[🇺🇸] USA News/Views

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/views/news/when-will-the-us-gain-independence-israel-3630511

When will the US gain 'independence' from Israel?

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin during a meeting in New York City, US on September 20, 2023. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

In a video recorded in 2001, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said, "The main thing, first of all, is to hit them [Palestinians]. Not just one blow, but blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne." Dismissing the possibility that the United States would be an obstacle to the perpetration of such gruesome crimes, he added, "I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way."

When the above statement was first reported in various media outlets in 2010, Netanyahu's claim of Israeli influence over the US was met with disbelief and, in some quarters, with ridicule. Many thought it was inconceivable. How could Israel exercise such control over a country like the US?

More than a decade on, if we unpack the intricacies of US-Israel relations, we may not characterise Netanyahu's statements as hyperbolic or counterintuitive. Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear understand that the US-Israel relationship is asymmetrical and lopsided in favour of the latter's interests. Successive US governments have been acting against the stated values and principles of their country in order to offer unconditional support for inhuman Israeli policies against Palestinians. US governments—both Democratic and Republican—have been routinely ignoring their own human rights stance by using the veto power at the UN Security Council to protect the Israeli state from criticism of its gross violations of human rights and international laws.

The US's acquiescent submission to Israeli authorities has become more conspicuous, and the magnitude of its catastrophic consequences more evident, since early October 2023 when Israel launched its ongoing genocide against Palestinians. At the expense of its domestic and international interests as well as its global standing, the US has been providing Israel with economic incentives and military munitions, which the latter has been using to slaughter innocent Palestinian children, women, and men and to demolish educational institutions and other critical facilities—all designed to trigger a mass exodus of the surviving Palestinians from their land.

There are instances when the US government treated its own citizens' lives as less valuable than the interests of Israel.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link below.​

 

[Saif]

US hails meeting between Blinken, China FM

The United States hailed ‘open and productive’ discussions between China’s foreign minister and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Laos on Saturday in which Blinken raised...

www.newagebd.net

US hails meeting between Blinken, China FM
Agence France-Presse . Vientiane 27 July, 2024, 23:20

US secretary of state Antony Blinken (left) shakes hands with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi as they meet on the sidelines of the 57th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Vientiane on Saturday. | AFP photo

The United States hailed 'open and productive' discussions between China's foreign minister and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Laos on Saturday in which Blinken raised US concerns over Beijing's 'provocative actions' around Taiwan.

Blinken's stop in Laos is part of a multi-nation Asia visit aimed at reinforcing regional ties in the face of Beijing's growing assertiveness, including in the South China Sea, and its deepening ties with Moscow.

The talks on the sidelines of a foreign ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) lasted for one hour and twenty minutes, according to a senior State Department official.

Blinken raised 'US concerns about provocative actions' by China, including a simulated blockade of Taiwan following the May inauguration of its new president Lai Ching-te, the official said.

China claims the democratic island as its territory and slammed Lai's inauguration speech as 'confession of independence.'

Shortly before the meeting Blinken hit out at Beijing's 'escalatory and unlawful actions' in the South China Sea, where China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute.

Beijing claims the waterway—through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually—almost in its entirety despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Wang also warned the Philippines over deploying a US medium-range missile system on its soil, saying it would 'create tension and confrontation in the region and trigger an arms race.'

The US Army said in April it had deployed the Mid-Range Capability missile system in the northern Philippines for annual joint military exercises.

Philippines military officials later said the system would be removed from the country.

Blinken arrived in Laos two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc—and each other on the sidelines of the meeting.

On Thursday, Wang met Russia foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Vientiane and discussed 'building a new security architecture for Eurasia', according to Moscow's foreign ministry.

The pair also agreed to jointly 'counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs', it said.

China has a strong political and economic partnership with Russia, with NATO members labelling Beijing as a 'key facilitator' of Moscow's involvement in the war in Ukraine.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Indians think that hating us and partying up with the racist west is their salvation….……anytime Indian guy even answers back to blatant racism in the US, he gets shot dead!

