Ted Rall for February 05, 2024

You forgot to mention the attack on a US warship in the Yemen some years ago. Not many countries like America and your allies certainly don’t trust you especially with Trump in the picture.

We are not going to roll in the dirt with these peasants, we are going to smash anything that looks dangerous to shipping. We learned that 30 years ago in Somalia.

No one likes US

I don’t know why

We may not be perfect

But heaven knows we try

(Randy Newman)

Whoever the good guys and bad guys are in this particular conflict, and it doesn’t directly involve Israel, the world has to have oil. By the way, I like how you have a variety of comments.

This seemingly insoluble problem goes straight back to 1945, when FDR, on his way back from a Big Three conference in Tehran, consulted with Saudi King Azziz. The Saud king was sympathetic to the Jews after the Nazi genocide was becoming know, but warned that the PEOPLE of all the surrounding states would not accept a new Israel. “Give the Jews a big slice of Germany” he advised. FDR promised the US would not support the UN resolution. After he died 3 weeks later, great pressure was exerted on HST, who went back on that non-binding promise. The United States embarked on an ill-advised campaign to not only establish the new State, but arm and support it. While it would have been nice if the Arab world sought to get along with the UN program and accepted Jewish immigrants, we do not live in that kind of world. The US has bound itself to Israel’s fate, through thick & thin. If the US ever even hinted that it might stop supporting Israel, the world would witness an even greater Holocaust than that of 1942-1945. So, what do we do now?

All of this goes back to centuries of European meddling in countries and cultures they never made an effort to understand, believing that their way of living was better and they should impose it on the rest of the world. The borders in Africa and the Middle East are all products of either neglectful or malicious thinking on the part of Europeans.

Ted loves and supports Hamas and Iran proxies. Israel….Not so much.

And when enough ships are sunk the red sea will be impassable for world commerce.

Why are the Houthis attacking Red Sea shipping? What’s to be gained? How would this effect Israel?

Everything we’ve done in that region is a botch. How about leaving Tower 22 troops out there as sitting ducks? How about bombing Yemen alongside British jets — Britain is the most hated country in the history of the Middle East. Its a bad look. Botch after botch — Lybia, Iraq, Syria… all botches. Thanks Washington foreign policy experts! Thanks Joe “will always screw things up” Biden!

Bombing Yemeni targets is how the US gets its fix now that we’re suffering war addiction withdrawal symptoms after Iraq and Afghanistan

On the latest DMZ Ted taught us 2 new concepts: 1. Concerning the Georgia criminal case against trumpster fire involving beleaguered Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis,………Bill Clinton conducted a rim job (Don’t look it up.). 2. As for the high inflation of the last few years, Ted stated that groceries went up 2 or 3 times (200 – 300%)……………….. I didn’t know. Did anyone tell the FED or post-World War I Germany? My point being on the latter matter is that Ted is not above using exaggeration to win arguments. Food inflation rates for the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 were 3.4, 3.9, 9.9, and 5.8, respectively. Those #s, even though they compound, are less than 200%. My last comment was an understatement, which is the opposite of an overstatement or exaggeration……………One more thing, Ted, a colonel (O-6) is higher than a lieutenant colonel (O-5). The colonel is often referred to as a “full-bird,” which reflect his/her insignia (an eagle) as opposed to the silver oak leaf cluster of the lieutenant or “light” colonel. These ranks do not apply in the Navy, “captain” and “commander” used instead, just to confuse………………..all of us.

85,000 children dead in Yemen due to their civil war. More than 10,000 dead in Gaza since October.

Sorry the USA can’t rescue you from medical bill bankruptcy, they are too busy giving away 3.8 billion a year to kill children.

I’m not convinced the Houthis are trying to stop Israel from killing the Gazans, or at least not exactly. I think their actions would be better described as a particularly extravagant demonstration by men who judge themselves and their fellows by violent measures. I am certain they would like Israel to withdraw from Gaza, but I suspect their primary goal right now is increase their credibility — and that they have done in spades by attracting the attention of not merely American proxies but America herself. They may come to regret that, depending on how this plays out, but they probably feel that as they have staved off Saudi Arabia and UAE for so long, they can endure anything.

The problematic dichotomy is that we SHOULD help other nations. But, the reality is we “help”….. the vast majority of times….. in whichever way is most financially beneficial to our nations “1%”.

But then again…. most of what we do INTERNALLY is also that same sort of thing. Otherwise we WOULD have national health care for all.

Didn’t Einstein say " the one who creates the problem won’t solve the problem." But what does he know…….

These days Israel has a pretty well developed arms industry itself so push comes to shove they could probably fight Hamas without US weapons

If Hamas attacks Israel, no one cares.If Israel attacks Hamas and Hamas uses civilians as shields, suddenly Israel is to blame.

“I could dispense.”

Or diss Pence?

By the way, is he openly supporting anyone (yet) in this election cycle?