Uprooted Palestinian: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM – سلام القدس عليكم

Sunday, 25 August 2019

Imperial Sentiments: Donald Trump, Greenland and Colonial Real Estate

Global Research, August 23, 2019

Haven’t the critics worked it out yet? US President Donald Trump chugs to the coal of nonsense that may come in the wrapping of some sense. Initial mad-cat comments, when cobbled together, might reveal some pattern in time.

Take, for instance, the recent offer to purchase Greenland. Considered laughable, purchasing territories has notable, historical precedent in US foreign policy. Territorial aggrandizement through such means has been something of a US specialty, complementing the usual technique of brutal military conquest.

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was a steal by President Thomas Jefferson, almost doubling the territory of the United States. Alaska also went the way of purchase, being transferred by Russia to the US in 1867 for $7.2 million. It was something the Russians would come to rue: within a half-century, that amount had been earned back a hundred times over.

That same decade saw US State Department officials turn their attention to Greenland. An 1868 publication for the department compiled by Benjamin Mills Peirce casts more than a fleeting eye on the resources of both Iceland and Greenland, acknowledging the treaty with Denmark which was ostensibly meant to cede control of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John to the US. (The US State Department describes this attempt on the part of Secretary of State William Henry Seward to acquire the Danish West Indies rather laconically as “peaceful territorial expansion”.)

This observation in the report comes with its inaccuracies, largely based on premature optimism: the US Senate spitefully rejected the treaty, despite being ratified by the Danish parliament and its approval by the very limited suffrage plebiscite. Anger was expressed at Seward’s persistent support for the troubled President Andrew Jackson during impeachment proceedings. US interest persisted, though it was the turn of the Danish upper house to return the serve of repudiation in 1902 in refusing to ratify the agreement. It took the winds of the First World War to encourage a formal transfer of the Danish West Indies on April 1, 1917.

The 1868 report uses rather familiar language to Trump’s, both in political and economic terms. The Danish authorities are held to task for their great neglect of invaluable development opportunities. Iceland is praised for “pasture and arable lands, its valuable mines, its splendid fisheries, and its unsurpassed hydraulic power”. Fully developed (read, by US efforts), a population of one million might be sustained. The population of Greenland is similarly “neglected by Denmark”, despite the island having vast quantities of fauna varieties for the kill, among them “whale, walrus, seal, and shark, cod, ivory-cod, salmon, salmon-trout, and herring”. Obtaining it for the US would make good political and commercial sense: it would flank “British America on the Arctic and Pacific” and force her away from Britain “to become a part of the American Union.”

Enough seriousness was given to Trump’s offer to warrant copy across the media spectrum. The Brookings Institution’s Scott R. Anderson was not hopeful that discussions would go anywhere. “Unfortunately for the president, buying and selling Greenland is, in all likelihood, a legal and political impossibility.”

Colonialism Lives on in the Mind of Donald Trump

Anderson acknowledges a traditional acquisitiveness towards Greenland, being a gem of mineral and natural resource wealth. Furthermore, its proximity to Russia and the Arctic, in Anderson’s words,

“makes it a major strategic asset for staging various military and intelligence facilities.”

This point is already noted by a US presence at the Thule Air Base, something maintained since the Second World War with Danish consent. Admittedly, that presence was encouraged by Nazi Germany’s occupation of the kingdom in 1940, leaving Greenland to slide into the American orbit. Six years later, President Harry Truman wanted to formalise the move by suggesting a sum of $100 million for the island.

Given that the Danish government already permits a degree of US influence, it might have been more prudent of Trump to simply exercise it via traditional forms of seemingly benign encroachment. That approach can be seen in Australia, where an increased US military presence is being felt by way of US marines on rotation in the Northern Territory. But such a technique seems all too quiet for the Trump boardroom of hiring and firing. On Wednesday, he cancelled a planned visit to Denmark, deeming the comments made by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen “nasty”.

