Even as Russia has ramped up covert operations in Poland, a senior US official says there's been no incidents of the so-called 'Havana Syndrome' - which is strange, if the malady really is caused by secret Russian energy weapons.

spytalk.co/p/report-from-…

In the final years of South African Apartheid, the white government decided it must 1) overthrow the government of Angola 2) install a puppet regime in Namibia 3) attack Zimbabwe 4) attack Botswana 5) attack Zambia in order to survive. This did not work

But Iran is supposed to accept Israel killing its generals when they're in a diplomatic compound as the new normal? (Miller was an Israel-Palestine negotiator for the US. A chronic inability to see things from the POV of both sides is one reason our negotiators never succeeded.)

The pro-apocalypse caucus positively salivating at the prospect that this escalatory spiral will finally give them their war.

Living through escalation in real time, you realize that it's not chaotic events slipping out of control in the heat of the moment, but more like a slow-motion train-wreck: experts have been predicting it for months, we have all seen it coming, yet little was done to stop it.

The US media reflexively reports that Biden is trying to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. Certainly, Biden has engaged in diplomacy to prevent Iran from responding to the Israeli attack, to prevent Hezbollah from getting involved, and to push back against Houthi attacks.…

This has been a concern from the start. They had *half a year* to stop it, but have only given what they privately admit is a reckless, rogue state more weapons to keep it all going - including this very month!

Israeli journalist Noam Amir: 'The Americans spent nearly a billion dollars on interceptors tonight.'

From the archive. Worth re-reading today.

We'll never know, but this certainly supports the below view: twitter.com/Iran_UN/status…

Read this piece on why Bibi chose to radically escalate with his April 1 strike on Iran's diplomatic compound. It's by Paul Pillar, who knows the territory--he was once in charge of analysis of the Middle East for CIA & all other US intelligence agencies. responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-israel-wa…

Read this short bit of history, which suggests Iran might have been satisfied with simply a UNSC condemnation of the embassy bombing - a nonviolent potential solution that Washington & the UK blocked.

.Branko Marcetic: 'Biden has proven too weak, indecisive, and indulgent of #Israel to even induce Netanyahu into making these small tweaks to his behavior.' jacobin.com/2024/04/biden-… #UnitedStates #Gaza

Basically, having saved face by retaliating, Iran is now willing to walk away and consider it settled. The ball is in Netanyahu's court. But does *he* want it to be settled? And is Biden willing to do anything to restrain him if he doesn't?

The now very real threat of an impending Iranian attack against Israel has not deterred the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza even for an hour. 7 are reportedly dead in an airstrike on a house in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Strip's center.

Whatever Netanyahu does in response, the US is not destined to be dragged into war 👇. The US founders predicted the presidency could be occupied by the spineless & self-interested and so vested Congress with war-making power.
twitter.com/JoeBiden/statu…