US Policy

Evidence? What evidence? Pompeo shows no proof of ‘imminent’ Soleimani attacks
The US says that Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was plotting “imminent and sinister” attacks against its diplomats and military personnel. But when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was pressed for evidence of this, he gave none. Soleimani, commander of the Iranian military’s Quds Force, was assassinated in a drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on Friday. [...]
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Exposing empire: How Soleimani’s killing put paid to myths the US told itself and others
For decades, the US establishment has talked about an international community, rules-based order, the importance of NATO allies, democracy and sovereignty. Then-President Donald Trump had an Iranian general assassinated. “Snow doesn’t fall to cover the hills, but to reveal the tracks of every beast,” goes an old Serbian saying. The proverbial snow in this case is last week’s killing of Ge [...]
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Arch Terrorist or Inadvertent Ally? Three Times Soleimani Saved American Lives
US officials including President Trump have formally justified the drone strike assassination of Revolutionary Guard Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in part on the basis of the “imminent threat” he allegedly posed to US interests and service members overseas. But do these claims really line up with reality? Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani was appointed commander of the Iranian Revolutionary [...]
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‘End #TrumpsWar now’, US congresswoman & presidential candidate Gabbard tweets after drone strike on Iranian general 🎞️
US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, one of the Democratic Party contenders in the 2020 presidential race, said American armed forces must leave Iraq and Syria, instead of pushing towards war. "End #TrumpsWar now. Remove our troops from Iraq and Syria," the politician from Hawaii tweeted on Saturday. [...]
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Iran could bring an ‘overnight economic depression’ in retaliation to US – ex-Pentagon official tells Boom Bust 🎞️
Tehran could block a key shipping route in the Gulf region after US attack, thus causing a terrible headache to global oil markets and the world’s economy in general, former Pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT’s Boom Bust. [...]
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Rebuking US General’s Crimea Claim, Russian Senator Jokes That America Should Return Texas to Mexico
Earlier, Gen. (ret.) Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army Europe, suggested that Russia’s historical claims to Crimea were “false and unacceptable” because the peninsula became part of Russia only during the reign of Catherine the Great. Alexei Pushkov, an outspoken Russian senator known for his commentaries on foreign affairs, has responded to Gen. Hodges remarks about the status of the [...]
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Gabbard Blasts Trump Over Soleimani Killing, Demands Immediate Pullout of US Troops From Iraq, Syria
The Hawaii congresswoman and Democratic presidential candidate, who deployed to Iraq during her service with the US Army National Guard, has repeatedly warned that a conflict with Iran would be “far more devastating” to the US than its Iraq campaign. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has issued a series of statements slamming President Trump for the drone strike which killed senior Iranian Revolutio [...]
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Egypt Puts Itself at Risk of US Sanctions by Purchasing Russian Figher Jets, American Official Says
Russia intends to start deliveries of nearly two dozen Su-35E air superiority fighter planes to Egypt between 2020-2021 in a deal worth the equivalent of over $2 billion. US officials have repeatedly warned that the deliveries could lead to sanctions against Cairo. Egypt's decision to purchase Russian-made fighter aircraft may result in sanctions and a halt in the delivery of US military equipment [...]
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Pentagon’s Concern About Rising Support for Russia Among US Troops ‘Runs Deep’ – Report
The trend is not limited to the US - in February polling revealed the average German holds Russia and China in higher regard than the US, with which their government is allied. Washington outlet Voice of America (VoA) has reported the Pentagon is “concerned” by rising sympathy for Russia among US citizens, in particular those serving in the military. [...]
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Trump Sparks Outrage by Calling on American Jews to ‘Love Israel More’
US President Donald Trump on Saturday addressed the annual Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Summit in Florida, where some 4,000 Israelis and American Jews gathered. Speaking on Saturday at the 2019 IAC National Summit in Florida, President Donald Trump said that people in the United States should love Israel more. [...]
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US Long-Planned Assassination of Soleimani Lacks Legal, Strategic Justification – Ex-Envoy
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Trump administration’s unlawful execution of Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani is a strategic blunder of mammoth proportions that has now turned every American military official into a target, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman told Sputnik. [...]
