Month: December 2024

It’s no secret that the Biden administration has been pressuring Ukraine’s Zelensky behind the scenes to drop the age of conscription down to 18 from the current age of 25. But now the White House is becoming much more direct and out in the open about it.

With less than 50 days to go of Biden in office, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Kiev to make “hard decisions” about expanding mobilization efforts to fight the Russians. He’s urging that younger men be forced into the fight.

“Getting younger people into the fight, we think, many of us think, is necessary” Blinken stated in a NATO press conference on Wednesday. “Right now, 18- to 25-year-olds are not in the fight,” he explained.

He emphasized that that manpower is critical “because even with the money, even with the munitions, there have to be people on the front lines.” The Biden White House has been rushing as much arms to Ukraine forces as it can with little time left in the Democratic administration.

Blinken also stressed that NATO is seeking to ensure every soldier Ukraine mobilizes has “the training and the equipment they need to effectively defend the country.”

Additionally, Reuters quoted the US top diplomat as saying it remains “up to the Ukrainian authorities to decide how best to get younger men into the fight.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte the same day echoed the US view in a press conference: “We need probably more people to move to the front line” – he said without specifying age groups.

As the outgoing Biden administration is asking Congress to soon approve billions more for Ukraine, this conscription age change policy could serve as the quid pro quo being requested of Kiev from Washington, in order to keep the billions in arms and aid flowing.

Last spring on one of his many visits to Ukraine, hawkish Senator Lindsey Graham expressed shock upon learning that men in their early 20s in Ukraine cannot be drafted. “I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe [conscription age starts] at 27,” he said at the time. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.” 

Butcher Blinken once again encourages Zelensky to lower the age of conscription, so that Ukraine fights Washington’s pointless, failed proxy war to the very last Ukrainian

18-year-olds will be sent to die for Washington’s imperial games pic.twitter.com/Bfl6oDLBR8

— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 4, 2024

When President Volodymyr Zelensky soon after this statement signed a bill into effect to lower the mobilization age for combat duty from 27 to 25, this took some of the pressure off for the time being.

But now the pressure is ramping up once again. If Zelensky pulls the trigger it would be hugely unpopular among Ukrainians, and could result in internal dissent and mass protests, even as the war rages in the east.

Authored by Eva Fu and Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A martial law order from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has again put communist influence in the country under the spotlight.

For the first time in nearly four decades, the South Korean leader invoked the authority, accusing the opposing Democratic Party of aligning with communist North Korea. He revoked martial law hours later after parliament voted to lift the order.

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said in a late-night address on Dec. 3.

He said the political opposition, which dominates the national assembly, was “paralyzing the judiciary by intimidating judges and impeaching a large number of prosecutors” and causing dysfunction in other government sectors as well.

North Korea is far from the only country bringing communist influence over the peninsula.

China, South Korea’s biggest trading partner, has considerable sway.

Opposition Ties to China

Lee Jae-myung, who has likened himself to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and leads the opposition party, has taken a more friendly stance toward the Chinese regime even as Yoon has tried to steer his country closer to the United States and reverse the country’s yearslong trend of appeasing Beijing.

During a campaign rally in March, Lee criticized Yoon’s approach to China and his comments on the regime’s military encroachment on Taiwan, which the Chinese regime has sought to claim as its own.

“Why are you provoking China?” Lee said. “What does the Taiwan issue have to do with South Korea?”

A former presidential candidate, Lee was convicted two weeks ago of violating election law and was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison term.

Lee lost the 2022 election to Yoon by less than 1 percentage point, making it the closest election in South Korean presidential history.

“It’s a very serious problem that we need to be aware of,” Suzanne Scholte, president of Virginia-based Defense Forum Foundation, previously told The Epoch Times. “A liberal democracy like South Korea almost elected a pro-communist candidate in the last election.”

The concern may be a pressing one if Yoon’s popularity plummets as a result of his emergency declaration. His own political party has disavowed the martial law order and said they would “stop it with the people.”

“Yoon’s political days are likely numbered since the populace will be united in its criticism, and the majority opposition party will seek Yoon’s impeachment,” Bruce Klingner, a veteran at the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency who specializes in Korean affairs, told The Epoch Times.

During the brief martial law declaration, Lee called for people in South Korea to descend on the national assembly to protest the order.

