied regimes ( such as UK ) .
If the quoted statement is , in fact , a leak by “ OPCW Insiders , ” as “ The Gray Zone ” alleges , then it ’ s yet another nail in the coffin of the OPCW ’ s international credibility .
Coming after a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are documented in the below-listed articles , all international funding organizations will then cancel their commitments to OPCW , except for organizations that represent the U.S. regime ; and , then , the only international organizations that will continue to publicize the ‘ findings ’ from the OPCW will be organizations that themselves are agencies of the U.S. regime .
In that case , of course , no national delegations to the United Nations , except ones that represent regimes which themselves likewise front for ( are vassals of ) the U.S. regime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ findings ’ , in any other way than to deny the credibility of OPCW reports .
The background on all of this , including an explanation of what the main objectives of the U.S. regime are in Syria — what the purposes of this OPCW propaganda against Syria ’ s Government are — is provided here .
And , now , following , are the news-reports that describe the events building up to the “ OPCW Insiders ” statement , that “ Some of us believe they should not be seen as representing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ( these events will be listed starting with the latest , and working backwards in time , to the earliest ) : “ As an employee of the OPCW I was horrified ” 12 March 2020 “ Deluge Of New Leaks Further Shreds The Establishment Syria Narrative ” 15 December 2019 “ Newsweek reporter resigns after accusing outlet of SUPPRESSING story about OPCW leak that undermines Syria ‘ gas attack ’ narrative ” 8 December 2019 “ SUPPRESSED OPCW FINDING : War-Crime Likely Perpetrated by U.S. Against Syria on 14 April 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ A memo from a member of the OPCW ’ s Fact-Finding Mission ( FFM ) in Douma to the OPCW Director General Fernando Arais ” 14 March 2019 “ The Red Line and the Rat Line : Seymour M. Hersh on Obama , Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels ” 17 April 2014 “ Possible Implications of Faulty US Technical Intelligence in the Damascus Nerve Agent Attack of August 21 , 2013 ” 14 January 2014 Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author , most recently , of They ’ re Not Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Records , 1910-2010 , and of CHRIST ’ S VENTRILOQUISTS : The Event that Created Christianity .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse, originally posted at The Saker
The formerly respected global authority on whether or not a chemical-weapons attack has occurred, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, has now so continuously ignored its own hired expert investigators, so that in an April 28th news-report, at “The Gray Zone” investigative-news site, anonymous “OPCW Insiders” have issued a public statement saying that:
A number of impartial and principled professionals no longer wish to be associated with the politically motivated reports being issued by the OPCW FFM [Fact-Finding Mission] and now the IIT [Investigation and Identification Team]. Many consider this work and these reports to be procedurally and scientifically flawed. Some of us believe they should not be seen as representing the work of OPCW inspectors at all.
The recent publication of the IIT report into alleged chemical attacks at Ltamenah [in Syria — a country whose non-sectarian Government the U.S. regime has been trying since 2009 to overthrow and replace by a fundamentalist-Sunni government that would be controlled by the Sauds] on March 24, 25 and 30 2017, has highlighted again the misuse of the OPCW by influential state parties to further their political and foreign affairs objectives.
The news-reports that are listed below provide the essential background to this, indicating that the “influential state parties” which are being referred-to are the U.S. and its allied regimes (such as UK).
If the quoted statement is, in fact, a leak by “OPCW Insiders,” as “The Gray Zone” alleges, then it’s yet another nail in the coffin of the OPCW’s international credibility. Coming after a lengthy string of such OPCW scandals as are documented in the below-listed articles, all international funding organizations will then cancel their commitments to OPCW, except for organizations that represent the U.S. regime; and, then, the only international organizations that will continue to publicize the ‘findings’ from the OPCW will be organizations that themselves are agencies of the U.S. regime.
In that case, of course, no national delegations to the United Nations, except ones that represent regimes which themselves likewise front for (are vassals of) the U.S. regime, will continue to cite OPCW ‘findings’, in any other way than to deny the credibility of OPCW reports.
The background on all of this, including an explanation of what the main objectives of the U.S. regime are in Syria — what the purposes of this OPCW propaganda against Syria’s Government are — is provided here.
And, now, following, are the news-reports that describe the events building up to the “OPCW Insiders” statement, that “Some of us believe they should not be seen as representing the work of OPCW inspectors at all” (these events will be listed starting with the latest, and working backwards in time, to the earliest):
“As an employee of the OPCW I was horrified” 12 March 2020
“Deluge Of New Leaks Further Shreds The Establishment Syria Narrative” 15 December 2019
“Fresh Evidence that UN Watchdog Suppressed Evidence Casting Doubt on Assad Gas Attack” 15 December 2019
“New WikiLeaks Bombshell: 20 Inspectors Dissent From Syria Chemical Attack Narrative” 14 December 2019
“Newsweek reporter resigns after accusing outlet of SUPPRESSING story about OPCW leak that undermines Syria ‘gas attack’ narrative” 8 December 2019
“Second whistleblower exposes cover-up at OPCW & Syria chemical weapons report (Video)” 16 November 2019
“SUPPRESSED OPCW FINDING: War-Crime Likely Perpetrated by U.S. Against Syria on 14 April 2018 (Update)” 19 May 2019
“A memo from a member of the OPCW’s Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in Douma to the OPCW Director General Fernando Arais” 14 March 2019
“Douma Videos and Photos” 24 April 2018
“Did Al Qaeda Dupe Trump on Syrian Attack?” 9 November 2017
“The Trumped-Up Syria-Sarin Case” 4 November 2017
“UN On Khan Sheikhoun – Victims Hospitalized BEFORE Claimed Incident Happened” 29 October 2017
“The Red Line and the Rat Line: Seymour M. Hersh on Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels” 17 April 2014
“Possible Implications of Faulty US Technical Intelligence in the Damascus Nerve Agent Attack of August 21, 2013” 14 January 2014
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
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theduran--2020-05-01--Big Pharma Beware: Dr. Montagnier Shines New Light on COVID-19 and The Future of Medicine

This April 16th , Dr. Luc Montagnier became a household name around the world .
This occurred as the controversial virologist decided to publicly state his support for the theory that Covid-19 is indeed a laboratory-generated creation and not a naturally occurring effect of viral evolution .
