Quagmired

Fully Engaged,

  John Helmer looks at the US/UK/Israel axis being enmeshed in a situation where they can't leave, and will continually be bled of soldiers, munitions and economic health.  

  THE US, ISRAEL HAVE LOST BATTLEFIELD CONTROL – HOUTHIS HAVE ATTACKED US DESTROYER, HIT GREEK-US OWNED BULKER; IRAN HAS HIT US BASE IN KURDISH CAPITAL, ERBIL

​  When your enemy dupes you into compounding your mistakes, without achieving your military objectives, he is leading you into an escalation of force which will defeat you, sooner or later. Later is more costly, defeat more ruinous, so the Arab-Iranian alliance against Israel and the US is waging the long war they were never before believed capable to fight... ​..Anglo-American air attacks against Yemeni targets on Friday and Saturday have “dislocated” none of the capabilities of the Ansarallah government in Sanaa and the Houthi military units.  
​  For exploitation after the air strikes, the initiative has remained instead with the Houthis: they  are continuing their attacks on the US Navy fleet in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, keeping them on guard, but demonstrating they are ineffectual to protect US and Israel-connected shipping now diverting from the area.​..
..Minutes after midnight on Tuesday, Moscow time, Russian military bloggers began relaying the news from Iran and Yemen of new missile attacks against a Greek-American owned bulker in the Gulf of Aden during the afternoon, and hours later at night, a US mercenary forces unit, a US consulate building, an Israeli base, and the home of a leading oil trader in the Kurdish city of Erbil in northern Iraq...
​..US media reporting after several hours of delay claimed there had been explosions near the US consulate in Erbil but “ ‘no US facilities were impacted. We’re not tracking damage to infrastructure or injuries at this time,’ a U.S. official told ABC News.”  On the contrary, Rozhin reported, “according to one of my friends who lives in the centre of Erbil, the blow fell not on the current consulate, but on the new one, which is just being built. There was everything in scaffolding and construction cranes. Eyewitnesses say that they were building something grandiose.”​... ..CENTCOM is saying nothing at all about the fate of the two US Navy F-18 pilots, shot down by Houthi air defence during the first raid on Friday morning and missing at sea since then.   Pentagon concealment of the shoot-down —  the first air battle success of its kind– has been camouflaged by a half-dozen press releases about the hospitalization and health of the Defense Secretary, General Lloyd Austin.     “I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home,” Austin  has claimed.  
​  According to US Army Lieutenant General Douglas Sims ​... who heads the staff advising the Joint Chiefs of Staff on operations:  “The hope would be that any real thought of [Houthi] retaliation is based on a clear understanding that, you know, we simply are not going to be messed with here​"​... ​..January 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and announced “coordination at all levels, emphasizing the unwavering mutual commitment to the fundamental principles of Russian-Iranian relations, including unconditional respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and other principles of the UN Charter, which will be confirmed in the upcoming ‘big’  interstate agreement between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”  
​  “All levels” includes military coordination. It also means coordination with the Ansarallah representatives in Teheran​... ..The official Yemen declaration of Monday, following the attack against the USS Laboon, has now expanded the targeting to include the US and UK fleets...
​..“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm the continuation of commercial traffic in the Arab and Red Seas to all destinations, with the exception of the ports of occupied Palestine, and that they continue to take all defensive and offensive measures within the framework of the right to defend and resist American-British aggression.” https://johnhelmer.net/the-us-israel-have-lost-battlefield-control-houthis-have-attacked-us-destroyer-hit-greek-us-owned-bulker-iran-has-hit-us-base-in-kurdish-capital-erbil/#more-89195

​  Missing Seals Were On Secret Mission That Intercepted Iranian Missile Components Bound For Houthis  The Pentagon on Tuesday revealed more information about the two missing US Navy Seals, who disappeared off the cost of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday after they "fell into the water during a nighttime boarding mission" according to US military officials.
  A search and rescue operation has continued, and the US Department of Defense has yet to formally declare them dead. The US has revealed additional information about their secretive mission, saying their team intercepted a shipment of Iranian missile components bound for Houthis in Yemen. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/missing-seals-were-secret-mission-intercepted-iranian-missile-components-bound-houthis