Lee’s party won a major legislative victory in April’s general election, winning 175 out of 300 seats to the ruling People Power Party’s 108 seats.

Chinese Regime’s Wide Reach

South Korea is heavily reliant on China for trade and investment, a relationship that has further allowed Chinese authorities to influence its other sectors, including politics.

“Economy, culture, universities, there is no place that hasn’t been penetrated,” a former counter-espionage official, who asked to remain anonymous, previously told The Epoch Times.

Cities in the two countries have signed nearly 700 friendship or sisterhood agreements.

Hundreds of Chinese civil servants were sent to work and train in South Korea through a state-sponsored civil servant exchange program. The Chinese embassy pays for South Korean youths to spend a week in China; it hands them books of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s speeches to read before they depart and expresses hope that they’ll be leaders of future bilateral relations.

A mayor for the South Korean city of Gwangju in 2023 tried to build a park to honor the composer of the anthem of the People’s Liberation Army and a marching song for North Korea in order to attract tourists from China.

The subversion by the Chinese Communist Party in Korea is not as well known compared to the threats from North Korea, but “it is extensive, and it is rather deep,” Tara O, author of The Collapse of North Korea, previously told Epoch Times sister media outlet NTD. She said the effort to build the park was “very ironic.”

“That is just one of cultural warfare by China,” she said.

Dozens of South Korean media outlets carry articles by the Chinese regime’s propaganda mouthpiece People’s Daily.

South Korea also has the highest number of Confucius Institutes, a Chinese state-funded language education program to promote Beijing’s agenda.

In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, Choi Soo Yong, a retired case officer from the National Intelligence Service, noted that there’s a room dedicated to the collections of works about Xi at the Seoul National University.

By contrast, the university has no memorial to South Korea’s forefathers.

Authored by Patrick O’Malley and Joe Buccino via RealClearDefense,

President-elect Trump’s confirmation last month of his plan to deploy military assets for immigration enforcement sparked a constitutional debate. Legal scholars and commentators quickly declared such action forbidden by long-standing prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. But this conventional wisdom misreads both the letter and spirit of American law. A careful examination of a pair of longstanding statutes reveals military support for immigration enforcement is permissible.

The issue hinges on two 19th century laws: the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and the Insurrection Act of 1807. When properly understood, both allow the President to use active-duty military forces to support the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Posse Comitatus: A Firewall Between the Military and Law Enforcement

Since our nation’s founding, Americans have been wary of standing armies and their role in civilian affairs. Concerns about military involvement in domestic law enforcement dates back to colonial experiences under British rule, particularly the quartering of British troops in civilian homes and their use to enforce British law. This experience was so troubling that it influenced several key elements of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The Third Amendment, ratified in 1791, explicitly prohibits American soldiers from occupying private homes inside the county during peacetime. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, informed by a distrust of a large military force employed against its citizenry, codified the separation of military and civilian law enforcement. This act established a firewall between military force and civilian law enforcement.

The term “posse comitatus,” Latin for “power of the country,” dates back to the medieval England tradition of local sheriffs organizing citizens to assist in maintaining public order. A form of this practice made its way to the American Old West: sheriffs called for volunteers – “a posse” of the county – to chase down bandits. This power allowed sheriffs to deputize civilians to temporarily suppress lawlessness and maintain order.

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 derives its name from this practice with a crucial distinction: it specifically prohibits the military from acting as this civilian force. The law’s architects recognized that using soldiers instead of citizens for domestic law enforcement would fundamentally alter the relationship between military power and civil society. They sought to ensure that federal troops were kept out of local law enforcement.

Yet this legislative barrier against using military force for domestic law enforcement is not absolute. Congress regularly makes exceptions, allowing military support to civilian law enforcement for actions such as protecting federal property, conducting domestic counterterror operations, engaging in counterdrug efforts. In cases related to immigration enforcement, courts have ruled the Posse Comitatus Act only prohibits direct military involvement in law enforcement actions such as detaining citizens. Support activities, from transportation to surveillance, remain legal. This distinction between direct enforcement and support operations provides the legal basis for President-elect Trump’s proposed use of military assets in his planned deportation program.

Military Assets Against Illegal Immigration Today: U.S. Troops at the Southwest Border

The military currently provides support for immigration enforcement. Today, roughly 4,000 service members assist Customs and Border Protection along the southwest border. They operate surveillance aircraft, transport Border Patrol personnel, and maintain vehicles. These activities fall within the established legal framework for military support of immigration operations.