Frederiksen’s degree of nastiness was simply one of puzzlement. Talking about purchasing Greenland was “an absurd discussion”, even though the US did acquire the Danish West Indies through purchase and has kept a roaming eye, wallet at the ready, to expansion in the Atlantic. On Sunday, she told a television reporter that, “Thankfully, the time when you buy and sell other countries and populations is over. Let’s leave it there.” She did make one gentle concession. “Jokes aside, we would naturally love to have an even closer strategic relationship with the US.” Deeper cooperation “on Arctic affairs” is still on the table.

Despite Frederiksen’s occasional asides at the United States, Danish foreign policy has been closely aligned with the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001, bucking a long history of non-interventionism. The Danish Parliament gave its unqualified approval to US actions in retaliation and committed troops to the warring enterprises in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Danish military casualties per capita are the highest of any of the coalition partners in those haphazard efforts. This shedding of blood has led to such emetic observations as those of former Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, describing the kingdom as “America’s largest and smallest ally”. (An exhibition at the Museum of Danish America in 2017 proclaimed without reserve that the US and Denmark “have the longest unbroken diplomatic relationship in the world, beginning in 1801.”)

There is also Denmark’s strained and blighted relationship with Greenland, making it susceptible to foreign influence. The largely self-governing entity has capitalised on Danish indifference, attempting to lure Chinese investment to develop three airports to secure better connections to the US and Europe. (Denmark reluctantly caved in last year in an effort to keep the PRC at bay.) Greenland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has, however, drawn the line over a proposed sale.

“We’re open for business,” went an official tweet, “not for sale”.

Greenland MFA @GreenlandMFA

#Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale learn more about Greenland on: http://Greenland.com

Greenland – The Official Tourism Site. Find your adventure here! – [Visit Greenland!]

All about Greenland. Find travel offers and ideas for your next adventure. Get inspired and plan your trip to Greenland here.

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The Greenland spat has revealed the obstinate ahistorical context of Trump’s world. Allies, for one, are to be hectored, their efforts dismissed as paltry. Despite Danish contributions to the foolhardy efforts of the US imperium, Denmark could still be scolded for spending a mere 1.35% of GDP on NATO.

“They are a wealthy country,” tweeted Trump, “and should be at 2%”.

The president had been insulted, his ego put down by the prime minister of a small state. “You don’t talk to the United States in that way, at least under me,” he told reporters in Washington. “I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off.” The US was never blown off and remains the oversized fly in the ointment of Denmark’s foreign policy. As for Greenland, Trump might have asked its own prime minister, Kim Kielsen.

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Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com

The original source of this article is Global Research

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

كمين فلسطيني نوعي قرب «دوليب»: عودة العمليات المخطَّطة إلى الضفة

يحيى دبوق

السبت 24 آب 2019

أدت العملية إلى مقتل مستوطنة وإصابة آخرين (أ ف ب )

تمثل العملية التي نُفذت أمس قرب مستوطنة دوليب، وسط الضفة الغربية المحتلة، وأدت إلى مقتل مستوطنة وجرح آخرين، نقلة نوعية من نموذجَي الطعن والدهس اللذين سادا الضفة طويلاً، إلى نموذج العمليات المُخططة. نقلة تثير الكثير من المخاوف لدى الاحتلال، من أن تمثل الحلقة الأولى في مسلسل قد يستمرّ ويتصاعد، وخصوصاً إن كان قرارها صادراً عن مستوى قيادي وليس فردياً.

تثير عملية «دوليب» خشية كامنة لدى القيادة الأمنية الإسرائيلية من عودة هذا النوع من العمليات المُخطَّطة إلى الضفة الغربية المحتلة، وخصوصاً أن هذه القيادة سبق أن حذرت، في الأسابيع الماضية، من أن الهدوء في الضفة مخادع، وأن إمكانية الانفجار فيها باتت أكثر معقولية مما كانت عليه في الماضي. تلك الخشية تبدو، للأسف، مشتركة مع الجانب الفلسطيني الرسمي، الذي كان يعزز تنسيقه الأمني مع إسرائيل في ظروف مشابهة للكشف عن هوية منفذي العمليات، انطلاقاً من خوفه من أن يغلب النهج المقاوم على نهج التوسل السياسي الذي يتبعه.

