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.

Last week's post on Moon of Alabama:

Palestine:

• January 9 – Palestine SitRep: Sanitizing Language While The War Escalates
• January 11 – Palestine SitRep: Court Hearing – Netanyahu's Concession
  Related:
  – Prof. John Mearsheimer: Yes, Israel Is Committing Genocide (vid) – Scheerpost
  – When The Hell That Is War Loses Its Power – American Interest
  – America's Middle East Policy Has Failed – Foreign Policy

  – U.N. Warns Gaza Is Heading for Famine as Specter of Wider War Looms – New York Times
  – A Critical Look at The New York Times' Weaponization of Rape in Service of Israeli Propaganda – Palestine Studies
  – ‘It is a time of witch hunts in Israel’: teacher held in solitary confinement for posting concern about Gaza deaths – Guardian

  – A Top Biden Official Is Pushing An Urgent Post-Gaza Plan That’s Alarming Some Insiders – Huffpost
  – Reinventing a square wheel: Can a revitalized Palestinian Authority lead the way to a better “day after?” – MEI

Ukraine:

• January 10 – Ukraine SitRep: High Losses, Mobilization Problems, Too Few Air Defenses
  Related:
  – Behind the New Iron Curtain – Harpers
  – A Step to the Right: Two Weeks with Right Sector, Jan-February 2014 – Events in Ukraine
  – Russia Regains Upper Hand in Ukraine’s East as Kyiv’s Troops Struggle – New York Times
  – Belgorod, in western Russia, hit hard as Ukraine retaliates for airstrikes – Washington Post
  – Washington puts forward G7 plan to confiscate $300bn in Russian assets (archived) – Financial Times
  – Ukraine's President and British PM Have Differing Views on UK Security Guarantees – Eurointegration.ua
  – Ex-Ukrainian MP Andriy Derkach Reveals New Details of Biden Corruption in Ukraine – 21st Century Wire

Yemen:

• January 12 – U.S. (Re-) Starts War With Houthi
• January 13 – Striking Yemen From Afar Will Not Achieve Anything
  Related:
  – Don’t Bomb the Houthis– Foreign Affairs
  – U.S. is Painting Itself Into a Corner in the Red Sea – Sonar21
  – The Necessary Risk of America’s Military Strikes in Yemen – New York Times
  – Much of Houthis’ Offensive Capability Remains Intact After U.S.-led Airstrikes – New York Times
  – New Escalation: Iran Deploys Navy to Red Sea After US Strikes Yemen’s Houthis – Elijah Magnier / The Alt World

—
Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2024-013

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.

Last night the U.S. launched another strike against Yemen:

The US Central Command (Centcom) has announced that American forces have launched a fresh strike, targeting an alleged radar site used by the Ansarullah movement in Yemen.

The strike, carried out by the USS Carney (DDG 64) using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, follows previous one on January 12.

Reports from multiple sources indicate that the airstrikes targeted the vicinity of Sanaa airport and its surrounding areas, north of the Yemeni capital. According to CNN, a US official revealed that this strike was conducted unilaterally by the United States and was of a smaller scale compared to previous actions.

Other reports confirm that this second strike in as many days targeted a radar site:

The US launched a fresh airstrike on a Houthi rebel radar installation Friday, in what was described as a follow-up attack to an earlier barrage across Yemen intended to degrade the group’s ability to target commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The destroyer USS Carney fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at the radar facility, US Central Command said in a statement.
…
Central Command called the strike “a follow-on action on a specific military target associated with strikes taken on Jan. 12.”

The only known radar site near Sana'a is at the airport which the Saudis had bombed several times. It was reopened only in 2022, six years after it had been closed, following a UN brokered truce agreement.

Sana'a is some 100 km (60 miles) from the coastline. Why an air traffic control radar in Sana'a should be relevant for marine traffic in the Red Sea is beyond my understanding.

I also do not understand why the U.S. is hitting Yemen at all. The Houthi, part of the ruling Ansar Allah government coalition, want to fight the U.S. As long as the war on Gaza goes on they can not and will not be deterred from attacking ships related to Israel.

Many experts agree with this opinion:

Cont. reading: Striking Yemen From Afar Will Not Achieve Anything

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.

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.

The Houthi movement is a major part of the Ansar Islam government of Yemen.

Over eight years of war the Houthi have fought the U.S. supported Saudis and UAE mercenaries to a standstill.