​  Moon of Alabama , War On Gaza - Iran Demonstrates Its Means Of Self-defense

...Israel killed Hamas officials who openly lived in Beirut. It also killed an IRGC official in Syria and a Hizbullah official in Lebanon. The U.S. bombed the Houthi as well as resistance groups in Iraq and Syria. An ISIS attack, likely instigated by the U.S., killed some 100 people in Kerman, Iran.
​  After the U.S. attacked Iraqi resistance groups in Syria and Iraq these intensified their attacks on U.S. bases. Hizbullah slowly increased the reach of its responses to Israeli attacks on Lebanon. After the U.S. bombing in Yemen the Houthi responded by adding U.S. and UK related ships to their target list. Yesterday a U.S. owned ship was hit by a Houthi missile.
​  The resistance axis is a collection of groups loosely connected to Iran. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp has trained these groups. But it did much more than the usual U.S. military training would do. The IRGC encouraged the groups to contact each other and to exchange knowledge. They now cooperate on all levels. Iran brought in new technologies and weapons and taught each group on how to make their own copies. Today Hizbullah intelligence people teach Houthi how to systematically interpret U.S. actions. Houthi and Iraqis exchange missile and drone building plans.
​  The axis of resistance has become an assembly of quite autonomous entities who no longer depend on deliveries or orders from Iran. But they all follow the same anti-colonial ideology.
​  The U.S. tried to interrupt the resistance development by, in 2020, killing Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the IRGC and founder of the resistance axis. It was in vain. The resistance was already too developed. It continued to grew on its own despite U.S. attempts of interference.​.. ​..Iran itself finally joined in. It fired ballistic missiles from Iran on two far away targets. The headquarter of the ISIS related Turkestan Islamic Party in Idleb, Syria, was destroyed. A headquarter of al-Qaeda aligned Hayad Tahrir al-Sham was also hit.
​  Another barrage of missiles came down (vid) in the city of Erbil in the Kurdish north of Iraq. The house of Peshraw Dizayee, a rich Kurdish businessman, was hit and destroyed. Dizayee did a lot of business with the U.S. and was involved in selling oil from the Kurdish region of Iraq through Turkey to Israel. Iran claims that his house was used as a base for the Israeli Mossad. That is at least plausible.
​  The shortest trajectory from Iran to Idleb in Syria is at least 1,200 kilometers. Iran thus demonstrated that it can reliably hit targets at that distance. The missiles used, named Khaybar Shekan, have a top reach of 1,450 kilometers.
​  These attacks are a warning to Israel and the U.S. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/01/war-on-gaza-iran-demonstrates-its-means-of-self-defense.html#more

​Dima at Military Summary Channel covered the Iranian counterattack well last night at the beginning of the video. 

Iran's Ruthless Attack | The Russians Went On The Offensive. Military Summary For 2024.01.16

​  US Conducts New 'Preemptive Strikes' On Houthi Launch Sites​ ​[Yemenis have the legal right to restrict wartime ship traffic to Israel while Israel blockades Palestine.]On ​  Tuesday US forces carried out another round of strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen, but this time the operation is being dubbed a "pre-emptive" attack that came in response to militants preparing missile launches on the ground in real time.
​  "US forces struck and destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles," a Central Command (CENTCOM) statement said. "These missiles were prepared to launch from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and presented an imminent threat to both merchant and US Navy ships in the region." https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-conducts-new-preemptive-strikes-houthi-launch-sites

​  Ron Paul, Congress Asleep as Biden Makes War on Yemen

​  Late last week President Biden started a new US war on the tiny country of Yemen. US warships and fighter jets launched more than a hundred missiles at the country in a massive escalation that the Administration bizarrely claimed would “de-escalate” tensions in the Red Sea.
​  Taking the US to war without a Congressional declaration of war is a grave crime against the Constitution. Not only did Biden show no interest in coming to Congress for a war declaration, he didn’t even ask for authorization. Together with Washington’s reliable junior partner in war, the UK, Biden attacked Yemen. It seems the US Administration consulted more with the UK government than with the US Congress on the attacks. https://ronpaulinstitute.org/congress-asleep-as-biden-makes-war-on-yemen/

​  South Africa to Sue US and UK as Complicit in Gaza Genocide​ 

​  The U.S. should at least receive sanctions as happened with Germany, a country that is still paying compensation for the Holocaust. On Monday, South African lawyers handling the Genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced that they are preparing a separate lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom for complicity in Zionist war crimes. https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/South-Africa-to-Sue-US-and-UK-as-Complicit-in-Gaza-Genocide-20240115-0009.html

