Feb 29, 2024 Update
“I will no longer be complicit in genocide”- Aaron Bushnell
On Feb. 20 the US vetoed a third UN resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The next day, the US defended Israel’s occupation of the West Bank at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
In this context, a few of us talked and started putting together an email exploring the topic of American complicity in Gaza. Because it’s a complex and sensitive topic there was some hesitation to send it out.
And then Aaron Bushnell brought the topic of complicity out in the open.
On Sunday, as most of you are probably aware, Aaron Bushnell, a 25 year-old senior airman in the US Air Force, self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC to protest what Israel and the US are doing in Gaza.
“I am an active-duty member of the United States Air Force, and I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal” said Bushnell. He shouted “Free Palestine” as he was dying.
There have been a handful of particularly honorable, heroic people since 9/11: Pat Tillman, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and now Aaron Bushnell.
It’s heartbreaking to see a person choose to end their life in protest of their government’s actions - and this is a stain on the US Empire for pushing him to that point - but his choice will resonate and is forcing people to sincerely consider their part in what is happening in Gaza.
If you live in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, or any other western country that is funding, arming, and supporting Israel’s actions in Palestine, are you, as a citizen, complicit? Are there levels of complicity? In particular, in the US:
* If you don’t support what Israel is doing, and you didn’t vote for any of the people in the government who today are supporting Israel’s actions, are you complicit?
* What if you voted for Biden or a congressmember in the US who is supporting Israel, but you personally don’t support what Israel is doing, are you complicit?
* In the future if you vote for someone who today is supporting Israel’s genocide, then you surely are complicit, right?
* Just hours after Aaron Bushnell’s actions, Joe Biden was on the Seth Meyers TV show where he said, “you need not be a Jew to be a Zionist, I’m a Zionist”. Biden said the same thing last October, after Israel invaded Gaza. If you are still a Biden supporter, then you definitely are complicit to genocide, correct?
* If you live in the US, do you ever feel guilty about living in the Empire - the most violent country, by far, since WWII? The US was built on theft, slavery, colonization and today, imperial power. Do you consider your American privilege in the context of what the US does around the world?
* Do you think about how already in 2024 the US has bombed inside four countries: Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Somalia? Israel has bombed three: Palestine, Lebanon and Syria – all with US taxpayer support and bombs. Can we imagine what it’d be like living inside a country that is being bombed?
Dec 14, 2023 Update
How Can Israel Be Stopped?
“All of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision-guided bombs, all the airplanes and bombs, it’s all from the US. The minute they turn off the tap, you can’t keep fighting. You have no capability. … Everyone understands that we can’t fight this war without the United States. Period.” – Ret. Israeli Major General Yitzhak Brick.
This surprisingly honest quote provides a simple roadmap to stopping Israel – the US must stop giving them weapons. He clearly states that Israel could not continue without US support. Period.
Not only is the US arming and funding Israel’s genocide, but it’s also giving them diplomatic cover and is blocking world opinion - most recently last week at the UN by vetoing a Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The US has previously vetoed dozens of other UN resolutions regarding Israel's occupation of Palestine.
The New York Times ran an opinion piece this week by leaders of some of the world’s largest global humanitarian organizations. They wrote that they have never seen anything like the siege of Gaza which has already killed at least 7,500 Palestinian children. “A significant change in approach from the U.S. government is needed today to pull Gaza back from this abyss … For a start, the Biden administration must stop its diplomatic interference at the United Nations, blocking calls for a cease-fire.”
If the US continues to arm Israel and give them diplomatic immunity, Israel will not stop until they’ve taken all of Gaza and probably the West Bank, too, while murdering thousands more innocent Palestinians.
Conversely, if the US ends its support, Israel will most likely be forced to stop. Ultimately the Israeli government will decide if it continues, but without US weapons and without US support in the UN, Israel would be on its own and would face condemnation unlike the world has seen in generations – as it already is in many ways.
So what can make the US government stop its support of Israel’s invasion of Palestine? Among other things, the US voting public needs to stop backing politicians who continue to fund and support Israel’s genocide.