The incoming administration has the potential to significantly expand this support role. Military aircraft could transport detainees, military installations could provide temporary housing facilities, and military personnel could assist with administrative and logistical tasks. None of these activities would violate Posse Comitatus because they do not involve direct law enforcement actions.

The Insurrection Act: A Broad Authority for Military Force

But what about using military forces to support law enforcement and enforce the law? This is where the Insurrection Act becomes crucial.

The Insurrection Act, a composite of laws enacted between 1792 and 1807, represents a significant exception to the traditional separation of military and civilian law enforcement in the United States. The act grants presidents extraordinary power to deploy federal troops on American soil—a power that is typically forbidden but also vitally important to the success of federalism.

The act’s broad language, largely unchanged since the Civil War, allows presidents to deploy troops whenever they believe domestic unrest, rebellion, or resistance to federal law makes normal enforcement impossible. This extensive authority is rooted in Congress’s constitutional power to call forth the militia to “execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions,” as described in the Constitution. The act effectively creates a presidential override of the prohibitions against using military forces for domestic law enforcement. What was initially conceived as an emergency power for a young nation now stands as a powerful tool for President-elect Trump, who might see state resistance to federal immigration enforcement as justification for military deployment.

Illegal Immigrant Safe Havens: Local Government Resistance to Federal Law

Some jurisdictions have already declared their intention to resist federal immigration enforcement. Six states have already publicly announced plans to resist President-elect Trump’s plan to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants. Under the Insurrection Act, such resistance justifies the use of military force.

The deployment of military forces by a president inside the United States to enforce the law when local governments refuse to do so is not unprecedented. This happened several times during the Civil Rights era, most famously when President Eisenhower invoked the Insurrection Act to send the 101st Airborne to Little Rock in 1957 when state officials obstructed federal desegregation orders. Nearly seven decades later, the principle remains unchanged: local authorities cannot nullify federal law. If they attempt to do so, the President has authority to direct military power to enforce it. Invocation of the Insurrection Act in such an instance would permit American troops to detain undocumented immigrants inside the United States.

The Constitution provides remedies when state and local authorities obstruct federal law enforcement. The incoming administration has legal authority to use military assets to support immigration enforcement. Those who claim otherwise misunderstand both the law and its historical context.

Patrick O’Malley is an attorney in New York and Maryland, a former Assistant District Attorney in Queens County, NY, and a retired U.S. Army Reserve Judge Adjutant General officer who taught National Security Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Joe Buccino is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and the CEO of Vantage + Vox.

Authored by Samuel Rodriguez via RealClearPolitics,

In recent months, a disturbing revelation has emerged from the heart of our nation’s immigration system: Over 300,000 unaccompanied migrant children who crossed the U.S. border during the Biden-Harris administration are unaccounted for. An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report dated Aug. 19, 2024, confirms this alarming statistic, highlighting a profound failure in our duty to protect the most vulnerable.

The DHS report reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lost track of at least 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children, with the whereabouts of up to 323,000 remaining unknown. Without a doubt, we cannot deny the fact that many of these children are now tools and victims of the human sex trafficking industry – a heinous trade that represents the worst of the worst. This staggering number raises urgent questions about the safety and well-being of these children. They are left to fend for themselves in a dangerous world without proper oversight.

The House of Representatives has taken notice, holding a hearing on Nov. 19, 2024, entitled “Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing: Migrant Children Victims of the Biden-Harris Administration.” This hearing aims to address the systemic failures that have led to this crisis and to hold those responsible for the welfare of these children accountable.

The New York Times has previously reported on the challenges faced by unaccompanied migrant children. On Feb. 15, 2023, an article highlighted the surge in child labor among migrant children, noting that many are forced into hazardous jobs to survive. Another report on April 17, 2023, detailed the lack of proper vetting for sponsors, leading to situations where children are placed in unsafe environments. These reports underscore a pattern of neglect and systemic failure that demands immediate action.

It is worth recalling the outcry during the Trump administration over the alleged “children in cages” narrative – a claim that was later debunked. The media and public were swift to condemn what was perceived as inhumane treatment of migrant children. Yet now, faced with the reality of hundreds of thousands of missing children, there is a deafening silence. Where is the collective moral outrage? How is it that a false alarm over detention centers led to national protests, but the disappearance of over 300,000 children has not moved us to the same level of indignation?

