Jeff Gates

The issue at hand is how best to protect a peace-seeking world from a psychopathic ideology that assumed the appearance of legitimacy so that a Christian Zionist president could be deceived to recognize as a nation a criminal state.

While Zionism is clearly a nationalist ideology, that narrow framing does the term an injustice as it is so much more. Zionism is more accurately described as a strategy for targeting thought and emotion as a means to influence behavior. Naïve Jews were its first victims when induced to identify with an enclave in the Middle East that President Harry Truman, a Christian Zionist, was induced to recognize as a “state.”

Zionism is first and foremost a mental state that manifests as a dispersed form of internalized nationalism—a Diaspora—that binds to an extremist enclave those who may never set foot there. After 1967, this “state” became the “Land of Israel” based on a more expansive area seized by Israel Defense Forces along with other occupied lands that Zionists claim a god gave them.

Zionism recruits by sustaining a shared sense of insecurity within the broader Jewish community. It progresses by marketing its perceived vulnerability and victimhood among those on whom it relies for financial, military and diplomatic support.

When, as now, policies of the Zionist state come under attack, media campaigns herald an outbreak of anti-Semitism and hatred—not for Zionism but for Jews, enhancing recruitment.

By choosing to identify their interests with those of Zionism, Jews choose to make themselves feel insecure. Zionism relies for its success not only on deception but also on self-deceit.

Gilad Atzmon/Roy Bard

Roy Bard and Gilad Atzmon - London 25/9/13

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon

Roy Bard is a known figure within Britain’s far left, anti-war and the Palestinian Solidarity Movement. He is a member of the Indymedia UK collective, a leading British anti-capitalist media outlet.

I first encountered Bard five years ago. At the time the site was subjected to an international Jewish ‘anti’-Zionist campaign: a cabal of ethnic activists demanded that Indymedia deleted my articles. Being a principled man, Bard didn’t bow to their pressure. Bard has been subjected to a malicious slanderous campaign ever since.

The article below is about sadness – if the personal is political, as some progressives insist, this article is an intimate insight into the medium in which such a transition takes place. It reveals the measures of brutality and intolerance that are unfortunately intrinsic to the Jewish Left. I was really moved when I read this article.

Stephen Lendman

After 28 months of conflict, Assad defeated Washington's best laid plans. Its Syrian National Coalition (SNC) opposition lacks effective leadership. It lacks legitimacy. It's an artificial construct. It operates extrajudicially. It resembles a gang that can't shoot straight.

On July 8, another leader resigned. After four months, self-styled prime minister Ghassan Hitto announced he won't "continue in (his) capacity as prime minister tasked with leading the interim government, though (he) emphasize(s he'll) 'continue working for the interests of the revolution and towards achieving its objectives."

Hitto's resignation came two days after SNC members elected Ahmad Asi-al Jarba president. The post's been vacant since Mouaz al-Khatib resigned in April. He cited frustration over lack of enough international support, internal divisions, and disarray among "rebel" factions. Washington hoped he'd become Syria's Hamid Karzai. Maybe Obama has similar aspirations for al-Jarba. Washington's war on Syria's no "revolution." There's nothing civil about it. It's US proxy aggression. Foreign death squad invaders want Islamofacism replacing Syrian sovereignty.

Repeated changing of the guard shows SNC ranks in disarray. Al-Khatib and Hitto couldn't resolve SNC divisions. Don't expect al-Jarba to fare better. Just causes close ranks effectively. Rogue operations feature self-aggrandizing, power-hungry opportunists.

They face overwhelming Syrian opposition. Most Syrians support Assad. They do so for good reason. They alone want to decide who rule them. They deplore outside intervention. Disorganized "rebel" ranks are no match for Syria's superior military. It continues making impressive gains.

Stephen Lendman

Secretary of State John F. Kerry straps himself into a helicopter
as he prepares to fly out of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Kerry
will travel to Israel and the West Bank on Sunday.

On April 6, John Kerry began a multi-nation tour. He'll travel to Europe and East Asia. His first stop is Turkey. He'll meet with Netanyahu and Abbas. He wants peace talks restarted. More on that below.

Peace process deception is policy. It's always been a charade. It is now. Israel wants it that way. So does Washington.

It's been stillborn from inception. It's a scam. It doesn't exist. Palestinians never had a legitimate partner. For sure they don't now. Netanyahu deplores peace. So does Obama. Both are warrior leaders.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon once called peace talks a useful fiction. They're used "to sear deep into the consciousness of Palestinians that they are a defeated people," he said.

