thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-15--IRAN – SOCIALIST, INTERNATIONALIST, POWERFUL AND DETERMINED

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I refuse to describe Iran as a victim .
It is not .
It is one of the most influential and strong-minded nations on Earth .
When facing mortal danger , its people unite , harden themselves and get ready to face invaders , no matter how threatening they might be .
Iran is home to one of the oldest and deepest cultures in the world , and it ’ s precisely this culture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most frightening moments .
And one such moment is sadly , right now .
U.S. battleships are sailing right next to the Iranian territorial waters .
One mistake , one false move , and war could erupt , engulfing the entire region in flames .
Iran is a proud nation , and it takes its independence extremely seriously .
Right now , the country is facing one of the most unjust embargoes in human history .
It is being punished for nothing ; or more precisely , for sticking to all the points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Plan of Action ( JCPOA ) also known as The Iran Nuclear Deal , which it signed in 2015 with China , France , Russia , United Kingdom , United States—plus Germany , and which the United States abandoned , without providing any logical explanation .
While not particularly happy about the U.S. withdrawal ; Germany , France and U.K. are doing all they can not to anger their senior partner , and its leaders in Washington .
When the West says “ Terrorist activities , especially in Syria ” , what it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injected by the West and its allies , into Syria ” .
Everything is twisted , perverted and turned upside-down by the propaganda outlets operating out of the United States , Europe , Israel and the Gulf .
Add COVID-19 , and inability of the country , due to sanctions , to buy medical equipment , at least in the West , and you have the perfect scenario for a national calamity and even for imminent collapse .
Or more precisely , anywhere else this would be the case , but not in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the West , one after another , Iran has never fallen to its knees .
It has never abandoned its internationalist and socialist course ( socialist , with Iranian characteristics ) , and it has preserved its dignity .
What it has managed to achieve is amazing , nothing short of heroic , given the circumstances .
If you look at the latest , 2019 HDI ( Human Development Index , compiled and published by the UNDP ) , Iran is in the High Human Development bracket , and only 3 steps from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Which is thoroughly amazing , given the above-mentioned sanctions , embargoes and constant military intimidations .
Whenever I visit Iran , I am astonished by its public spaces , cultural institutions , public transportation , fountains , comfortable trains… The country is functioning well , showing incredible grace under pressure .
Its television channel – PressTV – is one of the most important anti-imperialist news outlets in the world .
I don ’ t see extreme misery , or homelessness , there .
Iranians are polite , well-educated and proud .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which I do not understand .
Whenever I pay in a café or taxi , I simply extend my hand full of local currency , and I never get cheated .
Things are solid and reassuring there ; I feel it and really appreciate it .
Iran is an internationalist country .
Not unlike Cuba or Venezuela , who are its long-term allies .
Even when injured , itself , it helps others , those who need solidarity even more .
This can never be forgotten , particularly in places like Latin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iran ’ s close ally in the Middle East , is fighting the most dangerous terrorist groups in Syria ; those groups that have been injected there by the West , but also by Washington ’ s regional allies , such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey .
But Hezbollah is also essentially the only social net for the poor in Syria ’ s neighbor – Lebanon .
And not only for the Shi ’ a Muslims , but also for the disadvantaged Sunni citizens , for the Christians , and non-believers .
Whoever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hezbollah , for assistance .
I was based in Beirut for five years , and I know what I am talking about .
All this , while the Lebanese elites are burning money in Paris , in Nice , in the nightclubs of Beirut , driving their lavish cars through the slums .
And the more Iran and Hezbollah help the region , the more frustrated , outraged and aggressive the West becomes .
Look at Palestine .
When it comes to the liberation of the Palestinian people from the long and brutal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talk and talk .
In the end , some of them side with the West and Israel .
The closest , the most determined allies of the long-suffering Palestinian people in the region , are , without doubt , Iran and Syria .
That , everybody in the Middle East knows , and it is only “ a secret ” to Westerners .
In Afghanistan , particularly in Herat , I witnessed long lines of Afghan people in front of the Iranian consulate .
Devastated by the NATO occupation , Afghanistan is in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shortest life expectancy in Asia , and the lowest Human Development Index ( HDI ) on the Asian continent .
Tens of thousands of the Afghan people have been traveling to Iran in search of jobs .
Without Iran , Herat would most likely starve to death .
And now , Iran is searching for ways , ( together with China and Russia ) , how to help Afghanistan to find a political solution , and send the NATO forces packing .
For years , all the Socialist countries of Latin America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Be it Bolivia , before the legitimate government of Evo Morales was overthrown , or Cuba and especially Venezuela .
Iran has been building social housing , it was helping with oil technology , and with many other social essentials .
Iraq and Iran , two great nations , in the past brutally pitched against each other by Washington , are once again cooperating , working together .
The Western occupation has already thoroughly ruined Iraq ( as it has ruined Afghanistan ) , historically one of the richest countries in the region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gets involved in neighboring Iraq , the more aggressively the West behaves .
It now habitually crosses all the lines of acceptable behavior .
In January 2020 , a U.S. drone strike murdered Iran ’ s national hero , General Quasem Soleimani , while he was traveling right near the Baghdad International Airport .
For years now , Iran has been standing shoulder to shoulder with Russia , China , Syria , Venezuela and Cuba ; the nations which are openly and bravely deterring the aggression and brutality of Western imperialism .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tries to do , Iran can not be broken .
Despite the embargoes and sanctions , it demonstrates that it is capable of producing and shooting satellites into space , or of producing its own medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic .
While the nation creates its great scientific and technological achievements , Iranian filmmakers keep producing their cinematic masterpieces .
What a nation !
Unfortunately , all this is hidden from the eyes and ears of the public , both in the West , and in the client states .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brutal , backward ] “ threat ” .
Look at this irony .
On April 30 , 2020 , Reuters released a report about the German move to ban Hezbollah : “ Last December , Germany 's parliament approved a motion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel 's government to ban all activities by Hezbollah on German soil , citing its `` terrorist activities '' especially in Syria .
On a trip to Berlin last year , U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah .
Britain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
” When the West says “ Terrorist activities , especially in Syria ” , what it really means is “ fighting the terrorism injected by the West and its allies , into Syria ” .
Everything is twisted , perverted and turned upside-down by the propaganda outlets operating out of the United States , Europe , Israel and the Gulf .
“ Terrorist activities ” outside Syria , also means supporting the Palestinian struggle for independence , as well as at least moral support for Syria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Israeli-occupied Golan Heights , an occupation which has never been recognized , even by the United Nations .
It also means helping Iraq and Afghanistan , as well as Latin American countries , which are brutalized ( or should we say ‘ terrorized ’ ) , relentlessly , by Washington and its allies .
This is precisely the logic and lexicon which was used by German propagandists during WWII , to describe resistance forces in its colonies .
Freedom fighters and partisans were labeled terrorists , in France , Yugoslavia , Ukraine .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Independent - published on May 1 , 2020 a report critical of the bizarre U.S. scheming against Iran : “ The United States is pushing ahead with a scheme to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran that is due to be lifted in October as part of the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago .
To force the extension , Washington will attempt to lobby the Security Council to continue the arms embargo , which bars weapons sales to or from Iran .
But it also is making what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convoluted argument that it is still part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it left , and hence able to use one of its provisions to “ snapback ” the embargo.
” This weird political somersault has been , according to The Independent , criticized even by one of Washington ’ s allies , the French President Emmanuel Macron : “ China and Russia have already vowed to use any means to block the US plan .
France ’ s Emmanuel Macron has been working behind the scenes to sabotage the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an attempt by the White House to destroy international legal norms , said a well-placed European diplomat.
” France , the U.K. , Germany and other EU countries are not necessarily happy with Washington ’ s foreign policy towards Iran , but their outrage is far from being [ just ] moral indignation .
Iran is big and it is far from being poor .
European companies are losing billions of euros in trade , because of the sanctions .
For instance , in the recent past , two Iranian airlines were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Airbus aircraft , in order to compete with Qatar Airways and the Emirates .
Such plans collapsed , because of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA , and the almost immediate imposition of new , senseless but brutal sanctions against Teheran .
Now even Mahan Air , a civilian airline , is facing sanctions , allegedly because of its flights to Venezuela , and to several Middle Eastern destinations .
Now , many are perhaps wondering , what triggered , in the West , such hatred towards Iran ?
There is a well-hidden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret regarding Iran : “ It is a Socialist country .
Socialist with Iranian characteristics.
” In his latest and by all means ground-breaking book about Iran ( “ Socialism ’ s Ignored Success : Iranian Islamic Socialism ” ) , which our publishing house Badak Merah will be publishing later in May 2020 , an Iranian author and the PressTV Paris chief correspondent , Ramin Mazaheri , passionately defends the Iranian socialist concept : “ I think that if open-minded leftists would simply become aware of the facts and… modern socialist interpretations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of which I ’ m sure are being presented in English for the first time - I ’ m sure that they would not be waiting breathlessly for the collapse of the Middle East ’ s greatest bulwark against imperialism and capitalism .