The current administration must be held accountable for this humanitarian crisis. President Biden and Vice President Harris must take immediate and decisive action to locate these missing children and ensure their safety. Furthermore, those in positions of oversight who have failed in their duties must resign. The American people deserve transparency and accountability from their leaders, especially when the lives of innocent children are at stake.

This is not a partisan issue; it is a moral imperative. The missing children are not just statistics; they are human beings, many of whom are now trapped in a cycle of abuse and exploitation. The human sex trafficking industry thrives on the most vulnerable, and these children, abandoned by the very systems meant to protect them, are its latest victims.

We must demand answers and action. The time for complacency has passed. We must find the children. Let this be the rallying cry for a nation that claims to champion the cause of justice and freedom.

Let the moral conscience of America awaken. Let the lives of these children remind us of our responsibility. Let us not rest until they are found.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is lead pastor of New Season Church in Sacramento, California, and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He has advised three U.S. presidents and is the first Latino to participate in multiple presidential inauguration ceremonies.  

The Kremlin in a fresh Wednesday statement appeared to engage in a bit of trolling of South Korea and its Western backers like the US following the prior day’s wild and short-lived martial law events.

“North Korea’s concerns over its security are understandable given the political instability in the South,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, which is somewhat ironic given the West constantly stresses the real threat and source of regional instability is actually Pyongyang. 

Her comments sought to emphasize the unpredictability of democracies supported by Washington. “In my opinion, many have understood why the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)… is so concerned over its security,” she said.

“It’s because they see that in a couple of hours [South Korea] can morph from a professed democracy into absolute chaos, with tanks on the streets, a storming of parliament, popular confrontation and some brute-force tactics,” Zakharova continued. 

This means the north’s vigilance and constant state of war readiness – which has included increased weapons testing of late – is entirely justified, she suggested in her explanation, given the “unpredictable” neighbor to the south.

Just before 5am local time on Wednesday South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol lifted his martial-law declaration after parliament voted unanimously against the measure. Troops had at one point stormed the parliament building, and there were bizarre scenes of lawmakers scaling fences to get back in.

He had argued his drastic move was necessary as his political opponents made the nation vulnerable to North Korean “communist forces” as government couldn’t function. Parliament rejected the rationale.

https://t.co/PO46lo60pi pic.twitter.com/UTBBhXjYeS

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 3, 2024

“The martial law is aimed at eradicating pro-North Korean forces and to protect the constitutional order of freedom,” the 63-year old Yoon had claimed while declaring martial law on Tuesday.

The less than day-long episode marked the largest flare-up in political turmoil in South Korea since full-scale martial law was declared in the spring of 1980.

Authored by Nick Kayal via RealClearPennsylvania,

Donald Trump completed his comeback to become the 47th president of the United States in resounding fashion. Trump was able to sweep the seven swing states, win the popular vote, and lead the charge as the GOP took back the Senate and retained the House, all while the party holds a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There are many positives to highlight about Trump’s win, including his gains among black male and Latino voters, but the most fascinating ingredient of his success may be his appeal to Generation Z and young males, thanks in part to the evolving media landscape and how media is now consumed.

According to NBC News exit poll data, Trump received 43% of Gen-Z voters (those between the ages of 18 and 29). Within that subset, Trump also received 42% of those aged 18 to 24. This youngest voting- eligible demographic accounts for only 14% of those who voted, but it’s fascinating to analyze how a 78-year-old Republican was able to appeal to them. He did so by making himself available where young people spend their time – on social media, following influencers, and listening to podcast hosts.

As Politico has reported, Republicans increasingly seek out alternative news sources. Only 21% of Republicans read newspapers in 2024. Just 35% watched national network news. Republicans go to websites and apps 39% of the time. Forty-six percent gather information from social media (presumably X, Truth, and Rumble). A staggering 55% consume on-demand audio and video, such as podcasts and streaming services. Trump and his campaign staff understood this.

Enter Joe Rogan.

