AMERICAN GAZA: It has been almost 40 days since Israel last allowed any humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. They have killed more than a thousand people since bombing resumed 3 weeks ago. Reports of the mass torture of Palestinians have emerged, plus Israel murdered 15 Aid workers in cold blood 2 weeks ago. After hastily burying the medics and concocting a lie to cover up the war crime, a recording of the massacre was found on a phone of one of the decomposing bodies.
Yet Donald Trump didn’t even mention the massacre in his meeting with Netanyahu, instead reiterating the value of the oceanfront property and lamenting the fact that it belongs to the Palestinians. He doubled down on the insane idea of an American peace force controlling and owning the Gaza Strip. Even after the Arab League presented a solution, Trump is adamant that the Palestinians will have to move somewhere else so he can create a ‘Freedom Zone’.
”They took oceanfront property and they gave it to people for peace,” Trump says, referring to Gaza and Israel. “How did that work out? Not good.”
Yet at the same time Trump didn’t offer Israel any relief from tariffs – 17% – and in fact reminded Netanyahu that America provides Israel with billions of taxpayers dollars each year. America First means exactly what it says, AMERICA FIRST. Israel should pay attention to what Trump is doing in Ukraine. If they aren’t careful, Jerusalem will end up in Evangelical hands, and Jews will become subordinate to American Christians.
This will be even more likely if Israel pushes America into a war with Iran. Don’t forget that Trump tore up the Nuclear Deal with Iran in 2017, setting the stage for the looming confrontation. Even Netanyahu looked surprised when Trump answered questions from reporters and mentioned he was negotiating with Iran.
Trump was asked if he would use military action to remove any nuclear threat in Iran.
Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon”.
Trump also mentioned a “big meeting” between America and Iran scheduled for Saturday.
“Maybe a deal’s going to be made, that would be really great for Iran.”
The stakes are high. The U.S. has avoided such direct talks for years. The Iran nuclear deal, which Trump scuttled after it was put in place under Barack Obama, was negotiated through multi-party talks.
‘I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it,’ he added. ‘So we are going to see if we can avoid it, but it’s getting to be very dangerous territory, and hopefully those talks will be successful.
‘And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful.’
And what happens if a deal is not made? Keeping in mind that deals under Trump are never even remotely fair. He also changes his tune when it suits him and is an unreliable ally. America has always been a bit of a bully, but what we are currently witnessing is going way too far. This boorish behavior will come back to haunt them.
Of course not all Americans act like spoilt brats, yet the unfortunate truth remains, the majority do. They believe that Americans are somehow more exceptional than anyone else. This superiority complex is their Achilles Heal. They wholeheartedly endorse the America First ideology.
The only reason Trump is this powerful is because the GOP control all three (actually four) levers of power. The White House, the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court. They didn’t take it by force, (although they did try on J6 and failed), people voted for them/him. Trump won the popular vote and all seven swing states, those are the hard facts.
UPDATE 4/11: RED LINES – Iran has set strict terms ahead of crucial talks it will hold with US on its nuclear program, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday, citing sources it didn’t identify.
Major “red lines” include “threatening language” by the Trump administration and “excessive demands regarding Iran’s nuclear program,” Tasnim reported.
The US must also refrain from raising issues relating to Iran’s defense industry, Tasnim said, likely referring Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the US’ Middle Eastern allies see as a threat to their security.
“Iran will not accept any form of threat or any attempt to cross these red lines,” Tasnim said.
In February, President Donald Trump reinstated a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from building a nuclear weapon. According to the memorandum, the US would also “implement a campaign aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports to zero” and deny Iran intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Iranian and American delegations are due to arrive in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday morning, Tasnim said. After a meeting with Oman’s foreign minister, indirect talks are scheduled to begin in the afternoon.
Trump has said that talks will be direct. – CNN
UPDATE: 11/4 – DOING BIBI’S BIDDING: – A US judge has ruled the Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate detained last month over his role in pro-Palestinian protests.
Mr Khalil, a permanent legal US resident, has not been charged with a crime. In a letter written from the facility, he has said his “arrest was a direct consequence” of speaking out for Palestinian rights. The government has cited a Cold War-era immigration law, declaring that his presence in the US was adverse to American foreign policy interests.
The immigration court’s ruling does not mean Mr Khalil would be immediately removed from the country. The judge gave his lawyers until 23 April to appeal against the order. The activist has been held at a Louisiana detention centre since 8 March, when immigration officers told him he was being deported for taking part in protests against the war in Gaza.
The 30-year-old was a prominent voice at Columbia University’s protests against the war in Gaza last year. The Trump administration has cited a 1952 law that empowers the government to order someone deported if their presence in the country could pose unfavourable consequences for American foreign policy.
The judge said the Trump administration was allowed to move forward with its effort to deport Mr Khalil because the argument that he poses “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the US is “facially reasonable”. – BBC –
Apr 08, 2025 3:04:09 pm
