Heading towards global war?

 

   By Reginald Johnson

            (Editors note:  As this article was being published, President Trump announced that the war on Iran would be over "soon." This is a bizarre statement. Just the day before, his war secretary Pete Hegseth said the war was "just beginning." On Saturday, Trump said ground troops could be sent to Iran. The administration doesn't seem to know what it is doing. If the war ends soon, that will be a good thing. But I'm very skeptical this will actually happen, because nothing that Trump says can be trusted. Remember this is the same president who ordered bombing attacks against Iran in the middle of what were supposed to be good faith negotiations with Iran over that country's nuclear development program. He did this twice, last year, and then again this year.) 

        As the Iran War ratchets up in intensity, there is fear the war could spark a global conflict with disastrous consequences.

       In the nine days since the United States and Israel launched their unprovoked attack on Iran, the war has already spilled over into many other countries in the region, with Iran hitting US bases and other targets in Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai and Qatar. Israel has moved again into Lebanon, attacking the pro-Iranian group, Hezbollah.

   Missile attacks have also taken place against targets in Turkey and Azerbajan, with Israel blaming Iran. But the Iranians have denied responsibility and claim that Israel conducted "false flag" strikes trying to draw Turkey and Azerbajan into the war.

  In still more developments, Russia reportedly is providing Iran with intelligence on US targets in the region and US President Donald Trump is considering giving arms to the Kurds in Turkey, so they can invade Iran. Trump is also said to be weighing sending US ground troops to fight in Iran.

 Finally, as oil prices skyrocket due to shipping lanes possibly being closed through the Straits of Hormuz, there are concerns about how China will respond to the situation. China gets 60 percent of its oil from Iran, and now that supply may be threatened with the straits closed or partially closed.

    One of those who's deeply disturbed about he sees is Columbia Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

 "We are probably in the early days of World War III," said Sachs, a former UN official and a noted foreign policy critic. "The question is, whether it is contained."

   Speaking on a podcast with Prof. Glenn Diesen, Sachs said he's both concerned about the escalating trend of the war and also the irrational behavior of Trump.

  He described Trump as "mentally unhinged" and a "madman" bent on establishing American hegemony around the world, despite the risks.

  "We've had madmen before who wanted to conquer the world (he referred to Napoleon and Hitler). But never in the nuclear age," he said.

   "This is the most dangerous point in history, period," he said.

  Despite the gravity of the moment and Trump's reckless policy, Sachs said there are few in Washington, DC willing to call out Trump and demand that the war end before it is too late.

  "We're wondering, where, if any, are the grown-ups in the United States in positions of authority who will speak truthfully about this?" he said in another interview with Danny Haiphong.

    "I don't see almost any. There are a few voices in Congress, (Senator) Rand Paul is one of them, Congressman (Thomas) Massie is another...but there are very few others and this is what is alarming," Sachs said.

  Two other military/foreign policy experts, Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and former CIA analyst Larry Johnson said in interviews recently that due to economic pressures relating to the price of oil, and Israel's losses in the war, the Iran conflict would probably not last long. Both said that contrary to the glowing reports in the US media about US progress in the war, Israel was being hit hard by Iranian missiles and US bases have been badly damaged, too.

 Another concern for Israel is they are running out of interceptors to block incoming missiles.

Speaking on a podcast with Danny Haiphong, Wilkerson said his biggest worry is that Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu might resort to using a nuclear weapon if Israel is losing badly.

  "I have no doubt he'll use one," Wilkerson said. "That's really the problem."

Connecticut residents protest the US war on Iran

By Reginald Johnson

Recent days have seen protests pop up around Connecticut against the illegal attack by the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In Norwalk on Saturday, about 20 people attended a vigil against the war and an anti-war banner was hung over the I-95 bridge at Exit 16.

"We tried to stop this war. We we were unsuccessful. So now we're trying to stop this one as soon as we can," said John Miksad, one of the participants, in an interview with News 12.

Benjamin Wesley, who helped organize the vigil, said "Nobody wants this war but we have to be LOUD with our lawmakers and make it clear to them! The lives of our fellow American servicemen and citizens and Iranian servicemen and civilians hang in the balance."

Wesley said a big focus going forward should be on getting Congress to pass war powers resolutions which will require President Trump to obtain Congressional authorization before launching any further attacks on Iran.

Groups participating in the Norwalk protest were Veterans for Peace, Jewish Voice for Peace, World Beyond War. The Peace Pact and Democratic Socialists of Connecticut.

In New Haven, about 60 people rallied against the war on Sunday outside City Hall.

The ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation sponsored the demonstration, according to the New Haven Independent.

Memories of Jesse Jackson

  By Reginald Johnson 

              Sad to see Jesse Jackson leave the stage. He was a great man who constantly worked for a fairer, more progressive society. He moved the needle.

              I was fortunate enough to see Jackson twice in person. The first time was in the spring of 1984, when he was campaigning for president. He came to a rally at the low-income project, Beardsley Terrace, now known as Trumbull Gardens, in Bridgeport. There was a huge crowd that had gathered to hear him. He urged the many young people in attendance to keep working for their education, never lose hope and always believe in themselves.

