Palestine Tet – 6 – More U.S. Troops and “The Veto From Hell”

1.

Blaming increased tensions, not on the Netanyahu government’s carpet bombing of Gaza but on the increased role of “Iranian-backed militants” – the new bad guys on the street along with Hamas, the Pentagon said that about 900 additional American forces are heading to the Middle East or have recently arrived there to strengthen air defenses. Their stated goal is to protect American soldiers in light of the escalation of attacks in the region from pro-Iranian groups.

The announcement of the troop increases comes after a heavy missile attack by :unidentified persons” on a US Army base in the illegally occupied Conoco-run natural gas field in eastern Syria from where the Biden Administration is literally stealing Syria’s oil and natural gas and providing it with regional allies, be they pro-American Kurds or so-called members of the so-called “moderate Syrian Opposition” none of whom are moderate.

As reported in Reuters, a reporter in Deir ez-Zor, Syria’s seventh largest city in its eastern region, said: “The base of the Coneco gas field, the military base of the American occupation forces in the Deir ez-Zor countryside, was bombed with rocket-propelled grenades this Thursday evening, which led to fires igniting in the field and smoke rising from it,” according to Sputnik, the Russian news source. The targeting was followed by a major alert by the American occupation forces inside and around the base, in addition to an intense flight of military and reconnaissance aircraft over the area, with the sounds of ambulances being heard.

As tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war, U.S. and coalition troops have been attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria in the last week, Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.According to a recent article in Responsible StateCraft, the official reason for the new deployments is to deter Hamas’s allies, including Iran and Hezbollah, from launching attacks against Israel and sparking a wider regional war.

As is its habit, the Pentagon has accused Iranian-backed militias of carrying out a series of attacks against the roughly 3,400 U.S. forces that remain in Syria and Iraq; 24 U.S. personnel have been injured so far. In total, reports say there are currently about 35,000 U.S. troops throughout the region, though most are stationed at bases in the Gulf, far away from the fighting.

It is not just Israel that finds itself currently in a military pickle, not sure it wants or can engage in a two front war. As tensions increased over the war between Israel and the Palestinians, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a press briefing that American forces were attacked at least 12 times in Iraq and four times in Syria during the past week. He added that American forces were targeted earlier Thursday in Iraq, but the attack failed.

The missile attackers have not been identified. But Iraqi Shi’ite militias – now several hundred thousand strong – the Syrian government, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran have all repeatedly warned that in response to Israeli’s continued carpet bombing of Gaza and the cruel all round siege of the enclave, that U.S. military installations throughout the Middle East would be targeted. Nor was this the first attack on a U.S. military related facility. Several other bases in Iraq have been targeted.

2.

All this comes as the Biden Administration continues to oppose any efforts at the United Nations Security Council calling for a ceasefire. Ten days ago the Russian Federation introduced a draft resolution at the UN Security Council (UNSC) calling for an “immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.”

In hopes of getting it passed, they avoided placing blame on either Israel or Hamas. Twelve Arab nations and eight more majority Muslim nations endorsed it, as did Russia, Belarus, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. The Council voted that resolution down, with only five of the fifteen members—Russia, China, Mozambique, Gabon, and the United Arab Emirates—voting in favor. The US, UK, France and Japan voted against it, and the other six members of the Council—Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland—abstained.

Two days later, Brazil introduced a similar resolution calling not for a ceasefire but simply “a humanitarian pause” in the fighting. Hoping for perhaps Washington’s support, the Brazilian resolution condemned Hamas’ October 7 military offensive but the result was the same as once again, with the United States exercising its “veto from hell” Washington gave the resolution its thumbs down.

There have been no diplomatic initiatives since so Israel’s indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian targets in Gaza continue with the civilian death toll now rising by as much as a 1000 people a day these last few days, including a high number of women and children among the dead. The number of dead in Gaza now exceeds 7000 with tens of thousands wounded and who know how many still buried under the rubble. Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the world’s largest open-air prison, denying the civilian population food, fuel, electricity and water continues ensuring that many more will die.

Responding to the U.S. veto in support of a ceasefire, Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour noted the following.

“The whole world is watching. They’re watching us. The events of the last 10 days may shape the next 10 years in our region and beyond. What happens next is decisive.

“If anyone thinks this is a situation under control, for which you can plan and implement, they are making false and irresponsible assumptions. This is the kind of war where you know how it starts, and have no clue how it ends. Until now, it can be stopped, and it should be stopped immediately. Any further delay is a risk no one should take. The Council should have met today to heed the call of the Secretary General, of religious leaders around the world, including the Pope, of the Arab states, of the Muslim countries, of the Global South, of the overwhelming number of states around the world, of billions of people, including the millions who marched in your streets. Stop the bloodshed. Stop it now. Stop the bloodshed. Stop it now. Listen to them.

“But it has not heeded these goals. It has not upheld international law unequivocally, equally, and responsibly. And in the next few hours, more Palestinians will be killed. Tensions in the region will rise to new dangerous levels. Anger and resentment will explode. Each one of us will be asked what we did when all of this was happening. All will be asked what they did to prevent what will happen next.”

With all this, there is no sign that anyone in the Biden Administration has a clear idea of what to do. The Administration appears paralyzed, incapable of changing direction or altering its policy and increasingly diplomatically isolated, more so than it has ever been since the end of World War II but bulling its way through all the same. To what? We’ll find out.

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Palestine Tet – 1 – Washington’s Response 

Palestine Tet – 2 – The Hezbollah Factor

Palestine Tet – 3 – The Wounded Beast Syndrome