Imposing natural consequences for not self-deporting.
[KhaamaPress] The Trump administration plans to impose daily fines of $998 on migrants colonists who refuse to leave the U.S. after deportation orders.
The Trump administration has proposed a stringent measure targeting undocumented immigrants colonists who have received deportation orders but remain in the United States. The plan involves imposing daily fines of $998 on these individuals, with the potential for asset seizures if fines remain unpaid. This policy seeks to enforce compliance with deportation orders and deter prolonged unlawful residence.
An anonymous senior administration official revealed that the government intends to enforce these penalties over a five-year period, potentially accumulating fines exceeding $1 million per individual. This approach underscores the administration’s commitment to rigorous immigration enforcement and its determination to address cases of prolonged unlawful presence.
Internal communications reviewed by Rooters indicate that the White House has exerted pressure on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prioritize the enforcement of these fines and asset seizures.
The administration is also exploring legal avenues, including the involvement of the Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture division, to facilitate the confiscation and auction of assets belonging to non-compliant individuals.
The initiative is estimated to affect approximately 1.4 million migrants colonists who have received final orders of removal. While the Department of Homeland Security encourages undocumented individuals to voluntarily depart the U.S., critics argue that this policy may instill fear rather than promote compliance, potentially impacting mixed-status families and low-income communities.
In response to these developments, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has led targeted immigration enforcement operations, including early morning raids in Phoenix, Arizona, resulting in the capture of undocumented migrants colonists with serious criminal backgrounds. These actions align with the administration’s broader strategy to enhance immigration enforcement and address public safety concerns.
The administration’s aggressive stance on immigration has sparked debate, with some arguing that such measures are necessary to uphold the rule of law and protect national security, while others express concern over potential human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... implications and the impact on affected communities. As policies continue to evolve, it remains to be seen how these strategies will influence the broader immigration landscape and the lives of those affected.
The fines stem from a 1996 law that Trump first utilized during his first term in 2018. The Biden administration, naturally, had halted this practice when it took office in 2021. But now it is back, and this time, the administration is taking it several steps further by applying penalties retroactively for up to five years.
That’s cute, but let’s be honest here about what’s actually happening. Trump's goal with this policy is to get illegal immigrants who have been ordered to leave the United States to actually follow the law. As DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin plainly stated, "If they don't, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.”
It's nice to have a president who understands that allowing 1.4 million people with deportation orders to simply ignore them makes a mockery of our immigration system.
[NationalPulse] What Happened: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announces plans to partially reopen the “Jungle School” in Panama, a former U.S. jungle warfare training site in the Panama Canal Zone, dormant since 1999.
Where & When: Panama, during Hegseth’s trip for the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC), April 8, 2025.💬 Key Quote: “I should never put you in a fair fight. My job is to put you in a fight where you are overwhelming.” – Pete Hegseth⚠️ Impact: Signals a U.S. military push to revive jungle training and reassert influence over the Panama Canal Zone, once American territory.
IN FULL:
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said he intends to partially reopen the “Jungle School,” where up to 9,000 troops a year trained in jungle warfare from the 1950s to 1999 in the former Panama Canal Zone. Secretary Hegseth made the announcement to U.S. troops in Panama amid an ongoing trip to the Central American country, where he will attend the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC).
Thanking the troops for their service, Hegseth said, “We will have your back; President Trump has asked me to share that with all the groups of troops I talk to,” stressing the importance of the military’s “warrior ethos” to the administration and its determination to rebuild the military.
“I should never put you in a fair fight. My job is to put you in a fight where you are overwhelming… First of all, hopefully, deterring the enemy, [but] if it comes to conflict, overwhelmingly closing with and destroying the enemy,” said Hegseth, himself a decorated former infantry officer.
The Defense Secretary is joined on his Panama trip by Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, providing exclusive coverage and commentary to Pulse+ members as the trip unfolds.
The Panama Canal Zone was under U.S. sovereignty in perpetuity until its surrender to Panama in 1979 under the late Democratic President Jimmy Carter. The canal was largely American-built and funded, and incumbent President Donald J. Trump has expressed a desire to regain control over it, lamenting its handover as one of his predecessors’ worst-ever deals.
“The purpose of our deal [with Panama] and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated,” he said during his inaugural address, noting Chinese involvement in the canal now and vowing, “We’re taking it back.”
[KhaamaPress] The U.S. plans to reinstate several foreign aid programs, including food assistance in Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... , Syria, and Somalia, Rooters reports.
