Category Archives: Anti-Imperialism/Foreign Policy
Trump, Netanyahu, Saudis leading us closer to catastrophe 1
This should be the most important political issue in the United States right now but it’s not because….idiocracy.
Keith Preston: US has been at war throughout most of its history Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
The United States has been perpetually at conflict with other nations throughout most of its history, following the expansionist tradition of past empires, says an American political analyst in Virginia.
“We had the War of 1812, the Mexican war, the Civil War, the wars with various Native American nations (tribes), the Spanish–American War, the two world wars, the wars in Korea and Vietnam, Iraq twice, Afghanistan, just to name some of the major ones,” said Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com.
“We also have to consider all of the different wars that the United States has played an indirect role in terms of either engineering coups or arming insurgents or funding a particular state that is engaged in a war against its domestic population,” Preston told Press TV on Tuesday.
“When we add all of those wars, we see that the United States has literally been involved in wars in probably hundreds of different countries and territories over the past couple of centuries,” he added.
PressTV-US ‘most warlike nation in history’: Jimmy CarterFormer US President Jimmy Carter says America has only enjoyed 16 years of peace in its 242-year history, making the country “the most warlike nation in the history of the world.”
Former US President Jimmy Carter said Sunday that America has only enjoyed 16 years of peace in its 242-year history, making the country “the most warlike nation in the history of the world.”
Speaking at his regular Sunday School lesson at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, Carter said the reason for most US wars was Washington’s tendency to force other nations to “adopt our American principles.”
Carter said that China, in contrast to the US, had made massive economic progress by maintaining peace. “How many miles of high-speed railroad do we have in this country?” he asked.
The US has “wasted, I think, $3 trillion” on military spending. “It’s more than you can imagine. China has not wasted a single penny on war, and that’s why they’re ahead of us. In almost every way.”
“And I think the difference is if you take $3 trillion and put it in American infrastructure you’d probably have $2 trillion leftover. We’d have high-speed railroad. We’d have bridges that aren’t collapsing, we’d have roads that are maintained properly. Our education system would be as good as that of say South Korea or Hong Kong,” Carter told the congregation.
Turkey has been moving away from American paradigm Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
Turkey has been moving away from the traditional American paradigm, a political analyst in Virginia.
Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com. said Turkey was gradually moving away from the traditional American paradigm and heading in a different direction leading towards Russia.
PressTV-‘Turkey moving away from US sphere of influence’Turkey has been moving away from America’s sphere of influence and improving its relationship with Russia, says a political analyst in Virginia.
Preston told Press TV that tensions between Turkey and the United States especially rose when Donald Trump became the US president.
Preston said since the Trump administration came to power, there is clearly some tension between the United States and other traditional US allies in NATO.
He said a number of issues were the reason for the tensions.
One reason noted by Preston for the increased tensions with Washington is Ankara’s decision to purchase a Russian missile defense system.
“Turkey and the United States are now having a conflict over the question of Turkey’s acquisition of weapons from Russia,” Preston said.
Keith Preston: Turkey moving away from America’s sphere of influence Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
Turkey has been moving away from America’s sphere of influence and improving its relationship with Russia, which was underscored by Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system despite US threats not to do so, says a political analyst in Virginia.
“There’s been tensions between the United States and Turkey in recent years over a number of issues pertaining to US policy in the Middle East,” said Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com.
“American foreign policy has become increasingly hostile towards Russia in the last few years and the Turks do appear to view that as not being in their interest, in part because of their relatively close geographical proximity to Russia,” Preston told Press TV on Thursday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday vowed to go ahead with a deal to purchase Russian missiles despite Washington’s suspension of Turkey’s participation in a US jet program.
The US said on Monday it was halting all deliveries and joint work with Turkey on the F-35 fighter jet program if Ankara insisted on the deal.
Washington has suggested Turkey could opt for the US-produced Patriot missiles instead.
But Erdogan said although Ankara was keen to buy the US-produced missiles, “America was unfortunately not giving Patriots to us on the same terms” as Russia.
PressTV-Turkey ignores US threats over Russian S-400Turkey is ignoring threats by top US officials to buy Russia’s S-400 missile system.
The row over the F-35 and the S-400 is the latest in a series of diplomatic disputes between Ankara and Washington.
Tensions have been escalating between the two NATO allies over issues including US support for Kurdish groups in Syria that Ankara says are responsible for terror attacks inside Turkey.