It is urgent that Western leftists understand that the reversal of Iran ’ s popular , democratic revolution would have incredibly negative ramifications for the anti-imperialist movement in the Middle East , and thus the global anti-imperialist movement , and it certainly would be the cruelest loss for Islamic Socialism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Muslim world even if atheistic Trotskyism can not even discuss the concept without resorting to insults .
And , of course , a counter-revolution in Iran would be a major blow for global democracy , as there is no doubt that the Iranian People support their revolution , constitution and unique system in a democratic majority.
” Like Russia and China in Euro Asia and in Asia , like Venezuela , Cuba and before the coup , Bolivia , Iran is spreading hope and revolutionary optimism in its entire part of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wounded part of the world , where hope is absent , but desperately needed .
Spreading hope - that is never forgiven by the Western empire , which , like some gigantic and sadistic prison warden , constantly demands submission , while spreading depression and fear .
In the entirety of modern history , Iran has never invaded , never attacked anyone .
Iran is a peaceful nation .
But at the same time , it is a powerful , brave and proud country .
The United States and its turbo-capitalist regime understand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not comprehend , do not appreciate cultural nuances , let alone depth .
Pity !
There is so much to learn from Iran and its culture .
Iran will not attack anyone , that is clear as is proven by history .
But if physically confronted , it will defend itself , and its people .
It will fight , well and bravely .
The West should know : if it triggers a war with Iran , the entire Middle East will be consumed by terrible fire .
[ First published by NEO @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Russian Academy of Sciences ]

Please make sure these dispatches reach as many readers as possible. Share with kin, friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise.
Andre Vltchek
OpEds
Text and Photos: Andre Vltchek
I refuse to describe Iran as a victim. It is not. It is one of the most influential and strong-minded nations on Earth.
When facing mortal danger, its people unite, harden themselves and get ready to face invaders, no matter how threatening they might be.
Iran is home to one of the oldest and deepest cultures in the world, and it’s precisely this culture that helps Iranian people to survive the most frightening moments.
And one such moment is sadly, right now.
U.S. battleships are sailing right next to the Iranian territorial waters. One mistake, one false move, and war could erupt, engulfing the entire region in flames. Iran is a proud nation, and it takes its independence extremely seriously.
Right now, the country is facing one of the most unjust embargoes in human history. It is being punished for nothing; or more precisely, for sticking to all the points of the agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) also known as The Iran Nuclear Deal, which it signed in 2015 with China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany, and which the United States abandoned, without providing any logical explanation. While not particularly happy about the U.S. withdrawal; Germany, France and U.K. are doing all they can not to anger their senior partner, and its leaders in Washington.
When the West says “Terrorist activities, especially in Syria”, what it really means is “fighting the terrorism injected by the West and its allies, into Syria”. Everything is twisted, perverted and turned upside-down by the propaganda outlets operating out of the United States, Europe, Israel and the Gulf.
Add COVID-19, and inability of the country, due to sanctions, to buy medical equipment, at least in the West, and you have the perfect scenario for a national calamity and even for imminent collapse.
Or more precisely, anywhere else this would be the case, but not in Iran!
After receiving terrible blows from the West, one after another, Iran has never fallen to its knees. It has never abandoned its internationalist and socialist course (socialist, with Iranian characteristics), and it has preserved its dignity.
What it has managed to achieve is amazing, nothing short of heroic, given the circumstances.
If you look at the latest, 2019 HDI (Human Development Index, compiled and published by the UNDP), Iran is in the High Human Development bracket, and only 3 steps from the Highest Human Development group of countries. Which is thoroughly amazing, given the above-mentioned sanctions, embargoes and constant military intimidations.
Whenever I visit Iran, I am astonished by its public spaces, cultural institutions, public transportation, fountains, comfortable trains… The country is functioning well, showing incredible grace under pressure. Its television channel – PressTV – is one of the most important anti-imperialist news outlets in the world. I don’t see extreme misery, or homelessness, there. Iranians are polite, well-educated and proud. They have to deal with complex exchange rates, which I do not understand. Whenever I pay in a café or taxi, I simply extend my hand full of local currency, and I never get cheated. Things are solid and reassuring there; I feel it and really appreciate it.
Iran is an internationalist country. Not unlike Cuba or Venezuela, who are its long-term allies. Even when injured, itself, it helps others, those who need solidarity even more. This can never be forgotten, particularly in places like Latin America, or Syria.
Hezbollah, Iran’s close ally in the Middle East, is fighting the most dangerous terrorist groups in Syria; those groups that have been injected there by the West, but also by Washington’s regional allies, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey. But Hezbollah is also essentially the only social net for the poor in Syria’s neighbor – Lebanon. And not only for the Shi’a Muslims, but also for the disadvantaged Sunni citizens, for the Christians, and non-believers. Whoever is destitute in Lebanon, comes to Hezbollah, for assistance. I was based in Beirut for five years, and I know what I am talking about. All this, while the Lebanese elites are burning money in Paris, in Nice, in the nightclubs of Beirut, driving their lavish cars through the slums. And the more Iran and Hezbollah help the region, the more frustrated, outraged and aggressive the West becomes.
Look at Palestine. When it comes to the liberation of the Palestinian people from the long and brutal Israeli occupation, the Gulf countries just talk and talk. In the end, some of them side with the West and Israel. The closest, the most determined allies of the long-suffering Palestinian people in the region, are, without doubt, Iran and Syria. That, everybody in the Middle East knows, and it is only “a secret” to Westerners.
In Afghanistan, particularly in Herat, I witnessed long lines of Afghan people in front of the Iranian consulate. Devastated by the NATO occupation, Afghanistan is in despair, rated as a country with the shortest life expectancy in Asia, and the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) on the Asian continent. Tens of thousands of the Afghan people have been traveling to Iran in search of jobs. Without Iran, Herat would most likely starve to death. And now, Iran is searching for ways, (together with China and Russia), how to help Afghanistan to find a political solution, and send the NATO forces packing.
For years, all the Socialist countries of Latin America, could always rely on Iran. Be it Bolivia, before the legitimate government of Evo Morales was overthrown, or Cuba and especially Venezuela. Iran has been building social housing, it was helping with oil technology, and with many other social essentials.
Iraq and Iran, two great nations, in the past brutally pitched against each other by Washington, are once again cooperating, working together. The Western occupation has already thoroughly ruined Iraq (as it has ruined Afghanistan), historically one of the richest countries in the region. However, the more positively Iran gets involved in neighboring Iraq, the more aggressively the West behaves. It now habitually crosses all the lines of acceptable behavior. In January 2020, a U.S. drone strike murdered Iran’s national hero, General Quasem Soleimani, while he was traveling right near the Baghdad International Airport.
For years now, Iran has been standing shoulder to shoulder with Russia, China, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba; the nations which are openly and bravely deterring the aggression and brutality of Western imperialism.
It seems that no matter what the West tries to do, Iran cannot be broken. Despite the embargoes and sanctions, it demonstrates that it is capable of producing and shooting satellites into space, or of producing its own medical equipment to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. While the nation creates its great scientific and technological achievements, Iranian filmmakers keep producing their cinematic masterpieces. What a nation!
Unfortunately, all this is hidden from the eyes and ears of the public, both in the West, and in the client states. There, Iran is portrayed as a [brutal, backward] “threat”.
*
Look at this irony. On April 30, 2020, Reuters released a report about the German move to ban Hezbollah:
“Last December, Germany's parliament approved a motion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to ban all activities by Hezbollah on German soil, citing its "terrorist activities" especially in Syria.
On a trip to Berlin last year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah. Britain introduced legislation in February of last year that classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”
When the West says “Terrorist activities, especially in Syria”, what it really means is “fighting the terrorism injected by the West and its allies, into Syria”. Everything is twisted, perverted and turned upside-down by the propaganda outlets operating out of the United States, Europe, Israel and the Gulf.
“Terrorist activities” outside Syria, also means supporting the Palestinian struggle for independence, as well as at least moral support for Syria, in its attempts to regain the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an occupation which has never been recognized, even by the United Nations. It also means helping Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Latin American countries, which are brutalized (or should we say ‘terrorized’), relentlessly, by Washington and its allies.
This is precisely the logic and lexicon which was used by German propagandists during WWII, to describe resistance forces in its colonies. Freedom fighters and partisans were labeled terrorists, in France, Yugoslavia, Ukraine.
*
Even the otherwise mainstream newspaper - The Independent - published on May 1, 2020 a report critical of the bizarre U.S. scheming against Iran:
“The United States is pushing ahead with a scheme to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran that is due to be lifted in October as part of the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago.
To force the extension, Washington will attempt to lobby the Security Council to continue the arms embargo, which bars weapons sales to or from Iran.
But it also is making what legal experts and diplomats describe as a convoluted argument that it is still part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action it left, and hence able to use one of its provisions to “snapback” the embargo.”
