Moon of Alabama

November 30, 2023

Palestine Open Thread 2023-290

Only for news & views directly related to the war in Palestine.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b at 15:49 UTC | Comments (16)

Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2023-289

News & views (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) ...

Posted by b at 15:48 UTC | Comments (22)

Good Riddance

The ghoul is finally dead:

The Verdict on Henry Kissinger - Jacobin
The murderous legacy of Henry Kissinger - Middle East Eye
Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America’s Ruling Class, Finally Dies - Rolling Stone

May he grill in hell ...

Posted by b at 12:51 UTC | Comments (77)

November 29, 2023

Ukraine Open Thread 2023-288

Only for news & views directly related to the war in Ukraine.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b at 13:45 UTC | Comments (127)

On Gaza Biden Has To Climb Down More Than He Already Has

Shortly after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 the Biden administration argued for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza:

US 'actively working' to establish safe corridor for Gaza civilians: White House - Yeni Safak - Oct 12, 2023

The US is in active talks with Israel and Egypt to establish "safe passage" corridors for civilians in Gaza to flee ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the White House said Wednesday amid an expected ground offensive in the besieged enclave.
"We're actively discussing this with our Israeli and our Egyptian counterparts, we support safe passions for civilians. Civilians are not to blame for what Hamas has done. They didn't do anything wrong," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House.

"We are actively working on this with Egyptian and our Israeli counterparts. Civilians are protected under the laws of armed conflict, and they should be given every opportunity to avoid the fighting," he added.

By October 29 Biden was forced to call off those plans.

President Biden @POTUS - 21:23 UTC · Oct 29, 2023
I also spoke with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to share my appreciation for Egypt facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

We reaffirmed our commitment to work together and discussed the importance of protecting civilian lives, respect for international humanitarian law, and ensuring that Palestinians in Gaza are not displaced to Egypt or any other nation.

The U.S. president then started to call for a 'pause' in the fighting. This was seen a rejection of a longer term ceasefire as was demanded by other authorities.

There are now signs that he had to give in to pressure to dump that line too:

Joe Biden @JoeBiden - 22:00 UTC · Nov 28, 2023
Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.

To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.

We can’t do that.

There are two reasons for this retreat. The first is that Hamas has, arguably, won the war:

Elijah J. Magnier 🇪🇺 @ejmalrai - 5:45 UTC · Nov 29, 2023
This is how I read it: @Netanyahu is in trouble and can't achieve his objectives. The army is incapable of controlling Gaza without thousands of body bags on both sides.

Biden is bringing the ladder. End of Gaza MILITARY war. Reconstruction war starts.

It is time for Netanyahoo to climb down just as Biden himself has already done.

The second reason for Biden's turn around is the outrage within the Democratic party about his one sided take on the issue:

Cont. reading: On Gaza Biden Has To Climb Down More Than He Already Has

Posted by b at 11:43 UTC | Comments (253)

November 28, 2023

Palestine Open Thread 2023-287

Only for news & views directly related to the war in Palestine.

The current open thread for other issues is here.

Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.

Posted by b at 14:08 UTC | Comments (209)

November 27, 2023

Ukraine SitRep: High Losses, Political Infighting, Blocked Borders

How many losses did the Ukrainian army have in its war against Russia.

We, so far, did not have any answer to that. The Ukrainian military has given no realistic account of its own losses while its claims of Russian losses are obviously exaggerated.

The Russia military is likewise giving no numbers for its own losses. But its daily reports give estimates of Ukrainian ones. These are currently around 650 per day plus/minus 200 depending on the intensity of the fighting.

Some western observers, foremost retired Colonel Macgregor, say that Ukraine's unrecoverable losses have exceeded 400,000 men. But he does not name his sources.

Now a new chapter in the war between the Ukrainian president Zelenski and the Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian army, General Zaluzny, may have given us an answer. Yesterday this news item found its way to the Strana news site (machine translation):

Zaluzhny didn't provide the plan of war-2024 and has to leave-the people's Deputy from "Servants of the people"

The commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, does not have a war plan for 2024, and therefore must resign.
This was stated by Deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, MP from Servant of the People Mariana Bezuglaya on her Facebook page, referring to a "non-public discussion" with the military.

"Yes, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could not provide a plan for 2024. Neither big nor small, neither asymmetrical nor symmetrical. The military simply said that they need to take at least 20 thousand citizens a month, " she writes.

Zaluzny has no plans for 2024 because there is nothing he can do about the upcoming defeat of the Ukrainian army.

Every time he urges to stop defending positions that can not be held, like Bakhmut and Avdeevka, the political leadership tells him use all reserves and to keep holding. Every time he urges to build strong defense lines and to retreat to them he gets overruled. There is thereby nothing, except one number, that he can plan for.

That number is the one of the irretrievable losses of the Ukrainian army is experiencing. Zaluzny needs 20,000 new men per month to replace the losses and to keep his army going.

Cont. reading: Ukraine SitRep: High Losses, Political Infighting, Blocked Borders

Posted by b at 11:30 UTC | Comments (336)

November 26, 2023