​  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to eliminate all Palestinians and move them to Sinai, former Nigerian foreign minister Bolaji Akinyemi told RT in an exclusive interview as Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel continues before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
​  Akinyemi, who served as external affairs minister from 1985 to 1987, said South Africa was carrying “a heavy load” because Pretoria “will not expect material reward” in taking Israel to the ICJ, accusing it of genocide against Palestinians.
​  “South Africa’s role in the world is a ‘mandalisation,’” he added.​ The term ‘mandalisation’ is associated with Nelson Mandela, who repeatedly refused deals for his release from prison until the world saw the country’s problems. “[Nelson Mandela] was stubborn,” Akinyemi added.
​  The former minister believes that “Netanyahu wants to wipe out all the Palestinians, not just Hamas, [and what] he really wants to do is to drive them into Sinai.” https://swentr.site/africa/590728-netanyahu-israel-gaza-south-africa/

New Jersey National Guard Prepares to Deploy to Iraq and Syria Amid Attacks
It's unclear if the deployment of 1,500 troops is part of a regular troop rotation or a reinforcement https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/15/new-jersey-national-guard-prepares-to-deploy-to-iraq-and-syria-amid-attacks/

​  Aleks at Black Mountain Analysis , Ukraine and the Middle East - Part 1[i]​ Fast forward to the abyss ​  Defeat will occur within the next year. Why? The latest news from NATO is that it is prepared to send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to the Ukrainian border in anticipation of a total collapse and the appearance of Russians on NATO borders.​..

​..To summarize: Ukraine will most likely be defeated this year. And the question is not how Russia will reach X, Y, or Z within this time. It simply won’t. It will not reach Odessa or Lvov or whatever. Russia will only make sure that Ukraine collapses; the Ukrainian state and its army. The Americans have more than enough other problems in the upcoming Wars of Liberation. The Europeans will be unable to increase Ukraine's funding to substitute for the Americans. They will try to reallocate their budgets, and the European citizens will not be very happy about that.

Ukraine and the Middle East - Part 1[i]

  Gilbert Doctorow ,  How the Ukraine war may end as forecast by leading Western and Russian analysts: a REN TV (Moscow) feature program

 ​  I am pleased to say that I was in good company, among them Larry Johnson and Alexander Rahr. The Russian commentators were also well credentialed.
What emerges from this program is the following:
​  The Russians are inflicting destruction and death on the Ukrainian armed forces, all of which is shown graphically throughout the film
​  The failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive opened the way to a political struggle at the top in Kiev, between Zelensky and his military commander general Zaluzhny, with other ambitious contenders like Tymoshenko adding to the cacophony.
​  There is a real possibility of a coup d’etat against the Zelensky government led by the military
Meanwhile, Western backers of Kiev have lost their enthusiasm and the flow of military and financial aid is drying up
​  Continuation of the war will likely lead to further territorial losses for Kiev, with the Russians taking the Black Sea littoral while Hungary, Romania and Poland all seize their historic territories where their own ethnic groups are strongly present today.
​  The utter collapse of the Ukrainian military is now a real possibility and would result in capitulation and surrender on Russian terms, meaning neutrality, removal of the neo-Nazi elements from the ruling elites and a reorganization of the military into a small army relying on domestically produced supplies
​  Zelensky may be murdered by any one of several foreign intelligence agencies, and his best future will be to leave Ukraine for some foreign residence while the going is good https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/01/16/how-the-ukraine-war-may-end-as-forecast-by-leading-western-and-russian-analysts-a-ren-tv-moscow-feature-program/

​  Both of Vladimir Putin's parents almost died during the siege of Leningrad. His older brother died at 14 months, of starvation and disease. Vladimir was born into this heritage. M.K. Bhdrakumar , An anniversary West would rather forget​  ​  An epochal anniversary from the annals of modern history is coming up in another ten days that remains a living memory for the Russian people. The Siege of Leningrad, arguably the most gruesome episode of the Second World War, which lasted for 900 days, was finally broken by the Soviet Red Army on 27th January 1944, eighty years ago to be exact.
​  The siege endured by more than three million people, of whom nearly one half died, most of them in the first six months when the temperature fell to 30° below zero.​..

​..Hitler himself declared in September 1941, “We have no interest in maintaining even a part of the metropolitan population in this existential war.” Any talk of the city surrendering had to be “rejected, as the problem of keeping and feeding the population cannot be solved by us.”
https://www.indianpunchline.com/an-anniversary-west-would-rather-forget/

​  ‘Extremists stoking rage’: The German government seeks to downplay protesting workers' plight
Farmers, truckers, train drivers – numerous workers are making it known that they are fed up, as the chancellor’s approval drops to 20% 

​  It was a missed opportunity to benefit from a much-needed mugging by reality.
​  Instead, the Interior Ministry contented itself by preemptively framing the protesters as susceptible to far-right infiltration. Scholz said that “rage is being stoked deliberately” by “extremists”. When asked about this concept, the unanimous response among the farmers was laughter, eye rolling, or one-line jokes.​..