وتشير ردة الفعل الأولية الصادرة عن رئيس حكومة العدو، بنيامين نتنياهو، إلى فقدان أدوات مواجهة منفذي العمليات وصدّهم، إن وقائياً أو استباقياً، ما يدفع إلى التشديد على الأثمان التي يمكن للاحتلال تدفيعها للمنفذين وأهليهم وحاضنتهم، وهو ما يفسر لجوء نتنياهو إلى التوعّد بأفعال كيدية، من خلال التأكيد على تعزيز الاستيطان، و«تعزيز الجذور» في الضفة. في السياق نفسه، جاءت تعليقات رئيس أركان الجيش الإسرائيلي، أفيف كوخافي، الذي شدد على أولوية ملاحقة المنفذين، خشية نجاحهم في التواري بعد تمكّنهم من تنفيذ العملية نفسها، ما قد يشكل دافعاً إلى تنفيذ عمليات مشابهة من قِبَل مجموعات أو أفراد فلسطينيين. وقال كوخافي: «نحن في خضمّ عملية المطاردة، ونركز على الجهد الاستخباري العملاني الواسع للوصول إلى منفذي الهجوم الخطير»، مضيفاً إنه «يجري تقدير للوضع للتعرف إلى تفاصيل العملية، وعمليات البحث جارية في المنطقة».

بدوره، وصف المتحدث باسم الجيش الإسرائيلي الهجوم بالخطير للغاية حتى في نتائجه، موضحاً أن الانفجار ناجم عن قنبلة محلية الصنع، متابعاً «(إننا) لا نعلم ما إذا تم إلقاء العبوة الناسفة أو زرعها من قبل». وبيّن أن عملية الملاحقة تتضمن عدة حواجز، إضافة الى تعزيزات استُقدمت إلى موقع الانفجار، «إذ إننا في خضمّ محاولة لمنع هجمات لاحقة». وعقب تصريحات المتحدث، قدّرت مصادر عسكرية إسرائيلية أن يكون المنفذون قد خططوا مسبقاً لإيقاع التفجير في منطقة يرتادها المستوطنون، وهي نبع ماء بالقرب من مستوطنة دوليب، وفي لحظة اقتراب مجموعة منهم من العبوة، عمد الكامنون إلى تفجيرها عن بعد. وذكرت المصادر أن التحقيقات الأولية تظهر أن تنفيذ العملية جاء بعد معاينة المكان ورصده بعناية.

ترجمت عملية أمس موقف الشعب الفلسطيني الرافض للاحتلال وقيوده

على خط موازِ، مثلت العملية مناسبة لاستعار التراشق على الساحة السياسية الإسرائيلية ربطاً بالانتخابات المقبلة. إذ استغلّ عدد من منافسي نتنياهو التفجير للتصويب عليه ومهاجمة أدائه و«تراجعه» أمام «الإرهاب» الفلسطيني. ومن بين المواقف، برزت دعوة اليمين المتطرف إلى ضمّ الضفة وتفكيك السلطة الفلسطينية وإنهاء «جودة حياة» العرب، «التي لا تساوي في القيمة أي قتيل إسرائيلي»، مثلما جاء على لسان وزير المواصلات وعضو المجلس الوزاري الأمني المصغر، بتسلئيل سموتريش. من جهته، شجب الموفد الأميركي للشرق الأوسط، جيسون غرينبلات، العملية، واصفاً إياها بـ«البربرية» التي تقود إلى معاناة غير متناهية، مطالباً السلطة بشجبها بكلمات واضحة.