The U.S. is reportedly planning to resume at least six suspended foreign aid programs, according to several sources speaking to Rooters on Tuesday, April 8.
Jeremy Levin, acting head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), reportedly instructed employees in an internal letter to revive these programs. The aid includes U.S. support for the World Food Program in Lebanon, Syria, Somalia, Jordan, Iraq, and Ecuador.
While the World Food Program had previously warned about the consequences of the U.S. suspension of aid to Afghanistan, the sources did not specify whether assistance to Afghanistan would resume.
Earlier reports indicated that the Trump administration had cut off $1.3 billion in foreign aid to countries like Afghanistan, Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , Somalia, and Syria. These cuts had significant humanitarian implications, particularly for vulnerable populations facing food insecurity.
Levin, in his recent email to USAID staff, apologized for the changes to aid programs, acknowledging that many stakeholders were affected. He emphasized the need to balance conflicting interests when making such decisions.
The decision to resume aid follows pressure from within the U.S. government and Congress, along with warnings from the World Food Program. The U.S. agency had previously warned that the suspension could lead to severe famine for millions of people.
The World Food Program had specifically cautioned that the suspension of $562 million in aid to Afghanistan could worsen the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis.
The Trump administration’s decision to cut foreign aid was part of a broader push to scale back U.S. involvement in international humanitarian efforts, a policy that continued even after Trump’s return to office in January.
The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday that it had cut aid to the World Food Program in Afghanistan and Yemen, citing concerns over terrorist groups, such as the Taliban ...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan... and Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels, benefiting from U.S.-funded projects.
The move to reinstate some of the suspended foreign aid programs is seen as a response to mounting humanitarian concerns. However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... the resumption of aid to Afghanistan remains uncertain, as it depends on evolving U.S. policy and security considerations.
The World Food Program’s ongoing warnings highlight the urgency of addressing food insecurity in the region. The future of U.S. aid to Afghanistan will likely be shaped by these complex political and security dynamics, along with global calls for increased humanitarian support.
[KhaamaPress] USAID has suspended its scholarship program for 208 Afghan women, leaving students in uncertainty about their educational future.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has abruptly halted its scholarship program for 208 Afghan women. This decision was announced on Sunday, April 6, and was communicated to students via email. The program was ended “due to a review and misalignment with current agency priorities.”
The scholarship program, initially launched in 2018 with a $50 million investment from USAID, was managed by the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF). It covered tuition and living expenses for Afghan women studying in Afghanistan, Qatar, and Oman in fields like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
This initiative provided Afghan women with a vital opportunity to pursue higher education following the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education. Many of the scholarship recipients were studying either online or in-person, enabling them to continue their studies despite the difficult political climate.
One Afghan student, referred to only as Zahra for security reasons, spoke to US National Radio, saying, “This scholarship was everything to me, a light in the darkest days of my life.” She mentioned that she had completed half of her curriculum but now faces an uncertain future due to the sudden end of the program.
An official from the program, who wished to remain anonymous due to a lack of official authorization, mentioned attempts to extend the scholarship program until 2030. However, they have yet to receive a clear response from the US Department of State or USAID.
The abrupt end to this scholarship program has left many Afghan women in limbo, particularly those who had invested significant time and effort into their studies. This decision raises concerns about the future of international support for Afghan education, especially for women and girls.
The move has sparked criticism from both students and advocates who see it as a setback for Afghan women’s rights and access to education. While USAID has stated the decision was made due to shifting priorities, many are questioning the lack of a clear plan for the affected students.
[AnNahar] The Trump administration has ended funding to U.N. World Food Program emergency programs helping keep millions alive in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen
…why should we pump money into the economy of those who chose to be our enemy? Money is fungible, and everything we give them is money freed uo for them to spend on weapons and plumping up the bank accounts of evil men…
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... and 11 other impoverished countries, many of them struggling with conflict, according to the organization and officials who spoke to The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
The World Food Program, the largest provider of food aid, appealed to the U.S. to roll back the new cuts in a social media post Monday. The unexpected round of contract cancellations has targeted some of the last remaining humanitarian programs run by the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to two U.S. officials, a United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... official and documents obtained by the AP.
"This could amount to a death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation," WFP said on X.
The agency said it was in contact with the Trump administration "to urge for continued support" for lifesaving programs and thanked the United States and other donors for past contributions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio ...The diminutive 13-year-old Republican U.S. Senator from Florida, Secretary of State in the second Trump administration... and other administration officials had pledged to spare emergency food programs and other life-and-death aid from deep cuts to U.S. foreign assistance. There was no immediate comment Monday from the State Department.