Washington and its NATO allies have strived to prevent the sophisticated Russian-built anti-aircraft weapon system from collecting information about the US-made all-weather stealth multirole warplanes, technically known as the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, just as they are gaining a foothold in Europe.
Erdogan has also slammed American officials for rejecting his requests to hand over Fethullah Gulen, a powerful opposition figure living in the US, whom Ankara accuses of having masterminded a coup attempt in July 2016.
Guaido losing popularity at home, despite US support Reply
Keith Preston: US airstrikes in Somalia under spotlight Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
A prominent rights group says it has credible evidence that US drone strikes in Somalia are killing civilians.
Amnesty international says it carried out an extensive investigation. A team of researchers traveled to Somalia. There, they conducted forensics tests and interviews with more than 150 individuals. The group also analyzed corroborating evidence. This included satellite imagery, photos from the aftermath of airstrikes and munition fragments.
Keith Preston: US foreign policy is about making money for military firms 1
Press TV. Listen here.
The United States foreign policy has always served the interests of the military-industrial complex and that is why President Donald Trump is actively trying to increase the Pentagon’s budget while also pressing allies to spend more on defense, says an American analyst.
Keith Preston, director of Attackthesystem.com, made the remarks while discussing reports that Washington was drawing plans to require allies with American troops stationed in their countries to pay for the deployment.
Under White House direction, the Trump administration plans to ask Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting US troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil, plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them.
“It is an interesting relationship because the United States on one hand pays the military bills and provides for the military defense of these countries in Asia and in Europe and also at the same time the Americans use this position… to maintain political hegemony,” Preston told Press TV on Sunday.
PressTV-Trump to seek $750 billion for Pentagon: OfficialPresident Trump will seek funds for the Pentagon and his promised border wall next week, an administration official says.
Washington’ pressure on Germany, the UK and France to follow Trump in abandoning the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was one of the examples of this trend, the analyst said.
The Trump administration’s plan to maintain several hundred troops in Syria despite a promise to evacuate the country was another hint at this behavior, according to Preston.
John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, said Sunday that the US was in talks with the UK and France to prolong foreign military presence in Syria in order to prevent what he called a possible presence of the Daesh terror group.
“So clearly this is a move by President Trump to simply generate revenue for the United States and for the US military budget,” he said. “Much of what the American politics is about is simply making money for the so-called military-industrial complex.”
He said while the US military budget was around $700 billion annually, the military industrial complex’s real revenue was difficult to calculate “because there is so man different channels of revenue.”
Keith Preston: Trump trying to reverse ‘pink tide’ in Latin America 2
Press TV. Listen here.
The administration of US President Donald Trump is backing pro-American politicians in Latin America as a strategy to regain US hegemony and reverse the so-called “pink tide” movement in the region, says a political analyst in Virginia.
“I think that the American foreign policy at present is to try to reverse that, to try to roll back what was called the pink tide,” said Keith Preston, chief editor of AttacktheSystem.com.
“This seems to be the general paradigm that’s evolving; that the Americans are trying to exercise hegemony over Latin America [and] reclaim influence that has been lost in recent decades,” Preston told Press TV on Friday.
Pink tide is a term used todescribe the rise pf populist movements in Latin America in the late 1990s that opposed American hegemony. The movement was led by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who was elected in 1998.
The shift also represented a move toward more progressive economic policies and coincided with the democratization of Latin America following decades of inequality.
PressTV-US ‘very strongly’ considering NATO membership for BrazilUS president Donald Trump says he is “very strongly” considering NATO membership for Brazil or some other formal alliance with the Latin American country.
Trump said on Tuesday he was strongly considering NATO membership for Brasilia as he met Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the White House, even though the South American nation doesn’t quality to join the Western military alliance.
Trump also said he supported Brazil’s efforts to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a club of the world’s advanced economies.
Bolsonaro, known as the “Trump of the Tropics”, ran an unabashedly pro-Trump, pro-American campaign last year, emulating Trump in tone and style. It seems to have paid off for Bolsonaro on his first official trip to Washington.
Bolsonaro is an avid admirer of Trump and his policies, particularly those with regard to opposing anti-imperialist governments in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.
In January, Bolsonaro also said that he is open to considering the establishment of a US military base in Brazil as a way to “counter Russian influence” in neighboring Venezuela.
