Imran Khan's party won a plurality of seats in the parliamentary election

A decent chance they'll form the government and maybe free him. What a clusterfuck of a coup

BadEmpanada got banned from twitter, AGAIN

if i was Navalny I would simply not have returned to Russia after almost dying from getting poisoned

Somehow I missed that Sam Altman of OpenAI is attempting to con the UAE out of $7 trillion dollars. Absolutely incredible levels of astronomical grift.

Primary Challenger Bankrolled by AIPAC Says Jamaal Bowman Takes Money From Hamas

LMAO we are days away from tunnel accusations

We need more of this energy https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k2XWTXpn1ug&feature=youtu.be

The Putin Insider is going right for the jugular with this headline:

Ukraine's military is shifting to a defensive strategy that failed Nazi Germany in WWII

https://archive.is/kBEt6

But inside contains the usual cope about "massive Russian losses" that you've all seen a thousand times before. Not a very interesting article overall apart from the headline.

Superbowl victory parade gets shot up

Comrade Prigozhin. Welcome to the resistance.

Why Iran is hard to intimidate

DETERRENCE IS A simple concept: using the threat of force to stop an enemy from doing something. America ought to have no trouble restraining Iran thus. The former has a globe-striding army; the latter relies on warships and fighter jets that predate the Moon landing. In practice, though, Iran has proved devilishly difficult to deter. It is hard to put off insurgents and militias with air campaigns; their goals are attrition and survival, not well-ordered governance, and they are willing to take casualties. Full-scale invasion may be the only sure way to deter them but the history of such interventions is salutary.

Hehe, they have SHIT PLANES and SHIT WARSHIPS, this should be like a walk in the park . Also their tech being from before the Moon landing is just not true lmao, they might not have the most advanced weapons out there but they're far from being Iraq in the 90s, especially when it comes to their missile and drones tech.

Also they have no interest in reliable "governance" (neither does the US then), they want chaos and their militians running wild through the region. Yes, this is pure orientalism. We must deter them, the future of mankind depends on it, we must have all options in the table and that includes FULL SCALE INVASION.

Since October the Islamic Republic’s proxy militias in Syria and Iraq have carried out more than 160 attacks on American troops. Some were harmless—more theatre than threat—but not the one on January 28th, which killed three American soldiers at a base in north-eastern Jordan. The Houthis, meanwhile, an Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, have for months waged a campaign of missile and drone attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea, choking off a waterway that handles perhaps 30% of global container trade.

Once again, western media lies about the Houthis and their motivations. They just attack random ships because they're "an iranian-backed militia".

America has begun to hit back. On February 3rd it bombed more than 85 targets in Iraq and Syria, the first round of what Joe Biden, America’s president, promised would be a multi-stage response to the drone attack in Jordan. It struck the Houthis the next day and again on February 5th. Two days later an American strike in Baghdad killed a leader of Kataib Hizbullah, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. Yet the attacks from Iran’s proxies continue.

Common gringo L

Mr Biden’s hawkish critics think they know why: American threats are not credible because America is unwilling to strike Iran itself. They point to Operation Praying Mantis, during the “tanker wars” of the 1980s, in which America sank five of Iran’s warships and destroyed two of its oil platforms in the Persian Gulf.

Critics on the left make a different argument. They see talk of deterrence as misguided warmongering and instead offer what they say is a simple solution: end the war in Gaza. If Israel stops killing Palestinians, Iranian-backed militias might stop their own violent acts.

Correct.

Both arguments miss the mark. It is true that hitting Iran’s navy in 1988 compelled it to reduce its attacks on oil tankers (and to stop targeting Americans altogether). But the Iran of 1988 was exhausted from a ruinous eight-year war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and bereft of strong allies. It had no choice but to back down. The Iran of today, by contrast, has a powerful network of proxies and a degree of support from both Russia and China. A round of American strikes might make it even more inclined to use those proxies—and, perhaps, to dash for a nuclear bomb as insurance against future attacks.

They absolutely hate the idea of Iran going for the nuke lol, they hate it that Iran has ways to deter the United States, their enemy, from doing something. A nuke-armed Iran will put the entire US presence in the ME at an existential risk.