The projects were being canceled "for the convenience of the U.S. Government" at the direction of Jeremy Lewin, a top lieutenant at Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency who was appointed to oversee the elimination of USAID programs, according to termination notices sent to partners and viewed by the AP.
PROGRAMS TARGETED BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
In Syria, a country battling poverty, hunger and insecurity after a 13-year civil war and an insurgency by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, some $230 million in contracts with WFP and humanitarian groups was terminated in recent days, according to a State Department document detailing the cuts that was obtained by the AP.
The single biggest of the targeted Syria programs, at $111 million, provided bread and other daily food to 1.5 million people, the document says.
About 60 letters canceling contracts were sent over the past week. An official with the United Nations in the Middle East said all U.S. aid to WFP food programs across Yemen, another war-divided country that is facing one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters, has been stopped, apparently including food that already had arrived in distribution centers.
WFP also received termination letters for U.S.-funded programs in Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... and Jordan, where Syrian refugees would be hit hardest, the U.N. official said.
Some of the last remaining U.S. funding for key programs in Somalia, Afghanistan and the southern African nation of Zim-bob-we also was affected, including for those providing food, water, medical care and shelter for people displaced by war, one of the U.S. officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Current and former USAID experts and partners said some $560 million in humanitarian aid was cut to Afghanistan, including for emergency food assistance, the treatment of severely malnourished babies, lifesaving medical care, safe drinking water, and emergency mental health treatment for survivors of sexual and physical violence.
Another of the notices, sent Friday, abruptly pulled U.S. funding for a program with strong support in Congress that had sent young Afghan women overseas for schooling because of Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... prohibitions on women's education, said an administrator for that project, which is run by Texas A&M University.
The young women would now face return to Afghanistan, where their lives would be in danger, according to that administrator, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
LARGER IMPACT OF CUTTING AID
The abrupt end of WFP programs threatens some of the world's most vulnerable populations, many of which depend on such food aid, according to humanitarian groups. The U.S. and other donors long have seen efforts to ease humanitarian crises as being in their strategic interest by stemming mass migration, conflicts and extremism, which struggles for resources can bring.
WFP chief Cindy McCain said in a posting on social media that the cuts "undermine global stability."
Rubio had notified Congress and courts last month that USAID contract cuts were over, with about 1,000 programs spared worldwide and more than 5,000 others eliminated. That added to the shock of the new cuts.
The Trump administration has accused USAID of wastefulness and advancing liberal causes.
Trump's freeze on all foreign assistance through USAID and the State Department led to a brief shutdown of services at the al-Hol camp, where tens of thousands of alleged Islamic State fighters and their families are kept under guard.
That shutdown raised fears of an uprising or breakout at the camp. U.S. officials quickly intervened to restore services.
The State Department document obtained by the AP identifies two newly terminated contracts, run by Save the Children and the U.N. Population Fund, which provided mental health services and other care to women and kiddies at al-Hol. It was not immediately clear if any other services were affected at the camp.
The U.S. had been the major funder of the WFP, providing $4.5 billion of the $9.8 billion in donations to the food agency last year.
#1
Time for the EU, Globalist Billionaires and private donors to Step-up.
How about America 1st?
Before the US Tax-payers fund another NGO and allow the DC Swampers to continue getting rich milking the system. A system where Admin Salaries tend to be the largest benefactor. We need to take care of our own 1st.
Because, here is the US, there were approximately 3/4's of a Million homeless individuals in the USA. And of that number, there are about 40,000 were Homeless US Military Vet's begging for food & shelter on street corners.
UPDATE
According to several Real News sources, the Food Funding has been restored for now.
#3
We buy by the month, due to the monthly paycheck. We tend to purchase and store what some might call a sizable quantity of food items.
The Wife & I use to, donate Food items that were reaching B.B. dates within <30 days to a few local food banks.
WHY USE TO?
Ever watch a person pull up in a newer model Mid-Size SUV, washed and waxed down the tires, to a food bank?
Watch them go in, load up, then see them at another food bank, on the same day loading up again? We did and quit donating to food banks.
Now, we donate directly to our area's real street Homeless and not to "causes".
It is simple, a Wally World Plastic bag with 3 meals worth of basic simple packaged/Zip Lid canned food items costing maybe $7.50. Nothing fancy, but all eatable.
During the Warmer months, we do yard sales looking for Used usable Sleeping bags & winter items like coats.