Referring to a study published at the Kusama School of Biology in New Dehli on January 31st , Montagnier ( the 2008 Nobel Prize winner for his 1983 discovery of the HIV virus ) made the point that the specific occurrence of HIV RNA viral segments spliced surgically within the COVID-19 genome could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it in the following words : While the Indian team was induced to retract their publication under immense pressure from the mainstream medical establishment ( which never bothered to seriously refute the content of the study ’ s research but rather used the “ random-mutation-makes-anything-possible ” argument ) , Montagnier stated “ scientific truth always emerges ” .
Montagnier ’ s political ignorance became all too clear when he was asked who the culprit could possibly be .
By asserting his belief that China ’ s BSL4 lab in Wuhan was the source @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set by Anglo-American Intelligence circles which have been promoting a military confrontation between the USA and China for a very long time .
Now even though Montagnier denies that China released this virus with malicious intent ( unlike many fanatical droves of neoconservatives currently itching for war ) , the “ Wuhan Lab origin ” hypothesis completely ignores the reality of the Pentagon ’ s globally extended 25 bioweapons laboratories which have openly created novel coronaviruses including varieties that arose in bats as journalist Whitney Webb ’ s remarkable February 2020 paper demonstrated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on “ dual-use ” funding was imposed onto America ’ s bioweapons research , nothing prevented this work from occurring internationally or even covertly within the 11 military labs on American soil itself and tied to the same Fort Detrick that was shut down in July 2019 under suspicious circumstances .
As I pointed out in my previous paper The Project for a New American Century , 9/11 and Bioweapons , over $ 50 billion has been spent on bioweapons research since 2001 which the Project for a New American Century manifesto claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arsenal of 21st century warfare stating : The most powerful aspect of Montagnier ’ s April 16th intervention into world politics in my view is not really found in his support for the laboratory-origins theory , but rather in the scientist ’ s often overlooked proposition for an international crash program in something called electromagnetic wave therapy .
Rather than investing in vaccines , Montagnier has explained that it were much wiser for nations of the world to launch a crash project into a very different approach to viral treatments than is currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brushing this off as “ quackery ” as so many are wont to do , one should keep in mind that President Trump himself has indicated his interest in Montagnier ’ s approach in his April 23rd briefing telling reporters : While Trump has been vilely attacked as “ unscientific ” for these utterances , it is only due to the vast ignorance of Montagnier ’ s incredible discoveries into the electromagnetic properties of life that such mockery can go unchallenged .
Montagnier ’ s innovations into “ bleaching therapy ” which Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much more complex than mainstream detractors assume and has nothing to do with simply “ injecting ” disinfectants into the blood stream .
These therapies are highly interconnected with the electromagnetic waves emitted by certain types of bacteria which Montagnier has discovered to be the most likely driving mechanism to many of the diseases both chronic and acute plaguing humanity .
More will be said on that below .
What is Optical Biophysics and What did Montagnier Discover ?
Optical biophysics is the study of the electromagnetic properties of the physics of life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ light emissions and absorption frequencies from cells , DNA , and molecules of organic matter , how these interface with water ( making up over 75 % of a human body ) and moderated by the nested array of magnetic fields located on the quantum level and stretching up to the galactic level .
Not to discount the bio-chemical nature of life which is hegemonic in the health science realm , the optical biophysician asks : which of these is PRIMARY in growth , replication , and division of labor of individual cells @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it the chemical attributes of living matter or the electromagnetic properties ?
Let me explain the paradox a bit more .
There are approximately 40 trillion highly differentiated cells in the average human body , each performing very specific functions and requiring an immense field of coherence and intercommunication .
Every second approximately 10 million of those cells die , to be replaced by 10 million new cells being born .
Many of those cells are made up of bacteria , and much of the DNA and RNA within those cells is made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but which can be activated/deactivated by a variety of methods both chemical and electromagnetic .
HOW might this complex system be maintained by chemical processes alone- either over the course of a day , month or an entire lifetime ?
The simple physics of motion of enzymes which carry information in the body from one location to another simply doesn ’ t come close to accounting for the information coordination required among all parts .
This is where Montagnier ’ s research comes in .
After winning the 2008 Nobel Prize , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2010 paper called “ DNA Waves and Water ” which took the medical community by storm .
In this paper , Montagnier demonstrated how low frequency electromagnetic radiation within the radio wave part of the spectrum was emitted from bacterial and viral DNA and how said light was able to both organize water and transmit information !
The results of his experiments were showcased wonderfully in this 8 min video : Using a photo-amplifying device invented by Dr. Jacques Benveniste in the 1980s to capture the ultra low light emissions from cells , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DNA from a tube of water and discovered that the post-filtered solutions containing no material particles continued to emit ultra low frequency waves !
This became more fascinating when Montagnier showed that under specific conditions of a 7 Hz background field ( the same as the Schumann resonance which naturally occurs between the earth ’ s surface and the ionosphere ) , the non-emitting tube of water that had never received organic material could be induced to emit frequencies when placed in close proximity with the emitting tube !
Even more interesting is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polymers ( building blocks of DNA ) were put into the pure water , near perfect clones of the original DNA were formed !
Dr. Montagnier and his team hypothesized that the only way for this to happen was if the DNA ’ s blueprint was somehow imprinted into the very structure of water itself resulting in a form of “ water memory ” that had earlier been pioneered by Jacques Benveniste , the results of which are showcased in this incredible 2014 documentary “ Water Memory ” .
Just as Benveniste suffered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in modern times ( led in large measure by Nature Magazine in 1988 ) , Montagnier ’ s Nobel prize did not protect him from a similar fate as an international slander campaign has followed him over the past 10 years of his life .
Nearly 40 Nobel prize winners have signed a petition denouncing Montagnier for his heresy and the great scientist was forced to even flee Europe to escape what he described as a culture of “ intellectual terror ” .
In response to this slander , Montagnier stated to LaCroix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to attacks from these academics who are just retired bureaucrats , closed off from all innovation .
I have the scientific proofs of what I say ” .
Describing the greatest challenges to advancing this research , Montagnier stated : In a 2011 interview , Dr. Montagnier recapitulated the consequences of his discoveries : With these insights in mind , Montagnier has discovered that many of the frequencies of EM emissions from a wide variety of microbial DNA is also found in the blood plasmas of patients suffering from influenza A , Hepatitis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not commonly thought of as bacteria-influenced such as Parkinsons , Multiple Sclerosis , Rheumathoid Arthritis and Alzheimers .
In recent years , Montagnier ’ s teams even found certain signals in the blood plasmas of people with autism and several varieties of cancers !
