#Trump poses the biggest #danger to the world in 2024
“A shadow looms over the #world. In this week’s @TheEconomist edition we publish The World Ahead #2024, our 38th annual predictive guide to the coming year, & in all that time no single person has ever eclipsed our analysis as much as #DonaldTrump….
The Economist argues that Trump's #ForeignPolicy & #macroeconomic policies would have a significant negative impact on the #world as a whole. #Trump would almost certainly make moves to gut #NATO. And he may very well pursue another package of tax cuts for the wealthy as he did in 2017, which would spike #inflation & drag down #global#economic#markets.
However, the Economist warns that the greatest danger Trump presents is in "his own country."
[Gifted article, no paywall. The Atlantic]: Hamas Must Go. The terror group has proved again and again that it will sabotage any efforts to forge a lasting peace. By By Hillary Rodham Clinton
As someone from the Global South, in a country that has suffered and been exploited by Spanish imperialism, British imperialism, and then US neoimperialism, I find it a bit amusing that the tone of this article is: "China is dangerously and alarmingly building bases and strongholds all over the world, some of which are close to OUR bases and strongholds!"
You see, only America gets to be a global superpower with imperialist reach.
(To forestall the certain bad faith arguments that are inevitable to pop up, I think Chinese imperialism is also bad).
For everyone thinking of rejecting Biden for his policy on Gaza and the Middle East, might I remind you that Trump tried to pass a whole-ass MUSLIM BAN.
#BarackObama offered a complex analysis of the conflict between #Israel & #Hamas, telling thousands of former aides that they were all “complicit to some degree” in the current bloodshed.
I take solid strong personal stances because I think #ambiguity is a tool for cowards(and politicians). I'm #autistic & don't like shady ambiguity. I can smell that air of ambiguous deception, miles away.
Ambiguity is most beloved by the dishonest who enjoy lying, via omission games.
Expel all Palestinians from Gaza, recommends Israeli gov’t ministry
An Intelligence Ministry document revealed by Local Call and +972 shows how the idea of population transfer to the Sinai is reaching official discussions.
👀“US stopped issuing export licenses for most civilian firearms & ammo for 90 days for all non-govt users, citing national security & foreign policy interests.
Commerce Dept did not provide further details for the pause, which also includes shotguns & optical sights, but said urgent review will assess the "risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-halts-exports-most-civilian-firearms-90-days-2023-10-27/
NO #SecondAmendment issues here — NONE — even though no amendment gives anyone absolute unfettered rights anyway!
These export restrictions have got to hurt the #NRA more than any domestic background checks or registration requirements, especially if the export pause is extended for any prolonged period of time.
The #IDF said it sent #tanks in to conduct a “targeted raid” in the northern #Gaza Strip overnight, describing the brief raid as “part of preparations for the next stages of combat.” It said soldiers “exited the area at the end of the activity.” As calls grow for a #CeaseFire, Israeli PM Benjamin #Netanyahu said #Israel was “preparing for a ground incursion” of Gaza, but that he “won’t specify” when or how it would occur.
#Russia has long cultivated ties w/ #Israel, which are now at risk. #Putin remained silent for several days since the #Oct7 attack, only to then issue muted comments about “catastrophic” civilian deaths & cast the current crisis as a failure of the US #ForeignPolicy.
His remarks underscored a shift in relations w/Israel in part caused by the #war in #Ukraine, in which Moscow has found itself more closely aligned w/ #Iran.
"..with the election of Donald Trump, the United States had a president who believed that its alliances were a form of geopolitical welfare. The steps he took that damaged those alliances were celebrated by Beijing and Moscow, which correctly saw U.S. alliances as a source of American strength rather than as a liability. Instead of acting to shape the international order, Trump pulled back from it." https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/sources-american-power-biden-jake-sullivan?
"The American people know a bully when they see one. They understand that if they were to pull U.S. support from Ukraine, it would not just put Ukrainians at a severe disadvantage as they defend themselves but also set a terrible precedent, encouraging aggression in Europe and beyond. American support for Ukraine is broad and deep, and it will endure." #ukraine#jakeSullivan#foreignAffairs#foreignPolicy#nationalSecurity
The United States now finds itself at the start of the third era: one in which it is adjusting for a new period of competition in an age of interdependence and transnational challenges. This does not mean breaking with the past or giving up the gains that have been made, but it does mean laying a new foundation of American strength. #jakeSullivan#foreignAffairs#natSec#foreignPolicy#nationalSecurity
The story of how a small EU state like Lithuania took on world superpower China.
It begins when Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius.
China was outraged. For Beijing, it was tantamount to recognising the island as a sovereign country - something it considers a red line, claiming Taiwan as its own.
What happened next caught the Lithuanians completely off guard.
And then came the longer-term concerns, something #Israel, in its immediate #rage, seemed less interested in contemplating: If you succeed in destroying #Hamas, what will you do w/ #Gaza? And what will happen to your hopes — & ours — for broader #MiddleEast#peace?
#Biden reminded the Israelis of the “mistakes” the #UnitedStates had made as it struck out in fury after the #alQaeda attacks in Sept 2001….
At a news conference before his departure, #Austin firmly took #Israel’s side, saying that after the attacks, “this is no time for neutrality or for false equivalence or for excuses for the inexcusable.”
But he called for calm in the days ahead.
“This is a time for resolve & not revenge, for purpose & not panic, & for security & not surrender.”
Just a guess: Egypt won't open its border because Israel and the US (note: Blinken specifically and repeatedly says "we" when answering questions about this crisis) refuse to guarantee that those who leave Gaza will ever be able to return to whatever is left of their homes. #politics#internationallaw#humanrights#foreignpolicy
“… a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
…beyond the outrage & reassurance, #Biden admin ofcls & regional experts struggled to understand how Hamas’s preparations for such a massive attack — w/ thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli cities & simultaneous assaults by gunmen crossing into southern towns & villages — could have escaped #Israel’s vaunted #intelligence & #defense apparatus.
While the #UnitedStates had “a general concern about rising tensions in the #WestBank,” it had no “specific warning or indication” of any #Hamas action “at the level of sophistication of what transpired,” a snr ofcl said.
Perhaps more important for the admin was what the shocking #invasion could mean for US efforts to forge a normalization accord between #Israel & #SaudiArabia, a goal that has become one of #Biden’s major #ForeignPolicy priorities.
While #peace is seen as a #foreignpolicy issue in the US, research shows that US communities, especially those struggling with high levels of crime and violence, do care strongly about peace.
They just tend to use words like “safety” and "well-being” instead.