Golda Meir said Palestinians don't exist. They "never existed," she claimed. She deplored peace. She wanted all Arabs out of historic Palestine. "(M)y conscience would be absolutely clear" dispossessing them, she said.

Former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir wanted talks dragged out for years. He hoped doing so would facilitate settlement expansions. Other Israeli leaders felt the same way.

Stephen Lendman

Longstanding US/Israeli ties remain firm. Obama's visit reinforces them. It does more. It assures continued support. It endorses hardline extremism. It affirms occupation harshness. It lets Israel do what it pleases. America's special relationship does more harm than good. It's wrongheaded. Israel is more strategic liability than asset. So are other regional allies.

Flynt and Hillary Leverett are former insiders. Their views matter. Their book titled "Going to Iran" discusses why Washington "must come to terms with the Islamic Republic."

It shows no signs of doing so. It's decades overdue. An entirely new approach is needed, they argue. America's regional position is disastrous. It's delusional.

[After] "failed wars-cum-occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan; a war on terror that has turned Muslim societies ever more firmly against U.S. policy; and de facto support for open-ended Israeli occupation of Arab populations, America’s (regional) position is in free fall."

Attacking Iran is madness, they argue. Current strategy suggests it's likely. Engaging Tehran is essential. Candidate Obama promised to do so. Saying his efforts failed doesn't wash. He never tried. It's high time he did. He refuses to acknowledge Iran's peaceful nuclear program. Harsh sanctions tell Iranians America's a strategic enemy.

Stephen Lendman

Munich's Security Conference is held annually. This year marks the 49th session. Dozens of countries participated. Hundreds of world leaders attended. They included heads of state, foreign affairs and defense ministers, as well as other senior figures. Active engagement was prioritized. Current and future security challenges were discussed.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin took full advantage. He pulled no punches. He sharply criticized US foreign policy. He called it:

"very dangerous (in its) uncontained hyper-use of force - military force - in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts." US imperialism, he stressed, "overstepped its national borders in every way." "(U)nilateral illegal actions have not resolved any single problem. They have become a hotbed of further conflicts." "We are seeing increasing disregard for the fundamental principles of international law....No one feels safe! Because no one can feel that international law is like a stone wall that will protect them." "Of course, such a policy stimulates an arms race. The dominance of force inevitably encourages a number of countries to acquire weapons of mass destruction."

Putin also addressed a "unipolar world." He called it one

"in which there is one master, one sovereign. And at the end of the day, this is pernicious not only for all those within this system, but also for the sovereign itself because it destroys itself from within." [He added that] "We are constantly being taught about democracy. But for some reason those who teach us do not want to learn themselves."

America deplores democracy at home and abroad. It prioritizes unchallenged dominance. It demands what it says goes. Russia supports peace, not war. It favors diplomatic conflict resolution.

Stephen Lendman

Voting in stolen land: Jewish squatters casts their illegitimate vote
in the occupied West Bank town of Hebron during so-called legis-
lative elections. The Palestinians were, and still are, irrelevant.

Israeli election results hardened fascist rule. Dominant right-wing parties control 102 of 120 Knesset seats. Israelis have themselves to blame. They elected Israel's most extremist government in history. Militarism, belligerence, state-sponsored terrorism, occupation ruthlessness, settlement expansions, and neoliberal harshness reflect official policy.

Peace is a non-starter. A so-called process never existed and doesn't now. Israel won't tolerate it. Netanyahu scorns it. He calls it a waste of time.

Palestinians and Israeli Arabs have the greatest cross to bear. They're marginalized, denied, persecuted and brutalized. Institutionalized racism terrorizes them. Their rights are off the table. Israeli Arabs are enfranchised in name only. Millions of Occupied Palestinians are entirely denied. They're disenfranchised. They had no say in Tuesday's election. Around 600,000 West Bank/East Jerusalem settlers alone got to vote.

Imagine holding an election excluding millions. Imagine calling fascism, colonization, apartheid and militarized occupation democratic. Imagine extolling the results. Imagine ignoring police state terror. Imagine coverup and denial. Imagine the world community and scoundrel media turning a blind eye. Imagine ignoring what demands headlines.

Don't expect media scoundrels to explain. They spurn journalistic ethics. They mock truth and full disclosure. They’re pro-Israeli apologists. They sanitize and conceal its worst crimes. They call hardline fascism “centrist.”