تؤكد العملية، من جديد، في شكلها ومضمونها وطريقة تنفيذها، تعذّر كبح الفلسطينيين وخيارهم المقاوم، على رغم كل الصعوبات الداخلية والخارجية التي يواجهونها. وبغض النظر عن هوية منفذي العملية وانتماءاتهم، وما إن كان قرارها فردياً أو قيادياً، فقد أثبت الفلسطينيون إمكانية تطوير العمليات على رغم إجراءات العدو والسلطة الفلسطينية، بحيث تكون أكثر إيلاماً للاحتلال، وعدم الاكتفاء بعمليات الدهس والطعن، على أهميتها. ميدانياً، يدور السباق الحالي بين الاحتلال والسلطة من جهة، والمنفذين من جهة ثانية، على التخفي أو الكشف والتصفية اللاحقة، والنتيجة المتحققة جراء هذا التسابق من شأنها التأثير على مجمل ساحة الضفة، وتحديداً ما يسميه الاحتلال «العمليات المقلدة»، التي يبدو احتمال استمرارها عالياً إن كانت بقرار قيادي.

الواضح أن العملية أربكت العدو بقيادتَيه السياسية والأمنية، في ظرف داخلي حساس جداً لرأس الهرم السياسي في الكيان، والذي يمكن أن يستغلّ منافسوه الأمر للطعن في أدائه في مواجهة الفلسطينيين، علماً بأن معظم من هاجموا نتنياهو أمس هم مِمّن تولّوا مسؤوليات الصف الأول أمنياً وعسكرياً وسياسياً، وكان أداؤهم في هذا الإطار نسخة تكاد تكون متطابقة عن أداء نتنياهو. كذلك، ترجمت عملية أمس، وهذه أهم نتائجها، موقف الشعب الفلسطيني الرافض للاحتلال وقيوده، ومشاريع التيئيس التي يُعمل عليها ضد قضيته.

«حماس»: العملية رسالة إنذار

في قطاع غزة، تواصلت العمليات الفردية على الحدود، حيث أنقذت الطواقم الطبية الفلسطينية، صباح أمس، شاباً مصاباً بعد اشتباكه مع قوات العدو ليلاً. وادعى جيش الاحتلال أنه أطلق النار على الشاب بينما كان يلقي عبوات متفجرة عند السياج الأمني الى الشرق من مدينة غزة. وخلال ساعات الظهر، ذكرت مواقع للمستوطنين أن عبوة صغيرة انفجرت في جيب عسكري على الحدود مع القطاع، من دون تسجيل إصابات في صفوف الجنود. وعلى رغم نشر «الهيئة العليا لمسيرات العودة» عناصر أمنية بلباس مدني على طول الحدود الشرقية لمنع المتظاهرين من التصعيد والوصول إلى أماكن تمركز جنود العدو، أفادت المصادر الطبية بأنها تعاملت مع 70 إصابة بجروح مختلفة. وسبق مسيرات أمس، التي شهدت مشاركة كثيفة، قدوم السفير القطري، محمد العمادي، فجراً، عبر حاجز «بيت حانون ــــ إيرز»، إلى القطاع، حاملاً دفعة جديدة من الأموال.

إلى ذلك، أشاد رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة «حماس»، إسماعيل هنية، بالعملية التي نُفذت أمس غرب رام الله. وقال هنية، خلال خطبة الجمعة في غزة، إن «(العملية) تقول للاحتلال: ابتعدوا عن القدس التي تمثل برميل بارود سيتفجر بكم ويحرق من يعتدي عليها».

Macron screams ‘fire!’ on a crowded planet as burning Amazon serves as ultimate G7 smokescreen

Image result for Macron screams â€˜fire!â€™ on a crowded planet as burning Amazon serves as ultimate G7 smokescreen

Robert Bridge

August 24, 2019

Any chance of the seven most industrialized eco-trashers preventing the Amazon from going up in smoke is a bit like hoping Hollywood executives will find a way to stop sex and violence from appearing on the big screen. It’s probably not going to happen. The G7 wants to keep filling the seats for a show called ‘Capitalism’ and come next week few will remember the French president’s fiery, self-serving outburst.

For those dozen or so people who still have not been shunned, shadow-banned or otherwise disappeared from Twitter, you may have heard about Emmanuel Macron’s latest Napoleon impersonation on the global soap box.

“Our house is burning. Literally,” the former Rothschild investment banker warned in a tweet that carried the disturbing photo of a lush chunk of rainforest being engulfed in an inferno. “The Amazon rain forest – the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let’s discuss this emergency first order in two days!”

