Is This the End of U.S. Interference in West Asia?
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-07
Major General Hossein Salami, the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran, said on January 4 that his country would take "strategic revenge" against the United States for the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani. The assassination of Soleimani, Salami said, will be later seen as a "turning point" in U.S. interference in West Asia. | Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reacted strongly to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's suggestion that Iraqis were "dancing in the street" to celebrate the assassination…
truthdig.com/articles/is-this-the-end-of…

America, An Empire on its Last Leg: To be Kicked Out from the Middle East?
Prof Michel Chossudovsky | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-07
America's hegemonic military agenda in the Middle East has reached a dangerous threshold. | The assassination of IRGC General Soleimani ordered by the President of the United States on January 3, 2020 is tantamount to an Act of War against Iran….
globalresearch.ca/america-an-empire-on-i…

Don't Militarize the Heavens
Prof. Karl Grossman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-07
President Donald Trump has signed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 that establishes a Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces — despite the landmark Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which designated space as a …
globalresearch.ca/dont-militarize-heaven…

US denies Iran's FM Zarif visa to address Security Council in violation of UN treaty — reports
rt.com | 2020-01-07
Washington has reportedly refused to issue a visa to Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, even though, as the host of the United Nations headquarters, the US is obliged to allow foreign officials into the country. | According to multiple diplomatic sources, the visa request was filed several weeks ago, before the latest escalation, and would give the top Iranian diplomat a stage to speak out following last Thursday's drone strike assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani, along with senior Iraqi militia leaders. | The murder of Soleimani, who played a key rol…
rt.com/newsline/477610-zarif-denied-visa…

US denies Iran's FM Zarif visa to address Security Council in violation of UN treaty — reports
rt.com | 2020-01-07
Washington has reportedly refused to issue a visa to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, even though, as the host of the United Nations headquarters, the US is obliged to allow foreign officials into the country. | According to multiple diplomatic sources, the visa request was filed several weeks ago, before the latest escalation, and would give the top Iranian diplomat a stage to speak out following last Thursday's drone strike assassination of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qassem Soleimani, along with senior Iraqi militia leaders. | The murder of Soleimani, who played a key ro…
rt.com/newsline/477610-zarif-denied-visa…

Netanyahu backs away from Soleimani assassination, warns ministers to 'stay out' of purely 'American event'
rt.com | 2020-01-07
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly warned his cabinet not to get too involved in the US murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, lest Tel Aviv gets dragged into the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran. | "The assassination of Soleimani isn't an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it," Netanyahu reportedly told his security cabinet during a meeting on Monday, as cited by Israel's Channel 13. He advised ministers to avoid speaking to the media about Thursday's targeted assassination beyond supporting the US' right to defend itself, s…
rt.com/news/477604-netanyahu-distances-i…

Netanyahu backs away from Soleimani assassination, warns ministers to 'stay out' of purely 'American event'
rt.com | 2020-01-07
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly warned his cabinet not to get too involved in the US murder of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, lest Tel Aviv gets dragged into the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran. | "The assassination of Soleimani isn't an Israeli event but an American event. We were not involved and should not be dragged into it," Netanyahu reportedly told his security cabinet during a meeting on Monday, as cited by Israel's Channel 13. He advised ministers to avoid speaking to the media about Thursday's targeted assassination beyond supporting the US right to defend itself, so…
rt.com/news/477604-netanyahu-distances-i…

'Keep out of Libya!' Gruesome videos of Tripoli military academy strike emerge as UN envoy decries foreign meddling
rt.com | 2020-01-07
Shocking videos have emerged online, showing what appears to be a drone strike on a Libyan military academy — instantly killing dozens of cadets and wounding just as many — as well as its bloody aftermath. | At least 30 trainees were killed and another 33 injured in the Saturday strike, health officials of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said, noting the total death toll could still increase. | In one video circulating online, somewhat grainy and taken from a distance, a column of trainees is briefly seen in marching formation before it is obliterated by a direct hit that come…
rt.com/news/477607-libya-military-academ…

Qual è la vera minaccia nucleare in Medio Oriente
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-07
´L'Iran non rispetta gli accordi sul nucleare ª (Il Tempo), ´L'Iran si ritira dagli accordi nucleari: un passo verso la bomba atomica ª (Corriere della Sera), ´L'Iran prepara le bombe atomiche: addio all'accordo sul nucleare ª (Libero): …
globalresearch.ca/qual-e-la-vera-minacci…

Qual é a verdadeira ameaàßa nuclear no Médio Oriente?
Manlio Dinucci | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-07
´O Irà£o nà£o respeita os acordos nucleares ª (Il Tempo), ´O Irà£o retira-se dos acordos nucleares: um passo em direcàßà£o à bomba atómica ª (Corriere della Sera), ´O Irà£o prepara bombas atómicas: adeus ao acordo sobre o nuclear …
globalresearch.ca/qual-e-a-verdadeira-am…