Stephen Lendman

American crimes of war and against humanity perhaps exceed all other rogue states in history combined. Pound-for-pound, however, Israeli lawlessness matches the world's worst. Long ago, it graduated from a regional menace to a global one. It enforces barbaric occupation harshness. Its war machine threatens and attacks neighbors. It gets away with murder because world powers don't intervene to stop it. It wages intermittent war on Gaza. It murders innocent civilians. It uses illegal depleted uranium, chemical and other weapons. Nuclear missiles and bombs are stockpiled. It plans more war now.

Gazans know they're vulnerable to Cast Lead 2.0. Iran long ago prepared to defend itself if attacked. Rogue Israeli coalition partner unity makes it more likely. Netanyahu and Lieberman represent Israel's worst. They're out-of-control warmongers.

Netanyahu heads Israel's most extremist ever government. He exceeds the worst of Ariel Sharon and previous hardline leaders. He's unfit to serve. He spurns democratic values. He deplores peace. He menacingly threatens war.

Lieberman is an ultranationalist extremist. He represents the worst of Israel's lunatic fringe. Critics call him an embarrassment to legitimate government. He's a modern-day Kananist. Kahane headed Israel's racist Kach Party. In 1988, Israel banned it. It was too extreme to tolerate. In his youth, Lieberman was a Kach Party member. He remains true to its ideological roots.

Israel under Netanyahu/Lieberman assures institutionalized racism in its worst form. Arab hatred is promoted. Rule of law principles and other democratic values are spurned. War for regional dominance is prioritized. As long as these rogues govern Israel, Palestinians face horrific persecution short of total expulsion or outright extermination. But those possibilities can't be ruled out. Other regional states must brace for war. Even if not attacked directly, it may spill across their borders destructively.

Stephen Lendman

Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir, both war criminals & terrorists

Shamir reflected the worst of what Joel Kovel calls "imperialist expansion and militarism (with) signs of the fascist malignancy." In his book "Overcoming Zionism," he called Israel "a machine for the manufacture of human rights abuses."

Terrorists like Shamir ran it. They still do. They defend indefensible Zionism. It's corrosive, destructive, racist, extremist, undemocratic and hateful. It claims Jewish supremacy, specialness and uniqueness as God's "chosen people." It espouses violence, not peaceful coexistence. It chooses confrontation over diplomacy. It believes in strength through militarism, intimidation, and naked aggression. It spurns fundamental ethical and moral principles. It's a cancer that's consuming its host and humanity. Shamir represented its dark side.

On June 30, he died at age 96. Hillary Clinton said he "work(ed) for Israel's independence....strengthened (its) security, and advanced the partnership between the United States and Israel." Shimon Peres hailed him as "a brave warrior....a great patriot and lover of Israel who served his country with integrity." Netanyahu said he "fought for the freedom of the Jewish people in its land." He "belonged to the generation of giants who founded the State of Israel and fought for the freedom of the Jewish people." They didn't explain how. They omitted his criminal legacy. More on that below.

Stephen Lendman

The funeral of Mashaal Tammo, a Kurdish member of
the new Syrian National Council who called for unity
across ethnic and religious groups. Who would benefit
from disagreements between the factions? (Photo: AP)

International law permits justifiable self-defense. Targeted killings are prohibited, especially premeditated ones like America and Israel repeatedly commit for reasons other than claimed.

These incidents constitute cold-blooded murder. US drone killings and rampaging death squads, as well as Israel's deplorable history and latest ritual slaughter highlight the issue. International law prohibits anticipatory self-defense. It amounts to using force to deter it.

Under the UN Charter's Article 2(4):

"All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."

Only two exceptions apply. Article 51 permits "individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security."

In addition, a nation may anticipate self-defense in situations where verifiable, compelling evidence shows imminent or already initiated armed attacks.

For example, if nations face hostile mobilized troops on their borders, self-defense is justified if invasion seems likely. Or if specific provable knowledge of impending terrorist attacks are known, preventive defensive action is warranted.

However, anticipatory self-defense based on unproved allegations is lawless. For example, attacking Iraq for allegedly possessing WMDs had no basis in international law. Moreover, possession of any weapons proves no intent to use them. In the case of Iraq, of course, allegations were entirely spurious.

Key is that employing anticipatory (or preemptive) self-defense against nations, groups, or individuals based on alleged threats is prohibited and lawless if undertaken.