Once again, the French leader’s arrogance – he once told an unemployed man he could find work if he “crossed the street,” and referred to Paris protesters as “slackers” – is exceeded only by his stellar stupidity. By way of example, notice how his apocalyptic tweet didn’t begin with a diplomatic, ‘Dear Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, we really need to talk.’ Instead, Macron completely ignored the leader of the world’s fifth most-populated country, directing his ‘Brazil is burning’ meme to the G7 (Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US). And make no mistake about it, there is cause for concern.

Satellite data released by the National Institute for Space research (Inpe) shows an increase of 85 percent this year in fires across Brazil, the majority in the Amazon region, which is crucial for absorbing a hefty part of consumer society’s massive carbon footprint. Such information will not play well with a public already feeling the effects of climate change.

Unfortunately, however, Macron’s very undiplomatic approach to a very serious problem caused the horses to stumble right out of the gates. In keeping with the technological tendencies of the times, Bolsonaro immediately fired up his own Twitter account, responding to Macron in equally coarse fashion.

“I regret that President Macron seeks to instrumentalize an internal issue of Brazil and other Amazonian countries for personal political gain,” the Brazilian leader wrote. “The sensationalist tone with which he refers to the Amazon (appealing even to fake photos) does nothing to solve the problem.”

Bolsonaro even saw in Macron’s flatfooted remark a modern form of colonialism, which Brazil knows about firsthand.

“The French President’s suggestion that Amazonian issues be discussed at the G7 without the participation of the countries of the region evokes a misplaced colonialist mindset in the 21st century,” he wrote with some justification.

Macron, despite being infected with an elitist lack of self-awareness, probably knew what he was doing anyways. By ignoring Brazil’s voice in a matter intimately connected to its own sovereignty, Macron managed to make a somewhat aggressive overture to BRICS, the economic powerhouse comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Presently, there is fierce competition between the G7 and BRICS for a shrinking slab of global pie that is not often discussed in polite society. Suffice it to mention the deepening trade war unfolding between China and the United States, as well as the reckless, politically motivated Western sanctions slapped on Russian companies.

At the same time, Emmanuel Macron, picking up where so many other French leaders before him have left off, is revisiting the dream of turning France into some sort of regional political power that somehow always looks more like a bed and breakfast boutique. Just this week, Macron hosted Vladimir Putin at Fort de Bregancon, the official residence of the French president, followed up with a meeting with newly elected UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the question of Brexit. Now, with Macron set to play host to the G7 this week in Biarritz, he probably felt sufficiently empowered to jostle Brazil.

Jair M. Bolsonaro

@jairbolsonaro

· Aug 23, 2019

– Lamento que o presidente Macron busque instrumentalizar uma questão interna do Brasil e de outros países amazônicos p/ ganhos políticos pessoais. O tom sensacionalista com que se refere à Amazônia (apelando até p/ fotos falsas) não contribui em nada para a solução do problema.

Jair M. Bolsonaro

@jairbolsonaro

– O Governo brasileiro segue aberto ao diálogo, com base em dados objetivos e no respeito mútuo. A sugestão do presidente francês, de que assuntos amazônicos sejam discutidos no G7 sem a participação dos países da região, evoca mentalidade colonialista descabida no século XXI.

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As such, Macron missed a golden opportunity – if he really sought one in the first place – to mediate on a global issue of truly significant import. After all, it is hard to underestimate the necessity of protecting the world’s largest tropical rainforest. In addition to serving as the ‘lungs of the planet,’ the Amazon, through its immense biodiversity, is the fountainhead of medical remedies, many of which remain undiscovered. Only a fool would be unmoved by the wanton destruction of this life-supporting ecosystem.

Macron could have achieved something truly historic – hammering out a global initiative for protecting the Amazon – by inviting Jair Bolsonaro to the G7 as guest of honor. The Brazilian leader, overwhelmed by the outpouring of international attention and respect, would have been much more likely to agree to some immediate plan of action, like an international assembly of firefighters. After all, Bolsonaro has already admitted that Brazil lacks the necessary resources to protect the Amazon, which exceeds Europe in sheer size.