Military Contractors Raytheon, Lockheed Martin See Stock Prices Soar Amid Iran Crisis
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-06
Lockheed Martin, famous for its fighter planes, helicopters and missiles, saw its stock price spike to over $416, a jump of seven percent almost overnight. Raytheon and General Dynamics saw similar increases.
mintpressnews.com/military-contractors-s…

US Blocks Iran's Foreign Minister From Addressing UN
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
United States Trump administration denied Monday a visa to Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to prevent him from addressing the United Nations Security Council on Jan. 9 on the assassination of Iran's top military officer in Baghdad. | RELATED: | The 'Great Game' is Afoot: Killing Soleimani Reflects US Desperation in the Middle East | According to diplomatic sources, the U.S. government's actions would constitute a clear violation of the terms of a 1947 agreement requiring W…
telesurenglish.net/news/us-blocks-senior…

BREAKING: Soleimani was in Iraq to ease regional tensions; then Trump said 'Kill him'
Ben Becker | liberationnews.org | 2020-01-06
The Pentagon and the White House fully knew, when they ordered the airstrike to kill him, that Soleimani was traveling to Baghdad in a diplomatic capacity as an emissary of Iran, and that he had a meeting planned with the Prime Minister to discuss broader de-escalation.
liberationnews.org/breaking-soleimani-wa…

Iraqi PM reveals Soleimani was on peace mission when assassinated, exploding Trump's lie of 'imminent attacks'
Max Blumenthal | thegrayzone.com | 2020-01-06
The Trump administration claimed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was planning "imminent attacks" on US interests when it assassinated him. That…
thegrayzone.com/2020/01/06/soleimani-pea…

Trump Threats of Cultural Genocide Against Iran Violate US, International Law
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-06
UNESCO recognizes 24 sites in Iran, more than almost any other country in the world, that are of such critical cultural and historical importance that they belong to all of humanity.
mintpressnews.com/trump-threats-cultural…

Trump's Iran Aggression Sparks Protests Across America, World
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-06
The weekend saw more than 70 spontaneous or hastily organized demonstrations across America in opposition to the Trump administration's warlike actions against Iraq and Iran. On January 3, the United States carried out a drone strike in Baghdad that killed Major General Qasem Soleimani of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Soleimani was commonly se…
mintpressnews.com/trump-iran-aggression-…

An Eyewitness to the Horrors of the US 'Forever Wars' Speaks Out
Kathy Kelly | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The 2003 "shock and awe" bombing of Iraq had finally stopped. From the balcony of my room in Baghdad's Al Fanar Hotel, I watched U.S. Marines moving between their jeeps, armored personnel carriers, and Humvees. They had occupied the street …
globalresearch.ca/eyewitness-horrors-us-…

Israel's Fingerprint Are All Over the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani
Ramzy Baroud | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-06
The fingerprints of Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, are unmistakably present in the assassination. It is plausible that the attack at Soleimani's convoy was a joint CIA-Mossad operation.
mintpressnews.com/israel-mossad-fingerpr…

Antiwar posts go viral on social media after US murder of Iranian general
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
On Twitter and other social media platforms, youth from every region of the globe expressed their opposition to war and the possibility of nuclear annihilation.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/anti…

Former Top Bush Official: I Saw the March to War in 2003. I'm Seeing the Same Thing with Iran Now
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-06
We look at the Trump administration's assassination of Iran's top military commander Qassem Soleimani with Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired United States Army colonel who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff from 2002 to 2005. On February 5, 2003, he watched as Powell made the case for war in a speech to the United Nations. He has since become an outspoken critic of U.S. intervention in the Middle East. In 2018, Wilkerson wrote an article for The New York Times titled "I Helped Sell the False Choice of War Once. It's Happening Again."
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/lawrence_w…

Soleimani's Death Could Galvanize Shia Coalitions Against One "Foreign Aggressor" — The U.S
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-06
Fallout continues to mount following the U.S. assassination of Iran's top military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week. Iranian media reports that over a million mourners took to the streets of Tehran today for the funeral of Soleimani, who headed Iran's elite Quds Force. On Sunday, Iran announced it would suspend its commitments under the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. pulled out of in 2018. Trump has also threatened to target 52 locations in Iran, including cultural sites, if Iran retaliates against the U.S. The targeting of cultural sites is widely viewed as an international war crime.
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/narges_baj…

Trump's Killing of Qassem Soleimani Means "Rules of the Game Have Totally Changed" in Middle East
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-01-06
The Iraqi Parliament voted Sunday to expel all U.S. military forces from Iraq. President Trump responded by threatening to impose sanctions on Iraq "like they've never seen before." Iraq has already been the target of some of the harshest sanctions the world has even seen. U.S.-backed sanctions killed more than a million Iraqis, including over 500,000 children, between 1990 and 2003. From Baghdad, we talk to Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, correspondent for The Guardian newspaper.
www.democracynow.org/2020/1/6/ghaith_abd…