This weird political somersault has been, according to The Independent, criticized even by one of Washington’s allies, the French President Emmanuel Macron:
“China and Russia have already vowed to use any means to block the US plan. France’s Emmanuel Macron has been working behind the scenes to sabotage the Trump scheme because of what it sees as an attempt by the White House to destroy international legal norms, said a well-placed European diplomat.”
France, the U.K., Germany and other EU countries are not necessarily happy with Washington’s foreign policy towards Iran, but their outrage is far from being [just] moral indignation. Iran is big and it is far from being poor. European companies are losing billions of euros in trade, because of the sanctions. For instance, in the recent past, two Iranian airlines were ready to purchase large numbers of brand-new Airbus aircraft, in order to compete with Qatar Airways and the Emirates. Such plans collapsed, because of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, and the almost immediate imposition of new, senseless but brutal sanctions against Teheran. Now even Mahan Air, a civilian airline, is facing sanctions, allegedly because of its flights to Venezuela, and to several Middle Eastern destinations.
*
Now, many are perhaps wondering, what triggered, in the West, such hatred towards Iran?
There is a well-hidden (again, in the West) secret regarding Iran: “It is a Socialist country. Socialist with Iranian characteristics.”
In his latest and by all means ground-breaking book about Iran (“Socialism’s Ignored Success: Iranian Islamic Socialism”), which our publishing house Badak Merah will be publishing later in May 2020, an Iranian author and the PressTV Paris chief correspondent, Ramin Mazaheri, passionately defends the Iranian socialist concept:
“I think that if open-minded leftists would simply become aware of the facts and… modern socialist interpretations of Iran’s policies – many of which I’m sure are being presented in English for the first time - I’m sure that they would not be waiting breathlessly for the collapse of the Middle East’s greatest bulwark against imperialism and capitalism.
It is urgent that Western leftists understand that the reversal of Iran’s popular, democratic revolution would have incredibly negative ramifications for the anti-imperialist movement in the Middle East, and thus the global anti-imperialist movement, and it certainly would be the cruelest loss for Islamic Socialism, which is taken quite seriously in the Muslim world even if atheistic Trotskyism cannot even discuss the concept without resorting to insults.
And, of course, a counter-revolution in Iran would be a major blow for global democracy, as there is no doubt that the Iranian People support their revolution, constitution and unique system in a democratic majority.”
Like Russia and China in Euro Asia and in Asia, like Venezuela, Cuba and before the coup, Bolivia, Iran is spreading hope and revolutionary optimism in its entire part of the world. And it is an extremely wounded part of the world, where hope is absent, but desperately needed.
Spreading hope - that is never forgiven by the Western empire, which, like some gigantic and sadistic prison warden, constantly demands submission, while spreading depression and fear.
In the entirety of modern history, Iran has never invaded, never attacked anyone. Iran is a peaceful nation. But at the same time, it is a powerful, brave and proud country.
The United States and its turbo-capitalist regime understand brutal force, only. They do not comprehend, do not appreciate cultural nuances, let alone depth. Pity! There is so much to learn from Iran and its culture.
Iran will not attack anyone, that is clear as is proven by history. But if physically confronted, it will defend itself, and its people. It will fight, well and bravely.
The West should know: if it triggers a war with Iran, the entire Middle East will be consumed by terrible fire.
*
[First published by NEO – New Eastern Outlook – a journal of the Russian Academy of Sciences]


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-15--Rome 2020 under lockdown—eerie vistas

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thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-15--German Foreign Policy Is a CIA Front

German Foreign Policy Is a CIA Front

s it really in Germany ’ s interest to destabilize a region that has already been crippled by multiple wars ?
On the surface Germany doesn ’ t appear to have a stake in the politics of Lebanon .
Indeed , from whatever angle the situation is viewed from , Germany qua Germany doesn ’ t have a meaningful stake in Lebanon .
Yet Berlin is assaulting the sovereignty of this small Mediterranean nation that means no harm .
Hezbollah is an organization that forms 10 % of the current Lebanese parliament and is a significant part of Lebanon ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commitment to international justice , Hezbollah is , in fact , Lebanon ’ s most recognizable political group .
And that ’ s the point .
Hezbollah ’ s successful efforts to defend the sovereignty of Lebanon in the past decades , and the sovereignty of Syria in recent years , is a problem for that power which aims to destroy the sovereignty of both Lebanon and Syria .
However , that power isn ’ t Germany , so what then explains Berlin ’ s hostility towards Beirut ?
Germany is doing someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem is that its foreign policy is stuck in the late 20th century .
At present , Germany ’ s political structure is stuck in post World War Two Europe .
Ever since the Nazis were defeated in 1945 , Germany has been a cutout .
To begin with , it was either a Soviet or an American cutout .
But when the Soviets had the decency to exit Germany in “ 1989 ” , the Americans remained .
As a consequence , in the 21st century German independence is still an aspiration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deutsche Welle ( DW ) , in 2019 there were “ roughly 38,600 ” American soldiers based in Germany .
“ This is…more military personnel than the US keeps in any other country except Japan.
” In other words , whether it likes it or not , Germany is a key part of American geopolitics .
As DW explains : “ Germany ’ s strategic importance for the US is reflected by the location of US European Command ( EUCOM ) headquarters in the southwestern city of Stuttgart , from which it serves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military forces across 51 primarily European countries.
” And the purpose of EUCOM ?
“ The mission of EUCOM is to protect and defend the US.. ” Its purpose is not to defend the interests of Germany but the interests of the USA .
EUCOM though is only the overt dimension of US power in Germany .
As intimidating and oppressive as EUCOM is , it is less sinister than the covert dimension of US power in Berlin and beyond .
To bend German politicians and opinion towards warmongering in west Asia requires @ @ @ @ @ @ @ subtle for the straightforward American war machine .
This need for sly covert action is the raison d ’ être of America ’ s Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) .
And Germany is as much under the control of the CIA as it is under the control of EUCOM .
The evidence is the illogical German decision to make Hezbollah illegal .
The evidence is the fact that Germany ’ s “ foreign ” secret service , the Bundesnachrichtendienst ( the BND ) , which reportedly has 300 bases inside and outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This means that infamous spymasters , like Allen Dulles ( CIA/Nazi sympathizer ) and Reinhard Gehlen ( Nazi/CIA ) , developed a covert system within Germany in the late 1940s and 1950s – a system that continues to function surreptitiously today .
Recent evidence of this insidious CIA activity in Germany includes the US bugging of Germany ’ s prime minister , Angela Merkel ( revealed in 2013 ) ; the US/German creation of a Swiss front company ( Crypto AG ) to spy on world governments ( revealed in 2020 ) ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as revealed in the book Presstitutes Embedded in the Pay of the CIA ( 2019 ) , by Udo Ulfkoette .
All of which confirms the claims made by CIA whistleblower Philip Agee in the 1970s .
For example , in a 1976 interview with the German magazine Informations Dienst he stated : “ Since World War II , the aim of US foreign policy has been to guarantee the coherence of the western world under the leadership of the USA .
CIA activities are directed toward achieving this goal….Left opposition movements had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ II , West Germany was a crucial area .
In order to secure US interests there , the CIA supported not only the CDU ( Christian Democratic Union ) but also the SPD ( Social Democratic Union ) and the trade unions .
The CIA wanted the influence of the two major political parties to be strong enough to shut out and hold down any left opposition…..Most CIA stations pay journalists to publish the CIA ’ s propaganda as if it were the journalist ’ s own work….
” And how does Hezbollah @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
It 's an official US enemy .
And so , ipso facto , it 's an official German “ enemy ” .
As a key part of the “ axis of resistance ” ( Lebanon , Syria and Iran ) that ’ s fighting US imperialism in west Asia , Hezbollah has been in the crosshairs of Washington DC for sometime .
Hence the March 2019 Al Jazeera headline : “ [ US ] Tells Lebanon to Choose Hezbollah or Independence ” .
A headline which can also be read : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The big geopolitical picture is , of course , the grand chessboard that stretches across the Eurasian landmass .
On the western edge of this “ world island ” the US is anchored in Germany .
And on the eastern side the US is anchored in Japan .
The aim of US imperialism is to control or contain everything in between – primarily Russia and China .
And in this US “ game ” of control and containment , the oil fields and pipelines in west Asia ( the eastern Mediterranean ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to criminalize Hezbollah is a part this great US “ game ” .
As a key American base on the Eurasian landmass , the “ mighty “ Germany is nothing but a pawn in the hands of the US .
This “ German decision ” , therefore , is in reality an American decision – a decision managed by America ’ s covert warriors : the CIA .
The problem for the USA and Germany , however , is that the “ game ” is now so obvious that whatever decision is made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ readers : please click the share buttons above or below .
Forward this article to your email lists .
Crosspost on your blog site , internet forums .
etc .

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]s it really in Germany’s interest to destabilize a region that has already been crippled by multiple wars? On the surface Germany doesn’t appear to have a stake in the politics of Lebanon. Indeed, from whatever angle the situation is viewed from, Germany qua Germany doesn’t have a meaningful stake in Lebanon. Yet Berlin is assaulting the sovereignty of this small Mediterranean nation that means no harm.