Trump appeared on Rogan’s Spotify show and spent three hours talking with the top podcast host in the world. Trump also joined the Theo Vonn podcast. He visited other hot properties such as Aidan Ross’s gamer channel and “Bussin’ with the Boys.” These interviews had an impact on young American voters; the casual, conversational approach to politics has appealed to Gen-Z and created a connection with Trump.

“Trump’s victory isn’t a result of a failure by news outlets to sufficiently hold him accountable,” an article at Semafor explains. “The real answer is one that is a lot more uncomfortable to grapple with: The national news media is more limited in its reach and influence than ever in the modern era.”

The NBC News exit polling data for swing states reveals striking numbers for the Generation Z demographic. In Pennsylvania, Trump received 41% of the Gen Z vote. In Georgia, it was 39%. In North Carolina, Trump won almost half (forty-nine percent); in Wisconsin, he took 45%, and in Michigan, 49%.

Worth noting, too, is that Trump did better with Gen Z women than in 2020, which seems almost unfathomable when you consider that he was running against Kamala Harris, who made abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign. Trump lost young women to Joe Biden by 35 points in 2020. In 2024, he reduced that deficit by eleven points, as Harris won by twenty-four points. Trump also made a 13-point swing in his favor with young men overall, compared to 2020, when Biden won these voters by 11 points.

Donald Trump is a generational political figure. He surrounded himself with staffers who understood the shift in electoral and communication dynamics – how to get your message out and who to get it out to. Platforms matter. Evolving is essential. Trump did so, and it proved a major factor in defeating an opponent and a party that the media portrayed as more tech savvy. They were wrong, again – and Trump has won, again.

“Remember y’all laughed at me when I first got my Bitcoin – who’s laughing now?”

In early 2022, Adams took his first three paychecks as New York City mayor in Bitcoin and Ethereum – a sum of crypto that would have equaled roughly $32,000 at the time, according to publicly available data.

Since then, Bitcoin has more than doubled in price and Ethereum has climbed some 40% in the same period.

This morning, Adams, currently facing wire fraud and conspiracy charges, appeared to mock attendees at the groundbreaking ceremony for a museum over his Bitcoin holdings. 

#IYKYK #FFTB

“You all mocked me, ‘You’re taking your first 3 paychecks in #Bitcoin, what’s wrong with you?’ Now you wish you would have done.”

NYC Mayor Eric Adams

pic.twitter.com/PtRMiGMhIb

— Steve | Crypto.com (@skalifowitz) December 4, 2024

As CoinTelegraph’s Turner Wright reports, speaking at the American LGBTQ+ Museum on Dec. 3, Mayor Adams responded to a question about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s potential role in the United States government, pivoting to Bitcoin he received while in office.

According to the mayor, people “should not be afraid of Bitcoin” then appeared to mock viewers and attendees.

“Remember y’all laughed at me when I first got my Bitcoin — who’s laughing now?” said Adams.

“Go look at my Bitcoin now. You all mock me. ‘You’re taking your first three paychecks in Bitcoin, what’s wrong with you?’ Now you wish you would have done it.”

Adams, who assumed office as the Mayor of New York City in January 2022, announced after winning his election that he intended to accept his first three paychecks in Bitcoin.

The price of BTC at the time of his announcement was roughly $61,000 – the cryptocurrency has since surged to roughly $96,000, an increase of 57%.

In September, US authorities indicted Adams on one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.

If given the maximum sentences for each charge served consecutively, he could face decades in prison if convicted.

As mayor, Adams has often been a proponent of many policies favorable to digital assets, including promises to make New York City the “center of the cryptocurrency industry.”

He also criticized legislation passed by the state’s government in 2022 that imposed a two-year moratorium on proof-of-work mining using non-renewable energy sources.

Adams’ offer to accept his paychecks in Bitcoin came in response to a social media challenge for elected officials to earn a crypto-based salary.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who won reelection in 2021, said he would accept his first paycheck in BTC, prompting Adams to say he would take the first three.  

As with many subjects, Adams’ relationship to crypto is not without controversy.

A year after taking a chunk of his salary home in BTC and ETH, the mayor landed in hot water for failing to disclose his crypto holdings in a mandatory report filed with the city’s Conflict of Interest Board.