Censorship in Canada? Vanessa Beeley's Talks on Syria
John Ryan | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-01-06
White Helmets Vanessa Beeley is a British journalist who was invited to Canada in the fall of 2019 to present talks in seven cities on the conflict in Syria. The sponsors of her speaking tour were several anti-war groups, including the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, and Peace Alliance …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/01/censorship-in…

Trump says 'more war,' people say 'no war'
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-06
Anti-war protests were held across the US and UK over the weekend in response to the targeted assassination of Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Al-Quds forces. People protested in around 80 cities in the US against this provocative act which has been widely condemned for bringing the entire West Asia to the brink of war.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/06/trump-say…

Hundreds of protesters for peace come out in Pacific Northwest Jan. 4
Liberation Staff | liberationnews.org | 2020-01-06
Reports from Seattle, Spokane, Kennewick and Boise…
liberationnews.org/hundreds-of-protester…

Buttigieg and Biden Are Masters of Evasion
Norman Solomon | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
In a recent New Yorker profile of Pete Buttigieg, one sentence stands out: "Watch Buttigieg long enough and you notice that he uses abstraction as an escape hatch." Evasive platitudes are also routine for Joe Biden, the other major Democratic presidential candidate running in what mainstream journalists call "the center lane." Jim Hightower has observed that…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/buttigieg-an…

Bush Official: I Watched the March to War in 2003 and It's Happening Again
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
We look at the Trump administration's assassination of Iran's top military commander Qassem Soleimani with Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired United States Army colonel who served as Secretary of State Colin Powell's chief of staff from 2002 to 2005. On February 5, 2003, he watched as Powell made the case for war in a speech to the United Nations. He has since become an outspoken critic of U.S. intervention in the Middle East. In 2018, Wilkerson wrote an article for The New York Times titled "I Helped Se…
truthout.org/video/bush-official-i-watch…

Iraq's Worst Fears Have Come True: a Proxy War on Its Doorstep
Patrick Cockburn | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
The killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani by a US drone at Baghdad airport is an act of escalation by President Donald Trump that ensures that Iraq faces a violent future. It may not lead to a full-scale military conflict, but Iraq will be the political and military arena where the US-Iranian rivalry will be fought out.
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/iraqs-worst-…

The Assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani
Gary Leupp | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
In 2003 the U.S. committed the crime of the century, invading, destroying and occupying the modern state of Iraq, ushering in an era of misery, terror and chaos in the region. Or one could say that the invasion continued an era launched by the ill-fated invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, justified by the 9/11…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/the-assassin…

An Act of Cowardice: US Assassination of Soleimani Puts US-Israeli Fear of Iran on Full Display
Miko Peled | mintpressnews.com | 2020-01-06
Neither Israel or the US is prepared for an all out war with Iran, "hit and run" seems to be the tactic of choice. Hit Iranian targets in Syria or Iraq, and then run.
mintpressnews.com/us-assassination-qasem…

UK Nuclear Sub 'In Position to Strike Iran' Amid Tensions over Soleimani's Killing
Mideast Discourse | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
Earlier on Sunday, about 50 members of the UK's Special Air Service (SAS) were sent to Iraq to help with the potential evacuation of Britons following Friday's US drone strike which killed Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps …
globalresearch.ca/uk-nuclear-sub-positio…

Extrajudicial Assassinations are "Legal": American Democracy and the "Disposition Matrix"
Joseph Kishore | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The assassination of IRGC General Soleimani ordered by the President of the United States on January 2, 2020 is tantamount to an Act of War against Iran. | President Donald Trump accused Soleimani of "plotting imminent and sinister attacks": "We took …
globalresearch.ca/extrajudicial-assassin…

Was Soleimani Framed by Trump? In Baghdad to Receive US Supported "De-escalation Proposal" from Saudi Arabia
South Front | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
On January 5, Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi reportedly provided additional details into the US assassination of the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Qods Force, Qassem Soleimani. | According to the available data, the Iranian commander arrived in …
globalresearch.ca/iraqi-prime-minister-s…

On Canadian Diplomatic Complicity with the Assassination of Qasem Soleimani
Stefan Christoff | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
Canada's official government response to the U.S. military airstrike on Iraq, that killed powerful Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani on January 3rd, basically says nothing, but also says a great deal. | "We call on all sides to exercise restraint and | …
globalresearch.ca/canadian-diplomatic-co…

What Comes Next after the US Assassination of Qassem Soleimani? The Options
Elijah J. Magnier | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The US did not plan to kill the vice commander of the Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi brigade Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes when it assassinated Iranian Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani on Thursday at 11: 00 PM local time at Baghdad airport. Usually, when Soleimani …
globalresearch.ca/what-comes-next-us-ass…