Their slogan:

bigger

In solidarity with Gaza the Houthi have recently blocked sea bound traffic to the U.S. supported Israel.

Richard Medhurst @richimedhurst – 2:32 UTC · Jan 12, 2024

Yemen fulfilled their duty under Art. 1 of the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish Israel for its genocide.
If you don't like Yemen firing at commercial ships, then you shouldn't fire 2000lb bombs at Palestinians.
All non-Israeli ships can pass np
It's very simple.

After its failed attempt to form a anti-Houthi coalition under the stupid name Operation Prosperity Garden the U.S. asked its sidekick Britain to support an attack on the Houthi.

Houthi leader Sayed Abdel Malik Al Houthi promised publicly (vid) to responds to any U.S./UK attack.

The Houthi prepared by diverting its equipment and personnel.

Faytuks News Δ @Faytuks – 8:32 PM · Jan 11, 2024

Breaking: Houthi forces have transported some weapons and equipment and fortified others in anticipation of a strike by the U.S. and its allies, a U.S. defense official and a person close to the Houthis says – WSJ

Maritime executives have been told by Western diplomats that targets would likely include missile and drone launch sites, radars and weapons depots around the Yemeni cities of Hodeida and Hajjah. Infrastructure in the capital San’a is also on the list of possible targets – WSJ

The Middle East is braced on Thursday for U.S.-led coalition strikes on Houthi positions

The U.S (and UK) attacked anyway:

Cont. reading: U.S. (Re-) Starts War With Houthi

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.

Today South Africa argued in front of the International Court of Justice to accept its APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS against Israel.

It is seeking a preliminary injunction that would largely consist of a formal cease-and-desist letter from the court to Israel.

Israel would thereby be formally prohibited from continuing its murderous campaign in Gaza. However, the court commands no divisions, navy or air force that could compel Israel do so.

The team from South Africa was joined by a lawyer for Ireland.

Tomorrow Israel will argue its case. It has, to my knowledge, not published a written argument.

I do not know how long it will take the court to decide. But there are several precedences in which the court issued preliminary injunctions even in weaker cases. The evidence South Africa presented in its application is clear for anyone to see. There are also the dozens of statements from Israeli officials documented in it which demonstrate genocidal intent.

Next to the application South Africa also argued that Israel, as the recognized occupying power of Gaza and the West Bank, can not claim a right of self defense. An occupying power has the duty to take care of the population under its power. It can not wage a war against it.

Only after accepting South Africa's application will the court start formal proceeding to find if Israel is guilty of the crime of genocide. Such proceedings can take years. That is why the power of a preliminary injunction is necessary to stop the killing.

In other news the genocide proceedings and/or the Biden administration seem to have finally pressed Netanyahoo into a concession:

Cont. reading: Palestine SitRep: Court Hearing – Netanyahu’s Concession

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.

The Wall Street Journal provides another dark frontline story (archived) from Ukraine. It describes the attempts by a airborne company to take Russian positions near Verbove, a town next to the famous 'Bradley square' where the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed:

Just after dawn on Aug. 12, drones swept overhead as they approached the target along a line of trees between farm fields. Kharchenko’s men had been told Russian drones would be downed by Ukrainian jamming equipment and assumed they were their own. Then the drones began dropping explosives. The trees exploded with machine-gun fire. Grenades lobbed from automatic launchers burst around them.

The platoon was incapacitated. More than half of its 20 or so men were dead or wounded within minutes, including the medic.

“What shall we do with the injured? F—!” Senior Sgt. Maksym Serheyev, commander of the first platoon, yelled over the radio to his commander. “There are more of them than us.”

The company commander requested smoke grenades to be fired before a rescue mission was sent to recover the wounded without being seen by Russian drones or soldiers.

Why no smoke was used during the first attempt to attack is not explained. Smoke would also have helped during the first phase of the counter attack when dozens of infantry fighting vehicles and tanks ran into minefields and were then destroyed by Russian anti-tank missiles.

When I learned to become a tank platoon leader we regularly requested smoke screens from the artillery or used the smoke grenades mounted on our tanks to hide our movement. The Ukrainian soldiers have done so only rarely:

Cont. reading: Ukraine SitRep: High Losses, Mobilization Problems, Too Few Air Defenses

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.

The New York Times has claimed that Israel is cutting back its brutal war in Gaza:

The Israeli military has begun a new and less intense phase of its invasion of Gaza, its chief spokesman said on Monday, after weeks of pressure from the United States and other allies to scale back an offensive that has caused widespread devastation and civilian deaths.