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

In recent months, quite a few pundits have been openly warning us that World War III has begun.  Sadly, those pundits are quite correct.  Right now, a historic global struggle is being waged by two very powerful alliances.  The “western alliance” made up of the United States, Europe, Israel and their allies is engaged in a battle for supremacy with the “eastern alliance” made up of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria and their allies.  Over the past week, this battle for supremacy has erupted on a couple of new fronts, but most Americans have no idea what is really going on.

Just look at what is happening in Syria.  Most Americans have no idea that radical Sunni Muslims backed by the western alliance just conducted a highly successful offensive on Syria’s second largest city and are threatening to overthrow the Assad regime once and for all…

The Syrian military and its ally Russia conducted deadly joint air raids Monday on areas that Islamist-led rebels seized control of over the weekend. The strikes were a response to a lightning offensive by the rebels that saw them wrest control of swathes of northwest Syria from government forces.

The conflict that started more than a decade ago took a significant turn several days ago, catching many — including, it seems, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and his Russian backers — by surprise. On Saturday, rebels, including many with the U.S.-designated Islamic terrorist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), took control of the major city of Aleppo in northern Syria.

The rebels seized Aleppo’s airport and started pushing into towns and villages in the countryside around the city on Sunday after leaving piles of dead government soldiers in the streets. Observers said the rebel forces were often met with little to no resistance by regime forces, but by Monday the pace of the surprise offensive appeared to have slowed, with Assad and his Russian backers ramping-up their response.

While she served as Secretary of State during the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton was instrumental in starting the civil war in Syria.  That civil war caused a massive refugee crisis that western Europe is still wrestling with to this day.

Now the civil war in Syria has freshly erupted, and if Assad gets toppled that will be a major victory for the western alliance.

Of course the eastern alliance does not plan to go down without a fight.  Over the weekend, Iraqi militia groups that are backed by Iran “have been pouring across the border into eastern Syria”…

Widespread reports, including observers on the ground, have indicated that Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been pouring across the border into eastern Syria to assist Damascus in repelling the Islamist militant advance after Al Qaeda splinter group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham took over Aleppo this weekend.

A Syrian army officer has told Reuters that Iraqi militia forces crossing the border are “fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the frontlines in the north.”

Many of the fighters have been identified as belonging to the Kataib Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun groups. The US has long been in an internecine conflict with Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, with over the years periodic rocket fire even targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad, as well as various bases which host remaining American troops.

And it appears that Iranian military forces could be on the verge of intervening directly in the conflict…

Boroujerdi told a news conference in Damascus that Iran was ready to render military assistance to Syria. “Iran’s military aid will be provided as soon as Tehran receives a request from the Syrian government. We are going to announce it immediately,” the Iranian deputy said.

Boroujerdi, who is heading an Iranian delegation, arrived in Damascus on Wednesday for talks with Syrian Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to meet Boroujerdi on Thursday.

The Iranian deputy stressed the importance of the four-sided coordination of efforts by Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria in fighting terrorism.

Iran normally prefers to fight their wars using proxy forces.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Meanwhile, Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah seems to be breaking down already…

The ceasefire in Lebanon, barely five days old, is near collapse as of Monday after Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel, following the Biden-Harris administration’s erroneous claim that Israeli surveillance drones violated the agreement.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported Monday that two Hezbollah rockets had been fired at Har (Mount) Dov, a strategic mountain that Breitbart News visited last Thursday and which Hezbollah claims, wrongly, is Lebanese.

If Hezbollah is forced to keep their forces in Lebanon in order to contend with the IDF, they won’t be able to intervene in the conflict in Syria.

Ultimately, so many of these conflicts are interrelated.

Ukraine is hoping that at least some Russian forces get diverted to Syria to help the Assad regime, because last month the Ukrainians lost a great deal of territory…

Ukraine has endured a tough three months in which Russian forces made gains across the front, which are likely continue over winter, a military analyst has said.

“The trend is very worrying, and there’s no reason to expect the situation to calm down in December either,” Emil Kastehelmi, from the Finnish-based Black Bird Group, told Newsweek.

In an X, formerly Twitter, thread, the OSINT analyst said that, in the three months to December, Moscow’s troops had captured around 617 square miles in Ukraine and 190 in Russia’s Kursk oblast, where Ukrainian forces had staged an incursion but where they have lost the western flank, as well as positions in the Donbas region.

Ukraine is the one place where the western alliance is losing badly, and western politicians are extremely determined to turn things around.

But the truth is that unless NATO gets directly involved, Ukraine will definitely lose.