Venezuela arrests Guaido chief of staff for ‘terrorism’ Reply
Keith Preston: Algeria president says to stay in power after term ends Reply
The Algerian president says he will stay in power beyond his term expiring next month, despite growing calls for him to step down. Abdelaziz Bouteflika issued a statement on Monday which confirmed his plan would see him stay in power beyond his tenure. He said he hopes the county will witness a new government and a harmonious transition. While Bouteflika gave no timetable for such transition, he said the shake-up of Algeria’s political, economic and social systems would start in the very near future. Algerians have been protesting for weeks against Bouteflika’s rule and his plan to run for another term. The ailing leader withdrew from his next presidential bid but scrapped the upcoming election. He also said that he would stay in office until a new constitution is adopted.
Tulsi Smashes CNN’s Pro War Horribleness Reply
Trump is Expanding the US Empire Reply
The verdict is in. Trumpism is business as usual.
Iran’s Axis of Resistance Rises Reply
An important article in Foreign Policy from 2017.
The “solution” for the Middle East: The US should cease its “regime change” operations and support for jihadis. Israel should withdraw to its pre-1967 borders, and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies should be isolated and contained as pariah states.
By Payam Mohseni and Hussein Kalout
Foreign Policy
“In 2006, in the midst of a fierce war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice famously stated that the world was witnessing the “birth pangs of a new Middle East.” She was right—but not in the sense she had hoped. Instead of disempowering Hezbollah and its sponsor, Iran, the war only augmented the strength and prestige of what is known as the “axis of resistance,” a power bloc that includes Iran, Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas in Palestine.
But the 2006 war was only one in a series of developments that significantly transformed the geopolitical and military nature of the axis—from the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which first opened the door to greater Iranian regional influence, to the more recent fall of Mosul to ISIS in 2014, which led to the proliferation and empowerment of Shiite militias. These changes have prompted a fundamental reconfiguration of the contemporary Middle East order. Arab elites, grappling with the consequences of an eroding Arab state system, poor governance, and the delegitimization of authoritarian states following the 2011 Arab Spring, enabled Iran and its partners, including Russia, to build a new regional political and security architecture from the ground up. With the support of Tehran as the undisputed center of the axis, Shiite armed movements in Iraq and across the axis of resistance have created a transnational, multiethnic, and cross-confessional political and security network that has made the axis more muscular and effective than ever before.”
The Next Ron Paul? 7
I almost never endorse politicians. I generally regard all elected officials, from the President to dogcatchers, as employees of the real ruling class (C. Wrights Mills’ “power elite”). Voting is merely participating in the king’s coronation rituals in a way that conveys legitimacy on the state. However, there are times when political campaigns can be used for propagandistic purposes. Ron Paul’s presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012 are examples, and Tulsi Gabbard’s present campaign is another potential example.
I doubt she will get the nomination. The Democrapic party will either find a way to block that from happening (i.e. cheating), or she will simply fail to do well in the primaries because, in my experience, most of the kinds of people who are likely to be voters in the Democratic primaries are not people who consider foreign policy to be a primary issue. What passes for “the Left” in the US is, with some exceptions, pathetic when it comes to international relations. They’re far more interested in idpol, expanding the welfare state, and environmentalism (i.e. advancing the interests of the left-wing of the First World middle class). However, a Tulsi vs. Trump contest in 2020 would be a highly interesting turn of events for a range of reasons.
I think she would actually do better in a general election than in the primaries, though I don’t know if she could beat Trump or not. I think not because not only are there the standard issues like incumbent’s advantage but also because, given her views on international relations, the overlord class would pour money into the Republicans to keep Tulsi out of the White House, and the media would work overtime to ensure her defeat. Notice the only time the media (other than FOX) ever said anything good about Trump were the two times he attacked Syria. It would be a highly interesting and comical situation because the political class, capitalist class, deep state, media, etc would suddenly rally behind Trump after years of endless hating on him because they would view him as objectionable though more easily contained and less immediately threatening to the empire’s interests. It would be a true “memory hole” moment. Such a situation would also greatly exacerbate the cleavage between neoliberals (most of whom would move to Trump) and progressives (most of whom would stay with Tulsi). Certain dividing lines would become clearer among the center (radical center vs. establishment center) and right (neocons vs nativists vs populists vs non-interventionists) as well.
Of course, even if she won Gabbard would be constrained by the wider ruling class, political, and deep state apparatus. At best, she would be another Jimmy Carter, i.e. a moderate who is a generally decent person but essentially unable to maneuver within the framework of a system of overwhelming opposition by elites. The “Trump hate” that has been piled on by the wider ruling class is nothing compared to the “Tulsi hate” that would come about if she were elected (the same would be true of a Republican with similar views).