Over a dozen French doctors have taken Montagnier ’ s ideas seriously enough to prescribe antibiotics to treat autism over the course of six years and in opposition to conventional theories , have found that amidst 240 patients treated , 4 out of 5 saw their symptoms either dramatically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imply again that certain hard-to-detect species of light emitting microbes are closer to the cause of these ills than the modern pharmaceutical industry would like to admit .
A New Domain of Thinking : Why Big Pharma Should Be Afraid As the filmed 2014 experiment demonstrated , Montagnier went even further to demonstrate that the frequencies of wave emissions within a filtrate located in a French laboratory can be recorded and emailed to another laboratory in Italy where that same harmonic recording was infused into tubes of non-emitting water causing the Italian tubes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DNA frequencies were then able to structure the Italian water tubes from the parent source a thousand miles away resulting in a 98 % exact DNA replica !
Standing as we are , on the cusp of so many exciting breakthroughs in medical science , we should ask : what could these results mean for the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industrial complex which relies on keeping the world locked into a practice of chemical drugs and vaccines ?
Montagnier ’ s friend and collaborator Marc Henry a professor of Chemistry and Quantum Mechanics at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ produced in a lab as Montagnier asserts or having appeared naturally as Nature Magazine asserts , the fact remains that the current coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a collapse of the world financial system and forced the leaders of the world to discuss the reality of a needed new paradigm and new world economic order .
Whether that new system will be driven by Pharmaceutical cartels , and sociopathic bankers running global health policy for a technocratic elite of social engineers or whether it will be driven by nation states shaping the terms of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remains to be seen .
If nation states manage to stay in the driver ’ s seat of this new system , then it will have to be driven by certain fundamental principles of healthcare for all , science practice reform and broader political/economic reform whereby the sacredness of human life is placed above all considerations of monetary profit .
In this light , such crash programs into long term projects in space science , asteroid defense , and Lunar/Mars development will be as necessary in the astrophysical domain as crash programs in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ domain .
Uniting both worlds , is the domain of life sciences that intersects the electromagnetic properties of atoms , cells and DNA with the large scale electromagnetic properties of the Earth , Sun and galaxy as a whole .
The author gave a lecture on the future revolutions in optical biophysics which can be viewed here :

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
From the Strategic Culture Foundation
This April 16th, Dr. Luc Montagnier became a household name around the world. This occurred as the controversial virologist decided to publicly state his support for the theory that Covid-19 is indeed a laboratory-generated creation and not a naturally occurring effect of viral evolution.
Referring to a study published at the Kusama School of Biology in New Dehli on January 31st, Montagnier (the 2008 Nobel Prize winner for his 1983 discovery of the HIV virus) made the point that the specific occurrence of HIV RNA viral segments spliced surgically within the COVID-19 genome could not have originated naturally and he described it in the following words:
“We have carefully analyzed the description of the genome of this RNA virus. We weren’t the first, a group of Indian researchers tried to publish a study showing that the complete genome of this virus that has within the sequences of another virus: that of HIV.”
While the Indian team was induced to retract their publication under immense pressure from the mainstream medical establishment (which never bothered to seriously refute the content of the study’s research but rather used the “random-mutation-makes-anything-possible” argument), Montagnier stated “scientific truth always emerges”.
Not China: Montagnier Misdiagnoses the Culprit
Montagnier’s political ignorance became all too clear when he was asked who the culprit could possibly be.
By asserting his belief that China’s BSL4 lab in Wuhan was the source, Montagnier has fallen into a trap set by Anglo-American Intelligence circles which have been promoting a military confrontation between the USA and China for a very long time.
Now even though Montagnier denies that China released this virus with malicious intent (unlike many fanatical droves of neoconservatives currently itching for war), the “Wuhan Lab origin” hypothesis completely ignores the reality of the Pentagon’s globally extended 25 bioweapons laboratories which have openly created novel coronaviruses including varieties that arose in bats as journalist Whitney Webb’s remarkable February 2020 paper demonstrated.
Even though a 2014-2017 temporary ban on “dual-use” funding was imposed onto America’s bioweapons research, nothing prevented this work from occurring internationally or even covertly within the 11 military labs on American soil itself and tied to the same Fort Detrick that was shut down in July 2019 under suspicious circumstances. As I pointed out in my previous paper The Project for a New American Century, 9/11 and Bioweapons, over $50 billion has been spent on bioweapons research since 2001 which the Project for a New American Century manifesto claimed would play a major role in the arsenal of 21st century warfare stating:
“advanced forms of biological warfare that can “target” specific genotypes may transform biological warfare from the realm of terror to a politically useful tool”.
Luc Montagnier’s Wave Therapy: Quackery or Brilliance?
The most powerful aspect of Montagnier’s April 16th intervention into world politics in my view is not really found in his support for the laboratory-origins theory, but rather in the scientist’s often overlooked proposition for an international crash program in something called electromagnetic wave therapy. Rather than investing in vaccines, Montagnier has explained that it were much wiser for nations of the world to launch a crash project into a very different approach to viral treatments than is currently common in polite society saying:
“I think we can make interference waves which are behind the RNA sequences that can eliminate those sequences with waves and consequently stop the pandemic”
Before brushing this off as “quackery” as so many are wont to do, one should keep in mind that President Trump himself has indicated his interest in Montagnier’s approach in his April 23rd briefing telling reporters:
“Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous … whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you are going to test it… And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you are going to test it.”
While Trump has been vilely attacked as “unscientific” for these utterances, it is only due to the vast ignorance of Montagnier’s incredible discoveries into the electromagnetic properties of life that such mockery can go unchallenged. Montagnier’s innovations into “bleaching therapy” which Trump referenced in the same speech are also much more complex than mainstream detractors assume and has nothing to do with simply “injecting”disinfectants into the blood stream. These therapies are highly interconnected with the electromagnetic waves emitted by certain types of bacteria which Montagnier has discovered to be the most likely driving mechanism to many of the diseases both chronic and acute plaguing humanity. More will be said on that below.
What is Optical Biophysics and What did Montagnier Discover?
Optical biophysics is the study of the electromagnetic properties of the physics of life. This means paying attention to the light emissions and absorption frequencies from cells, DNA, and molecules of organic matter, how these interface with water (making up over 75% of a human body) and moderated by the nested array of magnetic fields located on the quantum level and stretching up to the galactic level.
Not to discount the bio-chemical nature of life which is hegemonic in the health science realm, the optical biophysician asks: which of these is PRIMARY in growth, replication, and division of labor of individual cells or entire species of organisms? Is it the chemical attributes of living matter or the electromagnetic properties?
Let me explain the paradox a bit more.