As the war drags on, Ukrainian soldiers are deserting from their posts in staggering numbers…

More than twice as many Ukrainian soldiers have been charged with desertion this year than in 2022 and 2023 combined, the Financial Times has reported. The spike in desertions has hampered Kiev’s ability to replenish its thinned-out ranks.

Ukrainian prosecutors opened 60,000 cases against deserters between January and October of this year, the British newspaper reported on Saturday, noting that those convicted face prison terms of up to 12 years.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already died on the killing fields of eastern Ukraine.

Let us hope for an agreement that will bring the endless slaughter to an end.

Before I conclude this article, I want to mention one more nation where the great battle between east and west has suddenly erupted.

In Georgia, angry protesters that are being backed by the western alliance have been clashing violently with the police for days.  Just like we witnessed in Ukraine in 2014, it appears that this could be an attempt to overthrow the democratically-elected government of Georgia…

Days of protests have rocked Georgia following the government’s controversial decision to delay the former Soviet country’s bid to join the European Union.

Tensions have been brewing for months in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people, where critics accuse the ruling Georgian Dream party of following increasingly authoritarian, pro-Russia policies in a turn away from the West that has tempered hopes for Georgia’s long-promised path to EU membership.

The protests have been met with a violent police crackdown as the ruling party and thousands of protesters become locked in a deepening battle over the country’s future and whether Georgia should forge closer ties with Russia or Europe.

The U.S. and Europe would love to see a “color revolution” that removes the Georgian Dream party from power.

Of course the Russians and other eastern alliance nations would very much like to avert such an outcome.

I just wish that every country would be allowed to do what they want without outside interference.

But that isn’t going to happen, is it?

Sadly, the great struggle between east and west that we are witnessing is just going to continue to intensify, and at this stage it should be obvious to everyone that it is not going to have a happy ending.

We live in such perilous times, and if you have not been paying much attention to what is going on around the world now would be a great time to start.

*  *  *

Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Soon after the fall of Aleppo last week, rumors began to circulate that the longtime head of Syrian Al-Qaeda (now called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS) Abu Mohammad al-Julani, was killed in a Russian retaliatory airstrike in Idlib. These claims made it into Lebanese and Israeli media, but with no verification.

But the rumors were laid to rest on Wednesday with Julani’s unexpected appearance in the center of historic Aleppo. Al Jazeera featured footage (below) of the HTS leader descending the steps of the historic and iconic Aleppo citadel in what was clearly a ‘victory’ celebration.

The terror leader, who has a $10 million bounty on his head by the FBI and US Rewards for Justice program, is asserting ownership over the major northern Syrian city. His jihadist forces are currently threatening the central city of Hama as well.

According to the latest from the Associated Press, “Syrian insurgents captured four new towns early Tuesday, bringing them closer to the central city of Hama, opposition activists said, while government forces retook some territory they lost last week.”

Large Syrian Army reinforcements have been observed heading north from Damascus over the last 24 hours. The HTS militants and AQ-aligned groups are less than six miles from Hama, and have threatened and taken adjacent towns on the edge of the city.

Julani is believed supported from Turkey, and likely by other allied Western nations’ intelligence services as well, despite his Al-Qaeda background. Once known as the Nusra Front, which early in the Syrian war of the last decade cooperated at times with the Islamic State, the group now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has long attempted a rebranding campaign. 

قائد هيئة تحرير الشام “أبو محمد الجولاني” يزور مدينة #حلب بعد سيطرة فصائل المعارضة عليها ضمن عملية #ردع_العدوان#فيديو pic.twitter.com/IjN6Il1QqX

— الجزيرة سوريا (@AJA_Syria) December 4, 2024

HTS has gone through many names and iterations over the years while holding on to much of Idlib province bordering Turkey, even as much of the rest of Syria came back under the control of the Assad government. 

Still, Washington has long admitted it is a terror organization. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday  that HTS remains “a terrorist organization designated by the United States” and expressed that the US has “real concerns about the designs and objectives of that organization.” But he also admitted that the US will not “cry” over the pressure the Syrian government and its allies are facing from the successful offensive on Aleppo.