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‘We’re becoming the terror’: Virginia senator hated by ISIS calls Soleimani killing ‘tragedy,’ warns against war with Iran
General Qassem Soleimani was one of the most responsible for defeating Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, and his killing is a “great tragedy” that could result in a “vast war” with Iran, a Virginia senator and Marine veteran told RT. In a statement to RT on Friday, retired Virginia Senator Richard Black said that the assassination “may presage a new war of aggression—this time, against the [...]
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Trump praises Venezuela’s Juan Guaidó at the State of the Union | 2020 State of the Union
President Donald Trump brought a surprise guest—Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaidó--to his 2020 State of the Union address. Trump criticized Guaidó’s rival Nicolas Maduro before recognizing Guaidó in the House Chambers. “Mr. President, please take this message back to your homeland. All Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom,” Trum [...]
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‘US is torturing Chelsea Manning’: Top UN official says treatment of manning is ‘cruel and degrading’
Chelsea Manning is being subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, constituting torture by the US government over her refusal to testify against whistleblower website WikiLeaks, a top United Nations official has said. UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer accused the government of torturing Manning in a November letter, which was just released on Tuesday. In the letter, Melzer [...]
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Trump’s tariffs hurt more than helped, leading to job losses & higher prices – Fed study
US tariffs meant to boost the US economy by eliminating “unfair” trade practices, primarily by China, actually took a toll on manufacturing sector jobs and hiked prices, a study by the US Federal Reserve Board has concluded. The Fed has become the latest body to stress the damaging consequences of “unprecedented” punitive tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump on China and other tr [...]
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Barrister Escalates ‘Conflict of Interest’ Complaint Against Top Judge in Julian Assange Case
Investigative journalist Mark Curtis and Matt Kennard have detailed extensive undisclosed links between the Cheif Magistrate Emma Arbthnot, her husband, and her son and the British national security state. Niki Konstantinidis, a barrister and supporter of Julian Assange, has filed a complaint with the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman (“the Ombudsman”) against England’s top magistr [...]
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Court finds Bush and Blair guilty of war crimes
Those who lobbied to have George W. Bush and Tony Blair tried for their role in the Iraq War have finally got their wish. Though the verdict of the court carries no legal weight, its supporters believe its symbolic value is beyond doubt. The court in Malaysia where the trial took place may not have the power to convict, but the verdict against the former British and American leaders was unanimous. [...]
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Europe must wean itself off US ‘dictate’ or it will ‘lose’, Iran supreme leader’s adviser tells RT
Europe’s total dependence on Washington would lead it nowhere other than to its own demise, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has alleged, calling on Europeans to break free from America’s grip. Europe is a major political force on the international arena, yet it prefers to “quietly follow the policy imposed” by Washington, Ali Akbar Velayati told RT Arabic. [...]
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Senior OPCW official ordered deletion of ‘all traces’ of dissenting report on ‘Douma chemical attack’  – WikiLeaks’ new leak
The leadership of the chemical weapons watchdog took efforts to remove the paper trail of a dissenting report from Douma, Syria which pointed to a possible false flag operation there, leaked documents indicate.  In an internal email published by the transparency website WikiLeaks on Friday, a senior official from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) ordered that the doc [...]
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Timeline of US’s Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Screw-up: Why Russia, Germany Will Come Out Stronger
On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed the FY2020 National Defence Authorisation Act into law, with its provisions including sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. A day later, the Treasury confirmed that the restrictions had snapped into place. [...]
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‘Sanctions just a hiccup’: Nord Stream 2 will be completed, & US knows it but cannot bear the thought – former US diplomat
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is going to be completed despite the latest US sanctions, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT, adding that the last-ditch attempt to derail its launch is a gesture of despair by Washington. [...]
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Turkish MP on US Senate Turkey Sanctions Bill: ‘This is an Irresponsible Move’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to close US and NATO military bases in Turkey after the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday, approved a bill imposing sanctions on Ankara after its offensive in Syria and purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems. 'If necessary, we can close Incirlik, and we can close Kurecik", Erdogan told Turkish channel Haber TV on Sunday. [...]
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