#5
Jack C7508 is just an annoyance with no intelligence or even snark or actual humor. A teen's maturity with a mind for smut and buttsex. Begone, troll!
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/09/2025 10:21 Comments ||
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#6
Ref #4: After 15-20 years legitimate contributors (like yourself are easy to spot. The haters and name callers stand out as well.
#7
My suspicion is that Jack is either a poorly trained chatbot or a cautionary tale about training your language model on internet scrapings.
As for the death for millions thing, I'm so old I remember when overpopulation was the greatest threat facing humankind. Didn't you guys read The Population Bomb? It was written by Paul Erlich who later won the Nobel Prize for Being Wrong About Everything.
What did he say in Arabic, and was any mustache cursing involved?
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> calls on the Hamas terror group to stop giving Israel “excuses” to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.
Israel resumed major strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency calls on Hamas to “cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of [the Israeli] aggression.”
The statement pointed to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. “Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide,” it says.
It called on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to “adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives.”
[GEO.TV] The Paleostinian resistance group, Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , said on Tuesday that the increasing intensity of Israeli attacks on the enclave "is not just military pressure, but rather brutal Dire Revenge against innocent civilians".
It called on the international community to do its part to stop the Israeli violence, Al Jazeera reported.
''Increasing the pace of aggression will not break the will of our people, but rather raise the level of defiance, stubbornness, and determination to confront the aggression,'' Hamas said in a statement published on Telegram.
"Netanyahu's policy of Dire Revenge against children, women, and the elderly is not a plan to achieve a supposed victory, but rather a recipe for inevitable failure."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2025 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11133 views]
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[IsraelTimes] Indonesia is ready to temporarily shelter Palestinians hit by the war in Gaza, President Prabowo Subianto says, estimating there could be 1,000 in the first wave, as he starts a trip to the Middle East and Turkey.
Prabowo says he has instructed his foreign minister to quickly discuss with the Palestinian side and other parties about how to evacuate impacted Palestinians to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country.
“We are ready to evacuate the wounded, the traumatized, the orphans,” Prabowo saiys, adding the victims would be in Indonesia temporarily until they have fully recovered from their injuries and the situation in Gaza is safe for their return.
[AnNahar] al-Arabiya television on Tuesday quoted a Western security source as saying that Hezbollah has "re-imposed its control over Beirut’s port," following the 2020 catastrophic explosion at the facility that killed around 220 people and devastated swathes of the capital.
"Through its Unit 190 and Unit 700, Iran’s Quds Force will depend on sea smuggling operations, whether directly to Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... or through intermediary countries," the source said.
"Hezbollah is operating with total freedom at Beirut’s port through a network of collaborators belonging to the customs administration and the inspection authorities at the port," the source added, noting that the alleged network is supervised by Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa.
"Through his agents at Beirut’s port, Safa is seeking to facilitate the smuggling of equipment, arms and money, without any inspection or supervision," the source claimed.
The source accordingly warned that "Hezbollah’s use of Beirut’s port, which is the most important port in Lebanon, jeopardizes Lebanese interests and threatens foreign investments," calling on the Lebanese state to "act urgently in light of Hezbollah’s violations and plans for Beirut’s port that threaten a repetition of the August 2020 disaster."
The report added that Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is relying on the maritime route to support Hezbollah, as previous smuggling routes, largely through Syria, have been shut down since the beginning of the year.
Iran’s use of Syria as an overland route to smuggle weapons is thought to have ended with the fall of Assad late last year.
Since Syria’s new government took control in December, its forces have stopped a number of attempts to smuggle weapons across the border into Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel... , seizing firearms, explosives, ammunition and RPG launchers.
Lebanon’s government, which has begun to assert renewed control over the country after Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah crippled the terror group and killed nearly all of its top leaders, has also stopped several smuggling attempts into the country, seizing arms and money both at the Syria border and at the Beirut international airport.
Lebanese authorities have forced flights from Iran to turn around midflight after Israeli forces alerted them to intelligence that they were being used to smuggle money and arms, and even detained an Iranian diplomat in January after receiving a tip that the commercial flight he was on was being used to transfer funds to Hezbollah.
According to reports in Lebanon, the plane was delayed upon arrival in Beirut, was forced to be searched bag by bag, and the Iranian diplomat was held by customs agents for refusing to allow his belongings to be searched.
One report said the contents of the diplomat’s bag were confiscated by Lebanese authorities after large amounts of cash were found in his belongings, but Iran insisted the funds were solely intended for use at the Iranian embassy, and thus were protected under international law. There was no further information on what security services found in their search of the plane.