Instead, Macron behaved once again with supreme arrogance, humiliating Bolsonaro instead of placating him, thereby creating a schism between the international community and Brasilia that will further complicate any future effort at saving the Amazon, and even the planet.

It is almost as if Emmanuel Macron, who has been hounded by endless weeks of demonstrations by Yellow Vest protesters, who plan to convene on Bairritz during the G7, used the Amazon fires as a convenient smokescreen to conceal more burning issues closer to home. In that sense, Macron’s effort to politicize Brazil’s raging rainforest fires when the world’s attention will be focused on France is understandable, yet no less deplorable.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

أهمّ دروس تحرير خان شيخون

أغسطس 24, 2019

ناصر قنديل

– أما وقد حسم الأمر فقد صار وقت التقييم واستخلاص العبر، فلا ينكرنّ أحد أن الرهانات على تعثّر الدولة السورية توزعت على مشارق الأرض ومغاربها، وأنه حيث لا رهانات كانت هناك تساؤلات وانتظارات. فالكل يُجمع على أن إدلب ليست كسواها، وان تجمع عشرات آلاف المسلحين الذين رفضوا التسويات في مناطقهم التي تحرّرت، يجعل الحرب لتحريرها شديدة الضراوة والقسوة محفوفة بالمخاطر والتضحيات والتساؤلات، وأن وجود آلاف الإرهابيين المقطوعي الجذور اليائسين من أي أفق بعد إدلب يمنح كل هذا المشهد القاتم مزيداً من السواد، وأن الحلف المناوئ للدولة السورية مهما ابتعد أو اقترب عن التشكيلات الإرهابية التي تقاتل في إدلب قد اجتاز الخط الأحمر للتعاون معها سابقاً وما عادت لديه مشكلة بإمدادها بكل أسباب الصمود، وأن تركيا التي لانت وتموضعت بعد معارك حلب إنما فعلت ذلك ليس فقط لأنها حسمت أمرها بالعجز عن المضي في المواجهة الكاملة، بل لأنها أرادت الحفاظ على دورها وحضورها في إدلب، وعندما يصبح مصير إدلب في الميزان يجب التريث في إصدار الأحكام حول كيفية تصرف أنقرة، ولا أيضاً في كيفية تصرف موسكو الحريصة على علاقة مميّزة مع أنقرة تبدّلت بين التصادم والتفاهم، واستقرت على سياق إيجابي رغم الخلاف لزمن غير قصير، لذلك كان الانتظار سيد الموقف.

– في كل معارك المنطقة حيث التكامل بين الجبهات واضح، وحيث التداخل بين تأثيرها على بعضها وموازينها أشد وضوحاً، كانت المواجهات ساخنة في الخليج مياهاً ويابسة، وفي اليمن، وفلسطين، ودخل على الخط تسخين العراق من دون مقدّمات، وتمّ بصورة مفاجئة تسخين لبنان، لكن المكان الوحيد الذي بدا أنه سيقول الكلمة الفصل هو خان شيخون، حيث مفتاح الجغرافيا في مصير إدلب،، حيث يمكن تحقيق تغيير في خطوط الجغرافيا من دون سائر جبهات المنطقة. وأما وقد وقع الأمر وانتهى، فمعادل التأثر والتأثير والأوعية المتصلة سيحضر بقوة. وهذا هو التفسير لحركة الرئيس الفرنسي للمسارعة للقاء الرئيس الروسي ومن بعده وزير الخارجية الإيرانية، وزيارة الرئيس التركي القريبة المرتقبة إلى روسيا، والتراجعات الأميركية عن تهديدات الويل والثبور وعظائم الأمور بحقّ لبنان، والجواب بكلمتين، إنه خان شيخون.

