Headlines:
- ‘Israeli’ Gaza Strikes
- CIA Chief Admits US Foreign Policy Spur’s Terrorism
- AKP Weakened in Parliamentary Elections
- British Involvement in Syria
‘Israeli’ Gaza Strikes
The US issued a statement regarding the latest round of Gaza airstrikes by the Jewish entity. The White House issued a statement endorsing the Jewish entity attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying they have the right to take whatever military action they see fit to “defend their nation.” There have been two spates of rocket fire from Gaza recently, both by the ISIS-linked Omar Brigades. Neither did any damage. The Jewish entity’s airstrikes centered on Hamas, despite Hamas fighting against the Omar Brigades, and warning the Jewish entity that the strikes are being done by the smaller faction explicitly to try to start a war they can take advantage of. The Omar Brigades bragged that the rocket strikes against the Jewish entity were retaliation against Hamas for killing one of their fighters, reflecting their inability to take on Hamas directly, and their similar expectation that they could sucker the Jewish entity into doing their dirty work for them.
CIA Chief admits US Foreign Policy Spur’s Terrorism
John Brennan, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), went on “Face the Nation” on Sunday June 7, and acknowledged that US foreign policy might sometimes cause terrorism, Brenan said: “I think the president has tried to make sure that we’re able to push the envelope when we can to protect this country. But we have to recognize that sometimes our engagement and direct involvement will stimulate and spur additional threats to our national security interests.” Terrorism is not the reason for intervention, increased military spending and the curtailment of fair trials in the US. Even torture against those not proven to have committed any offense has been exposed in the US senate enquiry into torture in December 2014, despite claiming for more than a decade that such actions stopped terrorist’s attacks.
AKP Weakened in Parliamentary Elections
After more than a decade in power the AKP saw its position weakened in the June 7, elections. Only three seats short of the 330 seats needed to table a constitutional amendment that would turn turkey into a presidential republic, empowering Erdogan who is now president. But after a bitter election campaign the AKP failed to even secure a simple majority and will now have to govern as a coalition government. The pro-Kurdish HDP party picked up most of the 54 seats the AKP lost and could theoretically form a coalition government with the right wing MHP and Kemalist CHP party. This may very well be the beginning of the weakening of the AKP, who will now face a weaker position in domestic politics. Erdogan, the leader of the AKP over the last decade weakened the army’s grip on power and pushed through reforms which has changed the face of Turkish politics. The AKP will now be working from a slightly weaker position domestically which will affect its ability to push through some of its policies.
British Involvement in Syria
The prosecution of a Swedish national accused of terrorist activities in Syria has collapsed at the Old Bailey in the UK after it became clear Britain’s security and intelligence agencies would have been deeply embarrassed had a trial gone ahead. Bherlin Gildo, 37, was arrested last October on his way from Copenhagen to Manila, and was accused of attending a terrorist training camp and receiving weapons training as well as possessing information likely to be useful to a terrorist. His lawyers argued that British intelligence agencies were supporting the same Syrian opposition groups as he was, and were party to a secret operation providing weapons and non-lethal help to the groups, including the Free Syrian Army. Henry Blaxland QC, the defence counsel, said, “If it is the case that HM government was actively involved in supporting armed resistance to the Assad regime at a time when the defendant was present in Syria and himself participating in such resistance it would be unconscionable to allow the prosecution to continue.” Despite the British government banning Muslims from travelling and aiding the overthrow of al-Assad the government itself has been doing exactly this and this trial has exposed the country’s real role in Syria.