Hezbollah is an organization that forms 10% of the current Lebanese parliament and is a significant part of Lebanon’s governing coalition. Because of its commitment to international justice, Hezbollah is, in fact, Lebanon’s most recognizable political group. And that’s the point. Hezbollah’s successful efforts to defend the sovereignty of Lebanon in the past decades, and the sovereignty of Syria in recent years, is a problem for that power which aims to destroy the sovereignty of both Lebanon and Syria. However, that power isn’t Germany, so what then explains Berlin’s hostility towards Beirut?
Germany is doing someone’s bidding. Germany’s problem is that its foreign policy is stuck in the late 20th century. At present, Germany’s political structure is stuck in post World War Two Europe. Ever since the Nazis were defeated in 1945, Germany has been a cutout. To begin with, it was either a Soviet or an American cutout. But when the Soviets had the decency to exit Germany in “1989”, the Americans remained. As a consequence, in the 21st century German independence is still an aspiration rather than a reality.
According to Deutsche Welle (DW), in 2019 there were “roughly 38,600” American soldiers based in Germany. “This is…more military personnel than the US keeps in any other country except Japan.” In other words, whether it likes it or not, Germany is a key part of American geopolitics. As DW explains:
“Germany’s strategic importance for the US is reflected by the location of US European Command (EUCOM) headquarters in the southwestern city of Stuttgart, from which it serves as the coordinating structure for all American military forces across 51 primarily European countries.”
And the purpose of EUCOM? “The mission of EUCOM is to protect and defend the US..” Its purpose is not to defend the interests of Germany but the interests of the USA.
EUCOM though is only the overt dimension of US power in Germany. As intimidating and oppressive as EUCOM is, it is less sinister than the covert dimension of US power in Berlin and beyond. To bend German politicians and opinion towards warmongering in west Asia requires a level of deceitfulness that is too subtle for the straightforward American war machine. This need for sly covert action is the raison d’être of America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). And Germany is as much under the control of the CIA as it is under the control of EUCOM. The evidence is the illogical German decision to make Hezbollah illegal.
The evidence is the fact that Germany’s “foreign” secret service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst (the BND), which reportedly has 300 bases inside and outside Germany, was a CIA creation. This means that infamous spymasters, like Allen Dulles (CIA/Nazi sympathizer) and Reinhard Gehlen (Nazi/CIA), developed a covert system within Germany in the late 1940s and 1950s – a system that continues to function surreptitiously today.
Recent evidence of this insidious CIA activity in Germany includes the US bugging of Germany’s prime minister, Angela Merkel (revealed in 2013); the US/German creation of a Swiss front company (Crypto AG) to spy on world governments (revealed in 2020); and the manipulation of German media, as revealed in the book Presstitutes Embedded in the Pay of the CIA (2019), by Udo Ulfkoette. All of which confirms the claims made by CIA whistleblower Philip Agee in the 1970s. For example, in a 1976 interview with the German magazine Informations Dienst he stated:
“Since World War II, the aim of US foreign policy has been to guarantee the coherence of the western world under the leadership of the USA. CIA activities are directed toward achieving this goal….Left opposition movements had to be discredited and destroyed….After World War II, West Germany was a crucial area. In order to secure US interests there, the CIA supported not only the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) but also the SPD (Social Democratic Union) and the trade unions. The CIA wanted the influence of the two major political parties to be strong enough to shut out and hold down any left opposition…..Most CIA stations pay journalists to publish the CIA’s propaganda as if it were the journalist’s own work….”
And how does Hezbollah fit into this CIA / German matrix? It's an official US enemy. And so, ipso facto, it's an official German “enemy”. As a key part of the “axis of resistance” (Lebanon, Syria and Iran) that’s fighting US imperialism in west Asia, Hezbollah has been in the crosshairs of Washington DC for sometime. Hence the March 2019 Al Jazeera headline: “[US] Tells Lebanon to Choose Hezbollah or Independence”. A headline which can also be read: “US Tells Germany to Criminalize Hezbollah”.
The big geopolitical picture is, of course, the grand chessboard that stretches across the Eurasian landmass. On the western edge of this “world island” the US is anchored in Germany. And on the eastern side the US is anchored in Japan. The aim of US imperialism is to control or contain everything in between – primarily Russia and China. And in this US “game” of control and containment, the oil fields and pipelines in west Asia (the eastern Mediterranean) are fundamental.
Germany’s decision to criminalize Hezbollah is a part this great US “game”. As a key American base on the Eurasian landmass, the “mighty“ Germany is nothing but a pawn in the hands of the US. This “German decision”, therefore, is in reality an American decision – a decision managed by America’s covert warriors: the CIA. The problem for the USA and Germany, however, is that the “game” is now so obvious that whatever decision is made lacks power and meaning.
*
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thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-15--NYT Falsely Blames Russia For Cyberattack Committed By British Hacker

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Share with kin , friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise .
DISPATCHES FROM MOON OF ALABAMA , BY `` B '' This article is part of an ongoing series of dispatches from Moon of Alabama The New York Times continues its anti-Russia campaign with a report about an old cyberattack on German parliament which also targeted the parliament office of Chancellor Angela Merkel .
Merkel Is ‘ Outraged ’ by Russian Hack but Struggling to Respond Patience with President Vladimir Putin is running thin in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s help on several geopolitical fronts from Syria to Ukraine .
Chancellor Angela Merkel used strong words on Wednesday condemning an “ outrageous ” cyberattack by Russia ’ s foreign intelligence service on the German Parliament , her personal email account included .
Russia , she said , was pursuing “ a strategy of hybrid warfare.
” But asked how Berlin intended to deal with recent revelations implicating the Russians , Ms. Merkel was less forthcoming .
“ We always reserve the right to take measures , ” she said in Parliament , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I will continue to strive for a good relationship with Russia , because I believe that there is every reason to always continue these diplomatic efforts.
” That alleged attack happened in 2015 .
The attribution to Russia is as shoddy as all attributions of cyberattacks are .
This is really funny because we recently learned that the company which investigated the alleged DNC intrusion , CrowdStrike , had found no evidence , as in zero , that a Russian hacker group had targeted the DNC or that DNC emails were exfiltrated over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cyber-security firm that first accused Russia of hacking Democratic Party emails and served as a critical source for U.S. intelligence officials in the years-long Trump-Russia probe , acknowledged to Congress more than two years ago that it had no concrete evidence that Russian hackers stole emails from the Democratic National Committee ’ s server .
... [ CrowdStrike President Shawn ] Henry personally led the remediation and forensics analysis of the DNC server after being warned of a breach in late April 2016 ; his work was paid for by the DNC , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the FBI .
Asked for the date when alleged Russian hackers stole data from the DNC server , Henry testified that CrowdStrike did not in fact know if such a theft occurred at all : `` We did not have concrete evidence that the data was exfiltrated [ moved electronically ] from the DNC , but we have indicators that it was exfiltrated , '' Henry said .
The DNC emails were most likely stolen by its local network administrator , Seth Rich , who provided them to Wikileaks before he was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which nothing was taken .
The whole attribution of case of the stolen DNC emails to Russia is based on exactly nothing but intelligence rumors and CrowdStrike claims for which it had no evidence .
As there is no evidence at all that the DNC was attacked by a Russian cybergroup what does that mean for the attribution of the attack on the German Bundestag to the very same group ?
While the NYT also mentions that NSA actually snooped on Merkel 's private phonecalls it tries to keep the spotlight on Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ routers , which by the way happened in November 2016 not in December , was done with the Mirai worm : More than 900,000 customers of German ISP Deutsche Telekom ( DT ) were knocked offline this week after their Internet routers got infected by a new variant of a computer worm known as Mirai .
The malware wriggled inside the routers via a newly discovered vulnerability in a feature that allows ISPs to remotely upgrade the firmware on the devices .
But the new Mirai malware turns that feature off once it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s cleanup and restoration efforts .
...
This new variant of Mirai builds on malware source code released at the end of September .
That leak came a little more a week after a botnet based on Mirai was used in a record-sized attack that caused KrebsOnSecurity to go offline for several days .
Since then , dozens of new Mirai botnets have emerged , all competing for a finite pool of vulnerable IoT systems that can be infected .
The attack has not been attributed to Russia but to a British man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was arrested in February 2017 : A 29-year-old man has been arrested at Luton airport by the UK ’ s National Crime Agency ( NCA ) in connection with a massive internet attack that disrupted telephone , television and internet services in Germany last November .
As regular readers of We Live Security will recall , over 900,000 Deutsche Telekom broadband customers were knocked offline last November as an alleged attempt was made to hijack their routers into a destructive botnet .
...
The NCA arrested the British man under a European @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal Criminal Police Office ( BKA ) who have described the attack as a threat to Germany ’ s national communication infrastructure .
According to German prosecutors , the British man allegedly offered to sell access to the botnet on the computer underground .