Lies, the Bethlehem Doctrine, and the Illegal Murder of Soleimani
Craig Murray | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
In one of the series of blatant lies the USA has told to justify the assassination of Soleimani, Mike Pompeo said that Soleimani was killed because he was planning "Imminent attacks" on US citizens. It is a careful choice of …
globalresearch.ca/lies-bethlehem-doctrin…

Whose Blood, Whose Hands?
S. Brian Willson | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
"Qasem Soleimani had the blood of Americans on his hands", so said US Representative Eliot Engel, Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Relations. A similar accusation was made by many other politicians and commentators. But these blood-drenched …
globalresearch.ca/whose-blood-whose-hand…

Disruptive Assassinations: Killing Qassem Soleimani. Trump Promises "Bombing 52 Iranian Sites"
Dr. Binoy Kampmark | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
On the surface, it made not one iota of sense. The murder of a foreign military leader on his way from Baghdad airport, his diplomatic status assured by the local authorities, evidently deemed a target of irresistible richness. "General Soleimani …
globalresearch.ca/disruptive-assassinati…

The United States' Assassination of Iranian Military Leader Violates International Law
Inder Comar | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander, by the United States marks a terrible escalation between the United States and Iran, which U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described as a "defensive action": | . | . | ….
globalresearch.ca/united-states-assassin…

Millions of Iranians Attend Soleimani's Funeral in Tehran
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran on Monday to bid farewell to the Quds Force commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last Friday by the U.S. military in Baghdad. | RELATED: | Trump Says Tweets Serve as 'Notification' to US Congress in Case of War | Leading the funeral procession was the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who broke down in tears as he commeorated the late general's contribution to the Islamic Republic. | Iranian state t…
telesurenglish.net/news/Millions-of-Iran…

Canadian government tacitly endorses US assassination of Iranian general Soleimani
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
Just hours after Trump ordered a drone strike to exterminate Soleimani, the Canadian government issued a statement denouncing Iranian "aggression" in the Middle East.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/caso…

U.S. Communists denounce Trump's Iran war drive
Special to People's World | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-06
Following the U.S. drone-strike assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani and the deployment of thousands more U.S. troops to the Middle East, the Communist Party USA condemned the Trump administration's drive toward war with Iran in a statement released this weekend. The party is calling for a mass public campaign to resist war and remove …
peoplesworld.org/article/u-s-communists-…

War danger a cause for concern around the globe
John Wojcik | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-06
Those who saw recent demonstrations against the theocratic regime ruling Iran as a good sign had their hopes set back yesterday when the funeral for the assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani drew millions into the streets of Tehran, that nation's capital. A sea of humanity turned out to demonstrate its anger with the illegal U.S. …
peoplesworld.org/article/war-danger-a-ca…

Trump threatens all-out war against Iran
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-06
US president Donald Trump has been issuing a flurry of threats against Iran, asking it to desist from retaliating against the assassination of major general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq on Friday, January 3. Trump claimed that the US is ready to attack crucial cultural sites in Iran, if his warning is not heeded. | As per the United Nations' resolutions of 2017 and the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, attacking a cultural site is a war crime. | Trump also threatened strong sanctions against Iraq if the country's government asked for the withdrawal of all foreign forces. The Iraqi parliam…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/06/trump-thr…

Canadian government tacitly endorses US assassination of Iranian general Soleimani
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
Just hours after Trump ordered a drone strike to exterminate Suleimani, the Canadian government issued a statement denouncing Iranian "aggression" in the Middle East.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/caso…

The holiday's over: Trump returns to face Iran fallout and impeachment trial
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-01-06
President Donald Trump has returned to the White House after his 17-day Florida holiday facing twin challenges: the fallout from the strike he ordered to kill an Iranian general and his looming impeachment trial in the Senate. | The issues will shape a defining month of Trump's presidency, one that comes just before the first votes of the 2020 campaign are cast. | Trump is facing growing questions from Democrats fearful that the killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani endangered Americans in the region and may have been an effort to distract from the president's political crisis back home. | "Next…
thecanary.co/us/us-news-us/2020/01/06/th…

Irán dará respuesta militar a asesinato de general, dice alto asesor
Prensa Latina | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-06
WASHINGTON, 5 ene (Prensa Latina) Hossein Dehghan, asesor del líder supremo de Irán, ayatolá Ali Khamenei, manifestó hoy que su país dará una respuesta militar al asesinato por parte de Estados Unidos del general Qasem Soleimani. En entrevista exclusiva con la cadena de televisión CNN, el consejero militar sostuvo que Teherán tomaría represalias directamente contra …
peoplesworld.org/article/iran-dara-respu…

Iran Supreme Leader Weeps for General Killed by U.S. Airstrike
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-06
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prays over caskets of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others as vast crowds of mourners turn out demanding retaliation.
truthdig.com/articles/iran-supreme-leade…