      Then he led the crowd in a chant: "I Am --- Somebody!"  "I Am Somebody!" "I Am --- Somebody!"

      It was electrifying.

     Years went by, and it was 1991--- after the Democrats had foolishly turned him away from gaining the nomination to run for president --- and Jackson was still on the move.  Now he had started a new campaign called a "March to Rebuild America" and he came to Connecticut, home of some very poor cities like Bridgeport and other communities of great affluence. Jackson spoke out against the wealth disparites and said it was not sustainable.

  The march wound through a number of towns and cities, including Bridgeport and Hartford. Before coming to Bridgeport, he stopped for a rally in Milford, an event organized by my good friend Glenn Davis. Although the mostly white town of Milford had been accused by some of being less than friendly to minorities, Jackson got a very warm reception. People were lined up all along Route 1 as the march wound its way to Stratford.

  I was standing on the edge of the Devon Bridge and I'll never forget seeing Jackson walking towards the bridge with the other marchers, while people along the route clapped and cheered.

  Later Jackson walked through the heart of Bridgeport --- a once powerful industrial city that had fallen into bankruptcy. He marched up East Main Street, and somewhere I have a great photo taken by the Post of Jackson walking alongside the longtime activist and Puerto Rican community leader, Willie Matos.

  No doubt, Jesse Jackson was a wonderful person who made a difference. We need more people like him.

   May he rest in peace.

'This could go nuclear'

 

     By Reginald Johnson

         Although there's still hope for a diplomatic solution to settle the dispute between the United States and Iran, chances remain high that the US and Israel will attack the Middle Eastern country.

    And should war break out with Iran, a global conflict involving the major powers could be triggered, and the possibility that nuclear weapons will be used is not out of the question.

   That's the view of one the most prominent US foreign policy critics, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs.

    Speaking on the Danny Haiphong podcast recently, Sachs said:  "No war is inevitable, but this war is likely. It's championed by Israel, and Israel is running American foreign policy in the Middle East."

   Sachs added that US President Donald Trump is a "puppet" of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, who, he said, "has wanted a US attack on Iran for 30 years." 

  The former advisor to the UN Secretary-General and now teacher at Columbia made his remarks as tensions build between Washington and Tehran, with Trump demanding that Iran end its nuclear development program and threatening to use military force against Iran if it refuses to do so. Talks are ongoing between the two nations, but there's skepticism about whether the negotiations are going anywhere.

Sachs said the situation vis a vis Iran is "fraught with danger."

Unlike other countries like Venezuela, Syria or Somalia that US has been able to attack with little or no  pushback, Iran would be a much more formidable opponent. Iran is a much larger country with a strong ballistic missile system; it has a nuclear energy program which could be retooled to build a nuclear bomb, if leaders chose to do that; and it has major powers for allies, in Russia and China, both nuclear-armed.

  "Iran is not isolated in this and their friends are many, and some are nuclear-armed. This is just the kind of thing that can absolutely lead to a disastrous cycle of escalation." Sachs said.

  "This could go nuclear," he said. 

Sachs said it was critical at this point for the leaders of other large countries that have a stake in the Middle East, such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China, to get involved and "explain to Mr. Trump, 'Don't do this.' "

  " And whether that is enough remains to be seen," he said. 

  

  

Trump: destroying international law

           By Reginald Johnson

    The distinguished economist and foreign policy analyst Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia says that President Trump is a "thug" who is flaunting both domestic and international law and creating a more dangerous world in the process.

      In an interview with Danny Haiphong following the US attack on Venezuela and abduction of that nation's leader Nicolas Maduro, Sachs said, "We have a thug who is President of the United States. He is threatening the lives of world leaders, kidnapping them, threatening the worst, threatening the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. This is thuggery."

Sachs said that  "we have international law to prevent human annihilation, to prevent the tragedy of international anarchy."

  But Trump is ignoring rules outlined in the UN Charter prohibiting threats against other countries, its leaders and attacks against other countries except in cases of self-defense.

 Sachs said the assault on Venezuela was "brazenly illegal" and a "grotesque violation of the UN Charter."

"Trump is ripping up the UN Charter. Obviously, he did not pay one iota of attention to it and in my view this extroardinarily dangerous," he said.

 In other comments on the Venezuela situation to the UN Security Council, Sachs, a former advisor to the Secretary-General, said it was imperative that the world body condemn the US attack on Venezuela, and threats against other countries.

  He urged the council to pass resolutions calling on the United States to "immediately cease and desist from all explicit and implicit threats or use of force against Venezuela," end the naval quarantine and withdraw all forces from in or near Venezuela.

 Sachs closed his remarks to the council with a sobering message: "The survival of humanity depends on whether the United Nations Charter remains a living instrument of international law or is allowed to wither into irrelevance. That is the choice before this council today."

  The Venezuelan representative to the UN, Samuel Moncada, condemned the US attack and also pleaded with the council to do something.