Agencies are planning to extradite the man to Germany , where – if convicted – he could face up to ten years imprisonment .
The British man , one Daniel Kaye , plead guilty in court and was sentenced to 18 month imprisonment : During the trial , Daniel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ routers to cease functioning .
He only wanted to silently control them so he can use them as part of a DDoS botnet to increase his botnet firepower .
As discussed earlier he also confessed being paid by competitors to takedown Lonestar .
In Aug 2017 Daniel was extradited back to the UK to face extortion charges after attempting to blackmail Lloyds and Barclays banks .
According to press reports , he asked the Lloyds to pay about £75,000 in bitcoins for the attack to be called off .
The Mirai attack is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kaye .
The case has been discussed at length .
IT security journalist Brian Krebs , who 's site was also attacked by a Mirai bot net , has written several stories about it .
It was never 'traced to Russia ' or attributed it to anyone else but Daniel Kaye .
Besides that Kennhold writes of `` Russia ’ s foreign intelligence service , known as the G.R.U. ''
.
The real Russian foreign intelligence services is the SVR .
The military intelligence agency of Russia was once called GRU but has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York Times just made up the claim about Russia hacking in Germany from absolutely nothing .
The whole piece was published without even the most basic research and fact checking .
It seems that for the Times anything can be blamed on Russia completely independent of what the actually facts say .
Posted by b on May 14 , 2020 at 14:38 UTC | Permalink '' b '' is Moon of Alabama 's founding ( and chief ) editor .
This site 's purpose is to discuss politics , economics , philosophy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moon Of Alabama was opened as an independent , open forum for members of the Whiskey Bar community .
Bernhard ) '' b '' ) started and still runs the site .
Once in a while you will also find posts and art from regular commentators .
You can reach the current administrator of this site by emailing Bernhard at MoonofA @ aol.com .
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Please make sure these dispatches reach as many readers as possible. Share with kin, friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise.
DISPATCHES FROM MOON OF ALABAMA, BY "B"
This article is part of an ongoing series of dispatches from Moon of Alabama
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he New York Times continues its anti-Russia campaign with a report about an old cyberattack on German parliament which also targeted the parliament office of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel Is ‘Outraged’ by Russian Hack but Struggling to Respond
Patience with President Vladimir Putin is running thin in Berlin. But Germany needs Russia’s help on several geopolitical fronts from Syria to Ukraine.
NYT Berlin correspondent Katrin Bennhold writes:
Chancellor Angela Merkel used strong words on Wednesday condemning an “outrageous” cyberattack by Russia’s foreign intelligence service on the German Parliament, her personal email account included. Russia, she said, was pursuing “a strategy of hybrid warfare.” But asked how Berlin intended to deal with recent revelations implicating the Russians, Ms. Merkel was less forthcoming. “We always reserve the right to take measures,” she said in Parliament, then immediately added, “Nevertheless, I will continue to strive for a good relationship with Russia, because I believe that there is every reason to always continue these diplomatic efforts.”
That alleged attack happened in 2015. The attribution to Russia is as shoddy as all attributions of cyberattacks are.
Intelligence officials had long suspected Russian operatives were behind the attack, but they took five years to collect the evidence, which was presented in a report given to Ms. Merkel’s office just last week. Officials say the report traced the attack to the same Russian hacker group that targeted the Democratic Party during the U.S. presidential election campaign in 2016.
This is really funny because we recently learned that the company which investigated the alleged DNC intrusion, CrowdStrike, had found no evidence, as in zero, that a Russian hacker group had targeted the DNC or that DNC emails were exfiltrated over the Internet:
CrowdStrike, the private cyber-security firm that first accused Russia of hacking Democratic Party emails and served as a critical source for U.S. intelligence officials in the years-long Trump-Russia probe, acknowledged to Congress more than two years ago that it had no concrete evidence that Russian hackers stole emails from the Democratic National Committee’s server.
...
[CrowdStrike President Shawn] Henry personally led the remediation and forensics analysis of the DNC server after being warned of a breach in late April 2016; his work was paid for by the DNC, which refused to turn over its server to the FBI. Asked for the date when alleged Russian hackers stole data from the DNC server, Henry testified that CrowdStrike did not in fact know if such a theft occurred at all: "We did not have concrete evidence that the data was exfiltrated [moved electronically] from the DNC, but we have indicators that it was exfiltrated," Henry said.
The DNC emails were most likely stolen by its local network administrator, Seth Rich, who provided them to Wikileaks before he was killed in a suspicious 'robbery' during which nothing was taken.
The whole attribution of case of the stolen DNC emails to Russia is based on exactly nothing but intelligence rumors and CrowdStrike claims for which it had no evidence. As there is no evidence at all that the DNC was attacked by a Russian cybergroup what does that mean for the attribution of the attack on the German Bundestag to the very same group?
While the NYT also mentions that NSA actually snooped on Merkel's private phonecalls it tries to keep the spotlight on Russia:
As such, Germany’s democracy has been a target of very different kinds of Russian intelligence operations, officials say. In December 2016, 900,000 Germans lost access to internet and telephone services following a cyberattack traced to Russia.
Ahem. No!
That mass attack on internet home routers, which by the way happened in November 2016 not in December, was done with the Mirai worm:
More than 900,000 customers of German ISP Deutsche Telekom (DT) were knocked offline this week after their Internet routers got infected by a new variant of a computer worm known as Mirai. The malware wriggled inside the routers via a newly discovered vulnerability in a feature that allows ISPs to remotely upgrade the firmware on the devices. But the new Mirai malware turns that feature off once it infests a device, complicating DT’s cleanup and restoration efforts.
...
This new variant of Mirai builds on malware source code released at the end of September. That leak came a little more a week after a botnet based on Mirai was used in a record-sized attack that caused KrebsOnSecurity to go offline for several days. Since then, dozens of new Mirai botnets have emerged, all competing for a finite pool of vulnerable IoT systems that can be infected.
The attack has not been attributed to Russia but to a British man who offered attacks as a service. He was arrested in February 2017:
A 29-year-old man has been arrested at Luton airport by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in connection with a massive internet attack that disrupted telephone, television and internet services in Germany last November. As regular readers of We Live Security will recall, over 900,000 Deutsche Telekom broadband customers were knocked offline last November as an alleged attempt was made to hijack their routers into a destructive botnet.
...
The NCA arrested the British man under a European Arrest Warrant issued by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) who have described the attack as a threat to Germany’s national communication infrastructure. According to German prosecutors, the British man allegedly offered to sell access to the botnet on the computer underground. Agencies are planning to extradite the man to Germany, where – if convicted – he could face up to ten years imprisonment.
The British man, one Daniel Kaye, plead guilty in court and was sentenced to 18 month imprisonment:
During the trial, Daniel admitted that he never intended for the routers to cease functioning. He only wanted to silently control them so he can use them as part of a DDoS botnet to increase his botnet firepower. As discussed earlier he also confessed being paid by competitors to takedown Lonestar. In Aug 2017 Daniel was extradited back to the UK to face extortion charges after attempting to blackmail Lloyds and Barclays banks. According to press reports, he asked the Lloyds to pay about £75,000 in bitcoins for the attack to be called off.
The Mirai attack is widely known to have been attributed to Kaye. The case has been discussed at length. IT security journalist Brian Krebs, who's site was also attacked by a Mirai bot net, has written several stories about it. It was never 'traced to Russia' or attributed it to anyone else but Daniel Kaye.
Besides that Kennhold writes of "Russia’s foreign intelligence service, known as the G.R.U.". The real Russian foreign intelligence services is the SVR. The military intelligence agency of Russia was once called GRU but has been renamed to GU.
The New York Times just made up the claim about Russia hacking in Germany from absolutely nothing. The whole piece was published without even the most basic research and fact checking.
It seems that for the Times anything can be blamed on Russia completely independent of what the actually facts say.
Posted by b on May 14, 2020 at 14:38 UTC | Permalink
Comments Sampler
NOTE ^1000Careerist lackeys serving the elites control the American press. Ever pushing for war and inequality, covering up the oligarchy's crimes... They are in reality shameless disinformers. No wonder the world is in such terrible disarray.
About the author(s) "b" is Moon of Alabama's founding (and chief) editor. This site's purpose is to discuss politics, economics, philosophy and blogger Billmon's Whiskey Bar writings. Moon Of Alabama was opened as an independent, open forum for members of the Whiskey Bar community. Bernhard )"b") started and still runs the site. Once in a while you will also find posts and art from regular commentators. You can reach the current administrator of this site by emailing Bernhard at MoonofA@aol.com.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
ALL CAPTIONS AND PULL QUOTES BY THE EDITORS NOT THE AUTHORS
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thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-16--How Biosecurity Is Enabling Digital Neo-Feudalism

Italian master thinker Giorgio Agamben has been on the – controversial – forefront examining what new paradigm may be emerging out of our current pandemic distress .
He recently called attention to an extraordinary book published seven years ago that already laid it all out .