US "Plans" for the Afghan War Might Prove a Crime Against Humanity
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone circled over Afghanistan's Paktia province, near the city of Khost. Below was al-Qaeda's founder Osama bin Laden — or at least someone in the CIA thought so — and he was marked for death. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it later, both awkwardly and passively: "A…
truthout.org/articles/us-plans-for-the-a…

The Government is Torturing Chelsea Manning! Does Anyone Give a Damn?
Howard Lisnoff | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
Chelsea Manning is being tortured for her refusal to testify before a federal grand jury. She already has told a military court as a whistleblower while in the Army about documents pertaining to alleged war crimes that were committed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She has already been tortured and imprisoned for releasing that information once ("Collateral Murder" video,…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/the-governme…

Trump Threatens Armageddon in Afghanistan
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-06
On February 4, 2002, a Predator drone circled over Afghanistan's Paktia province, near the city of Khost. Below was al-Qaeda's founder Osama bin Laden — or at least someone in the CIA thought so — and he was marked for death. As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it later, both awkwardly and passively: "A decision was made to fire the Hellfire missile. It was fired." That air-to-ground, laser-guided missile –…
truthdig.com/articles/trump-threatens-ar…

America Escalates Its "Democratic" Oil War in the Near East
Michael Hudson | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
The mainstream media are carefully sidestepping the method behind America's seeming madness in assassinating Islamic Revolutionary Guard general Qassim Suleimani to start the New Year. The logic behind the assassination this was a long-standing application of U.S. global policy, not just a personality quirk of Donald Trump's impulsive action. His assassination of Iranian military leader Suleimani was indeed a unilateral act of war in violation of international law, but it was a logical step in a long-standing U.S. strategy. It was explicitly authorized by the Senate in the funding bill for the Pentagon that it pa…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/america-esca…

The Inauthentic Opposition is "Stunned" by a Crime it Encouraged
Paul Street | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
Top Democrats are "stunned" that Trump impulsively ordered the killing of "the commanding general of a sovereign government" (New York Times) — Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassim Soliemani –on the sovereign territory of Iraq without the permission of Iraq's government. The imperial assassination of Soliemani is a criminal act of war guaranteed to provoke a reaction that could produce a regional war involving U.S. forces in the Middle East.
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/the-inauthen…

Targeted Assassination, Will Iran Seek "Strategic Revenge"?
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The US and Western partners are contemptuous of peace, stability, equity, justice, and the rule of law — waging war on humanity by hot and other means. | Where is the outrage in the West over the Trump regime's assassination of …
globalresearch.ca/us-led-western-contemp…

The US Assassination of Major General Qassem Suleimani Underscores the Urgent Need to Reenter the Iran Deal
Physicians for Social Responsibility | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
On January 2, President Trump ordered the killing of a top Iranian military commander, Major General Qassem Suleimani. This move comes in the wake of several other recent incidents that have risked sparking potential war and increased the risk …
globalresearch.ca/us-assassination-major…

US march to war against Iran gives oil industry a boost
Ed Sykes | thecanary.co | 2020-01-06
Oil prices pushed upwards on Monday 6 January, following the US assassination of Iran's top general last week in Iraq. | Iran has long been a key regime-change target for the US. And it has faced increasing hostility from the superpower in the last couple of years. Following D…
thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2020/…

Democrats fault Trump on strategy, silent on illegality of Suleimani assassination
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
The candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination have sought to disguise their support for American imperialism with insincere appeals to popular antiwar sentiment.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/dems…

Morales Slams De Facto Bolivian Gov't for Meddling in Venezuela
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
The democratically elected President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, said that the de facto regime has behaved in a "wild" way after the violent repression last November following the coup d'etat against him. | RELATED: | Evo Morales: Bolivia's Top Judge Must Take Charge, Call Elections | …
telesurenglish.net/news/Morales-Slams-De…

Venezuelan National Assembly To Reactivate Legislative Agenda
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
The new President of the National Assembly (NA) of Venezuela Luis Parra said Monday that the new directive will work to "reactivate the legislative agenda" and move towards the formation of a National Electoral Council (CNE) to regulate the next round of elections in the country. | RELATED: | Morales Slams De Facto Bolivian Gov't for Meddling in Venezuela | The deputy of the Venezuelan opposition political party "Justice First" questioned the actions of lawmakers Juan Guaido wh…
telesurenglish.net/news/venezuelan-natio…

Naomi Klein: Climate Solutions That Neglect Inequality Are Doomed to Fail
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
California has warmed by approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit (3 ∞F) over the last century. Heat waves are more common and increase the risk of wildfires in the state. What does climate justice look like, therefore, and for whom? Will cities grappling with environmental disasters consider the racial and economic inequalities that intersect with climate change action? Author and activist Naomi Klein has a few thoughts. | Laura Flanders: It's been a year since the Camp Fire. You went back th…
truthout.org/articles/naomi-klein-climat…

