It’s Thanksgiving. Media sources are reporting that the al-Harir US military base in Kurdistan, Iraq, has been attacked for the third time. The Islamic Resistance Group in Iraq issued a statement yesterday, confirming that they utilized drones to directly strike the base. The group stated that the attack was a response to the Israeli occupation’s alleged crimes against Palestinians in Gaza. This development follows a Reuters report, indicating that the US army conducted “precise” strikes on two facilities in Iraq in retaliation for what it claimed were attacks on its forces in the region.
According to several sources (see, e.g., “Islamic Resistance in Iraq appears to be responsible for attacks in the country and there’s no end in sight,” Atlantic Council) US military bases in Iraq and Syria have faced continuous attacks since mid-last month, stemming from a show of solidarity with what the Islamist consider the resistance in Gaza and opposition to the US backing of Israel’s effort to defeat Hamas and affiliated terrorist organizations there. On November 13, a series of missile and drone strikes targeted US occupation bases in Syria as a response to recent defensive US airstrikes. On November 17, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq declared that its forces had launched attacks on three US bases situated in Syria and Iraq. In retaliation for what they deemed as crimes against their people in Gaza, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq utilized two drones to strike the American occupation base, Tal Baidar, located west of the Syrian city of Hasakah. Prior to this announcement, the coalition had already disclosed the targeting of two additional bases in Iraq: the Harir base and the Ain al-Assad base.
As of last week, the Pentagon has disclosed more than sixty attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since the previous month. The statement noted that 59 US soldiers had been injured. There are reports of deaths with subsequent Islamist actions. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of various Iraqi resistance groups with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was established last month to express solidarity with the Palestinian resistance. Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary-General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, emphasized in a recent interview with El-Mundo that attacking US positions in West Asia is essential to halt the mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza. He argued that US military intervention aligns with the violent Israeli reaction and aims to safeguard what he termed as a “monstrosity.”
Historians will backdate the start of WWIII, but it appears to be underway. This time it’s the West against the clerical fascist, the new Nazis, who are in many ways more brutal than the previous ones. This is not a time for a weak president. Yet the elite have installed the weakest and most unAmerican president we’ve ever had (at least in my lifetime). Worse, our young men have been brought up to be less than enthusiastic about their country and the Western way of life that spoiled them. Biden and NATO’s timing in provoking Russia into entering Ukraine will be judged poor in hindsight. Of course, the Islamist pick their spots. They have struck because the West is weak and overextended. We cannot know this for sure, since we cannot rerun history, but it seems highly unlikely any of this would be happening if Trump were president.
On the plus side of the ledger, populist-nationalism is on the move across the West. Argentina on choose on Sunday libertarian Javier Milei as its new president. The way the corporate media tells it, the nation took a gamble on an outsider with unconventional views to address an economy grappling with triple-digit inflation, an imminent recession, and escalating poverty. Riding the tide of voter frustration with the political establishment, Milei secured victory with a larger-than-anticipated margin, garnering approximately 56 percent of the vote, surpassing his rival, Peronist Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who admitted defeat with just over 44 percent of the votes.
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders is expressing his ambition to become the next prime minister after securing a significant victory in a landmark election. His primary focus, he stated, will be controlling immigration. His election win serves as a warning to mainstream political parties throughout Europe that the issues at the forefront—immigration, the cost of living, and climate change—may turn them out of office. They need no more evidence than the right-wing coalition government in Sweden, which has announced that it’s exploring legislation to enhance requirements for migrants entering the country. The law may include requiring as a condition of residency adherence to fundamental standards of integrity: any foreigner who does not adhere to an “honorable lifestyle” and respects Sweden’s “fundamental values” will be deported.
I hope I never have a day in my life when I won’t or can’t be thankful for living in the greatest republic that ever existed—the United States of America. Although I am not responsible for the actions of those now dead and gone, I can thank my ancestors who founded and built and defended this great nation. I worry about the future, though, not only because of the threats abroad, but the rot inside. The enemies of America are in charge of the machinery of the republic. I’m not religious, but I know many of you are and will pray for America. I’m thankful for that, too. But we need more than prayers. We need action.
freedom and reason 