  "If the kidnapping of a Head of State, the bombing of a sovereign country and the open threat of further armed action are tolerated or downplayed, the message sent to the world is a devastating one --- namely, that the law is optional and that force is the true arbiter of international relations," he said.

 US Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz, meanwhile, justified the US assault by characterizing it as a "law enforcement action" designed to remove a "narco-trafficker" who was involved in illegal activity harmful to the American people. About 100 Venezuelan and Cuban security forces died during the attack.

  "There is no war against Venezuela," he said.

Despite wide criticism by member countries of the US action, the council failed to take up any statement condemning the attack.

  In recent weeks, Trump has continued his pattern of threatening other countries. He's demanded that Denmark give up control of Greenland and turn it over to the US, saying that America needs Greenland for national security. Trump has indicated he would use military force if a "deal" is not reached.

 Most disturbingly, Trump continues to threaten Iran, saying that the government there is crushing a purported "democratic uprising" by the people and the US may have to take punitive military action. The US already bombed Iran last year, with Trump claiming the US needed to destroy that nation's alleged nuclear bombing-making facilities. Iran has denied making any nuclear weapons.

  It should be noted that last year's attack was illegal under the UN Charter, since Iran had not attacked the US and there was no threat of an imminent attack by Iran. Any renewed attack by the US would be similarly illegal.

  Sachs said "there is a high likelihood" of war with Iran in the near future.

 "If it happens," he said, "that would be vastly more dangerous than what's happening in the Americas, because that area is in the most explosive zone in the world and it is an area where the great powers can easily clash and where escalation --- even to nuclear war --- becomes possible."

Activists call for UN military intervention in Gaza

   By Reginald Johnson

  A group of pro-Palestinian activists are leading a campaign to push the United Nations to intervene in Gaza.

 Led by former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, the coalition wants the General Assembly to use a little-known process called “Uniting for Peace” to send a peacekeeping force to Gaza to protect civilians, ensure that food supplies are reaching the people and impose an embargo on military aid to Israel.

 The General Assembly used the Uniting for Peace resolution once before in 1956, when the assembly forced Israel, Britain and France to withdraw their troops from the Sinai during the Suez Canal dispute with Egypt.

 By invoking the process, the General Assembly is able to circumvent the Security Council where the United States has repeatedly used its veto power to block any punitive action against Israel.

 Members of the coalition called Lifeline for Palestine believe they have the votes to reach the two thirds majority needed to invoke the Uniting for Peace provision.

 “This is an unprecedented opportunity,” said Stein. “We do have the power to end the genocide and we should not accept powerlessness.”

 September 18th (Thursday) is the one year anniversary of the General Assembly voting by a 10 to 1 margin for a resolution demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip, or face UN penalties.

 Thursday will see a “Global Day of Action” on ending the war in Gaza, including a march and rally starting outside the public library at 41^st Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, beginning at 12 noon. The musician and activist Roger Waters will perform.

 It is almost two years since the Gaza war began, touched off by an attack on Israel by Hamas militants, which left 1200 Israelis dead. Since then, Israel has waged a brutal and unrelenting military campaign, which has left by official counts 65,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead. But recent calculations by researchers put the death toll as high as 680,000. Most of Gaza's infrastructure, including hospitals and schools have been heavily damaged or destroyed. Blocks of high-rise housing have been leveled.

 Meanwhile, people have starved to death because Israel has impeded the supply of food aid.

 The World Court and human rights organizations have labeled the Israeli campaign a genocide.

  Craig Mokhiber, a former human rights official with the UN, said that if the General Assembly votes to approve an intervention through the Uniting for Peace process, Israel has no right to block the action, according to a previous World Court ruling.

  "Israel has no right to refuse or obstruct," Mokhiber said.

 The coalition is also asking that the UN remove Israel's credentials as a General Assembly member; reactivation of the UN's long-dormant anti-apartheid mechanism; and establishment of a war crimes tribunal.

 Endorsing the Lifeline for Palestine campaign include the following organizations: CODE Pink; Doctors Against Genocide; various Green Party chapters; and a number of state and local peace organizations.

   (For more information go to lifelineforpalestine.com)

Gaza ceasefire resolution pushed in Norwalk

 

    By Reginald Johnson

   NORWALK --- Peace activists in Fairfield County will gather here Tuesday night to ask the Norwalk City Council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

People will rally at 6:45 pm ahead of the council meeting at the main entrance to City Hall, at 125 East Avenue, Norwalk.

“We hope to engage council members about a ceasefire resolution as they enter the building for their meeting,” said Stephanie Carrows, a member of the group calling for the resolution.

 She added that “for anyone who’d like to attend, the main entrance is not on East Avenue but across from the building’s parking lot, accessed off Sunset Hill Avenue.”

 A number of towns and cities around the country have passed Gaza ceasefire resolutions, including Bridgeport and Windsor in Connecticut.

 Hundreds of thousands of Palestnians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza by Israel since the war in Gaza began in October, 2023, after Hamas militants raided a concert in southern Israel and killed 1200 people. The world court has charged Israel with genocide for their campaign.