If enough politicians believe they won’t get reelected if they continue to support Israel’s actions, then there’s a chance Israel will be forced to stop.
People in other countries are already pressuring their elected officials to stop supporting Israel’s war. If voters in the US do the same, Israel can be stopped.
St Pete for Peace applauds Jewish Voice for Peace, CODEPINK and many other anti-war groups, activists, congressional and White House staffers and other government employees who are having a meaningful impact by protesting for peace. The same holds true for the journalists and news outlets like Antiwar.com who tirelessly provide critical information and inspiration.
Oct 23, 2023 Update
“The Indispensable Nation” is supporting Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
What Israel is doing in Palestine is collective punishment, crimes against humanity, terrorism, a massacre, and ethnic cleansing. While these are all serious labels, they are accurate when looking at the facts.
The Israeli government is suffocating and carpet bombing innocent people in Palestine, and the U.S. government is not only onboard with it, but they are also giving Israel the means to do so. According to most reports,
over 2,000 Palestinian children have been killed in 17 days. Many of the deaths are slow and painful, as hospitals are either being bombed or they are running out of medicine.
According to a UN Human Rights Commission report from last Thursday, what is happening to Palestinians could eventually be a genocide. “We are sounding the alarm: There is an ongoing campaign by Israel resulting in crimes against humanity in Gaza. Considering statements made by Israeli political leaders and their allies, accompanied by military action in Gaza and escalation of arrests and killing in the West Bank, there is also a risk of genocide against the Palestinian People,” the report said.
Later that day,
Joe Biden -
in his speech from the Oval Office in trying to drum up support for his $105 billion proposal to send more weapons to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan - said,
“America is a beacon to the world still. Still. We are, as my friend Madeleine Albright said, “the indispensable nation.”
Tonight, there are innocent people all over the world who hope because of us, who believe in a better life because of us, who are desperate not be forgotten be- — by us, and who are waiting for us”.
Biden's statement is out of touch with reality, and trying to convince the world that America is a beacon is being laughed at, if not spit on by much of the world right now. And invoking former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is telling – she’s the person who in 1996 was asked on 60 Minutes about the estimated 500,000 Iraqi children who died because of U.S. sanctions: "We have heard that half a million [Iraqi] children have died. I mean, that is more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?" Albright responded, "I think that is a very hard choice, but the price - we think, the price is worth it."
We all know where Biden and the U.S. government stands on this issue, and quoting Madeleine Albright is another sign that the neo-cons/liberal interventionists continue to control the narrative and policy making decisions, which makes this situation bleak.
* Since the U.S. announced it's sending troops, warships and weapons to the region in support of Israel, why shouldn’t Iran, Lebanon, Syria or any other country be able to do the same for Palestine? Particularly Lebanon and Syria who have been bombed by Israel in recent days.
* Some good news - have you noticed that some parts of mainstream media, while still siding with Israel, are becoming less one-sided and are showing videos, pictures and are telling the story of Palestinians unlike they have before? When push comes to shove we know what the headlines will be, but it is encouraging to see some of the coverage.
May 26, 2023 Update
Neo-Nazis Use U.S. Military Vehicles to Attack Inside Russia
The Russian defeat of Ukraine in Bakhmut seems to have triggered the U.S. and Ukraine into escalating the war. Things appear to be heading in an increasingly dangerous direction.
There's so much going on, so in case you missed it, below are some stories from this past week. You can read more at ForeignPolicy.News
A neo-Nazi militia launched a cross-border raid from Ukraine into Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday using US armored vehicles,
Financial Times
reported Tuesday...
Denis Nikitin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, said his fighters who attacked Belgorod were in possession of US armored vehicles...
Nikitin is a well-known extremist who has ties to neo-Nazis across the world and has his own white nationalist clothing line. According to Financial Times, the Russian Volunteer Corps “includes self-avowed neo-Nazis.”
The group was formed in 2022 and is said to be comprised of Russian citizens who have volunteered to fight for Kyiv. Some of its members signed up to fight in the Donbas war back in 2014 and are Azov Battalion veterans.