– السياق الجديد بات واضحاً بعد الذي جرى وحسم التساؤلات حول الإمكان، ودليل الإمكان هو الوقوع. وما وقع في خان شيخون قابل للتكرار، ولا حاجة لتجارب أخرى للإثبات، فإن عُرض على الطاولة ما يفي بالغرض من التسليم بمكانة روسيا إلى التعامل مع إيران وملفها النووي والعقوبات والملاحة النفطية، إلى الحل السياسي في سورية ومشاريع الحل وإعادة الإعمار، إلى اليمن، إلى العراق، إلى لبنان، إلى فلسطين، ولا أوهام لدى أحد بحلول جذرية بل اعتراف بحقائق القوة التي يتم على أساسها التفاوض، وإلا فالكلمة للميدان كما قالت خان شيخون.

– سيكون صعباً على البعض الاعتراف لكنها الحقيقة المرة عليهم، إنه الجيش السوري الذي لا يُقهر، ومحور المقاومة الذي لا يهزم، وروسيا التي لا تبيع ولا تشتري في المبادئ.

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Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades Spokesman Talks to Al-Ahed about the Final Warning to the US

By Zeinab Daher

This will finally lead to fulfilling Allah’s promise and the words of Imam Khamenei that this is the final battle which will end up in eliminating ‘Israel.’

Beirut – In the wake of indications that the United States and the Zionist ‘Israeli’ regime were involved in recent attacks on Iraqi positions of pro-government Popular Mobilization Units, Spokesman of Kata’ib Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades resistance group in Iraq Mohammad Mohie talked to al-Ahed News about the party’s stances regarding the field situation, warning the US of a tough response had it committed any future attack against the country.

Targeting Iraq’s Sovereignty

In an exclusive interview with al-Ahed news website, Mr. Mohie made clear that there is no doubt that the latest attacks that targeted Iraq weren’t accidental. “They were rather guided and preplanned after observation and continued monitoring by spy drones whether they are American or as the ‘Israeli’ entity claims that they belong to it,” he stressed.

In all, there are targets the US is standing behind and wants to achieve, which are represented by weakening the Popular Mobilization Units [Hashd al-Shaabi] and the resistance factions, end their role in running the security issue as part of the Iraqi security system, and empty their weapons stock perhaps for a future phase through which the US is planning to bring Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group], as it always hints to the possibility of Daesh’s return with the presence of thousands of militants on the Iraqi-Syrian border, he further elaborated.

According to the Iraqi resistance official, all of the previous goals make the US aim unachievable without such practices. Additionally, the US is trying to fulfill its goal through the ‘Israeli’ entity so that it evades responsibility not to be dragged to reactions by Iraqi resistance factions. This is why ‘Israel’ always suggests being behind such strikes.

“What do we care for is not who carried out those strikes, whether it is ‘Israel’ or the United States, we hold the US the full responsibility of those strikes because it has the goals, the will and predetermination to confront the Hashd and exclude it from the Iraqi security equation.”

Conflicting Stances at Home

Responding to a question about the conflicting stances inside the Iraqi milieu, Mr. Mohie was confident to explain that there are many pressures exerted against the Iraqi political forces, the government and some Iraqi sides to prevent them from making decisive stances against the US presence on the first hand, and against those standing behind those strikes, which will consequently lead to condemning the US and demanding to oust it from Iraq.

“This would be difficult to be made due to the lack of will and courage to confront the US. Those pressures are banning the leaderships from taking a decisive stance that would clear things up,” he concluded on this matter.

Regarding the communication issue of the Anbar Operations Commander “Mahmoud al-Falahi”, the man stressed that the Iraqi government won’t be able to make a decision on the matter for clear reasons, because the decision will denounce the US and will consequently lead to heading to the Parliament for making a law that ousts the US, in addition to heading to the United Nations Security Council to denounce it.

“All of this won’t happen due to the lack of will among the political forces and the Iraqi government to reach this apparently difficult level of direct confrontation with the US and impose the Iraqi government and people’s will on it minding the necessity of ending its presence in Iraq.”

The Final Warning

By observing the conflicting reactions, which the man considers don’t suit the situation on the ground, the Hezbollah Brigades found them very weak and improper given the level of threat Iraq is being subjected to.