There are approximately 40 trillion highly differentiated cells in the average human body, each performing very specific functions and requiring an immense field of coherence and intercommunication. Every second approximately 10 million of those cells die, to be replaced by 10 million new cells being born. Many of those cells are made up of bacteria, and much of the DNA and RNA within those cells is made up of viruses (mostly dormant), but which can be activated/deactivated by a variety of methods both chemical and electromagnetic.
Here’s the big question:
HOW might this complex system be maintained by chemical processes alone- either over the course of a day, month or an entire lifetime?
The simple physics of motion of enzymes which carry information in the body from one location to another simply doesn’t come close to accounting for the information coordination required among all parts. This is where Montagnier’s research comes in.
After winning the 2008 Nobel Prize, Dr. Montagnier published a revolutionary yet heretical 2010 paper called “DNA Waves and Water” which took the medical community by storm. In this paper, Montagnier demonstrated how low frequency electromagnetic radiation within the radio wave part of the spectrum was emitted from bacterial and viral DNA and how said light was able to both organize water and transmit information! The results of his experiments were showcased wonderfully in this 8 min video:
Using a photo-amplifying device invented by Dr. Jacques Benveniste in the 1980s to capture the ultra low light emissions from cells, Montagnier filtered out all particles of bacterial DNA from a tube of water and discovered that the post-filtered solutions containing no material particles continued to emit ultra low frequency waves! This became more fascinating when Montagnier showed that under specific conditions of a 7 Hz background field (the same as the Schumann resonance which naturally occurs between the earth’s surface and the ionosphere), the non-emitting tube of water that had never received organic material could be induced to emit frequencies when placed in close proximity with the emitting tube! Even more interesting is that when base proteins, nucleotides and polymers (building blocks of DNA) were put into the pure water, near perfect clones of the original DNA were formed!
Dr. Montagnier and his team hypothesized that the only way for this to happen was if the DNA’s blueprint was somehow imprinted into the very structure of water itself resulting in a form of “water memory” that had earlier been pioneered by Jacques Benveniste, the results of which are showcased in this incredible 2014 documentary “Water Memory”.
Just as Benveniste suffered one of the most ugly witch hunts in modern times (led in large measure by Nature Magazine in 1988), Montagnier’s Nobel prize did not protect him from a similar fate as an international slander campaign has followed him over the past 10 years of his life. Nearly 40 Nobel prize winners have signed a petition denouncing Montagnier for his heresy and the great scientist was forced to even flee Europe to escape what he described as a culture of “intellectual terror”. In response to this slander, Montagnier stated to LaCroix magazine: “I’m used to attacks from these academics who are just retired bureaucrats, closed off from all innovation. I have the scientific proofs of what I say”.
Describing the greatest challenges to advancing this research, Montagnier stated:
“We have chosen to work with the private sector because no funds could come from public institutions. The Benveniste case has made it so that anyone who takes an interest in the memory of water is considered… I mean it smells of sulphur. It’s Hell.”
Casting Montagnier’s Research in a New Light
In a 2011 interview, Dr. Montagnier recapitulated the consequences of his discoveries:
“The existence of a harmonic signal emanating from DNA can help to resolve long-standing questions about cell development, for example how the embryo is able to make its manifold transformations, as if guided by an external field. If DNA can communicate its essential information to water by radio frequency, then non-material structures will exist within the watery environment of the living organism, some of them hiding disease signals and others involved in the healthy development of the organism.”
With these insights in mind, Montagnier has discovered that many of the frequencies of EM emissions from a wide variety of microbial DNA is also found in the blood plasmas of patients suffering from influenza A, Hepatitis C, and even many neurological diseases not commonly thought of as bacteria-influenced such as Parkinsons, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumathoid Arthritis and Alzheimers. In recent years, Montagnier’s teams even found certain signals in the blood plasmas of people with autism and several varieties of cancers!
Over a dozen French doctors have taken Montagnier’s ideas seriously enough to prescribe antibiotics to treat autism over the course of six years and in opposition to conventional theories, have found that amidst 240 patients treated, 4 out of 5 saw their symptoms either dramatically regress or disappear completely!
These results imply again that certain hard-to-detect species of light emitting microbes are closer to the cause of these ills than the modern pharmaceutical industry would like to admit.
A New Domain of Thinking: Why Big Pharma Should Be Afraid
As the filmed 2014 experiment demonstrated, Montagnier went even further to demonstrate that the frequencies of wave emissions within a filtrate located in a French laboratory can be recorded and emailed to another laboratory in Italy where that same harmonic recording was infused into tubes of non-emitting water causing the Italian tubes to slowly begin emitting signals! These DNA frequencies were then able to structure the Italian water tubes from the parent source a thousand miles away resulting in a 98% exact DNA replica!
Standing as we are, on the cusp of so many exciting breakthroughs in medical science, we should ask: what could these results mean for the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industrial complex which relies on keeping the world locked into a practice of chemical drugs and vaccines?
Speaking to this point, Montagnier stated:
“The day that we admit that signals can have tangible effects, we will use them. From that moment on we will be able to treat patients with waves. Therefore it’s a new domain of medicine that people fear of course. Especially the pharmaceutical industry… one day we will be able to treat cancers using frequency waves.”
Montagnier’s friend and collaborator Marc Henry a professor of Chemistry and Quantum Mechanics at the University of Strasbourg stated:
“If we treat with frequencies and not with medicines it becomes extremely cost effective regarding the amount of money spent. We spend a lot of money to find the frequencies, but once they have been found, it costs nothing to treat.”
Whether produced in a lab as Montagnier asserts or having appeared naturally as Nature Magazine asserts, the fact remains that the current coronavirus pandemic has accelerated a collapse of the world financial system and forced the leaders of the world to discuss the reality of a needed new paradigm and new world economic order. Whether that new system will be driven by Pharmaceutical cartels, and sociopathic bankers running global health policy for a technocratic elite of social engineers or whether it will be driven by nation states shaping the terms of that new system around human needs, remains to be seen.
If nation states manage to stay in the driver’s seat of this new system, then it will have to be driven by certain fundamental principles of healthcare for all, science practice reform and broader political/economic reform whereby the sacredness of human life is placed above all considerations of monetary profit. In this light, such crash programs into long term projects in space science, asteroid defense, and Lunar/Mars development will be as necessary in the astrophysical domain as crash programs in fusion energy will be in the atomic domain. Uniting both worlds, is the domain of life sciences that intersects the electromagnetic properties of atoms, cells and DNA with the large scale electromagnetic properties of the Earth, Sun and galaxy as a whole.