In Tempetes Microbiennes , Patrick Zylberman , a professor of History of Health in Paris , detailed the complex process through which health security , so far at the margins of political strategies , was sneaking into center stage in the early 2000s .
The WHO had already set the precedent in 2005 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around the world caused by the incoming swine flu .
In the worst-case scenario projected for a pandemic , Zylberman predicted that “ sanitary terror ” would be used as an instrument of governance .
That worst-case scenario has been revamped as we speak .
The notion of a generalized obligatory confinement is not warranted by any medical justification , or leading epidemiological research , when it comes to fighting a pandemic .
Still , that was enshrined as the hegemonic policy – with the inevitable corollary of countless masses plunged into unemployment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delirious mathematical models of the Imperial College kind , imposed by powerful pressure groups ranging from the World Economic Forum ( WEF ) to the Munich Security Conference .
Enter Dr. Richard Hatchett , a former member of the National Security Council during the first Bush Jr. administration , who was already recommending obligatory confinement of the whole population way back in 2001 .
Hatchett now directs the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations ( CEPI ) , a very powerful entity coordinating global vaccine investment , and very cozy with Big Pharma .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the WEF in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
Crucially , Hatchett regards the fight against Covid-19 as a “ war ” .
The terminology – adopted by everyone from President Trump to President Macron – gives away the game .
It harks back to – what else – the global war on terror ( GWOT ) , as solemnly announced in September 2001 by Donald “ Known Unknowns ” Rumsfeld himself .
Rumsfeld , crucially , had been the chairman of biotech giant Gilead .
After 9/11 , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to blur the distinction between civilians and the military when it came to GWOT .
That ’ s when “ generalized obligatory confinement ” was conceptualized , with Hatchett among the key players .
As much as this was a militarized Big Pharma spin-off concept , it had nothing to do with public health .
What mattered was the militarization of American society to be adopted in response to bioterror – at the time automatically attributed to a squalid , tech-deprived al-Qaeda .
The current version of this project – we are at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stay at home – takes the form of what Alexander Dugin has defined as a medical-military dictatorship .
Hatchett is very much part of the group , alongside ubiquitous Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) , very close to WHO , WEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , and Robert Redfield , director of the U.S. chapter of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
Further applications inbuilt in the project will include all-around digital surveillance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ implemented in the current narrative is the non-stop demonization of China , “ guilty ” of all things Covid-19-related .
That is inherited from another tried and tested war game – the Red Dawn scheme .
Agamben did square the circle : it ’ s not that citizens across the West have the right to health safety ; now they are juridically forced ( italics mine ) to be healthy .
That , in a nutshell , is what biosecurity is all about .
So no wonder biosecurity is an ultra-efficient governance paradigm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throats with no political debate whatsoever .
And the enforcement , writes Agamben , kills “ any political activity and any social relation as the maximum example of civic participation.
” What we are already experiencing is social distancing as a political model ( italics mine ) – with a digital matrix replacing human interaction , which by definition from now on will be regarded as fundamentally suspicious and politically “ contagious ” .
Agamben has to be appalled by this “ concept for the destiny of human society that in many aspects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decline the apocalyptic idea of the end of the world ” .
Economics had already replaced politics – as in everything subjected to the diktats of financial capitalism .
Now the economy is being absorbed by “ the new biosecurity paradigm to which every other imperative must be sacrificed.
” How to fight against it ?
Conceptual weaponry is available , such as the courses on biopolitics taught by Michel Foucault at the College de France between 1972 and 1984 .
They may now be consulted via a decentralized platform set up by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the crayfish ” , who “ advance laterally ” : a concept that does justice to great rhizomatic master Gilles Deleuze .
Nassim Taleb ’ s concept of Antifragile is also quite helpful .
As he explains , “ Antifragile is the antidote to Black Swans.
” Well , Covid-19 was a Black Swan of sorts : after all deciding elites knew something like it was inevitably coming – even as lowly Western politicians , especially , were caught totally unprepared .
Antifragile contends that because of fear ( very much in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for order ” ( natural to any political power ) “ some human systems , by disrupting the invisible or not so visible logic of things , tend to be exposed to harm from Black Swans and almost never get any benefit .
You get pseudo-order when you seek order ; you only get a measure of order and control when you embrace randomness.
” The conclusion is that “ in the black swan world , optimization isn ’ t possible .
The best you can achieve is a reduction in fragility and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evidence , so far , that a “ reduction in fragility ” in the current world-system will necessarily lead towards “ greater robustness.
” The system has never proved to be so fragile .
What we do have is plenty of indications that the system collapse is being refitted , at breakneck speed , as digital neo-feudalism .
Byung-Chul Han , the South Korean philosopher who teaches in Berlin , has attempted to lay it all out .
The problem is he ’ s too much of a hostage of an idealized vision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ correct when he notes that Asia fought Covid-19 with rigor and discipline inconceivable in the West – something that I have followed closely .
But then he evokes the Chinese social credit system to mount an attack on China ’ s society of digital discipline .
The system unquestionably allows for biopolitical surveillance .
But it ’ s all about nuance .
The social credit system is like the formula “ socialism with Chinese characteristics ” ; a hybrid that is effective only when responding to China ’ s complex specificities .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the absence of restriction to data exchanged between internet providers and the central power ; the QR code that tells whether you ’ re “ red ” or “ green ” in terms of infection ; all these instruments were applied – successfully – in China to the benefit of public health .
Byung-Chul Han is forced to admit that does not take place only in China ; South Korea – a Western-style democracy – is even considering that people in quarantine should wear a digital bracelet .
If we talk about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , nuance is the norm .
The Asian-wide collectivist spirit and discipline – especially in Confucianist-influenced societies – works irrespective of the political system .
At least Byung-Chul Han admits , “ all these Asian particularities are systemic advantages to contain the epidemic.
” The point is not that Asian disciplinary society should be seen as a model for the West .
We already live in a digital global Panopticum ( where ’ s Foucault when we need him ? )
Social network vigilance – and censorship – deployed by the Silicon Valley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our data as citizens is trafficked and instantly marketized for private profit .
So yes ; digital neo-feudalism was already in effect even before Covid-19 .
Call it surveillance turbo-neoliberalism .
Where there ’ s no inbuilt “ freedom ” , and it ’ s all accomplished by voluntary servitude .
Biopolitical surveillance is just a further layer , the last frontier , because now , as Foucault taught us , this paradigm controls our own bodies .
“ Liberalism ” has been reduced to road kill a long time ago .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the model for the West .
The point is we may have been set up for an endless biopolitical quarantine without even noticing it .

Italian master thinker Giorgio Agamben has been on the – controversial – forefront examining what new paradigm may be emerging out of our current pandemic distress.
He recently called attention to an extraordinary book published seven years ago that already laid it all out.
In Tempetes Microbiennes, Patrick Zylberman, a professor of History of Health in Paris, detailed the complex process through which health security, so far at the margins of political strategies, was sneaking into center stage in the early 2000s. The WHO had already set the precedent in 2005, warning about “50 million deaths” around the world caused by the incoming swine flu. In the worst-case scenario projected for a pandemic, Zylberman predicted that “sanitary terror” would be used as an instrument of governance.
That worst-case scenario has been revamped as we speak. The notion of a generalized obligatory confinement is not warranted by any medical justification, or leading epidemiological research, when it comes to fighting a pandemic. Still, that was enshrined as the hegemonic policy – with the inevitable corollary of countless masses plunged into unemployment. All that based on failed, delirious mathematical models of the Imperial College kind, imposed by powerful pressure groups ranging from the World Economic Forum (WEF) to the Munich Security Conference.
Enter Dr. Richard Hatchett, a former member of the National Security Council during the first Bush Jr. administration, who was already recommending obligatory confinement of the whole population way back in 2001. Hatchett now directs the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a very powerful entity coordinating global vaccine investment, and very cozy with Big Pharma. CEPI happens to be a brainchild of the WEF in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Crucially, Hatchett regards the fight against Covid-19 as a “war”. The terminology – adopted by everyone from President Trump to President Macron – gives away the game. It harks back to – what else – the global war on terror (GWOT), as solemnly announced in September 2001 by Donald “Known Unknowns” Rumsfeld himself.
Rumsfeld, crucially, had been the chairman of biotech giant Gilead. After 9/11, at the Pentagon, he got busy aiming to blur the distinction between civilians and the military when it came to GWOT. That’s when “generalized obligatory confinement” was conceptualized, with Hatchett among the key players.
As much as this was a militarized Big Pharma spin-off concept, it had nothing to do with public health. What mattered was the militarization of American society to be adopted in response to bioterror – at the time automatically attributed to a squalid, tech-deprived al-Qaeda.
The current version of this project – we are at “war” and every civilian must stay at home – takes the form of what Alexander Dugin has defined as a medical-military dictatorship.
Hatchett is very much part of the group, alongside ubiquitous Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), very close to WHO, WEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. chapter of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Further applications inbuilt in the project will include all-around digital surveillance, sold as health monitoring. Already implemented in the current narrative is the non-stop demonization of China, “guilty” of all things Covid-19-related. That is inherited from another tried and tested war game – the Red Dawn scheme.