Australia's climate change-denying prime minister tries to dodge blame for fires
Morning Star | peoplesworld.org | 2020-01-06
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted that "blame doesn't help anybody" on Sunday among increasing uproar over Australia's apocalyptic wildfire outbreak. "Now is the time to focus on the response," he said. "Overanalysis of these things is not a productive exercise." Morrison also denied that his government had not acknowledged the link between climate change …
peoplesworld.org/article/australias-clim…

After another weekend of devastation, Australia faces weeks more of unprecedented fires
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
A discernable shift is underway in how masses of people view the political parties and institutions that have downplayed or denied the reality of climate change.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/fire…

Colombia's Truth Commission Rejects Threats to Social Leaders
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
The President and Representative of Colombia's Truth Commission Francisco de Roux categorically rejected the new threats against social and Afro-Colombian leaders in northwestern departments of Choco and throughout the country's Pacific coast. | RELATED: | Colombian Gov't and National Strike Committee To Resume Talks | "In previous days we received a report on the horrors of the armed conflict in Choco from the Pacific Inter-Ethnic Truth Commission, whose technical secretary is Leyne…
telesurenglish.net/news/truth-commission…

The massacre of Colombia's social leaders continues
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-06
In the last two weeks, at least eight social leaders and militants were brutally killed by gunmen in Colombia. These attacks are part of a larger trend of targeting those who work with oppressed communities in the country.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/06/the-massa…

Trump Tries Real Hard to Start a War for Israel. "He Should be Impeached Because He is a War Criminal"
Kurt Nimmo | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
In my last post, I said it was time to close down this blog, mostly due to its ineffectiveness, short reach, and choir preaching. I wrote that I might as well pound sand for all the good it did. | A …
globalresearch.ca/trump-tries-real-hard-…

Bolton Willing to Testify in Trump Impeachment Trial if Subpoenaed
Staff | truthdig.com | 2020-01-06
WASHINGTON — Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said Monday that he is "prepared to testify" if he is subpoenaed by the Senate in its impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, a surprise statement that bolstered Democrats in their push for new witnesses. | Bolton, who left the White House in September, said that he has weighed the issues of executive privilege and that after "careful consideration and study" decided that he would comply with any Senate subpoena. | "If the Senate issues a subpoena for my testimony, I am prepared to te…
truthdig.com/articles/bolton-willing-to-…

Jan 8 Strike: With 73 million jobless in India, it's a fight for survival
Subodh Varma | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-01-06
Workers are striking for more jobs while the Narendra Modi government is busy implementing the far-right wing agenda, refusing to see the huge army of unemployed…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/01/06/jan-8-str…

SPLC Statement on the Detainment of Iranians and Iranian Americans
splcenter.org | 2020-01-06
The following statement is by Southern Poverty Law Center Interim President and CEO Karen Baynes-Dunning following reports that Iranians and Iranian Americans are being detained and questioned at U.S. ports of entry:…
splcenter.org/news/2020/01/06/splc-state…

Trump Threatens War Crimes Against Iran. Congress Must Stop Him
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
Trump has already committed the crime of aggression against Iran, and he is now threatening to commit a war crime if he carries through on his January 4 promise to target Iran's cultural sites. The United States has violated the United Nations Charter's prohibition on the use of military force. This is the time to raise our voices and demand that our congressional representatives put a halt to Trump's illegal war-…
truthout.org/articles/trump-threatens-wa…

Trump's Mass Deception on Iran
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
Virtually all politicians lie, none in memory more repeatedly and egregiously than Trump. | It's so excessively over the top it begs the question. Is he unable to distinguish between facts and fiction or is he inherently deceptive by nature? | His …
globalresearch.ca/trump-mass-deception-i…

Dem candidates are critical of Trump's drone strike…but mostly are criticizing the Iranian general he killed
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-01-06
"No American will mourn Qassem Suleimani's passing," begins former Vice President Joe Biden's statement, "He deserved to be brought to justice for his crimes against American troops and thousands of innocents throughout the region. He supported terror and sowed chaos." | Source…
mronline.org/2020/01/06/dem-candidates-a…

Dems Must Repudiate Trump's Warmongering
Leland Nally | progressive.org | 2020-01-06
Thin-lipped, consultant-speak mewling is not going to stop a war with Iran.
progressive.org/op-eds/dems-must-repudia…

Britain backs US war drive against Iran
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
Whatever the qualms in British ruling circles about the grave implications of war in the Middle East, the UK is already involved–as America's closest ally–in a potential war against Iran.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/brit…

Oppose Trump's criminal war against Iran!
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
Trump's provocation of a war with Iran is an attempt to find a way out of the increasingly desperate crisis of American capitalism–international and domestic–through spectacular acts of violence.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/pers…

The U.S. Alone Is to Blame for a War With Iran
Maj. Danny Sjursen | truthdig.com | 2020-01-06
As the two nations move inexorably closer to a full-scale conflict, it's essential that we recognize who started this cycle of violence.
truthdig.com/articles/the-u-s-alone-is-t…

