All-organic

 

Call me a cynic, but how likely is it that the protests against Jared Kushner´s plans to build a posh resort in Albania are organic? Are Albanians *that* enamored of flamingos or sea turtles? Somehow, I doubt it.

OK, let me guess. Either the usual "N"GOs are financing the protests against Kushner (since he is Donald Trump´s son-in-law). Or, if the protests somehow are organic, they are organized by people opposed to the current Albanian prime minister Edi Rama for other reasons than turtle eggs.

Or maybe both. According to all-knowing Wikipedia, Rama has been criticized for (anti)democratic backsliding, et cetera. Which doesn´t rule out NGO involvement, of course. I admit that I don´t really care which at this point. And neither do most Albanians, since they are mostly trying to leave the country!

But sure, I would probably prefer sea turtles (and the fair flamingo) to a corrupted American oligarch...   

Amerikan Komrades

 

Look, I found the perfect metaphor for the Trump-Witkoff-Kushner "peace plan" for Ukraine...

Sources say

 

Claim: the 28-point American "peace plan" for Ukraine was written by a secretive Russian envoy together with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. I assumed Kushner was part of the "pro-Western" and "interventionist" faction of the administration? Note also that both Witkoff and Kushner are Jewish. Why would two Jews side with Russia?

Has the Trump administration fallen victim to Russian "active measures" and been compromised? 

According to other claims, the more anti-Russian Marco Rubio then took command of the situation, which explains why the new peace proposal (supposedly at least) is more to the liking of Ukraine, indeed have been negotiated with the Ukrainians themselves.

Trump´s deadline is Thursday, so I suppose we´ll know then. Or maybe we won´t. However, it certainly seems as if the US administration is badly split on the issue. Which frankly doesn´t come as a surprise...

Reap the whirlwind

 

This must be the strangest aspect of the recent US presidential election campaign. Trump managed to convince at least a portion of the Muslim/Arab community in the battleground state of Michigan to vote for him as "the peace candidate". 

Note also that Richard Grenell played a prominent role in the Muslim/Arab outreach. I suppose they "forgot" to mention that Grenell is, ahem, gay...

I suppose it´s within the realm of the possible that Trump, whose son-in-law Jared Kushner was instrumental in negotiating the Abraham accords, will tell Israel to cool it, so the accords (the real purpose of which is to encircle Iran) will survive. However, "possible" and "probable" aren´t the same thing. 

Besides, Biden and Harris also support the Abraham accords and are more likely to tell Israel to wind down its military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. Or engineer Netanyahu´s ouster in favor of a more "moderate" leader. So it still makes no sense from a "pro-Palestinian" perspective to vote for Trump. 

Is the US the only nation in the world were the Jews support the "anti-Israeli" candidates, while the Muslims vote for the "pro-Israeli" one? Amerikwa is crazier than I imagined!

Trump´s pro-Israel cabinet picks upset pro-Trump Muslims

Javanka, come back, all is forgiven

Yuge if true. Biden is either delusional (during a potential shooting war with Russia) or he is actually revealing some kind of US military secrets here! Either way, time is running out for him. 

Since I assume neither Biden nor Harris have *that* much power, maybe it´s time for whoever is really running the show to step forward and fucking do something. Hell, take back Jared Kushner and Ivanka if that´s what it takes!  

White House clarifies Joe Biden´s claim US troops training Ukrainians in Poland

Peace, or just peace in our time?

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have recognized the State of Israel. According to rumour, Sudan, Oman or even Saudi Arabia might be next. The peace agreements have been brokered by the United States, more specifically by Jared Kushner, Donald  Trump's son in law. They are being hailed as a great breakthrough, at least by supporters of the Trump Administration.

Well, I'm skeptical. Don't the nations involved in this unexpected peace process have at least *something* in common? Of course they do. They are all opposed to Iran. This is simply an attempt by the United States to create a more firm anti-Iranian alliance. It comes after Trump ordered the assassination of one of Iran's top leaders, and after a series of mysterious explosions both in Iran and other Mideast nations, seemingly directed at Iranian interests.

The closer cooperation between Iran, China and Russia is another reason why the conservative Gulf monarchies have decided to move even closer to the United States. Note also the escalating "cold war" between the US and China, and a potential conflict with Russia over Belarus. 

The agreement will perhaps also give the United States increased leverage over Turkey, a NATO member which doesn't seem to know its place in the American-led pecking order.

Now, I'm not a great fan of the Iranian regime. However, in order to really be about "peace", this alliance must do something *truly* radical. Say, broker a peace agreement in Syria. How about letting the secular regime stay in power, let the refugees return, and evacuate all foreign troops and mercenaries?

That might perhaps be worth a Nobel peace prize. That, and a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What is happening now is simply that the marriage of convenience between Israel and the conservative Arab states is being formalized in anticipation of the next Mideast war... 

Varken krig eller fred?

Kan Aftonbladet förklara varför Trump lyckats mäkla fred i Mellersta Östern och på Balkan, om nu USA "abdikerat sin roll som världspolis"? De föredrar visst att agera världsmedlare istället!

Trump har även utnämnt en ambassadör i Afghanistan som faktiskt vill avsluta kriget där. 

Och hur kommer det sig att så många generaler och säkerhetsexperter från tidigare administrationer löpt över till Biden? Det är nästan som om det inte gillar fredsavtal, or something.

Sedan undrar man ju varför Aftonbladet skiter ner sig varje gång Trump faktisk gör något aggressivt. Som att döda iranska generaler eller säga upp nedrustningsavtal...

De verkar ha lite problem med att få agendorna att gå ihop. Såvida inte AB tycker att Kushner och Grenell sluter fredsavtal med helt fel personer... De föredrar kanske fred i vår tid med radikala islamister?

Men okej. Elddopet kommer när Putte invaderar Belarus senare i år. Då kanske AB äntligen slipper alla dessa fredsavtal. Såvida de inte vill ha ett med just Putin. AB är ju trots allt inte DN... 

Min geopoliska önskelista:

Fred i Ukraina. Demokrati i Belarus. Båda länderna blir neutrala buffertstater. 

Fred i Libyen. Låt Haftar ta över. 

Fred i Syrien. Inget stöd till al-Qaida.

Fred i östra Medelhavet. Annars färgrevolution i Ankara.

USA lämnar över Afghanistan till någon annan stormakt, varsågoda!

Vi är hemma till jul.