Show me your fragility
Agamben did square the circle: it’s not that citizens across the West have the right to health safety; now they are juridically forced (italics mine) to be healthy. That, in a nutshell, is what biosecurity is all about.
So no wonder biosecurity is an ultra-efficient governance paradigm. Citizens had it administered down their throats with no political debate whatsoever. And the enforcement, writes Agamben, kills “any political activity and any social relation as the maximum example of civic participation.”
What we are already experiencing is social distancing as a political model (italics mine) – with a digital matrix replacing human interaction, which by definition from now on will be regarded as fundamentally suspicious and politically “contagious”.
Agamben has to be appalled by this “concept for the destiny of human society that in many aspects seems to have borrowed from religions in decline the apocalyptic idea of the end of the world”. Economics had already replaced politics – as in everything subjected to the diktats of financial capitalism. Now the economy is being absorbed by “the new biosecurity paradigm to which every other imperative must be sacrificed.”
How to fight against it? Conceptual weaponry is available, such as the courses on biopolitics taught by Michel Foucault at the College de France between 1972 and 1984. They may now be consulted via a decentralized platform set up by a collective which delightfully describes itself as “the crayfish”, who “advance laterally”: a concept that does justice to great rhizomatic master Gilles Deleuze.
Nassim Taleb’s concept of Antifragile is also quite helpful. As he explains, “Antifragile is the antidote to Black Swans.” Well, Covid-19 was a Black Swan of sorts: after all deciding elites knew something like it was inevitably coming – even as lowly Western politicians, especially, were caught totally unprepared.
Antifragile contends that because of fear (very much in evidence now) or a “thirst for order” (natural to any political power) “some human systems, by disrupting the invisible or not so visible logic of things, tend to be exposed to harm from Black Swans and almost never get any benefit. You get pseudo-order when you seek order; you only get a measure of order and control when you embrace randomness.”
The conclusion is that “in the black swan world, optimization isn’t possible. The best you can achieve is a reduction in fragility and greater robustness.”
There’s no evidence, so far, that a “reduction in fragility” in the current world-system will necessarily lead towards “greater robustness.” The system has never proved to be so fragile. What we do have is plenty of indications that the system collapse is being refitted, at breakneck speed, as digital neo-feudalism.
Lost in a biopolitical quarantine
Byung-Chul Han, the South Korean philosopher who teaches in Berlin, has attempted to lay it all out. The problem is he’s too much of a hostage of an idealized vision of Western liberalism.
Byung-Chul Han is correct when he notes that Asia fought Covid-19 with rigor and discipline inconceivable in the West – something that I have followed closely. But then he evokes the Chinese social credit system to mount an attack on China’s society of digital discipline. The system unquestionably allows for biopolitical surveillance. But it’s all about nuance.
The social credit system is like the formula “socialism with Chinese characteristics”; a hybrid that is effective only when responding to China’s complex specificities.
The maze of facial recognition surveillance cameras; the absence of restriction to data exchanged between internet providers and the central power; the QR code that tells whether you’re “red” or “green” in terms of infection; all these instruments were applied – successfully – in China to the benefit of public health.
Byung-Chul Han is forced to admit that does not take place only in China; South Korea – a Western-style democracy – is even considering that people in quarantine should wear a digital bracelet. If we talk about the different Asian models used to fight Covid-19, nuance is the norm.
The Asian-wide collectivist spirit and discipline – especially in Confucianist-influenced societies – works irrespective of the political system. At least Byung-Chul Han admits, “all these Asian particularities are systemic advantages to contain the epidemic.”
The point is not that Asian disciplinary society should be seen as a model for the West. We already live in a digital global Panopticum (where’s Foucault when we need him?) Social network vigilance – and censorship – deployed by the Silicon Valley behemoths has already been internalized. All our data as citizens is trafficked and instantly marketized for private profit. So yes; digital neo-feudalism was already in effect even before Covid-19.
Call it surveillance turbo-neoliberalism. Where there’s no inbuilt “freedom”, and it’s all accomplished by voluntary servitude.
Biopolitical surveillance is just a further layer, the last frontier, because now, as Foucault taught us, this paradigm controls our own bodies. “Liberalism” has been reduced to road kill a long time ago. The point is not that China may be the model for the West. The point is we may have been set up for an endless biopolitical quarantine without even noticing it.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-05-16--First Somali Congressperson Legitimizes AFRICOM and US Drone War

Rep. Omar recently commended the US war machine for increasing the “ transparency ” and “ accountability ” of its bombing of her native country .
United States representatives , no matter their racial or ethnic backgrounds , appear unable to perceive the inherent white supremacy in the notion that the US has some altruistic responsibility to police the continent of Africa with military troops and supervisors .
As a result , `` people of color , '' such as the Somali- '' American '' Congresswoman IIhan Omar provide political and moral cover to the presence of the U.S. Africa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claims about “ US interests ” on the continent .
Only an erasure of brutal European colonization from history and its “ Scramble for Africa ” to steal her rich mineral resources and vast tracts of arable land can justify giving heirs of European colonialism a role of benevolence .
AFRICOM is the colonization of Africa by the U.S. and constitutes the new scramble for Africa tantamount to when , in the 1800s , the colonial powers fought over which of them would dominate which parts of the resource rich continent .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AFRICOM ’ s most intense drone war is in Somalia and that the U.S. Congress has its first House representative of Somali origin .
Instead of this being an asset to expose AFRICOM and to the decolonization Africa , Rep. Ilhan Omar validates the role of AFRICOM .
“ AFRICOM is the colonization of Africa by the U.S. ” Recently , the Minnesota Representative sent a letter to AFRICOM General Stephen Townsend commending AFRICOM for a “ step to provide increased transparency and public accounting of U.S. military operations and as part of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” This essentially legitimizes the dehumanizing European concept of collateral damage , something only colonizers and minions of colonizers would concede to .
For AFRICOM , what matters more than Black Lives is what Vice Admiral Robert Moeller , former AFRICOM Deputy admitted is , “ Protecting the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market.
” Rep. Omar ’ s letter was prompted by discrepancies between AFRICOM ’ s reporting of casualties of its drone war against Somalia versus the reporting by NGOs like Amnesty International and AirWars .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the credibility and productivity of a phony U.S. counterterrorism strategy and was co-signed by Reps. Adam B. Schiff , Eliot L. Engel , André Carson , James R. Langevin , Terri A. Sewell , and Karen Bass .
AFRICOM has admitted to killing only two civilians in Somalia , while AirWars found that between 71 and 139 civilians have been killed since 2007 .
Amnesty International ’ s analysis of 9 cases since 2017 says US airstrikes have killed 21 civilians and injured 11 more .
A call for AFRICOM to be more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by presuming it has a benevolent purpose .
Like its 11 counterparts , this Command serves the neocolonial interest of the US and generates less security , less democracy and diminished human rights for the masses of African people who are in conflict with governments occupied by a comprador class propped up by the U.S. and Western Europe .
African independence movements since the 1950s have been destabilized by U.S. administrations of both parties .
Leaders such as Patrice Lumumba of Congo , assassinated by the CIA , and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orchestrated coup , fell victim to U.S. meddling .
Long-standing U.S. military aid to , and close joint operations with , Rwanda and Uganda led proxies of these countries into the Congo , contributing to the deaths of 6 million people between 1998 and 2007 .
In 2018 thousands of Ghanaians rallied in the streets of their capital to protest a deal that would give the United States military an expanded role in Ghana .
The U.S. mainstream media and politicians blame the crisis in Somalia on Al-Shabaab , an Islamist insurgent group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The main culprit behind the crisis , however , is the United States government that led a military invasion of the country from 1992 to 93 in a nefariously dubbed Operation Restore Hope .
Ever since , Somalia has been in a perpetual state of war , the condition that landed Rep. Omar and her family in a Kenyan refugee camp as a child before eventually making it to the U.S. “ The Command generates less security , less democracy and diminished human rights for the masses of African people.
” Al-Shabaab is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. continues to benefit from a situation that it created by using this radicalized and extreme resistance to U.S. domination as an excuse to have AFRICOM in the region .
AFRICOM operates under the paradigm of innocent civilians versus enemy combatants .
U.S. President George W. Bush first used the enemy combatant framework following 9/11 by claiming the executive power to invent “ black sites ” in nearly every part of the globe .
These enemy combatants were denied due process and were subjected to torture , immoral actions that are counter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Today AFRICOM is able to declare anyone an enemy combatant , regardless of whether they are part of Al-Shabaab or not .
During the U.S./NATO ’ s war on Libya the CIA was not merely conducting covert surveillance on the Islamists based in eastern Libya , but providing them with direct aid and coordinating their operations with the war in Syria .
After Col. Gaddafi was executed on October 20 , 2011 there were daily reports of fighting all across Libya with levels of insecurity unprecedented in the history of the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This has allowed Islamist forces throughout Northern and Eastern Africa to obtain weaponry and further destabilize countries in the region , including Somalia .