Footnote
The author gave a lecture on the future revolutions in optical biophysics which can be viewed here:
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theduran--2020-05-01--FBI notes confirm coup against President Trump (Video)

The Duran ’ s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the FBI handwritten notes that prove without a shadow of a doubt that the FBI was hell bent on removing Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser , in a brazen action to debilitate and eventually topple US President Trump .
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute .
The Duran Audio Podcast : Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes .
President Trump said Thursday that he would consider bringing former national security adviser Michael Flynn back into the administration in a different role .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ fine man .
I think it ’ s terrible what [ the FBI ] did to him , ” Trump responded when asked by a reporter if he would consider bringing Flynn back .
“ I would certainly consider it.
” Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI in the course of the Russia investigation but documents released late Wednesday in his criminal case have fueled conservative claims that he was entrapped by the bureau .
Trump has expressed support for Flynn while seizing on the new revelations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Flynn .
He did not rule out pardoning his former adviser .
“ They did everything possible to destroy him but he ’ s still breathing very strongly , ” Trump told reporters Thursday following an event on protecting seniors from the novel coronavirus .
Trump said he expected Flynn to be exonerated and would therefore be “ capable ” of returning to the administration , but said he hadn ’ t thought about in what capacity .
The documents released Wednesday show FBI agents discussing how to handle a January 2017 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working as Trump ’ s national security adviser at the time .
“ What ’ s our goal ?
Truth/Admission or to get him to lie , so we can prosecute him or get him fired ?
” an unnamed FBI agent wrote in a handwritten note included among the documents .
“ If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act , give facts to DOJ & have them decide .
Or , if he initially lies , then we present him [ redacted ] & he admits it , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide how to address it.
” “ If we ’ re seen as playing games , WH will be furious , ” the note reads .
“ Protect our institution by not playing games.
” Flynn ’ s attorneys say that the documents support their claims that their client was subject to prosecutorial misconduct .
Legal experts , however , have doubted the significance of the documents , saying that such discussion about approaching a subject , target or witness of an investigation would be routine .
Flynn , who was ousted from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pence and others about his contacts with the Russian ambassador , pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian diplomat in December 2017 .
Early this year he sought to withdraw that plea and it has delayed his sentencing .
The federal judge overseeing Flynn ’ s case will ultimately make a decision as to whether the documents advance his claim that he was the victim of government misconduct .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the FBI handwritten notes that prove without a shadow of a doubt that the FBI was hell bent on removing Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser, in a brazen action to debilitate and eventually topple US President Trump.
Support Free Speech:
Subscribe to The Duran on YouTube – Find us on BitChute.
The Duran Audio Podcast:
Follow on Soundcloud – Subscribe on iTunes.
Via The Hill…
President Trump said Thursday that he would consider bringing former national security adviser Michael Flynn back into the administration in a different role.
“I think he’s a fine man. I think it’s terrible what [the FBI] did to him,” Trump responded when asked by a reporter if he would consider bringing Flynn back. “I would certainly consider it.”
Flynn pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI in the course of the Russia investigation but documents released late Wednesday in his criminal case have fueled conservative claims that he was entrapped by the bureau.
Trump has expressed support for Flynn while seizing on the new revelations, claiming the FBI tried to “destroy” Flynn. He did not rule out pardoning his former adviser.
“They did everything possible to destroy him but he’s still breathing very strongly,” Trump told reporters Thursday following an event on protecting seniors from the novel coronavirus.
Trump said he expected Flynn to be exonerated and would therefore be “capable” of returning to the administration, but said he hadn’t thought about in what capacity.
The documents released Wednesday show FBI agents discussing how to handle a January 2017 interview with Flynn, who was still working as Trump’s national security adviser at the time.
“What’s our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” an unnamed FBI agent wrote in a handwritten note included among the documents. “If we get him to admit to breaking the Logan Act, give facts to DOJ & have them decide. Or, if he initially lies, then we present him [redacted] & he admits it, document for DOJ, & let them decide how to address it.”
“If we’re seen as playing games, WH will be furious,” the note reads. “Protect our institution by not playing games.”
Flynn’s attorneys say that the documents support their claims that their client was subject to prosecutorial misconduct. Legal experts, however, have doubted the significance of the documents, saying that such discussion about approaching a subject, target or witness of an investigation would be routine.
Flynn, who was ousted from the White House after misleading Vice President Pence and others about his contacts with the Russian ambassador, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian diplomat in December 2017.
Early this year he sought to withdraw that plea and it has delayed his sentencing. The federal judge overseeing Flynn’s case will ultimately make a decision as to whether the documents advance his claim that he was the victim of government misconduct.
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theduran--2020-05-02--The Way Liberals Smear Tara Reade Is Everything Rape Survivors Fear

Former Georgia state congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams , who is on the Joe Biden running mate short list and making no secret of her desire for the job , said on CNN Tuesday night that she did not believe rape allegations against Biden to be credible .
“ The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible .
I believe Joe Biden , ” Abrams said when pressed on further corroborating evidence that Biden ’ s accuser Tara Reade had been talking about a sexual assault by the then-senator way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Don Lemon pressed Abrams on the contradiction between her earlier “ believe women ” rhetoric about conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh ’ s accuser , to which Abrams responded that Kavanaugh ’ s accuser was not given a fair hearing but Tara Reade was .
Past tense .
Over and done with now .
Lemon did not ask why Abrams considers The New York Times the official arbiter of who was and was not raped .
He did not challenge her false assertion that The New York Times concluded Reade ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He did not point out that the investigation by the The New York Times took place prior to the emergence of the corroborating evidence in question .
Abrams was allowed to coolly insert a false , baseless narrative into public consciousness and move on .
In reality , The New York Times is not the authority on who has and has not been sexually assaulted .
That ’ s not a thing .
In reality , The New York Times did not conclude that Reade ’ s accusation is not credible , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden , beyond the hugs , kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable ” ( which they later quietly edited down to “ found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden ” at the instruction of the Biden campaign , a very blatant act of journalistic malpractice ) .
In reality , The New York Times has smeared Reade with a scandalous hit piece dismissing her allegations because she has written approvingly of Russian president Vladimir Putin , implying that either : In reality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been added to the growing pile since The New York Times published its “ investigation ” into Reade ’ s allegations : footage of Reade ’ s mother anonymously calling in to Larry King Live in 1993 during Reade ’ s last month of employment with Biden saying that her daughter was considering going to the press with a very serious allegation against a very prominent senator , and a former neighbor saying that Reade had told her about the sexual assault in the mid-nineties .