Iraqi Parliament Moves to Oust All U.S Troops from Iraq
Joaquin Flores | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
In an extraordinary session on Sunday, 170 Iraqi lawmakers have reportedly signed a resolution requiring the government to request the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. | Only 150 votes were needed for the draft resolution to be approved. | The session …
globalresearch.ca/iraqi-parliament-moves…

The Terrifying Rise of the Zombie State Narrative
Craig Murray | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The ruling Establishment has learnt a profound lesson from the debacle over Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction. The lesson they have learnt is not that it is wrong to attack and destroy an entire country on the basis of lies. …
globalresearch.ca/rise-zombie-state-narr…

US DoD Denies Letter Announcing Withdrawal of Troops From Iraq
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
United States Secretary of Defense Mark Esper stated that the U.S. has no plans to withdraw its 5,000 troops from Iraq after reports from Reuters and AFP claimed that the U.S. military wrote to Iraq Monday announcing it would begin to pull out of the country and would reposition its forces over the next few days and weeks. | RELATED: | Trump Threatens Iraq With Sanctions Over US Troop Withdrawal | "There's been no decision to leave Iraq. Period," Esper told reporters at the Pen…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-DoD-Denies-Le…

It's Time to Guarantee a Home for Everyone in the US
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
I lost everything during the financial crisis. The government decided that the perpetrators of the crisis were "too big to fail" and bailed them out with our money. I was not bailed out. | Today, a decade after the crisis, I'm part of a grassroots-led effort to ensure every person in the United States has safe, accessible, sustainable, and permanently affordable housing. I don't want anyone to have to go through what I've gone through. | After the crash, I had to change my whole life. I didn't have a 401(k) retiremen…
truthout.org/articles/its-time-to-guaran…

Venezuela: Guaido Replaced as Parliament Head in Disputed Vote
Lucas Koerner | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido was handed a defeat Sunday in his bid to secure reelection as president of the country's National Assembly (AN). | With the votes of reportedly 81 of 150 lawmakers, opposition Deputy for Yaracuy State Luis Parra…
globalresearch.ca/venezuela-guaido-repla…

Israel Approves 1,900 Settlement Units in Occupied West Bank
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
Israel's Higher Planning Committee (HPC) approved Sunday and Monday the construction of 1,936 illegal housing units for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to Israeli NGO Peace Now. | RELATED: | Israel Advances Settlement Plans Despite 2016 Resolution: UN | "Despite lacking a clear mandate, for this caretaker government it's business as usual — Continue the massive promotion of harmful and unnecessary construction in occupied territory and in places that Isr…
telesurenglish.net/news/Israel-Approves-…

A State of War Exists Between the US and Humanity
Stephen Lendman | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
There's no ambiguity about what's going on globally. | Washington's geopolitical agenda is all about seeking dominance over other countries, their resources and populations worldwide — by whatever it takes to achieve its aims, notably by brute force and other hostile …
globalresearch.ca/state-war-exists-betwe…

Global Research: Powered by Readers
The Global Research Team | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
We are happy to say that we started 2020 with a big surge in readership. On the other hand, we also note that out of the 300,000+ visits to our website over the past few days, very few financial contributions …
globalresearch.ca/global-research-powere…

It's Not Just Roundup — Communities Should Limit All Harmful Pesticides
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
The herbicide Roundup has been a topic of discussion around the U.S. following large jury awards to several people who claim their cancer was caused by long-term exposure to the product. A community l…
truthout.org/articles/its-not-just-round…

College Presidents Aren't Who We Should Consult About Free Higher Education
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-01-06
Recently, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell reported on the negative reactions of college presidents to the idea of free public college. The context was a media dinner with a dozen college presidents, most of whom were leading non-flagship public schools, according to Rampell. | The presidents were asked if they th…
truthout.org/articles/college-presidents…

Hey Bird Brain!
Elliot Sperber | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
Hey Bird Brain! Seagulls were feeding on fish In the river when Geese swooped down and elbowed in And off the seagulls flapped and flew And landed again Near Keap and Metropolitan And eyed a rain-soaked heap of bread Upon which fifteen pigeons fed And said: hey, let's eat that instead Despite its lack of…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/hey-bird-bra…

Education and the Breakdown of Democracy
Creston Davis — Ann Rutledge | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
We applaud Ronald J. Daniels' Washington Post op-ed (December 31, 2019) on the shortcomings of American tertiary education. As professionals with a deep commitment to educating next-generation citizens and leaders, we concur with his critique of American education and join his call to universities to enable young people to…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/education-an…

A Measure of Societal Vitality
Manuel García, Jr. | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
Following is my response to Robert Hunziker's article "Kill GDP to Help Save the Planet," published in Counterpunch on 2 January 2020. [1] Robert Hunziker describes why the economic statistical measure known as GDP — Gross Domestic Product — is a deeply flawed indicator of the actual economic health and societal wellbeing of the United…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/a-measure-of…