“There is an open war waged by the US and ‘Israel’ against Iraq, its security forces and the Hashd as well as other factions. There must have been strong stances against this open war.”

Perhaps the only strong and decisive statement was made by the PMU’s second-in-command Haj Abu Mahdi al-Muhandiss, Mr. Mohie explained, adding that the Hezbollah Brigades made their final warning to the US to make everything clear.

“To make the US face the reality, we should have issued this direct accusation since it bears responsibility, it controls the Iraqi bases, the Iraqi airspace, it directly cooperates with the ‘Israeli entity and stresses every time that its presence is to defend the security and existence of the ‘Israeli’ entity against the axis of resistance.”

He further added that it was the reason the resistance movement made this statement to test the US and all other parties that are trying to make use of the Iraqi situation to denounce the strikes against the Iraqi resistance factions and the Hashd.

“There might be future plots to target leaderships, national forces and symbols, and even the holy shrines to create sectarian strife and involve Iraq in new civil wars,” he warned.

The Hezbollah Brigades spokesman stressed that the final warning was meant to deter the US: “But today, we could not expect what would happen had all the Iraqi political forces and resistance factions and the Hashd remained silent in front of this terrible deterioration in confronting such challenges and continued aggression against Iraq’s sovereignty, security forces and the Hashd.”

We believe that the message has been clear to the US. The Americans understand the nature of Hezbollah Brigades and its response, and they have experienced it during the 2003 occupation. They have to take this statement seriously because there will consequently be a tough and true response to any future attack against any target of our security forces whether under an ‘Israeli’, American or other cover. At the end of the day, the US is responsible and will bear the brunt of any repercussions, the man stressed.

Iraq’s Official Stance

Regarding any possible official Iraqi response to the continued aggressions targeting Iraq’s sovereignty, Mr. Mohie was frank to say that the Hezbollah Brigades don’t believe that there is a possibility for it on the security forces level.

“Perhaps they would show that they will respond to any foreign strike whether ‘Israeli’ or not. However, confronting the US forces or responding to the ‘Israeli’ warplanes, I think it is unlikely in the time being as a result of the US pressure and fear of the American arrogance.”

He went on to say that “in fact, the Iraqi parties today are at a crossroad. Actually, they didn’t take advantage of the great achievement of confronting Daesh to be able to impose the equation of deterrence and strength and force the US to deal with Iraq as a similar state that has its own capabilities. The US attempted to return and control Iraq considering it a weak state. It brought its forces to control its security and airspace.”

Meanwhile, there isn’t any official Iraqi power capable of confronting the US military, and not even make a decision because they are willing to get involved in a confrontation amid the complicated circumstances in Iraq, Mr. Mohie concluded on this issue.

The Battle of New Front?

Whether we are facing the battle of new front, which is being talked about by the leaders of the axis of resistance, Mr. Mohie stressed that the battle is still ongoing and didn’t stop over years. “The conspiracy of Daesh was a clear front composed of the US, the ‘Israeli’ entity, Saudi Arabia and all other related forces that presented Daesh as a front in the face of the axis of resistance to divide the region. We faced this plot and foiled it. But this war is still ongoing and won’t stop.”

Perhaps it became clearer nowadays, he said, with the direct US hostility to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the axis of resistance, the Iraqi factions and the Hashd, in addition to the ‘Israeli’ entity’s involvement as a direct player whether in Syria strikes or its further expansion in targeting Iraq and declaring directly and indirectly that all fields are open to its strikes and aggression.

Hereby, the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades announced that “we are at a continued war with two poles: the first is represented by the global arrogance led by the US and ‘Israel’ and the second is led by the Islamic Republic of Iran, of which we are a part.”

The battle will continue until it reaches the final stage of pushing them to get involved in more foolishness with perhaps wider space of confrontation, Mr. Mohie said.

This will finally lead to fulfilling Allah’s promise and the words of our leaders and Imam Ali Khamenei that this is the final battle which will end up in eliminating ‘Israel,’ the resistance official concluded.

Also read in Arabic here