Good day to remind everyone of the guy who will be feted, mourned, and deified nationally and internationally as a "Grand strategist", "Mr. Realpolitik", 'Statesman", "Great Man of History" etc., etc.,
Everyone knows about the Vietnam war, and what happened in "Indo-China", much less so around the same time what happened in South Asia from 1970-71. Remains one of the toughest books I have ever read.
Henry Kissinger has died at age 100, his consulting firm said in a statement on Wednesday... The Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, estimates that Kissinger’s actions from 1969 through 1976, a period of eight brief years when Kissinger made Richard Nixon’s and then Gerald...
If you let the vice-chairman of the security council present this map, we can all agree Russia has an expansionist view with regard to Ukraine. So please ignore all people saying Russia wants peace etc. #Medvedev#Russia#Ukraine#geopolitics@geopolitics
"Your occassional reminder that in 2016 alone, America dropped nearly three bombs every hour, 24 hours a day. A staggering 26,171 bombs rained down on Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Pakistan - that’s seven Muslim-majority territories. The USA was running special operations in no less than 138 countries, 70% of the world’s nations. Since the so-called War on Terror was launched in 2002, the "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" has been responsible for the deaths of at least four million civilians, and the maiming or displacement of tens of millions more."
3 fmr #UnitedStates foreign policy ofcls in Trump's admin met w/ Benjamin Netanyahu & other public figures in #Israel on Mon….
The delegation was comprised of Robert O'Brien, who served as Trump's 4th & final #NationalSecurity adviser, as well as fmr Ambassador to the #UAE John Rakolta & fmr Ambassador to #Switzerland Ed McMullen….
"designed to help public sector organizations and customers in highly regulated industries meet their evolving sovereignty needs...AWS European Sovereign Cloud to be separate and independent from our existing Regions, with infrastructure located wholly within the European Union (EU)"
Putin is still waging a total war of agression against the much smaller and less powerful Ukraine. Kherson and other cities are targeted, heavy fighting at the front, even if there is a stalemate (not necessarily) , Ukraine needs all the support we can give them. That will also not end even when at sometime a ceasefire will be reached. Ukraine (or part of it) will join the #EU so we are committed for years to come. #Ukraine#Geopolitics#EU@geopolitics
The #SupremeCourt on Tues cleared the way for Texas to immediately begin enforcing one of the nation’s harshest immigration laws, which opponents say would disrupt more than a century of #federal control over #international borders.
"At least 100 Israelis have been arrested for social media posts supporting Palestinians in Gaza and 70 remain in detention, according to a legal advocacy group in the country. Adalah, which represents Arab Israelis in human rights cases, said the arrests are part of an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression in Israel."
It's the most-dangerous moment in geopolitics since the dawn of the #Ukraine#war
#US President Joe #Biden told #Israeli prime minister #Benjamin#Netanyahu during a call today that the US will oppose any Israeli direct #counterattack against Iran, according to an Axios report that cited a 'senior White House official.'
Two things:
If the US doesn't want a war, this makes sense. Aside from #oil prices, I can see plenty of reasons that Biden wouldn't want this war now.
Could this be a smokescreen? Things like this don't 'leak' out of the White House. This would be some of the most-highly classified information on the planet. So was it leaked to pressure Israel? To lower expectations of the US actually getting involved? Or is it a fake to get Iran to let its guard down?
The answer to that might have to do with what was said behind closed doors when Iran briefed the US, Italy and a number of other countries before its response.
Just discovered @NessaUndreza - what a lovely concept for a social media account, highlighting everyday life in #Australia. Immediate follow. I love #Melbourne - it's one of my favourite cities, better than Sydney IMHO (sorry, Sydneysiders) though #Adelaide will always be the city of my heart.
Perhaps I should do the same, because I live in my head thinking about abstract serious things far too much ;) #Geopolitics I'm looking at you!
A helicopter carrying President #EbrahimRaisi of #Iran & his foreign minister crashed on Sunday in the country’s mountainous northwest, acc/to state media, deepening the turmoil that has gripped the nation on both the international & domestic fronts in recent months.
#Raisi, 63, was traveling from Iran’s border w/ Azerbaijan to inaugurate a joint dam project.
#Raisi, a conservative who violently crushed dissent is widely viewed as a possible successor to the SupremeLeader. The uncertainty over his fate comes during a particularly tumultuous period for #Iran.
Its long shadow war w/ #Israel burst into the open after #Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, setting off the war in #Gaza & a cascade of strikes & counterstrikes across the region.
Even well into the night, state media had not yet reported on casualties, or on the condition of the president or anyone else aboard. The cause of the crash was also unknown.
“There will be no disruption in the country’s operation,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali #Khamenei said in an address on state TV. “Senior officials are doing their work & I have advised them on the necessary points & all of the country’s operation will carry on smoothly & orderly.”
The helicopter, carrying #Raisi & #Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir #Abdollahian, state media reported, crashed near the city of Varzaghan around 1PM local time, in bad weather & thick fog.
Search & rescue teams scoured an area of tall mountains & dense forest through rain & fog for >10 hrs. At one point the authorities called off the aerial search because of the weather, dispatching on foot soldiers, elite commandos of the Revolutionary Guards & 40 rescue teams….
#Raisi is a hard-line religious cleric who came of age during the #Islamic revolution. Under #Iran’s #theocracy, Raisi, as president, is the 2nd most powerful individual in Iran’s #political structure after… #Khamenei.
After becoming president in 2021, Raisi consolidated power & marginalized reformists who wanted to defuse tensions w/the #West. He repeatedly said he pursued a policy of “strong diplomacy,” forging closer #economic & #security ties w/ #Russia & #China.
Trump suggested that he would incite #Russia to attack “delinquent” #UnitedStates#allies, foreshadowing potentially far-reaching changes in the #WorldOrder if he wins the White House again.
Soon after Trump took office, his staff explained how #NATO’s mutual defense obligations worked. (The fact that he had to have it explained is sick).
“You mean, if Russia attacked Lithuania, we would go to war with Russia?” he responded. “That’s crazy.”
#Trump has never believed in the fundamental one-for-all-and-all-for-one concept of the #AtlanticAlliance. Indeed, he spent much of his 4-yr presidency undermining it while strong-arming members into keeping their commitments to spend more on their own militaries w/the #threat that he would not come to their #aid otherwise.
Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies (www.rollingstone.com)
Henry Kissinger has died at age 100, his consulting firm said in a statement on Wednesday... The Yale University historian Greg Grandin, author of the biography Kissinger’s Shadow, estimates that Kissinger’s actions from 1969 through 1976, a period of eight brief years when Kissinger made Richard Nixon’s and then Gerald...