As for the Gaza war, many of Iran’s proxies cite the conflict as justification for their acts. But history did not start on October 7th. Militias in Syria and Iraq have carried out dozens of attacks against American troops in the past decade. The Houthis, too, have a record of attacks on shipping; the war is merely an excuse to escalate what they were already doing.

What the fuck is this take lmfao? Suddenly and finally, western media acknowledges "history didn't start on October 7th" but they spin it in a pro-"israel" way. Yes, gringos were getting attacked in the Middle East before BECAUSE THEY'RE AN OCCUPYING FORCE.

America’s struggle to deter Iran stems from deeper contradictions in its Middle East policy, namely its desire to pivot away from the region while still keeping troops in it, leaving a military presence big enough to present a menu of targets but too small actually to constrain Iran. This reverse-Goldilocks arrangement had deadly consequences on January 28th. The drone attack in Jordan hit an outpost known as Tower 22, a logistics hub for nearby al-Tanf, a remote American garrison in Syria. Established during the campaign against Islamic State, no one can quite explain why al-Tanf still exists. American officials cite a range of missions, but in practice it mostly serves as a bull’s-eye for Iranian-backed groups whenever they want to lash out at America.

The Iranian regime views its proxies as vital for its survival: they are fighting a long war of attrition to drive American troops from the Middle East and hobble Israel and America’s allies in the Gulf. Deterrence can work only if that perception changes.

Perhaps Iran could be dissuaded from using its proxies if it thought America was prepared to topple its regime. After two decades of failed American adventures in the Middle East, though, neither Americans nor Iranians believe that is on the cards. America’s allies in the region do not believe it either. A decade ago, Israel and some Gulf states might have cheered American strikes on Iranian proxies. Then as now, the region was ablaze: Iran was helping Bashar al-Assad turn Syria into a charnel house, and the Houthis were sweeping down from their northern redoubts to seize control of most of Yemen’s population centres. A sustained campaign of American strikes might have changed the course of civil wars in both countries.

Today, though, those wars are basically settled—in favour of Iran’s allies. The regime has its hooks deep in four Arab countries. A few scattered sorties will not dislodge it. That is why Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have tried to improve their relations with Iran: if America cannot protect its partners, they reckon detente via diplomatic engagement and economic incentives is a safer alternative.

In a briefing with reporters after the strikes in Syria and Iraq, American officials talked not of deterrence but of trying to “degrade” the capabilities of Iranian-backed groups. That might be more realistic: if America blows up enough Houthi anti-ship missiles, they will have to stop firing (at least until Iran can deliver more). But that would require a prolonged campaign of the sort that Mr Biden may wish to avoid, which gets back to the crux of the problem. In the Middle East, America is torn between leaving and staying and cannot decide what to do with the forces it still has in the region. The status quo is not working—and, paradoxically, it is Iran that has deterred America from changing it.

Death to AmeriKKKa.

Palestinian Exodus From Rafah: ‘Where Do We Go?’

This is the eighth time that Mohammed Abu Amsha has been displaced. His journey in search of safety has taken him from the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip to the Nuseirat refugee camp, then to Maghazi, then Khan Yunis, and finally to Rafah. At each stop, the man moved from one house to another, from one shelter to a hospital. Yesterday, Abu Amsha packed his bags and returned from the Shaboura camp to the Nuseirat camp. The 30-year-old man says to Al-Akhbar, “By God, I don’t know where I’m going. I have a family to care for, and the shrapnel burned the tents we were sleeping in two days ago. I’m heading from Rafah into the unknown. They told us Rafah was safe, but if it is safe and they killed more than 100 martyrs in one night, what would they do if it were a battlefield?”

The road from the eastern and western neighborhoods of Rafah, passing through the al-Awda junction, is crowded with thousands of families who have boarded cars, trucks, and carts pulled by animals, carrying with them tents and firewood. On all departing faces, even those overwhelmed by gloom and silence, one phrase is read and heard from those speaking: “Where do we go?” For these people, the repeated Israeli threats against the city of Rafah necessarily imply an intention and plan to invade the city.

As for the hundreds of statements issued by the international community and national capitals, Abu Khalil Al-Muzayn describes them as follows: “If they were useful, they would have stopped the dozens of massacres that started in northern Gaza and will end in Rafah. This war has proven that Israel is not accountable to anyone. If it decides to invade the city, it will trample over the skulls of a million displaced people without any humanitarian restraint, so there is no way we can leave the fate of our families to analysts and estimates.”