Washington is investigating reports that U.S. military vehicles were used in raids on Russia, a White House official said Wednesday, warning Ukraine and pro-Ukraine forces against using U.S. equipment to attack inside Russia.
Andriy Chernyak, an official from Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, HUR, acknowledged for the first time some form of co-operation with the [militias who claimed responsibility for the attacks inside Russia]. "Of course, we communicate with them. Of course, we share some information, Chernyak said. And, one might say, we even co-operate."
Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, told Germany's Die Welt newspaper in an interview that Kyiv wanted to assassinate Russian president Vladimir Putin
The notorious Ukrainian “kill list” that identified the Zelensky regime’s opponents like Aaron Maté, Scott Ritter, Roger Waters and even Henry Kissinger has added a new name: Jimmy Dore. The list is ostensibly maintained by an independent group, but an investigation into funding reveals that the Ukrainian government is behind the effort, as well as U.S. and NATO cutouts.
And this Saturday is the International Day of Action - Drop the Charges Against the Uhuru 3!
May 11, 2023 Update
Drop the Charges Against the "Uhuru 3"
Hi everyone,
This is Chris Ernesto, one of the co-founders of St. Pete for Peace.
I am in absolute solidarity with the "Uhuru 3" (African People’s Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela and Uhuru solidarity leaders Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel) who are being falsely charged as “Russian agents.”
The Uhuru Movement helped shape my views on U.S. foreign policy, free speech and the liberation of people being oppressed by the U.S. Empire and its colonial partners. They have a wealth of knowledge that many of us are fortunate to continue to learn from.
They are the most intelligent, principled and focused group I've worked with. They led the years-long struggle for free speech at Baywalk. They are strong, and the charges against them are bogus and desperate. I know they're going to win, and I look forward to the day the U.S. government gets faced for attacking people because of their beliefs.
Uhuru!
April 16, 2023 Update
US coercion is losing its effectiveness and the damaging leaks don't help
April has already been one of the busiest, and most newsworthy months for world affairs in a long time. Much of what’s happening is very encouraging, if not good news that may help slow down the war in Ukraine, and possibly hinder or stop other US global ambitions.
- The intelligence leaks are very damaging to US aspirations in Ukraine and abroad.
- US coercion is not working like it used to – the world is rapidly realigning.
- A rare anti-Empire statement from a political figure – RFK Jr.
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INTELLIGENCE LEAKS
The intelligence leaks have already damaged US aspirations in Ukraine. Not only do the documents confirm US direct involvement in the war, but they also show that the US is exaggerating and, in some cases, lying about Ukraine’s military accomplishments and capabilities.
Here are what some of the documents regarding Ukraine have said so far:
- Without a massive influx of advanced munitions, Ukraine’s entire air defense network will “be completely reduced” by late May, and most of Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure outside Kyiv and two other areas in southwestern Ukraine will no longer have air-defense cover.
[Many military analysts say this is the most important battlefield revelation thus far because it means Russia would have complete control of Ukraine’s airspace.]
- The number of Ukrainian weapons, tanks and other military equipment was detailed.
[These figures display a much weaker Ukrainian force than has been portrayed by leaders and leads to real-life questions about Ukraine’s ability to fight moving forward.]
- Special Forces from NATO countries are in Ukraine: UK (50), Latvia (17), France (15), US (14) and the Netherlands (1).
[When asked about this, White House spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged the presence of Special Forces, but said they were just at the embassy in Kiev.]
- One of the documents summarized the training schedules of 12 Ukraine combat brigades and said nine were being trained by US and NATO forces.
[This contradicts Kirby’s assertion above]
- Some NATO weapon supply chains and weapons facilities were identified.
[This is more proof of NATO’s direct military involvement in Ukraine. Also, on Thursday, just days after the documents were leaked, Russia destroyed a large weapons depot based on the leaked intelligence.]
- The New York Times reported that “the leaks have caused concern in foreign capitals that intelligence shared in Washington might be subject to exposure and has caused embarrassment over the reminder that the United States spies on even its closes allies, including South Korea and Israel.” Bill Lynn, a former US deputy secretary of defense who now serves as CEO of arms company Leonardo DRS, told CNBC, “It’s hard to trust us with your secrets if we can’t protect them.”