Any US president who seriously moved against the interests of the oligarchy would meet the same fate as Mosadegh, Arben, Suharto, Diem, Sihanouk, Allende, Saddam, Qaddafi, so many others.
Iran main force against US-Israel-Saudi alliance in Mideast Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s upcoming trip to the Middle East is yet another attempt by the United States to shore up support for anti-Iran projects it has long been running with help from its “Zionist and Saudi” allies in the region, an American analyst says.
Pompeo will fly to the Middle East on Tuesday, stopping first in Kuwait before heading to Israel and Lebanon.
Keith Preston, director of Attackthesystem.com, said Washington was trying to strengthen the alliance between the US, Saudi Arabia and Israel — what he referred to as the “Atlanticist-Zionist-Wahhabi” alliance– in order to push back against Iran, which is the main force keeping them from taking full control of the region.
Saudi Arabia and some other Arab governments in the Persian Gulf region “have a common objective in opposing the influence of Iran in the region.”
“Obviously Iran is the primary bulwark against the greater Israel, against Israeli expansionism and of course, the (Persian) Gulf states have wanted to expand the region a well and at this point they see Iran as the primary obstacle to that,” he added.
That is how those countries have been running all sorts of plots such as financing Daesh and other Takfiri groups to take out Syria, their other rival in the region, the analyst argued.
“So once again, there is a convergence between the interests of the Gulf monarchies, between the Israelis and between the Americans in trying to eliminate any kind of political autonomy that nay Middle Eastern nation might have,” he added.
The reason, according to Preston, is “because the Americans, the Saudis and Israeli have been largely successful in destroying many other nations in the region.”
Pompeo made a similar trip to the region in January to try to forge a unified Arab front against Iran, a dream that has brought together even Saudi Arabia and Israel.
PressTV-Pompeo to push anti-Iran message in Mideast next weekUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will start a five-day tour of the Middle East next week, where he will discuss security issues in the region.
Pompeo’s main objective in the tour was laying the groundwork for the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), a concept similar to an Arab NATO. Trump first floated the idea of forging MESA during his visit to Saudi Arabia in 2017.
The US hosted an anti-Iran summit last month in Warsaw, Poland. However, US efforts to build pressure against Iran faced a setback after ministers from several European Union members opted out of the summit.
Colbert Smears Tulsi Gabbard To Her Face While Telling Zero Jokes Reply
It’s obviously true that most of the MSM, particularly television, is simply the propaganda arm of the Democratic National Committee, just as FOX, talk radio, Christian broadcasting, and the Wall Street Journal are simply the propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee.
By Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Hawaii Congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where instead of the light, jokey banter about politics and who she is as a person that Democratic presidential candidates normally encounter on late night comedy programs, the show’s host solemnly ran down a list of textbook beltway smears against Gabbard and made her defend them in front of his audience.
Normally when a Democratic Party-aligned politician appears on such a show, you can expect jokes about how stupid Trump is and how badly they’re going to beat the Republicans, how they’re going to help ordinary Americans, and maybe some friendly back-and-forth about where they grew up or something. Colbert had no time to waste on such things, however, because this was not an interview with a normal Democratic Party-aligned politician: this was a politician who has been loudly and consistently criticizing US foreign policy.
I don’t “believe” in electoral politics, because elected officials are just the paid employees of the power elite proper (see C. Wright Mills), but this would still be great because it would force the power elite to really step foward and show its hand. “Hell, no. We ain’t having this!”
The ruling class has already waxed hysterical over Trump, who is just an old-fashioned Nixon-Rockefeller Republican (“Nixon was the last liberal president”-Noam Chomsky) and governs like a normal Republican on most domestic issues. Imagine how the oligarchy would respond to Tulsi/Paul?
Any US president who seriously moved against the interests of the oligarchy would meet the same fate as Mosadegh, Arben, Suharto, Diem, Sihanouk, Allende, Saddam, Qaddafi, so many others.
Keith Preston: US sponsoring regime change in Venezuela Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
The United States is obviously sponsoring regime change in Venezuela, according to American political analyst Keith Preston.
Preston, who was speaking to Press TV on Tuesday, pointed out the regime change was Washington’s standard “mode of operation” in countries which resist serving US interests.
PressTV-Hawkish neocon to head up US policy toward VenezuelaUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has appointed Elliott Abrams, a hawkish neoconservative, to handle US policy toward Venezuela.