Israel has also used force to stop smuggling into Lebanon, repeatedly striking Syria-Lebanon border crossings that it says have been key to the terror groups’ funding and weapons supply.
The IDF has also targeted several senior members of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is responsible for transporting and smuggling Iranian weapons into Lebanon.
[NYPOST] President Trump's new deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program is unacceptable, officials in Tehran said as they continue to reject direct talks with the US.
Iranian officials accused the US on Tuesday of pushing to hinder Tehran's missile program and influence in the Middle East, two things that were previously off the table during recent indirect talks with American negotiators.
''Trump wants a new deal: End Iran's regional influence, dismantle its nuclear program and halt its missile work. These are unacceptable to Tehran,'' one senior Iranian official told Rooters.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/09/2025 00:00 ||
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[11129 views]
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] On April 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a working visit to the United States. The trip was largely spontaneous, and the Prime Minister's office reported on its results sparingly, using the most general formulations.
So general that I didn’t bother posting an article about it for yesterday. But this Regnum piece is useful.
However, Donald Trump spoke about it in detail .
According to him, the leaders of the United States and Israel discussed the regional situation and economic relations.
And although the press service of the American president reports on “absolute mutual understanding” between the interlocutors and the absence of mutual claims, it is clear from the tone of their statements that the parties ultimately remained at their own level.
ATTACK ON IRAN
The main topic of the meeting, as expected, was the development of the situation around Iran. The United States still has not fully decided how to force Tehran to an agreement on the nuclear program - with the help of weapons or diplomacy.
Both tracks are developing in fact in parallel: the US continues to transfer strike aircraft and navy to the Middle East, but proclaims the first direct negotiations with the Iranians in a long time.
Apparently, the hope of wearing down the enemy in the White House has not gone away.
Tel Aviv's position is more unambiguous. The Israelis are convinced that a deal with Tehran will not work, and the issue must be resolved radically, by striking the enemy's nuclear infrastructure. And Netanyahu tried to convey this idea to Trump. True, not very successfully.
Instead, the American leader "pressed" Israel to comply with the gentleman's agreement on Iran - not to attack it without receiving consent from the White House. Considering that even the most ardent American "hawks" do not want to fight the Iranians directly, Trump's statement means a de facto ban on any Israeli operations.
In exchange, the Netanyahu administration retained the “Palestinian carte blanche”: the White House promised not to interfere with the Israeli army’s (IDF) operation in the Gaza Strip, and also to put pressure on the mediators so that they would be less loyal to Hamas’s counter-demands.
The exchange was unequal, but for a while it satisfied the Israeli cabinet. At least until the construction of numerous "security corridors" in the enclave is completed.
SYRIAN BASEs
Discussing the situation in the Middle East, Netanyahu did not miss the opportunity to enlist the support of the White House on the Syrian issue. And not only in terms of the “demilitarization” of the new Damascus initiated by Tel Aviv.
More important was to probe Trump's position on the growing tensions between Israel and Turkey in light of the competition for key military installations in Syria.
Relations between Netanyahu and Erdogan are on the brink. In early April, the Israeli Air Force preemptively struck the Tiyas (T4) and Palmyra air bases, which were expected to be taken over by the Turkish military in the near future.
Despite the fact that the transfer of control was agreed upon with Damascus, the Israelis consider the appearance of any new foreign contingents on Syrian territory an “existential threat” to themselves.
The Israeli Prime Minister wisely kept silent about the creation of a system of IDF outposts in Syria.
By raising the issue of the inadmissibility of turning Syria into a “foreign military base,” Netanyahu tried to play ahead, believing that the Turkish-Israeli rivalry in this country would inevitably be discussed during the meeting of the leaders of Turkey and the United States, which is tentatively scheduled for the second half of April.
And Tel Aviv will be presented as the “instigator of the conflict.”
However, the Israeli's calculation worked only partially here - the US did not publicly prohibit anything to the Turks. Trump not only praised the Turkish leader in a conversation with Netanyahu, but also gently reasoned with Tel Aviv, calling for "reasonable behavior" in relations with Ankara.
And by offering to mediate between Israel and Turkey, the American president made it quite clear that an armed conflict between the allies would not please the White House.
President Erdogan is highly irritated by the continued existence of that uppity nation of Jews, which refuses to accept its proper, subordinate place in the neo-Ottoman world order. Israel would just like to go back to peaceably trading with and vacationing in Turkey, as it used to do when they followed Ataturk’s secularism, but accepts that isn’t likely unless Erdogan is driven off his throne. Unless President Trump chooses to spank Turkey firmly, I’m not sure what there is for President Trump to mediate.