U.S. and Western power in oppressed nations depends on neo-colonialism to create the repressive force of a mis-leadership class that will quash dissent and grant Pan-European , white supremacist , capitalists patriachy unfettered access to Africa ’ s mineral and human resources , land , and markets .
“ NATO ’ s war on Libya allowed Islamist forces throughout Northern and Eastern Africa to obtain weaponry and further destabilize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for these misleaders on the African continent to pass regulations curtailing freedoms , like the contraction of civic space ; bans on movement and assembly ; and even on free speech .
AFRICOM works in tandem with this kind of repression .
With misleading headlines , earlier this year the Department of Defense claimed a troop drawdown for AFRICOM that was really only a deployment shift from West Africa to East Africa .
The United States far exceeds all other countries in military spending while it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
U.S. military expenditures reached $ 732 billion in 2019 , more than the next 10 countries combined and is substantially more than the bottom 139 combined .
Any Black leader worthy of the title would not miss pointing out this obscene contradiction against the disproportionate rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths among the African ( Black ) working class in the U.S .
The US settler state amasses great amounts of economic wealth from the exploitation of its domestic African ( Black ) working class population , then allocates vast amounts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Motherland .
“ The United States far exceeds all other countries in military spending while it ’ s also number one in COVID-19 deaths.
” Until the Black working class , particularly within the U.S. , can establish itself as the main social force of a reconstituted Black Liberation project committed to an authentic process of decolonization in every sense of that term , the U.S. will continue to exert direct influence on the continent through AFRICOM .
Plans were recently revealed indicating that the Pentagon is interested in expanding its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , surveillance reconnaissance , and warfare , as well as training camps and lily-pad bases for increasing the U.S. capacity to project forces in key regions : the Horn of Africa , East Africa and the Sahel .
Anyone embracing an allegiance to U.S. geopolitical interests objectively pits themselves against the interests of Black people everywhere in the world .
To act in the best interest of Black people and all of humanity means calling for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa and for the demilitarization of the African continent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conversation on Black Agenda Report 's Facebook page at http : //facebook.com/blackagendareport

Rep. Omar recently commended the US war machine for increasing the “transparency” and “accountability” of its bombing of her native country.
United States representatives, no matter their racial or ethnic backgrounds, appear unable to perceive the inherent white supremacy in the notion that the US has some altruistic responsibility to police the continent of Africa with military troops and supervisors. As a result, "people of color," such as the Somali-"American" Congresswoman IIhan Omar provide political and moral cover to the presence of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the dubious claims about “US interests” on the continent.
Only an erasure of brutal European colonization from history and its “Scramble for Africa” to steal her rich mineral resources and vast tracts of arable land can justify giving heirs of European colonialism a role of benevolence. AFRICOM is the colonization of Africa by the U.S. and constitutes the new scramble for Africa tantamount to when, in the 1800s, the colonial powers fought over which of them would dominate which parts of the resource rich continent.
It is a strange but illuminating irony that AFRICOM’s most intense drone war is in Somalia and that the U.S. Congress has its first House representative of Somali origin. Instead of this being an asset to expose AFRICOM and to the decolonization Africa, Rep. Ilhan Omar validates the role of AFRICOM.
“AFRICOM is the colonization of Africa by the U.S.”
Recently, the Minnesota Representative sent a letter to AFRICOM General Stephen Townsend commending AFRICOM for a “step to provide increased transparency and public accounting of U.S. military operations and as part of our national commitment to minimizing civilian casualties.” This essentially legitimizes the dehumanizing European concept of collateral damage, something only colonizers and minions of colonizers would concede to.
For AFRICOM, what matters more than Black Lives is what Vice Admiral Robert Moeller, former AFRICOM Deputy admitted is, “Protecting the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market.”
Rep. Omar’s letter was prompted by discrepancies between AFRICOM’s reporting of casualties of its drone war against Somalia versus the reporting by NGOs like Amnesty International and AirWars. Omar’s letter expresses concern for the credibility and productivity of a phony U.S. counterterrorism strategy and was co-signed by Reps. Adam B. Schiff, Eliot L. Engel, André Carson, James R. Langevin, Terri A. Sewell, and Karen Bass.
AFRICOM has admitted to killing only two civilians in Somalia, while AirWars found that between 71 and 139 civilians have been killed since 2007. Amnesty International ’s analysis of 9 cases since 2017 says US airstrikes have killed 21 civilians and injured 11 more.
“Omar essentially legitimizes the dehumanizing European concept of collateral damage.”
A call for AFRICOM to be more transparent and accountable obscures its insidious nature by presuming it has a benevolent purpose. Like its 11 counterparts , this Command serves the neocolonial interest of the US and generates less security, less democracy and diminished human rights for the masses of African people who are in conflict with governments occupied by a comprador class propped up by the U.S. and Western Europe.
African independence movements since the 1950s have been destabilized by U.S. administrations of both parties. Leaders such as Patrice Lumumba of Congo, assassinated by the CIA, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, who was overthrown in a CIA orchestrated coup, fell victim to U.S. meddling. Long-standing U.S. military aid to, and close joint operations with, Rwanda and Uganda led proxies of these countries into the Congo, contributing to the deaths of 6 million people between 1998 and 2007. In 2018 thousands of Ghanaians rallied in the streets of their capital to protest a deal that would give the United States military an expanded role in Ghana.
The U.S. mainstream media and politicians blame the crisis in Somalia on Al-Shabaab, an Islamist insurgent group that controls much of southern Somalia. The main culprit behind the crisis, however, is the United States government that led a military invasion of the country from 1992 to 93 in a nefariously dubbed Operation Restore Hope. Ever since, Somalia has been in a perpetual state of war, the condition that landed Rep. Omar and her family in a Kenyan refugee camp as a child before eventually making it to the U.S.
“The Command generates less security, less democracy and diminished human rights for the masses of African people.”
Al-Shabaab is a product of this U.S. destabilization and the U.S. continues to benefit from a situation that it created by using this radicalized and extreme resistance to U.S. domination as an excuse to have AFRICOM in the region.
AFRICOM operates under the paradigm of innocent civilians versus enemy combatants. U.S. President George W. Bush first used the enemy combatant framework following 9/11 by claiming the executive power to invent “black sites” in nearly every part of the globe. These enemy combatants were denied due process and were subjected to torture, immoral actions that are counter to international law and the Geneva Conventions.
Today AFRICOM is able to declare anyone an enemy combatant, regardless of whether they are part of Al-Shabaab or not.
During the U.S./NATO’s war on Libya the CIA was not merely conducting covert surveillance on the Islamists based in eastern Libya, but providing them with direct aid and coordinating their operations with the war in Syria. After Col. Gaddafi was executed on October 20, 2011 there were daily reports of fighting all across Libya with levels of insecurity unprecedented in the history of the country, with over 1,700 roaming militias. This has allowed Islamist forces throughout Northern and Eastern Africa to obtain weaponry and further destabilize countries in the region, including Somalia.
U.S. and Western power in oppressed nations depends on neo-colonialism to create the repressive force of a mis-leadership class that will quash dissent and grant Pan-European, white supremacist, capitalists patriachy unfettered access to Africa’s mineral and human resources, land, and markets.
“NATO’s war on Libya allowed Islamist forces throughout Northern and Eastern Africa to obtain weaponry and further destabilize countries in the region.”
Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided opportunities for these misleaders on the African continent to pass regulations curtailing freedoms , like the contraction of civic space; bans on movement and assembly; and even on free speech. AFRICOM works in tandem with this kind of repression.
With misleading headlines, earlier this year the Department of Defense claimed a troop drawdown for AFRICOM that was really only a deployment shift from West Africa to East Africa. The United States far exceeds all other countries in military spending while it’s also number one in COVID-19 deaths. U.S. military expenditures reached $732 billion in 2019, more than the next 10 countries combined and is substantially more than the bottom 139 combined. Any Black leader worthy of the title would not miss pointing out this obscene contradiction against the disproportionate rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths among the African (Black) working class in the U.S.
The US settler state amasses great amounts of economic wealth from the exploitation of its domestic African (Black) working class population, then allocates vast amounts of that wealth to oppress their kin back in the Motherland.
“The United States far exceeds all other countries in military spending while it’s also number one in COVID-19 deaths.”
Until the Black working class, particularly within the U.S., can establish itself as the main social force of a reconstituted Black Liberation project committed to an authentic process of decolonization in every sense of that term, the U.S. will continue to exert direct influence on the continent through AFRICOM.
Plans were recently revealed indicating that the Pentagon is interested in expanding its infrastructure in Africa, for drone intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance, and warfare, as well as training camps and lily-pad bases for increasing the U.S. capacity to project forces in key regions: the Horn of Africa, East Africa and the Sahel.
Anyone embracing an allegiance to U.S. geopolitical interests objectively pits themselves against the interests of Black people everywhere in the world. To act in the best interest of Black people and all of humanity means calling for the complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Africa and for the demilitarization of the African continent, and the world.
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