The Nation however finds that this is certainly not the case:

The Israeli Defense Forces spokesman, Radm. Daniel Hagari, gave the Times the interview that it used for its headline. But Hagari’s quotes never actually promise the “less intense phase” in the Times paraphrase. Hagari instead describes the focus of the pitiless Israeli campaign shifting southward—while his superiors in the Israeli government indicate that it could expand regionally.

The Times isn't the only main stream media to lie about the war. CNN is routing all news through its Jerusalem bureau where an Israeli military censor takes care that everything is 'sanitized'. This while the Washington Post is sending out its most Zionist reporter to write a hit piece about pro-Palestinian news sites.

The Canadian Broadcast Corporation is using harmless language to describe Israeli air attacks while it brutalizes reports of Hamas ground attack. It even justifies this:

Cont. reading: Palestine SitRep: Sanitizing Language While The War Escalates

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.

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.

Happy Orthodox Christmas!

Last week's post on Moon of Alabama:

Ukraine:

• January 2 – Ukraine SitRep: Tit For Tat, Tat, Tat – Russia Intensifies Missile Strikes
• January 4 – Ukraine SitRep: Zelenski's Propaganda Outlet Is Leading His Decline
  Related:
  – Ukrainian Post-Mortems Starting to Appear – Sonar 21
  – The propaganda that damned Ukraine – Amb. Chas Freeman / Unherd
  – Ukrainian TV channels exploring possibility of changing format of single telethon – Interfax

  – CRISIS POLITICS IN UKRAINE: Regime Split, Pre-Coup, Pre-Revolutionary Conditions – Gordon Hahn
  – I spent a year with Zelensky – and saw how his personality completely transformed – Simon Shuster / Telegraph
  – Ukrainian trial demonstrates 2014 Maidan massacre was false flag – Grayzone
  – EU Commissioner wants restrictions on Ukrainian exports – RT

Palestine:

• January 3 – Palestine SitRep – Hizbullah's Response To Assassinations By Israel In Lebanon
• January 5 – Palestine SitRep: Lebanese Resistance Causes Enemy Losses – Is Ready To Fight Off Attacks
  Related:
  – Genocide in Gaza – John Mearsheimer
  – South Africa's APPLICATION INSTITUTING PROCEEDINGS – ICJ
  – Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide – United Nations

  – US hasn’t formally assessed if Israel violating human rights – Politico
  – Israeli's could be charged with war crimes (video) – Amb. Chas Freeman / SaltCubeAnalytics
  – Inside Israel's plan to quash South Africa's Gaza genocide case – Axios

  – In Gaza genocide, US defends Israel’s ‘aura of power’ – Aaron Maté
  – Binyamin Netanyahu is botching the war. Time to sack him – Economist
  – Israel’s “Unity” Government In Chaos Over Calls to Investigate Israel’s Failure on October 7 – Sonar 21

  – The Epidemiological War on Gaza – Jewish Current
  – Inside Israel’s torture camp for Gaza detainees – 972 Mag
  – Safe zones: Israel’s technologies of genocide – Aljazeerah

  – For civilians or Hamas? 'Dual use' issue complicates Gaza aid efforts – Reuters / MSN
  – Cumbersome process and ‘arbitrary’ Israeli inspections slow aid delivery into Gaza, US senators say – AP

  – Gaza war: Why Houthis pose a stubborn challenge to US in Red Sea – CS Monitor
  – Israel’s talk of expanding war to Lebanon alarms U.S. – Washington Post

> According to U.S. intelligence reviewed by The Post, the IDF has hit the positions of the U.S.-funded and trained Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) more than 34 times since Oct. 7, officials familiar with the matter said. <

Biden:

• January 6 – When Satire Beats You By 18 Month …
  Related:
  – The man supposed to stop Donald Trump is an unpopular 81-year-old– Economist
  – Pentagon didn’t inform Biden, White House for days about Austin’s hospitalization – Politico
  – UK preparing secret dossier on Trump 2.0 amid security fears – MSN

Boeing:

• January 6 – Boeing's 737 MAX Is Still A Mess
  Related:
  – FAA grounds more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9s after section of Alaska Airlines plane blows out – CNBC
  – 737 Mid-Cabin Emergency Exit Doors (video) – 737 Tech Channel
  – F.A.A. Orders Airlines to Ground Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Jets After Midair Emergency – New York Times

> Forrest Gossett, a spokesman for Spirit AeroSystems, said on Saturday that his company installed door plugs on the Max 9s, and that Spirit had installed the plug on the Alaska Air flight. <

—
Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2024-004

I haven't written about the engineering and business mess of Boeing for a while.

