Middle East on brink of a wider war

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

Qatar has been given 10 days to agree to a sweeping list of demands that would transform it into a political vassal of Saudi Arabia.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/06/24/saud-j24.html)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

The Saudi-led ultimatum to Qatar contains demands deliberately designed to be rejected, providing the pretext for even tougher sanctions and military action.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/06/26/pers-j26.html)

[ckaihatsu]

A Saudi coalition of states has placed 13 demands on Qatar to lift their blockade, including the closure of Al Jazeera and what it states are publications and websites 'directly or indirectly supported by Qatar'.


More... (http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/attack-free-thought-middle-east-eye-responds-saudi-demands-1572259574)

[ckaihatsu]

?Multiple air strikes on cities and the use of white phosphorus--a probable war crime--guarantee a growing death toll.


More... (https://www.thenation.com/article/trumps-policy-is-clear-civilian-casualties-dont-matter-in-the-war-on-terror)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

The standoff in the Gulf has led to an open rift in Washington as Secretary of State Tillerson seeks to end the conflict triggered by President Trump’s support for Saudi action against Qatar.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/06/29/qata-j29.html)

[ckaihatsu]

via justforeignpolicy.org (http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/)

Members of Congress applauded (http://thehill.com/policy/defense/340066-lawmakers-applaud-after-panel-approves-language-revoking-war-authority) after the House Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly approved Rep. Barbara Lee's amendment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDB4-eDD9fQ) that would revoke the overbroad 2001 law giving the president authority to undertake war against al Qaeda and its affiliates unless a replacement provision is created. The bipartisan vote was a rebuke of President Trump's abuse of this authority (https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-spending-bill-targets-military-authorization-in-rebuke-to-trump-on-syria-isis/2017/06/29/fe1ab982-5d05-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html) to use military force in Syria and Yemen against groups not affiliated with al Qaeda without authorization from Congress. Rep. Tom Cole, a Republican who supported Rep. Lee's amendment, said (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2017/06/29/ryan_effort_to_repeal_military-force_measure_a_mistake.html), "It’s time for leadership to wake up, and the administration to wake up, and send over a recommended AUMF, mark it up and take it to the floor. I don’t know any other way to get their attention because we’ve been talking about it for years."
Unfortunately, House Speaker Paul Ryan called Barbara Lee's amendment a "mistake" (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2017/06/29/ryan_effort_to_repeal_military-force_measure_a_mistake.html) and threatened to strip it from the bill.
Urge your Representative & Senators to support & protect Barbara Lee's amendment to sunset the 2001 AUMF by signing our petition at MoveOn (https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/support-protect-repbarbarale?r_by=1135580).


More... (http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/alert-lee-amdt-sunset-aumf)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

The Trudeau government’s decision to continue the Canadian Armed Forces’ mission in the Mideast well into 2019 came just weeks after it announced a 70 percent hike in military spending.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/03/cair-j03.html)

[ckaihatsu]

via socialistproject.ca (http://www.socialistproject.ca[/url)

http://socialistproject.ca/bullet/b1443.jpgThe June 5 decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt to suspend diplomatic ties with Qatar has sent shockwaves through the Middle East. The ensuing blockade shut down much of the Gulf’s maritime and land trade with Qatar, provoking fears that the tiny state would soon face food shortages. Major air carriers, including Emirates, Gulf Air, flydubai, and Etihad Airways, canceled flights, and Qatari citizens living in the participating nations had just two weeks to return home. Even immigrants with Qatari residency permits would be caught up in the expulsion.

More... (https://socialistproject.ca/bullet/1443.php)

[ckaihatsu]

via investigaction.net (http://www.investigaction.net/en/)

Truthout – President Donald Trump is hesitating to agree to thousands of additional troops for the war in Afghanistan as recommended by his secretary of defense and national security adviser, according […]

More... (http://www.investigaction.net/en/why-afghanistan-fighting-a-war-for-the-war-system-itself/)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

Just days before the G20 summit in Hamburg, and in the midst of the Qatar crisis, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel traveled to the Arabian Peninsula.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/04/gabr-j04.html)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

The UK is already up to its neck in the US-led operation to topple the Assad regime, including covert and illegal military operations on the ground.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/04/uksy-j04.html)

[ckaihatsu]

via wsws.org (http://www.wsws.org)

The crisis over the past month has inflamed regional rivalries, while increasingly bringing to light the competing interests of the major imperialist powers in the Gulf and wider Middle East.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/05/qata-j05.html)