Meanwhile, just like in the opening years of the war, the US mainstream media is once again working overtime trying to whitewash Syria’s Al Qaeda factions, presenting them as mere ‘rebels’ and ‘revolutionaries’. The below is a real line from The Wall Street Journal this week:

Once affiliated with Islamic State and al Qaeda, Jawlani professes religious tolerance.

“They look scary… exactly how you imagine when someone says a terrorist: long beards and crazy hair. But they’re nice.”@yarotrof and @IsabelColes on HTS’ reinvented leader Jawlani whose rebels stormed Aleppo and reignited Syria’s civil warhttps://t.co/TjCPGJPKYM

— Sune Engel Rasmussen (@SuneEngel) December 3, 2024

Likely there will much more such obvious propaganda efforts to come. But the supposedly ‘tolerant’ Julani is still on the FBI’s ‘most wanted’ list, and no amount of obfuscation or Gulf think tank sponsored rebranding campaigns will change that.

Given that the terror chief just appeared out in the open, posing on top of the Aleppo Citadel, the CIA or US military likely could have taken him out with a drone… but they won’t. 

Days after President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter for a 10-year period dating back to his involvement with Burisma, senior White House aides are reportedly locked in a contentious debate over a potential unprecedented move: issuing preemptive pardons to a wide range of current and former public officials who could find themselves under intense scrutiny, and prosecution, after Donald Trump takes office, Politico reports.

Among those discussed for potential pardons are high-profile figures like Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA), former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Their justification is that Trump will seek retribution, with their concerns growing more urgent following Trump’s announcement last weekend appointing Kash Patel as FBI director. Patel, a staunch ally of Trump, has vowed to pursue the former president’s critics, heightening concerns among Biden aides about possible investigations or indictments against officials who have opposed Trump in the past.

And there it is

Biden is considering pardoning Dr. Anthony Fauci, according to Politico.

Biden’s White House is reportedly discussing preemptive pardons to protect certain people from being “targetted” by President-elect Donald Trump.

Names on the list may include Dr. Fauci,… https://t.co/5bsfRZC9ze

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 4, 2024

Biden aides are deeply divided, according to the report. On one hand, granting preemptive pardons could provide a shield against Trump’s promised “revenge tour” but might also create the appearance of impropriety, effectively validating Trump’s accusations of corruption. Additionally, those offered pardons might refuse them, citing innocence or the perception of guilt that could accompany a pardon.

Meanwhile, were there any takers on this?

Missed a chance to make 4x on Biden corruption? Here is a 10x opportunity on Biden pardoning Fauci ahead of the inevitable perp walk https://t.co/Q9cFWaPut2 pic.twitter.com/wqUzEW9QD8

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 2, 2024

Because…

Historical Precedent and Political Risk

End-of-administration pardons are always politically fraught, but the stakes in this case are uniquely high. Biden’s aides have privately discussed the precedent set by President Gerald Ford’s 1974 preemptive pardon of Richard Nixon, which spared the nation further division after Watergate. Democrats like Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) have invoked that example, suggesting that pardons might be necessary to heal a polarized nation and protect officials from undue political persecution.

“If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,” Markey said in a recent interview.

Others are far less supportive. Schiff, who chaired the House Intelligence Committee during Trump’s first impeachment, has been outspoken in his opposition. “I would urge the president not to do that,” he said, adding “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”

As X user Derek Wang notes:

Preemptive pardon has never been used in history and I think will likely be challenged and to be decided by SC.

Section. 2 of US Constitution: The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

“Offenses” are not “potential offenses”, the word clearly indicates the offenses that are already determined by court legally, not any potential offenses to be determined in future.

Hunter Biden’s Pardon and the Broader Clemency Debate

Biden’s recent pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, has further complicated the White House’s deliberations. Hunter’s sweeping 11-year pardon drew criticism from many within the Democratic Party and intensified pressure on Biden to extend clemency to others.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) invoked Hunter Biden’s pardon this week in calling on the president to, on a case-by-case basis, spare “the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses.” -Politico

Trump has repeatedly vowed to go after those he views as part of the Deep State. His disdain for figures like Cheney and Fauci is well-documented, with Trump even calling for members of the Jan. 6 committee to face jail time.

The decision to issue preemptive pardons would undoubtedly solidify Biden’s status as one of the worst presidents in US history. On one side lies the risk of fueling Trump’s narrative of impropriety; on the other, the prospect of leaving key public servants exposed to investigations that are completely warranted.