Australia Burns: Fireworks, Bush Fires and Denial
Binoy Kampmark | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
As 2020 approached, the sense that the barbarians were not only at the gates but had breached the walls of indifference had come to the fore. But these were not conventional human forms; rather, they were the agents of conflagration, driving people to the sea, forcing them from homes and consuming territories the size of…
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/australia-bu…

Real Democracy Requires a Separation of Money and State
Thomas Knapp | counterpunch.org | 2020-01-06
As we enter a new year, the running battle between the world's governments and the world-changing technology known as "cryptocurrency" continues. As 2019 drew to an end, Swiss president Ueli Maurer asserted that Facebook's digital currency (not a real cryptocurrency), Libra, has failed "because central banks will not accept the basket of currencies underpinning it."
counterpunch.org/2020/01/06/real-democra…

The Gulf Monarchies Intervention in The Horn of Africa: Devastating Impact on Somalia
Dr. Bischara A. Egal | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
On Saturday morning December 28th, a truck bomb exploded at a busy intersection at KM 5 + security checkpoint at in Somalia's capital, killing at least 90 people including many University students on their way to Universities outside …
globalresearch.ca/khaleeji-gulf-monarchi…

Trump's Deja Vu Wartime Playbook
Dr. Jack Rasmus | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
The past half century shows two things about how America goes to war: | First, it creates …
globalresearch.ca/trump-deja-vu-wartime-…

"To Initiate a War of Aggression Is Not Only an International Crime: It Is the Supreme International Crime"
David W. Mathisen | globalresearch.ca | 2020-01-06
As a citizen of the United States, a graduate of West Point, Ranger School and other Army schools, and former officer in the Regular Army, sworn to support and defend the Constitution, I am disgusted at the despicable, immoral and …
globalresearch.ca/initiate-war-aggressio…

Conservative Austrian People's Party to form government with Greens
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
The Greens have seamlessly filled the shoes of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party (FPàñ), securing a majority for inhumane, pro-corporate, and law-and-order policies.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/oest…

German authorities shut down investigations into far-right and state crimes
wsws.org | 2020-01-06
The closing of the year 2019 has confirmed that the revival of the far right in Germany is principally due to policies pursued by the country's ruling elite.
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/01/06/germ…

Haftar Forces Capture Important Coastal City in Northern Libya
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
The Libyan National Army (LNA), which is loyal to the Benghazi-based Khalifa Haftar, announced on Monday that their forces were in full control of the strategic port-city of Sirte in northern Libya. | RELATED: | Turkish Soldiers Officially on Their Way to Libya: Erdogan | "The commander-in-chief decided on a well-planned,pre-emptive strike and within less than three hours we were in the heart of Sirte," said LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari. "It was a sudden, swift operation," he said…
telesurenglish.net/news/Haftar-Forces-Ca…

Argentina Anti-Hunger Plan Starts, 66,000 Food Cards Allocated
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
Argentinian Alberto Fernandez's administration began its 'Anti-Hunger' program Monday in the northern and poor-stricken province of Chacho with the allocation of 66,499 food cards to low-income families. | RELATED: | Fernandez Gives Argentinians Hope in New Opinion Poll | "The plan seeks to guarantee the right to eat well but, also, it is a great source of employment and promotion for those who produce food in the country," said Minister of Social Development Daniel Arroyo,‚&Auml…
telesurenglish.net/news/argentine-anti-h…

Fernandez Gives Argentinians Hope in New Opinion Poll
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
The total percentage of Argentians that view President Alberto Fernández in a positive light has increased by 20 percentage points, according to a survey by the Center for Public Opinion Studies, disseminated by the Argentinian media Page 12. | RELATED: | Argentina: Fernandez to Send Legal Abortion Bill to Congress | According to the report, 62.5 percent of Argentianians view President Alberto Fernández in a positive light, while 34.6 hold negative views of his presidency. | This…
telesurenglish.net/news/Fernandez-Gives-…

US Plans to Send Mexican Asylum Seekers to Guatemala
telesurenglish.net | 2020-01-06
Mexicans seeking asylum in the United States could be sent to Guatemala under the safe-third country type deal signed by the Central American nation last year, according to documents sent to U.S. asylum officers in recent days and seen by Reuters. | RELATED: | U.S. Sends First Salvadoran To Guatemala Under Asylum Agreement | In a Jan. 4 emails, field office staff at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were told Mexican nationals will be included in the populations "ame…
telesurenglish.net/news/US-Plans-to-Send…

WhatsApp and fake news, or how to kill democracy
Eds. | mronline.org | 2020-01-06
Fears and anxieties are used to create and diffuse fake news and manipulate the electorate. This is what happened at the last Brazilian election. A group of researchers studied the case in order to develop a method to deal with fake news. | Source…
mronline.org/2020/01/06/whatsapp-and-fak…