The director of Attackthesystem.com emphasized that in Latin America, particularly, US policy has been to install subservient puppet regimes.
“Historically, the United States has frequently organized military coups — or other types of political coups — against governments, or particular nations to which they were opposed … This is a standard mode of operation for the United States on foreign policy issues.”
Preston said Americans have always viewed Latin American countries as being in the United State sphere of domination.
By organizing a regime change and toppling the current leftist government in Venezuela and installing a puppet regime in its place, Americans want to gain control over the oil-rich South American country’s vast mineral resources, according to Preston.
“Venezuela is an oil-rich country and the United States wants control over its oil wells,” Preston pointed out, adding that Washington wanted to install a puppet regime that was willing to carry out its demands.
Meanwhile, Americans are pushing hard to install opposition leader Juan Guaido, instead of President Nicolas Maduro.
PressTV-No signs Maduro is willing to resign: US envoyThe US envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams says there are no signs that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is willing to resign from office despite the growing US and Western pressure.
Most Western countries have recognized Guaido as Venezuela’s interim head of state, but Maduro retains the backing of Russia and China as well as control of state institutions, including the military.
The administration of US President Donald Trump considers Maduro’s 2018 re-election a sham and recognized the 35-year-old Guaido as the country’s acting president in January.
CNN’s Horrible, Terrible, No Good Tulsi Town Hall Questions Reply
A good discussion of how the corporate imperialists circle the wagons around anyone with even moderately anti-interventionist views. US foreign policy is essentially a Roman-like imperialism that is committed to large-scale massacres as a matter of policy. The Democrats and Republicans are fine with this, and committed to preserving it. Most progressive liberals and SJWs consider anti-imperialism to be just another issue, or a matter of indifference. Even a supposed “far leftist” like Alexander Reid-Ross-Podhoretz-Kristol is more concerned about Russo-Assadist conspiracies on behalf of the Learned Elders of Thule than opposing the US empire of corpses.
Keith Preston: ‘Saudi a liability to US in terms of its international reputation’ Reply
Press TV. Listen here.
A political analyst says that Saudi Arabia has become “something of a liability to the United States in terms of international standing.”
Keith Preston made the remarks in an interview with Press TV when was asked about a bipartisan group of US senators in Congress who have warned against growing human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.
At the confirmation hearing of new US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Abizaid on Wednesday, Republican and Democratic US senators censured the kingdom over its devastating war on Yemen and other rights abuses, including the detention and torture of women’s rights activists and the grisly murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said Saudi Arabia was the “most difficult” US ally “because it almost asks us to agree to stay silent on grotesque violations of human rights both domestically and abroad.”
PressTV-US senators slam Saudi crown prince as ‘full gangster’A bipartisan group of US senators in Congress have warned against growing human rights violations under Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
In Condemning Ilhan Omar, Democrats Have Proved Her Right 1
By Tom Williams
Truthout.Org
At a time of heightened anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred, the Democratic establishment has taken unprecedented steps to single out a Muslim representative for her criticisms of AIPAC and the U.S.’s relationship with Israel. After first publicly rebuking Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Democratic establishment, led by House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, began drafting a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, amounting to an indirect censure.
The First World Left vs. Anti-Imperialism, Third Worldism, Pro-Indigenous, and Lumpenproletarianism 1
The problem I have with figures like Bernie and Alexandria is that they’re not radicals. They’re simply representatives of the left-wing of the First World middle/upper middle class, pushing issues that are important that socioeconomic demographic. Unlike the traditional American middle class (now the right-wing of the middle class) they don’t necessarily see the state as impeding their upward mobility by means of taxes, business regulations, etc. Instead, the left-wing of the middle class represents upwardly mobile members of traditional outgroups like ethnic minorities, feminist women, gays, etc (hence, the fanatical emphasis on idpol), their aesthetic interests (hence, their interest in environmentalism), their desire to be protected from the “dangerous classes” (hence, their fanatical emphasis on gun control, and their fear of guns in the hands of icky rural rednecks and inner-city brothas). They see the state as a means of upward mobility by means of public sector employment, social security, free schools and healthcare, anti-discrimination laws, etc.
I have no time for any of this. I am (generally speaking) anti-imperialist, Third Worldist, and pro-indigenous in international relations, and pro-lumpenproletarian in First World class relations. Historically, the Right was the party of the traditional elite, the Center was the party of the middle class, the Left was the party of the respectable working class, and the Anarchists were the party of the lumpenproletariat. I stand with the latter.