Newly Married Indian-Origin Man Shot Dead In US In Suspected Road Rage

A 29-year-old Indian-origin man was shot dead in a suspected road rage incident in the US state of Indiana on Tuesday, the police said.

www.ndtv.com

 

[Lulldapull]

I try mentioning this on our other lesser forum, and the mods get uncomfortable.

Ajeeb baat hae no?



When you try educating our ghareeb badbakht on having a second option toward potentially leaving the west, fuckking earthquake happens on our other forum.

 

[Saif]

US, Japan deepen ties, take swipe at China

The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia yesterday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

www.thedailystar.net

US, Japan deepen ties, take swipe at China

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara at their Foreign and Defense Ministerial (2+2) Meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. Photo: Reuters

The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia yesterday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

A joint statement issued after "2+2" talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts said China's "foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others".

They also reiterated their "strong objections" to China's "unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea".

The communique also criticised Russia's "growing and provocative strategic military cooperation" with China, as well as Moscow's procurement of ballistic missiles and other equipment from North Korea "for use against Ukraine". It also expressed alarm at China's "ongoing and rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons arsenal".

Blinken said US alliances were all "defensive in nature".

"They have no ambitions toward anyone else, and never have been or ever will be offensive in nature," he told a news conference.

"But at a time when unfortunately these threats are increasing, our alliances, our partnerships, they're getting deeper, they're getting stronger, they're getting more effective," he said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said: "We are at a historic turning point."

"Developments that shake the very foundation of a free and open international order based on the rule of law are continuing."

"We must deepen and develop the US-Japan alliance to safeguard the international order and enhance deterrence," she said.

China claims the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually, almost in its entirety, while Tokyo and Beijing are also at loggerheads over disputed Japan-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

The statement also confirmed US plans to establish in Japan a new Joint Force Headquarters, headed by a three-star US commander, for the 54,000 US military personnel stationed there.

It will serve as a counterpart to Japan's planned Joint Operations Command for all its armed forces, making the two militaries more nimble in the case of a crisis over Taiwan or the Korean peninsula.​

 

[Lulldapull]

US, Japan deepen ties, take swipe at China

The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia yesterday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

www.thedailystar.net

US, Japan deepen ties, take swipe at China
View attachment 7169
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defense Minister Minoru Kihara at their Foreign and Defense Ministerial (2+2) Meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. Photo: Reuters

The United States and Japan issued scathing verbal attacks on China and Russia yesterday after high-level discussions on enhancing already close defence collaboration between Tokyo and Washington in an increasingly unstable region.

A joint statement issued after "2+2" talks in Tokyo between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and their Japanese counterparts said China's "foreign policy seeks to reshape the international order for its own benefit at the expense of others".

They also reiterated their "strong objections" to China's "unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea".

The communique also criticised Russia's "growing and provocative strategic military cooperation" with China, as well as Moscow's procurement of ballistic missiles and other equipment from North Korea "for use against Ukraine". It also expressed alarm at China's "ongoing and rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons arsenal".

Blinken said US alliances were all "defensive in nature".

"They have no ambitions toward anyone else, and never have been or ever will be offensive in nature," he told a news conference.

"But at a time when unfortunately these threats are increasing, our alliances, our partnerships, they're getting deeper, they're getting stronger, they're getting more effective," he said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said: "We are at a historic turning point."

"Developments that shake the very foundation of a free and open international order based on the rule of law are continuing."

"We must deepen and develop the US-Japan alliance to safeguard the international order and enhance deterrence," she said.

China claims the South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually, almost in its entirety, while Tokyo and Beijing are also at loggerheads over disputed Japan-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

The statement also confirmed US plans to establish in Japan a new Joint Force Headquarters, headed by a three-star US commander, for the 54,000 US military personnel stationed there.

It will serve as a counterpart to Japan's planned Joint Operations Command for all its armed forces, making the two militaries more nimble in the case of a crisis over Taiwan or the Korean peninsula.​

Japan pays about $10 billion per year for the US forces to do sentry duty in Japan. Its chump change for Japan. No problem.......The Japanese are super smart on avoiding conflict with both Russia and China.