I have never been in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; it ’ s a narrative that ’ s too easy to manipulate once you get enough people believing it .
But at this point there are basically only two possibilities : either : I ’ ve been avoiding writing much about Tara Reade , for a lot of reasons .
Firstly I ’ m a survivor of multiple rapes and it brings up a lot of ouch for me , especially since whenever I write about rape as a problem I always get a deluge of highly triggered men ( and sometimes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calling me a man-hater and saying all kinds of nasty things to me .
Secondly I ’ ve been trying not to spend too much time on the details of an election we all know is fake anyway between two establishment candidates we already know are deeply depraved .
But mostly I avoid the subject because it ’ s just so goddamn gross .
It ’ s gross to watch liberals going around pretending they believe that Handsy Uncle Hair Sniffer would never dream of shoving his fingers into a woman without her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the language of leftism being borrowed to defend pure , relentless victim smearing .
It ’ s gross watching people who ’ ve built their political identities around pretending to care about women try to spin these allegations as Reade being dishonest for partisan reasons , when in reality that ’ s exactly what they themselves are doing .
Due to my experiences with and sensitivity to the subject matter , going through this stuff feels kind of like getting punched in the privates over and over again .
There are smears everywhere @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their brainwashed rank-and-file herd .
Yesterday some “ KHive ” asshole told me that Reade is mentally ill and talking about her experience will probably drive her to suicide , citing a baseless smear by McResistance pundit Sally Albright as his evidence .
There ’ s a Twitter thread with thousands of shares going around right now where some liberal combed through all Reade ’ s old tweets highlighting typos she made and claiming they show Reade tweeting “ in a Russian accent ” .
And there are definitely a whole lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this story right now .
This is exactly the nightmare scenario that sexual assault survivors imagine when they contemplate coming forward .
It ’ s why so many of them don ’ t .
Especially when their attacker is powerful .
Nobody wants to have their name dragged through the mud by widely esteemed mainstream news media outlets .
Nobody wants to have their entire past and entire social media history dug through to find anything that can be spun in the most negative light possible .
Nobody wants to be told over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a liar , that they ’ re crazy , that they ’ re confused , all because they know they were sexually assaulted and said so .
Nobody wants what can easily be the most traumatic experience of their life turned into a weapon to bludgeon them with before jeering crowds of millions all around the country .
It sucks because if we ’ re to build a healthy world we ’ re going to have to get rid of all the people who shouldn ’ t be in power , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ones who abuse their power to assault the sexuality of other human beings .
If you use your power to rape people , you will with absolute certainty use it to do other unconscionable things as well , so eliminating those who do so is the first step toward health .
That ’ s step one , and we can ’ t even get there , because blind partisan hackery turns pussyhat-wearing liberals into a bunch of snarling male supremacists .
I was 19 the first time I was raped .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never reported my attackers , for reasons the specifics of which I ’ m not interested in explaining or defending , but let ’ s just say that there are many messages you get sent by society telling you that if you report your rapist you are ruining a man ’ s life , destroying his family , career and future over one “ mistake ” .
That it ’ s better just to suck it up because you ’ re strong and you can handle it .
You are taught that if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be treated like the criminal , and the “ investigation ” that will take place will not put its spotlight on the accused , but on you , the accuser .
You will have to defend your life choices and your character when you ’ re in the process of attempting to recover from a deeply harmful assault .
You are taught that if you report these things that it ’ s you that will be shunned and shamed by members of your own tribe .
And if the person is powerful , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likely end your career .
All these things are happening to Tara Reade right now .
None of that has changed .
Millions of young girls are being sent that message , once again , all across America , on screens large and small .
They are being shown that if you accuse someone who has power over you of rape , you will be demonized and attacked , even by people who say they care about you , about a profoundly sensitive matter involving the most traumatic thing you ’ ve ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that message is not a false message .
You absolutely can be made the subject of vicious attacks if you accuse the wrong person of raping you .
Attacks which press all your most painful buttons .
Attacks which will try to convince you that you are insane .
Attacks which will try to drive you insane .
And I don ’ t know what can be done about it .
Thanks for reading !
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Caitlin Johnstone via Medium.com:
Former Georgia state congresswoman and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who is on the Joe Biden running mate short list and making no secret of her desire for the job, said on CNN Tuesday night that she did not believe rape allegations against Biden to be credible.
“The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden,” Abrams said when pressed on further corroborating evidence that Biden’s accuser Tara Reade had been talking about a sexual assault by the then-senator way back in the nineties.
CNN’s Don Lemon pressed Abrams on the contradiction between her earlier “believe women” rhetoric about conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, to which Abrams responded that Kavanaugh’s accuser was not given a fair hearing but Tara Reade was. Past tense. Over and done with now.
Lemon did not ask why Abrams considers The New York Times the official arbiter of who was and was not raped. He did not challenge her false assertion that The New York Times concluded Reade’s accusation was “not credible”. He did not point out that the investigation by the The New York Times took place prior to the emergence of the corroborating evidence in question. Abrams was allowed to coolly insert a false, baseless narrative into public consciousness and move on.
It’s gonna be a long six months. pic.twitter.com/YapER6yIow — Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) April 29, 2020
In reality, The New York Times is not the authority on who has and has not been sexually assaulted. That’s not a thing.
In reality, The New York Times did not conclude that Reade’s accusation is not credible, only that they “found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable” (which they later quietly edited down to “found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden” at the instruction of the Biden campaign, a very blatant act of journalistic malpractice).
https://twitter.com/briebriejoy/status/1255363245566767105
In reality, The New York Times has smeared Reade with a scandalous hit piece dismissing her allegations because she has written approvingly of Russian president Vladimir Putin, implying that either:
(A) Reade is a Russian agent fabricating the allegations to help Trump, or (B) that it’s okay to rape women if they disagree with beltway consensus foreign policy.
In reality, two new corroborating pieces of evidence have been added to the growing pile since The New York Times published its “investigation” into Reade’s allegations: footage of Reade’s mother anonymously calling in to Larry King Live in 1993 during Reade’s last month of employment with Biden saying that her daughter was considering going to the press with a very serious allegation against a very prominent senator, and a former neighbor saying that Reade had told her about the sexual assault in the mid-nineties.