As for the living conditions in Rafah, a reliable source in the Government Emergency Committee of Gaza confirms that the city has plunged into a food crisis. This is exacerbated by the Israeli occupation’s blockade that has been preventing aid trucks from entering for over a week. The source adds in conversation with Al-Akhbar, “Everything that enters represents just a drop in the ocean of daily needs. We are talking about nearly a million and a half people squeezed into an area not exceeding 30 kilometers. With the limited aid entering, there is a shortage of many products, and there has been a significant increase in the prices of basic goods, including vegetables.” He pointed out, for example, that “the price of a kilo of onions has reached 50 shekels, while a single pack of baby diapers is nearly $100.”

As the international warnings about catastrophic consequences in the event of the occupation army storming the city of Rafah continue to grow, writer and political analyst Ismail Mohammed believes that the totality of warnings about the Israeli ground operation in the southern city is not aimed at preventing the occupation from doing it, but is a warning addressed to the Hamas movement. A warning that urgent concessions should be made at the negotiating table to prevent the tragedy that will start with a ground operation in the city. “It is understandable that everything that the enemy is doing now is seeking to achieve victories at the negotiating table, and it is even more understandable that the world, which could not stop Israel’s crimes that have been going on for 130 days, will not stop them today,” Mohammed adds. “Israel, all Arab and regional countries, and the international community stand as one front to exert pressure on the resistance at the negotiating table. Therefore, there is a high possibility of a military invasion of Rafah.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putins-suggestion-ukraine-ceasefire-rejected-by-united-states-sources-say-2024-02-13/

Exclusive: Putin's suggestion of Ukraine ceasefire rejected by United States, sources say

"Everything fell apart with the Americans."

well yeah, no shit. sacrificing Ukraine is important to them

Been dealing with more unhinged Bukele supporters getting increasingly angry at me. It’s weird to say but I enjoy dealing with them more than liberals. Bukele supporters are mostly staunch nationalists who don’t cowardly hide behind police like the libs do and get rabid over their country as opposed to getting rabid for the US or EU.

Just kind of wish they didn’t channel that aggressive energy into showing up at my place and forcing me to take the shotgun out to scare them away.

They’re mostly mad about my criticisms of him during the election. Some Salvadorans have a chip on their shoulder with Guatemala and our influence on the country. So hearing a leftist Guatemalan loudly criticizing their God makes them furious.

Three key points from His Eminence Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech yesterday which should clarify once and for all some basic misunderstandings. (Al-Ahed Arabic summary of the whole speech)

Do you think America cares about the children in Gaza? The West only makes performative statements. In reality, the one who insists on the goal of eliminating Hamas is America more than “Israel.”

The one responsible for every drop of blood in the region is the American administration, and the Israeli occupation officials are merely tools. If the United States stops arming and supporting “Israel” now, the aggression will stop immediately, whether Netanyahu likes it or not.

Our goal is for Gaza to remain steadfast and Hamas to emerge victorious. The Resistance in Gaza negotiates for us all [Axis of Resistance]. Our support for them is unconditional and they know their capabilities and demands.

US Navy aircraft carrier going head-to-head with the Houthis has its planes in the air 'constantly,' strike-group commander says - Jake Epstein, Business Insider

"It's a huge effort," Rear Adm. Marc Miguez told Business Insider during an interview on the Ike in the Red Sea this week. "We're going at it constantly," he said, adding that the crew is "launching airplanes every hour to hour and a half."

Dozens of planes may take off from the carrier during a typical day, which can include multiple launch and recovery cycles over a period that can last up to 12 hours, if not longer. [...]

The aircraft can be tasked with various missions once they're airborne, from training to defending commercial vessels and US Navy ships from Houthi attacks. They always have to be ready to strike rebel assets in Yemen if needed, Capt. Marvin Scott, the commander of the Eisenhower's carrier air wing, said.

Preemptive strikes, which are aimed at effectively eliminating Houthi missiles and drones before they can even become a threat to international shipping lanes, have become a regular occurrence in recent weeks. Before this shift in tactics, the US spent months shooting down Houthi threats in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden after they had already been launched by the rebels.