[This statement from the CEO validates the seriousness of the leaks and their potential consequences.]
- The US supported a failed Ukrainian attack in October on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
[Similar to blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline, the US is willing to commit acts of sabotage, war and eco-terrorism in its desperate attempts to affect the balance of power in Ukraine - even if that means creating an environmental disaster.]
- The US does not expect peace talks this year.
[Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to end the war on April 1, 2022, but the US wouldn’t let it happen then, and it’s not letting it happen now. The US and Ukrainians continue to say that negotiations will only take place when Russia withdraws all troops and gives back all territorial gains. Maybe now with the intel leaks painting a more realistic picture of the situation on the ground they will reconsider their unrealistic position.]
Regarding how the leaks occurred, the information is still coming in, so we’ll see where that goes. The even more significant issue is the content of the leaks, and how they may help disintegrate support for the war and may damage America’s dominant position around the world. And all of this comes at a time in history when the US is already losing global influence at an unexpectedly fast pace.
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US COERCION
The decades-long era of America coercing other countries into behaving as it orders is beginning to fade.
Saudi Arabia’s rapprochements with Iran (brokered by China) and with Syria (brokered by Russia) last month are historic and have already changed the face of the Middle East.
Even in the early stages of collaboration, the Arab world today is more unified than it has been in many, many years.
Because of these developments, the war in Yemen* appears to be ending. There is now potential for the US/Israeli war in Syria to at least slow down.
Middle Eastern countries are now beginning to work with each other instead of against each other, leading to a loss of US influence and control in the region.
(As a side note, the US spent $21 trillion in its War on Terror that killed over 1 million people) and today it has less control and influence than it did before the start of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.)
Changes in the Middle East are part of a rapidly evolving geopolitical and global economic realignment throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well.
Self-determination is being publicly demanded by world leaders and their people as brewing discontent with America’s “rules-based order” is boiling over.
Many developing countries are redefining their relationship with America as they publicly express a preference to have international relationships be based on mutual respect and shared prosperity, thus the appeal of China and Russia, according to them.
Even long-time US allies are now publicly expressing their own autonomous, independent views. Recently:
- France’s leader Emmanuel Macron said, "Being an ally does not mean being a vassal... doesn't mean that we don't have the right to think for ourselves," when describing why Europe should not be a “follower” of the US or China on the issue of Taiwan.
- Hungary, a member of NATO and the EU, said last week that the war in Ukraine would end if the West stops sending weapons.
- In March, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the US are “liars” who "believes it's the government of the world."
- In a historic meeting last week in China, Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for the end of the dollar’s trade dominance. “Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar … Why can’t we do trade based on our own currencies … Who was it that decided that the dollar was the currency after the disappearance of the gold standard?” Prior to his remarks, China and Brazil reached an agreement to conduct trade and financial transactions in their own currencies, not in the US dollar.
*The war in Yemen, which has destroyed much of the Arab world’s most ancient culture and has killed over 300,000 people, was started by the Obama administration in 2009, not by Saudi Arabia in 2015 as is widely reported. Saudi Arabia just took over various military aspects of the war under US command.
For more: foreignpolicy.news/multipolar
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RFK JR QUOTE
“The collapse of US influence over Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s new alliances with China and Iran are painful emblems of the abject failure of the Neocon strategy of maintaining US global hegemony with aggressive projections of military power. China has displaced the American Empire by deftly projecting, instead, economic power. Over the past decade, our country has spent trillions bombing roads, ports, bridges, and airports. China spent the equivalent building the same across the developing world. The Ukraine war is the final collapse of the Neocon's short-lived “American Century.” The Neocon projects in Iraq and Ukraine have cost $8.1 trillion, hollowed out our middle class, made a laughingstock of US military power and moral authority, pushed China and Russia into an invincible alliance, destroyed the dollar as the global currency, cost millions of lives and done nothing to advance democracy or win friendships or influence.”
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