​..Scholz said last fall that Germany had to “be able to help Ukraine on the basis of solidarity. We support Ukraine in its defense struggle, with financial resources and weapons.”
https://swentr.site/news/590733-germany-protest-farmers-truckers-drivers/

​  US diplomats are scrambling to hold on to their influence in Switzerland, as their Chinese counterparts attempt to woo the country’s top officials during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Politico reported on Monday, citing sources.
​  The outlet said American officials were so alarmed by the size of the Chinese delegation at the event that they rushed to arrange a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Swiss President Viola Amherd to ensure Washington does not lose influence in the Alpine country. https://swentr.site/news/590726-us-china-charm-offensive-davos/

​  This detective asked all the mothers of dead babies if they had recently been vaccinated. Yes, yes, yes, yes... She blew the whistle to the press about the data she compiled. Witness intimidation accusation mires misconduct hearing for Ottawa cop who probed child deaths   Grus stands accused of discreditable conduct, which hinges on alleged Ottawa Police Service policy violations she committed in her probe of a possible link between COVID shots and sudden infant deaths in the region.
​  Related activities have been described by prosecutors as an “unsanctioned…quality control project,” including allegations that she interfered in ongoing investigations by seeking the COVID vaccination status of the related mothers.
​  Throughout 14 hearing days to date, Renwick has ruled more often in favour of Stewart and the Ottawa police, in so doing suppressing seemingly key pieces of evidence like related autopsy reports and a notebook containing Grus’ last entry before she was suspended in February 2022 – items her lawyers argue could prove exculpatory.
​  This pattern of denying evidentiary disclosure reached new levels this week as Stewart insisted that Grus cannot use generic Ottawa police policy documents and job descriptions for her defence without express permission.​..

​..‘I’ve seen the statistical anomaly.’ I think she said it was double the amount of SIDS (year-over-year 2020-21),” recalled Danyluk of their conversation. https://tnc.news/2024/01/13/witness-intimidation-accusaion-ottawa-cop/

​    EU President Demands Globalist Control Over All Information ​  President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen addressed elites at the World Economic Forum in Davos Tuesday, calling for overarching globalist control over the flow of all information in the digital age.
“The top concern for the next two years is not conflict, or climate, it is disinformation and misinformation,” von der Leyen proclaimed, adding “The boundary between online and offline is getting thinner and thinner, and this is even more important in the era of generative AI.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-eu-president-demands-globalist-control-over-all-information

​  It's not just Ursula at Davos. Meryl Nass MD has the broader censorship-attack story. WHO, UN, WEF and EU collaborate to impose censorship on the world. 

To protect us, of course. It's for our own good. To protect our human rights and freedoms. Because without censorship and its twin propaganda, how could they peacefully take over the world?

WHO, UN, WEF and EU collaborate to impose censorship on the world. To protect us, of course. It's for our own good. To protect our human rights and freedoms.

AZ- Maricopa County GOP Passed 'Ban the Jab' resolution​ , Declares C19 injections Biological and Technological Weapons

Breaking: AZ- Maricopa County GOP Passed 'Ban the Jab' resolution!!!

​  Steve Kirsch , Excess deaths in the UK are being caused by circulatory issues

A study cited in the UK press found that the excess deaths are primarily due to circulatory issues, not COVID. Thanks to the work of John Beaudoin, we know the COVID vaccine caused circulatory deaths.

Excess deaths in the UK are being caused by circulatory issues

Are We Being Conditioned for Another Lab Leak?
"Preparing for Disease X" resembles 2019 planning for coronavirus outbreak.

Are We Being Conditioned for Another Lab Leak?

Appeals Court Rules the Homeless Have a Right to Camp on Sidewalks

The 9th circuit court of appeals affirmed the constitutional right of vagrants to sleep on sidewalks, in parks, and even on the steps of court houses. https://mishtalk.com/economics/appeals-court-rules-the-homeless-have-a-right-to-camp-on-sidewalks/

​Still no photographs of Austin in 2024, but more story-telling.  ‘We’re trying to remain a little subtle’: Hear the audio of 911 call for Sec. Lloyd Austin https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/were-trying-remain-little-subtle-hear-audio-911-call-sec-lloyd-austin/7HSFDE3Y4REOXDNWRMHAKJAUWU/

Still Speaking Freely  (pictured with the last tomato and pepper harvest before the recent hard freeze, and some greens)