US Central Command has announced preemptive military actions on multiple occasions over the past few days. These have destroyed a handful of unmanned surface vessels, which are drone boats that can be packed with explosives, and anti-ship missiles.

So it seems that after one of the US ships intercepted an anti ship cruise missile launched by the Houthis using it's CIWS, after it evaded interceptor missiles, the US has been forced to change tactics. CIWS is a last line of defence, a missile intercepted by CIWS is a few seconds from landing a direct hit on a ship, and can still land an indirect hit, or spray shrapnel all over the targeted ship. CIWS cannot be relied on to continuously intercept missiles, it's a last line of defence. So the US now has to have jets in the air 24/7, to take down any missiles Ansar Allah/the Houthis are about to launch against US Navy ships, before they are launched from their launch sites. This has to be done because US Navy ships cannot rely on their air defence and missile interception systems to intercept the missiles anymore. Ansar Allah has figured out a way to bypass that layer of defence on occasion. I predicted such a change in tactics a few weeks ago.

This is going to be a very costly exercise for the US Navy. Ansar Allah can also use this change of tactics to manipulate the US Navy, for instance by putting out some defunct warheads or missiles, or fake/"blank" missiles, which the US Navy will be forced to launch airstrikes at to ensure the safety of their ships. I'd consider this a strategic win for Ansar Allah here, the US Navy now has to waste millions of dollars to launch airstrikes against potential fake missiles to ensure that their Navy is safe. Yes the US still has the overwhelming force advantage, but at what cost?

Angloland and Nippon in recession lmao

Ancap Update:

The UCA (Catholic University of Argentina) estimates that Milei's government increased poverty from 44.7% to 57.4% and extreme poverty from 9.8% to 15%.

Many news orgs in Canada are now sharing headlines about Canada, Australia, and New Zealand ordering an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to prevent further crises in Rafah, but of course the fine print buried in the article is that a ceasefire has to be on "both sides", meaning that Hamas has to surrender, disarm, and release all hostages... Of course they won't mention anything about israel withdrawing their forces or releasing Palestinian hostages.

Am I being cynical, or is this nothing new? I figured imperial core countries that have been aiding and abetting israel's genocide of Palestinians would have always supported a ceasefire based on conditions they knew were impossible, and which would make sure that israel is the victor (e.g., for Hamas to completely secede and surrender). Am I wrong?

Either way it's still and always will be.

Another Canadian happening this week is Trudeau breaking his recent silence about the israeli genocide of Palestinians, but this time it was to condemn pro-Palestinian protestors who marched by a hospital near downtown Toronto (which he claims is antisemitic targeting). Not a peep from Mr. "International Rules Based Order" about the thousands of Palestinians that israel has butchered since the ICJ's ruling that israel needs to take immediate steps to prevent collective punishment and the killing of civilians more than two weeks ago. israel has tripled down on their genocidal mission since this ruling, and the cowardly "progressive" Canadian PM will only speak up to smear a pro-peace protest.

Every dead IOF soldier brings a little joy back into my life. Anyone got any?

Death to America, of course, but at least we sometimes had the guts to send our own guys into enemy tunnels with a pistol and a flashlight like Yaldabaoth intended instead of using hostages wired with explosives and cameras like our farcical imperialist failsons the IOF

Diplomatic and consular relations established between the Republic of Cuba and the Republic of Korea

Article

The establishment of diplomatic and consular relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Republic of Korea took place on February 14 through an exchange of Diplomatic Notes between the Permanent Representations of the two countries to the United Nations in New York, United States.

This milestone in bilateral history took place in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the spirit and norms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba.

The study Centralidad de Asia para Cuba, published in 2021 by the Center for International Policy Research, shows that both nations had economic and commercial ties in areas such as the automotive industry, air conditioners, refrigerators, high-definition televisions and cell phones.

i wonder if this will cause problems between the DPRK and Cuba since they dont see peacefull reunification as posible anymore

Amazon Argues Labor Board Is Unconstitutional

interesting things happening in yankeeland

So Bakhmut, Marinka, and Avdiivka are all gone. Does Ukraine actually have any other super defensible fortresses along the line of contact? As I understand it some of the fallen positions have been fortified since 2015. Doubt they can replicate them in a few weeks or months.

OpenAI just released actually good AI-generated video. The samples are actually holy fucking shit.

https://openai.com/sora

How will this affect disinformation, now that photorealistic videos can now be fabricated from a text prompt?

