This is ridiculous propaganda that is trying to clean up the image of the war criminals who absolutely were aware of what Israel was doing and was planning on doing from day one. Jake Sullivan KNEW. Blinken KNEW. McGurk KNEW. They all knew everything we all witnessed - and even more. They lied every single day and they gave Israel a blank check to slaughter children and exterminate entire families.
The author of this piece - David D. Kirkpatrick - also co-wrote an October 2023 piece (“Hamas Propaganda) with Adam Rasgon that collapsed Palestinian journalists into Hamas. Horrific read that I taught in my class on the media & genocide as a prime example of genocide manufacturing.
By also making this about Netanyahu, the entirety of Israeli state and society - complicit and supportive of the extermination - is protected.
Absolute drivel and that the NYT stenographer for the Biden admin - Peter Baker - is sharing it, tells you what you need to know about the function of this piece.
Yes this was obvious but from the Kurdish perspective, across the political spectrum the Israelis cannot be trusted in such an endeavor, nor can the Americans.
The Israelis were more than willing to give rhetorical support for Kurdish independence in the past but did not lift a finger to do anything else.
Trump 1 unilaterally withdrew from parts of Syria, leading to a Turkish invasion.
Trump 2 was really not that interested in the integration process between the SDF and STG, where American pressure may (highly arguable) have prevented its breakdown.
Trump had in 2025 already abruptly halted the war against Iran, much to Israel’s displeasure.
So what’s the appeal? Kurdish revolutionaries launch an uprising and seize some cities? Then get crushed over the course of months to a year after air support stops and the Iranian regime buries the revolt under artillery and tank fire? Not to mention the widespread crackdowns that would follow.
The Americans are already very quiet and limiting regarding defenses, let alone a military response, to hundreds of drone and missile attacks across the border into Kurdish areas.
No political guarantees, no security guarantees. At least publicly, which would be necessary. There’s zero appeal.
Ethiopian state media has started a campaign to advocate for Ethiopia to regain control over the Eritrean port city of Assab. This comes amidst persistently high tensions and continued Ethiopian rhetoric about the geostrategic necessity of regaining sea access.
🟢عبر ضربات جوية قواتنا المسلحة تستهدف عدة مواقع للمليشيا بمحلية ام قرفة بولاية شمال كردفان.
تم كذلك بالامس استهداف تحركات شمال مدينة الدلنج ما أسفر عن تدمير عتاد عسكري وتحييد عدد من العناصر .
إحدى أبرز منظومات الدفاع الجوي لدى الدعم السريع تظهر مدمرة في جنوب كردفان. إيكاد تتبعت المنظومة، وكشفت كيف وصلت إلى السودان، والدور الذي لعبته في إسقاط الطائرات والمسيّرات، وما الذي قد تعنيه خسارتها لمسار المعارك وخطوط الإمداد.
This man stole a country from his own father and spent the next 18 years buying the West with gas money.
- He deposed his own dad in a palace coup and left him in exile for nearly a decade
- He founded the news network that aired Osama bin Laden's tapes
- He built America's largest military base in the Middle East and charges no rent for it
- He bought Harrods, the Shard, Canary Wharf, Paris Saint-Germain and 17% of Volkswagen
- He won the 2022 World Cup for a country with no football history
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani died this morning at 74.
Here's how bought the world:
In June 1995, he waited for his father to leave the country, then took the throne. The coup was bloodless. His father spent nearly a decade in exile.
Qatar is about one third the size of Belgium, and its population was barely two million, most of them foreign workers.
But it was sitting on one of the LARGEST natural gas reserves on Earth.
He bet everything on liquefied natural gas. Qatar became the world's biggest LNG exporter and one of the richest countries alive per person.
Then he hit the problem every commodity business hits:
Gas is gas, anyone with a tanker can sell it, and a tiny country with no army and that much money is a snack for its neighbours.
So he bought two things nobody else in the Gulf thought to buy...
The first was the world's attention.
In 1996 he issued a decree and Al Jazeera was born. Within a few years it was the most influential news network in the Arab world.
He owned the loudest microphone in the region and never had to speak into it himself.
The second was the American military.
In 1996, Qatar spent over a billion dollars building an air base at Al Udeid, outside Doha. It got the longest runway in the Gulf and shelters for nearly a hundred aircraft.
Qatar's air force only had about a dozen fighter jets.
In 1999 he reportedly told US officials he wanted 10,000 American servicemen stationed there permanently.
Then 9/11 happened, and they came.
The genius part:
Al Udeid is now the forward headquarters of US Central Command and the largest American base in the Middle East, with roughly 10,000 troops.
Qatar charges no rent.
He built the asset before the customer existed, handed it over free, and bought the one thing cash cannot: The US military parked permanently between his gas and everyone who wanted it.
The network broadcasting bin Laden and the runway flying America's war sat in the same tiny country, paid for by the same man.
Then he went shopping...
He set up the Qatar Investment Authority in 2005:
- Harrods
- The Shard
- Canary Wharf, London's largest property owner, bought with Brookfield for 2.6 billion pounds
- 17% of Volkswagen
- Paris Saint-Germain
All his.
In 2017 the Telegraph ran the headline "Qataris own more of London than the Queen."
Then 2008 arrived. Barclays needed billions or the British government was going to own it. Qatar wrote the cheque and its stake climbed to 12.7%. Barclays was later charged over how it disclosed that Qatari money.
In 2010, FIFA handed the 2022 World Cup to a desert country with NO football history. Corruption allegations shadowed the bid for over a decade, and the treatment of the migrant workers who built it drew brutal criticism.
Yet he walked into the opening match in 2022 and the stadium gave him a standing ovation.
Every other Gulf state was selling the same molecule at the same price. Hamad spent his money on a newsroom, a runway, a football club and half of London.
A country of two million now brokers hostage deals and hosts American presidents.
He built all of it in 18 years, and he took the throne from his own father to start.
Truly an unmatched legacy.
Another Turkish Air Force A400M military transport aircraft (w\ reg. 17-0080, callsign TUAF760) flew today from Tekirdağ Corlu, Turkey 🇹🇷 to East Oweinat Airbase in SW Egypt 🇪🇬, which hosts Akinci drones reportedly used in strikes against the RSF in Sudan 🇸🇩.
طائرتا نقل عسكري من طراز Airbus A440M Atlas (تحملان أرقام التسجيل: 17-0080 و 16-0055) والتابعتان للسلاح الجو التركي 🇹🇷، أقلعتا من مطار تيكيرداغ-تشورلو 🇹🇷،و هبطتا قبل قليل في مطار شرق العوينات 🇪🇬.
🔹ملاحظة: مطار تيكيرداغ–تشورلو يُستخدم من قبل شركة Baykar المصنعة لمسيرات بيرقدار.