COMMENDABLE FLEXIBILITY
The Israeli Prime Minister made no secret of the fact that he came to Washington to discuss the “economic discord,” namely Trump’s imposition of 17% tariffs on Israeli goods.
Despite the fact that the import duty rate on them is significantly lower than on supplies from, for example, Cambodia (49%) or China (34%), the attack on the “only democracy in the Middle East” was met with great pain by the local population.
The reason is that every third product produced in Israel is shipped to the United States, and a partial closure of the market would severely damage the well-being of the Jewish state.
Netanyahu saw this turn of events as an opportunity to improve his electoral rating, which had been tarnished by a series of political scandals in recent months.
Moreover, the Israeli opposition, in terms of responding to “Trump-style protectionism,” has not advanced beyond populist slogans and threats to reduce political dialogue with Washington to zero.
The current prime minister also played on public sentiment to some extent. Upon arriving at the White House, he told reporters that he was the first foreign leader to risk calling Trump to account.
But not by threatening mirror tariffs (as China and Canada have done, for example), but by discussing and “searching for common ground.” According to Netanyahu, this underlines the “special relationship” between Israel and the United States.
Moreover, the Israeli Prime Minister casually reminded that American entrepreneurs feel more than at ease in his country.
In early April, Tel Aviv lifted most of its trade barriers on American products, and shortly before that it announced a course to expand public-private partnerships with US trade circles.
Netanyahu promised to continue to remove barriers further, up to and including their complete abolition, if the US agrees to reduce protective tariffs.
Trump preferred to leave the Israeli Prime Minister's statements without a clear answer, although he welcomed the flexibility of official Tel Aviv. The parties remained at their own in this matter as well.
THERE IS BENEFIT ALL AROUND
The specificity of the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu is that the parties, even if they remain unchanged, will definitely be able to use its results to strengthen their political image and implement their own “multi-move” plans.
For example, in negotiations with the Iranians, the US can put pressure on the fact that they have “put on a short leash” the main supporters of the destruction of the Iranian “nuclear dossier”, thereby demonstrating a readiness to negotiate on equal terms.
In negotiations with the Turks, they can refer to their equidistant position and the lack of “playing along” with Israel.
When working with a domestic audience, the goal is to demonstrate the real effectiveness of draconian customs barriers.
Netanyahu's trip to Washington demonstrated his readiness not only to follow the policies of Big Brother, but also to dictate his vision of the situation to Washington, to use available resources wisely and to obtain preferences.
In this sense, both leaders even came out on top at the end of the meeting.
[IsraelTimes] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that a deal between the US and Tehran can only work if Iran’s nuclear facilities are physically blown up and dismantled.
After a White House visit in which he found himself unexpectedly and publicly out of sync with US President Donald Trump on key issues, Netanyahu tries to put a positive spin on the visit while laying out his positions on Iran nuclear talks, trade tariffs, and tensions with Turkey.
On Iran, Netanyahu says in a video statement that he and Trump “agree that Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
He says that this goal can be achieved diplomatically, but only if it is similar to the 2003 nuclear disarmament of Libya, during which US forces destroyed or shipped out the components of the country’s nuclear program. “We go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision and American execution — that is good,” says Netanyahu.
If that doesn’t happen and Iran simply drags out talks, then “the option is military,” he says, adding that he and Trump discussed that eventuality at length.
On tariffs, Netanyahu says he is committed to reducing the trade deficit with the US to zero.
“This is the least we can do for the United States and its president, who do so much for us,” says Netanyahu.
Turning to Syria, Netanyahu says that Turkey wants to establish military bases there, and “this is a danger to Israel.”
“We oppose this, we are working against this. I told President Trump, who is my friend, also a friend of Erdogan: ‘If we need your help – we will talk to you about it.'”
Trump praised Erdogan at length during their Oval Office meeting yesterday.
Netanyahu’s stresses that Israel remains committed to eliminating Hamas, and bringing home all the hostages.
“The president looked at me and said to the reporters there: ‘This man is working all the time to free the hostages,” says Netanyahu, referring to Monday’s statements in the Oval Office. “I hope that with this, he has shattered the lie that is spread all the time in the news that I am not working for them, that I do not care.”
“It was a very good visit, “he insists, “a very warm visit, and there are other things you’ll hear about later.”
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel...