I have never been in the “always believe all women” camp; it’s a narrative that’s too easy to manipulate once you get enough people believing it. But at this point there are basically only two possibilities: either:
(A) Tara Reade was going around lying to her closest confidants in the 1990s with the very long-term goal of one day thwarting Biden’s third presidential bid decades later, or (B) a powerful man sexually assaulted a woman. One of these, in my opinion, is a lot more probable than the other.
Reach out to me directly and ask ?
I am not an " imperfect victim". I was lifelong Democratic supporter single mom that put myself through law school and I was raped by Joe Biden, my former boss, a Democrat.
There are no excuses for institutionalized rape culture. Thank you. https://t.co/hOQTxAzfa5 — taratweets ( Alexandra Tara Reade) (@ReadeAlexandra) April 28, 2020
I’ve been avoiding writing much about Tara Reade, for a lot of reasons. Firstly I’m a survivor of multiple rapes and it brings up a lot of ouch for me, especially since whenever I write about rape as a problem I always get a deluge of highly triggered men (and sometimes one or two highly traumatized women) calling me a man-hater and saying all kinds of nasty things to me. Secondly I’ve been trying not to spend too much time on the details of an election we all know is fake anyway between two establishment candidates we already know are deeply depraved.
But mostly I avoid the subject because it’s just so goddamn gross. It’s gross to watch liberals going around pretending they believe that Handsy Uncle Hair Sniffer would never dream of shoving his fingers into a woman without her consent. It’s gross watching the language of leftism being borrowed to defend pure, relentless victim smearing. It’s gross watching people who’ve built their political identities around pretending to care about women try to spin these allegations as Reade being dishonest for partisan reasons, when in reality that’s exactly what they themselves are doing.
Due to my experiences with and sensitivity to the subject matter, going through this stuff feels kind of like getting punched in the privates over and over again. There are smears everywhere, from the establishment narrative managers to their brainwashed rank-and-file herd.
Yesterday some “KHive” asshole told me that Reade is mentally ill and talking about her experience will probably drive her to suicide, citing a baseless smear by McResistance pundit Sally Albright as his evidence. There’s a Twitter thread with thousands of shares going around right now where some liberal combed through all Reade’s old tweets highlighting typos she made and claiming they show Reade tweeting “in a Russian accent”.
It’s really, really gross.
And it hurts.
And there are definitely a whole lot of rape survivors experiencing the same thing about this story right now.
going through all of Tara Reade’s tweets finding spelling and grammar errors in order to prove she’s a Russian agent the democrats are not ok the democrats are UNWELL pic.twitter.com/dq4r32Dqkd — june (@shoe0nhead) April 29, 2020
This is exactly the nightmare scenario that sexual assault survivors imagine when they contemplate coming forward. It’s why so many of them don’t. Especially when their attacker is powerful.
Nobody wants to have their name dragged through the mud by widely esteemed mainstream news media outlets. Nobody wants to have their entire past and entire social media history dug through to find anything that can be spun in the most negative light possible. Nobody wants to be told over and over again that they’re a liar, that they’re crazy, that they’re confused, all because they know they were sexually assaulted and said so. Nobody wants what can easily be the most traumatic experience of their life turned into a weapon to bludgeon them with before jeering crowds of millions all around the country.
And that sucks.
It sucks because if we’re to build a healthy world we’re going to have to get rid of all the people who shouldn’t be in power, and the very first lot we should eliminate are the ones who abuse their power to assault the sexuality of other human beings. If you use your power to rape people, you will with absolute certainty use it to do other unconscionable things as well, so eliminating those who do so is the first step toward health. That’s step one, and we can’t even get there, because blind partisan hackery turns pussyhat-wearing liberals into a bunch of snarling male supremacists.
I was 19 the first time I was raped. The last time I was 39. I never reported my attackers, for reasons the specifics of which I’m not interested in explaining or defending, but let’s just say that there are many messages you get sent by society telling you that if you report your rapist you are ruining a man’s life, destroying his family, career and future over one “mistake”. That it’s better just to suck it up because you’re strong and you can handle it.
You are taught that if you report your rape, you will be treated like the criminal, and the “investigation” that will take place will not put its spotlight on the accused, but on you, the accuser. You will have to defend your life choices and your character when you’re in the process of attempting to recover from a deeply harmful assault. You are taught that if you report these things that it’s you that will be shunned and shamed by members of your own tribe. And if the person is powerful, then you also know that this will likely end your career.
All these things are happening to Tara Reade right now. None of that has changed. Millions of young girls are being sent that message, once again, all across America, on screens large and small. They are being shown that if you accuse someone who has power over you of rape, you will be demonized and attacked, even by people who say they care about you, about a profoundly sensitive matter involving the most traumatic thing you’ve ever experienced.
And the thing is, that message is not a false message. You absolutely can be made the subject of vicious attacks if you accuse the wrong person of raping you. Attacks which press all your most painful buttons. Attacks which will try to convince you that you are insane. Attacks which will try to drive you insane.
And that sucks.
And I don’t know what can be done about it.
* * *
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theduran--2020-05-02--Israel can be behind air strikes in Syria

Submitted by InfoBrics , authored by Lucas Leiroz , research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro… Tensions have worsened in the Middle East .
Apparently , the Israeli government is promoting an escalation of violence in Syria with the aim of expelling any trace of Iranian presence from the country , leading to the collapse of relations between Tehran and Tel Aviv .
On April 28 , Israel ’ s Defense Minister , Naftali Bennet , made a public statement in which he suggested that he was behind an air strike against pro-Iranian forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it clear in his speech that there is a focus by the Israeli armed forces to completely destroy the Iranian presence in Syria , not stopping the attacks until the objective is achieved .
According to data reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency ( SANA ) , such attacks hit territories near Sayyida Zainab , which are home to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Quds Force .
Syrian state media also reported that the country ’ s anti-aircraft defense systems have successfully dealt with Israeli aggression , intercepting several missiles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or major damage due to the strong interception .
This was not , however , the only recent occasion of an Israeli attack on Syrian territory .
On April 20 , the news agency reported that Syria ’ s anti-aircraft defense systems repelled an Israeli attack in the skies of Palmyra , taking down several hostile projectiles .
There are also several other cases of violation of Syrian space by Israeli attacks against Iranians and pro-Tehran groups since the beginning of the civil war in the Arab country .
The Israeli Defense Minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involvement in the attack , however , his words were considered to be a “ clear hint ” of such involvement , as pointed out by the Times of Israel publication .