Also note that OpenAI is now presumably licensing its technology to the US military.

https://hexbear.net/post/1604077

I predict that in the next few months, we are going to see AI-generated videos of completely fabricated atrocities.

The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor clarified that, based on the received testimonies, groups of Israeli civilians, ranging from 10 to 20 individuals, were allowed to witness and record Palestinian prisoners stripped of their clothes while soldiers used metal batons and electric rods to beat them:

https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1756950353424068929

https://nitter.mint.lgbt/QudsNen/status/1756950353424068929

lol Germany announced their plans to combat the rise of the far right

they aren't banning AfD

German bank braces for wave of bad loans in ‘greatest real estate crisis since the financial crisis’

Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, or PBB, a German lender focused on real estate, has set aside more money for bad debts as it braces for what it says is the worst decline in commercial property values in 15 years.

PBB increased its provisions for losses on loans in the fourth quarter of 2023, taking the total set aside for the year to as much as €215 million ($231.7 million), it said in a statement Wednesday, citing “persistent weakness of the real estate markets.”

“Despite these expenses, PBB remains profitable thanks to its financial strength — even in the greatest real estate crisis since the financial crisis,” it added.

The global financial crisis peaked in 2008 as banks collapsed under the weight of huge losses on mortgages and related securities following the bursting of a bubble in the US housing market.

On Thursday, PBB announced that it had enough cash and highly liquid assets on its balance sheet — a “liquidity cushion” — to operate for six months without new funding from investors. It said it would publish further details with its 2023 earnings in March.

Fears about the health of bank balance sheets have resurfaced in recent weeks, almost a year on from a crisis that saw three US regional lenders collapse and the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse.

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers Tuesday that she had concerns about the exposure of some banks to commercial real estate.

“I believe it’s manageable, although there may be some institutions that are quite stressed by this problem,” she said.

Shares of PBB, the second German bank to warn of mounting losses on commercial real estate in two weeks, have slumped 17% since Friday. The stock has tumbled more than 25% so far this year and 40% in the past six months.

Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank said last week that it had allocated €123 million ($133 million) during the fourth quarter of last year to absorb potential defaults on its US commercial real estate loans. That’s more than quadruple the amount it set aside during the same three-month period in 2022.

Banks as far apart as New York, Tokyo and Zurich have also reported mounting losses on lending to the troubled commercial property sector in recent days.

On Wednesday, New York Community Bancorp attempted to reassure investors that it has enough cash to stay afloat after the stock shed about 60% of its value over the past eight days and ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the bank’s credit grade to junk.

Last week, the troubled US regional lender reported a surprise $252 million loss for the fourth quarter, a big chunk of which was tied to loans for office buildings. It also set aside $552 million in the quarter to absorb potential losses on loans, up sharply from $62 million in the previous quarter.

Also last week, Japan’s Aozora Bank said bad loans tied to US offices were partly to blame for its projected annual loss of 28 billion yen ($190 million) last year. And Swiss private bank and wealth manager Julius Baer said profit slumped 55% in 2023 because it lost 586 million Swiss francs ($680 million) on loans made to a single “European conglomerate,” reportedly the failed Austrian developer Signa Group.

👀 commercial real estate fuckery

A bit late on the story but last month the Army HR department made an offer to infantry and armor branch officers that graduated and commissioned in 2021 to transfer into the Adjutant General, Finance or Signal Corps branches on the grounds that there's an "imbalance" in the number of personnel that needs to be corrected before it begins to effect unit readiness.

So they need like 250 people for what sounds like 1st lieutenant to captain positions, which is a decent number of people concidering the fact it's for officer positions.

From what I hear in the grapevine they got that imbalance because those branches have the most real-world equivalent jobs that are both available and pay a hell of a lot better than what an officer gets paid. So basically they get the training and some experience under their belts then dip out. Also throw in the shitty work culture and bosses the army has, and you have a recipe for a systemic retention problem.

Prigozhin and Navalny are probably up in heaven right now having the time of their lives

(Testing material I'm gonna use to annoy liberals later)

Neoliberal Dabiq at it again

Looks like one of the candidates in the indonesian elections todays is indonesian hitler

Massacres, invasions, and anti-communism. This is Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia's next President, involved in numerous atrocities from his days as a henchman of General Suharto.