After the 2019 737 Max failures that downed two airplanes and killed all inside, the company promised to change its culture. But it has since seen several production stops for quality and flight security issues on several of its manufacturing lines. There are still undelivered 737 MAX and 787 planes mothballed on various airports around Seattle.

And now comes this:

Pete Muntean @petemuntean – 4:20 UTC · Jan 6, 2024

NEW IMAGE from on board Alaska Airlines 1282 after ***part of the fuselage*** blew out mid-flight. Successful emergency return to Portland after 20 minutes in the air. 10-week-old (!) Boeing 737 Max 9. NTSB investigating.

bigger

There is video from inside the plane as it was landing. Oxygen masks had been deployed when the plane depressurized. The women filming says that there was thankfully no one seated next to where the hull was breached. If there had been that person would likely have died.

Cont. reading: Boeing’s 737 MAX Is Still A Mess

The original:

'You Can’t Be Pro-Insurrection And Pro-American,' Says President Of Nation Founded By An Insurrection – The Babylon Bee – Jul 27, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president shot back at what he called "Super Duper Ultra MAGA Turbo Titans" Monday as he claimed "you can't be pro-insurrection and pro-American" despite being the commander in chief of a nation founded by an insurrection.

"Can you imagine Thomas Jefferson calling for the blood of tyrants? What if John Adams refused to pledge fealty to King George? England would've nuked us to oblivion. It would've been total malarkey anarchy!" said the unblinking Biden, unflinching in the face of a citizenry increasingly questioning whether he is fit to be president.
…

bigger

The copycat:

President Biden @POTUS – 0:14 UTC · Jan 6, 2024

You can’t be pro-insurrection and pro-America.

bigger

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.

At Naked Capitalism Yves Smith is taking another recommendable look at the situation in and around Palestine:

Israel Shifts to Targeted Escalation, With Justification for Entry into Lebanon One Likely Aim

After the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of Hamas’ political wing, in Beirut the situation at the border will probably escalate:

Alastair Crooke reported that Israel residents of in the north who had evacuated or otherwise fled demanded that they not be able to see Lebanese forces from the border. They told by the government that they would be able to return by the end of January, which seems a tall order (I did find corroboration in a print source but due to the state of search, cannot find it again). Given that Lebanon would never agreed to effectively cede territory to improve the mental health of these nearby Israeli neighbors, that commitment would imply an invasion, which is how Crooke read it.

Scott Ritter appears to have seen similar demands, but depicted them as mere threat display, that Israel would not dare attempt an incursion because it was pretty sure to lose. As Ritter had early described, Israel lost its last two war games against Hamas and Hezbollah, even with the US joining the war. Ritter has also described how much better Hezbollah has gotten since 2006, when it beat Israel, while Israel’s forces, per Ritter, are third rate. And Hezbollah has a tunnel network that makes Hamas’ look like a poor cousin.
…
Aside from the successful Beirut attack amounting to a real blow and a morale booster for Israel, it also seems to be setting up the spin that a widening of the war in Lebanon would be the result of Hezbollah escalation, as opposed to as Israel initiative (hoping for a response to provocation as cover). For example, see the DW headline: Hezbollah’s revenge for Beirut killing: Will it lead to war?

One wonders why Israel seems to be committing itself to an invasion of Lebanon. Is this strictly domestically driven, that it is politically unacceptable for Israel to have abandoned border towns? That Israel is worried about waning US support, witness the pressure to dial down (at least optically) Israel’s campaign in Gaza? Aljazeera articulates one widespread view, that Netanyahu is strongly motivated to keep the war at a high pitch, although he probably has some rabid allies:
…

Yes, Netanyahoo has some reasons to keep the war running by escalating it. But it is probably not because he fears an investigation into how it came to the war, as Aljazeerah implies. Such investigations can be fudged. But Netanyahoo has a higher (to him) personal interest.

A piece published two days ago by the Washington Post catches the essence of his motivation:

Cont. reading: Palestine SitRep: Lebanese Resistance Causes Enemy Losses – Is Ready To Fight Off Attacks