These are his words : “ We have moved from blocking Iran ’ s entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there , and we will not stop ( … ) We will not allow more strategic threats to grow just across our borders without taking action , we will continue to take the fight to the enemy ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reason behind this defense policy is to impose on neighboring states an acceptance of the existence of the Jewish State in the Land of Israel : “ We ’ ve not yet reached the point at which the enemies of Israel accept the existence of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel .
Unfortunately , I can ’ t promise that it will happen in our generation .
Even now , the Iranian regime and its proxies are working in an effort to harm the State of Israel and its citizens ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the recognition of these attacks puts more pressure on Iran and its representatives to retaliate in order to save the country ’ s international public image – so that it does not appear “ passive ” in the face of foreign attacks .
However , perhaps this is exactly the intention of the Israeli government : to provoke retaliation that justifies a public and even more deadly attack .
This is a strategy well known in contemporary wars , full of unidentified attacks and terrorist practices : after an attack , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was carried out , not publicly assuming it ; the battered state responds and then , the aggressor attacks publicly with more force and is no longer accused of aggression .
This , however , does not appear to work with Iran .
A major strategic mistake by countries like Israel and the USA , accustomed to a hegemonic position , is to underestimate their enemies , even when they have a long history as belligerent states and thousands of years as civilizations .
Iran does not appear to be the type of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provocation from the enemy , reacting uncoordinatedly and demonstrating its weaknesses to the opponent .
Let ’ s recall Tehran ’ s reaction to the brutal American attack that murdered General Qassem Soleimani earlier this year : an attack of such magnitude is a clear cause for war , but the Iranian response was subtle and extremely strategic and effective – the attacks against American bases in Iraq were sufficient to demonstrate the strength of the country and to make the United States retreat in its war plans , stabilizing the situation in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making a strong push for the liberation of the Persian Gulf through the resurgence of its marine policy and the strengthening of its naval fleet ; however , at no time did it frontally attack an American vessel , asserting its interests through military diplomacy .
What , then , will Iran do in the face of a failed attack like this one from Israel , in which almost all the missiles have been intercepted and there are no reports of victims ?
If Tel Aviv expects a response with missiles violating Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as such acts are not part of the traditional defense guidelines Iran , which has greater interests than fruitless retaliations .
Pro-Iranian forces in Syria have so far not been weakened by the Israeli onslaught .
In fact , what would be Israel ’ s interest in purging the Iranian presence from Syria ?
How would this imply greater recognition of the existence of the Jewish state ?
Are air raids and bombings really the best tactic ?
Tel Aviv strategists seem to be making the wrong bet .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by InfoBrics, authored by Lucas Leiroz, research fellow in international law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro…
Tensions have worsened in the Middle East. Apparently, the Israeli government is promoting an escalation of violence in Syria with the aim of expelling any trace of Iranian presence from the country, leading to the collapse of relations between Tehran and Tel Aviv. On April 28, Israel’s Defense Minister, Naftali Bennet, made a public statement in which he suggested that he was behind an air strike against pro-Iranian forces in Syria. Still, Naftali made it clear in his speech that there is a focus by the Israeli armed forces to completely destroy the Iranian presence in Syria, not stopping the attacks until the objective is achieved.
According to data reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), such attacks hit territories near Sayyida Zainab, which are home to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Quds Force. Syrian state media also reported that the country’s anti-aircraft defense systems have successfully dealt with Israeli aggression, intercepting several missiles, with no confirmed reports of casualties or major damage due to the strong interception. This was not, however, the only recent occasion of an Israeli attack on Syrian territory. On April 20, the news agency reported that Syria’s anti-aircraft defense systems repelled an Israeli attack in the skies of Palmyra, taking down several hostile projectiles. There are also several other cases of violation of Syrian space by Israeli attacks against Iranians and pro-Tehran groups since the beginning of the civil war in the Arab country.
The Israeli Defense Minister did not explicitly confirm Israel’s involvement in the attack, however, his words were considered to be a “clear hint” of such involvement, as pointed out by the Times of Israel publication. These are his words: “We have moved from blocking Iran’s entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there, and we will not stop (…) We will not allow more strategic threats to grow just across our borders without taking action, we will continue to take the fight to the enemy’s territory”. Bennett stated that the reason behind this defense policy is to impose on neighboring states an acceptance of the existence of the Jewish State in the Land of Israel: “We’ve not yet reached the point at which the enemies of Israel accept the existence of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Unfortunately, I can’t promise that it will happen in our generation. Even now, the Iranian regime and its proxies are working in an effort to harm the State of Israel and its citizens”.
Some Israeli military experts have warned that the recognition of these attacks puts more pressure on Iran and its representatives to retaliate in order to save the country’s international public image – so that it does not appear “passive” in the face of foreign attacks. However, perhaps this is exactly the intention of the Israeli government: to provoke retaliation that justifies a public and even more deadly attack. This is a strategy well known in contemporary wars, full of unidentified attacks and terrorist practices: after an attack, the state that practiced it insinuates that it was carried out, not publicly assuming it; the battered state responds and then, the aggressor attacks publicly with more force and is no longer accused of aggression. This, however, does not appear to work with Iran.
A major strategic mistake by countries like Israel and the USA, accustomed to a hegemonic position, is to underestimate their enemies, even when they have a long history as belligerent states and thousands of years as civilizations. Iran does not appear to be the type of belligerent agent that gives in to any provocation from the enemy, reacting uncoordinatedly and demonstrating its weaknesses to the opponent. Let’s recall Tehran’s reaction to the brutal American attack that murdered General Qassem Soleimani earlier this year: an attack of such magnitude is a clear cause for war, but the Iranian response was subtle and extremely strategic and effective – the attacks against American bases in Iraq were sufficient to demonstrate the strength of the country and to make the United States retreat in its war plans, stabilizing the situation in the region. Currently, Iran is making a strong push for the liberation of the Persian Gulf through the resurgence of its marine policy and the strengthening of its naval fleet; however, at no time did it frontally attack an American vessel, asserting its interests through military diplomacy. What, then, will Iran do in the face of a failed attack like this one from Israel, in which almost all the missiles have been intercepted and there are no reports of victims?
If Tel Aviv expects a response with missiles violating Israeli space, it will be frustrated; as such acts are not part of the traditional defense guidelines Iran, which has greater interests than fruitless retaliations. Pro-Iranian forces in Syria have so far not been weakened by the Israeli onslaught. In fact, what would be Israel’s interest in purging the Iranian presence from Syria? How would this imply greater recognition of the existence of the Jewish state? Are air raids and bombings really the best tactic? Tel Aviv strategists seem to be making the wrong bet.
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