Tweet looks like he claimed victory before the result but he is doing good in the polls

Air Force, Space Force Announce Major Overhaul to Prepare for War With China

US to deploy 5 aircraft carriers in western Pacific in show of strength to China

Neocons do not believe in such things as "overextension"

Occupied Syrian Golan residents reject Israelization of community

During a massive public meeting encompassing all segments of society from the four villages, the people of the occupied Syrian Golan issued a statement on Thursday marking the anniversary of the "Glorious Strike," when they cautioned against the 'Israelization' of their community.

The statement underscored the importance of upholding the heritage of the national Golan and paying tribute to its ancestors. It firmly rejected 'Israelization' efforts, especially the recruitment of locals into the occupation army and associated groups. These actions were deemed as threats to our fundamental existence and Syrian identity. Consequently, stringent measures were implemented in the occupied Golan to address this pressing issue.

Attendees emphasized that individuals participating in the recruitment project, wielding arms, and donning enemy uniforms were being misled. They urged these individuals to reconsider their involvement and to publicly announce their return to their community within a week.

They also proclaimed a complete rejection and condemnation of anyone who dared to betray their family and heritage by engaging in projects that "destroy our society and its honorable legacy."

It declared the "religious excommunication and social boycott of all individuals involved in this sinful project, which entails volunteering for service in the occupation enemy's army and its affiliated branches."

The statement emphasized that the decision to boycott and banish extends to the individual involved and all members of their family unless they take proactive steps to publicly reject and disavow the individual's behavior.

It also outlined measures such as the closure of people's homes and businesses, as well as prohibiting participation in their funerals, offering prayers for their deceased, or burying them in family cemeteries.

The statement by the residents of the occupied Syrian Golan concluded by emphasizing their determination to "eradicate all examples of this destructive phenomenon from our society" and "to not accept it, neither now nor in the future," according to what they described as aligning "with the spirit and provisions of the national document that embodies the belonging and identity of the people of the Syrian Golan."

Xi and Putin make dumplings

Xi and Putin make pancakes

I saw the Israeli twitter account posted a Memri TV video. Extremely funny considering Israeli government funds them. I'm just thinking about them responding to one of the fake memes we see saying something like: "Wow, this terrorist wants to be strapped to a rocket and fired at Tel Aviv! Still support Hamas?" or something like that

Redditor asks how Russia is surviving despite bajillion deaths from covid and war

Most of the responses are just “because propaganda”, “because authoritarianism”, “because mass wave horde”, “they’re barely surviving because sanctions are striking the country!”

Few people, outside of a Russian residents, actually talk about the financial situation inside the country lol

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1as2dyf/how_is_russia_still_functioning_considering_they/

In the inscrutable authoritian US regime today news has leaked that Lindsey Graham, a dissident voice in the Senate state organ, has come out against further state-funded support of Ukraine thereby foiling the goals of the bloodthirsty despot Joe Biden.

Independent USian experts have regretfully concluded that execution by anti-aircraft guns will be the likely punishment doled out by the vengeful leadership of the rogue state, as is tradition.

The Ukraine War Runs on Lies

Nothing really new here but I like the presentation of parallels between the Vietnam War and Ukraine.

Recall in the first case that the template, that of the Cold War, is essentially unchanged, even in some of the particulars, not least in the comparisons of Ngo Dinh Diem and Volodymyr Zelensky to Winston Churchill. The South Vietnamese government (avaricious, corrupt) had the right to American arms by virtue of its right “to determine [the nation’s] future.” The Ukrainian government (avaricious, corrupt) likewise has the right, we are endlessly told, to be allowed to “shape its own destiny.”

Thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Domino Theory, long derided in the years following Vietnam, has made a comeback. Thus, President Biden’s declaration on December 6, “If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there. It’s important to see the long run here. He’s going to keep going…. Then we’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today: American troops fighting Russian troops,” echoes that made by President Johnson in July 1965:

This is really war. It is guided by North Viet-Nam and it is spurred by Communist China. Its goal is to conquer the South, to defeat American power, and to extend the Asiatic dominion of communism. There are great stakes in the balance. Most of the non-Communist nations of Asia cannot, by themselves and alone, resist the growing might and the grasping ambition of Asian communism.