Once considered foes, Iran-backed groups get a warm welcome from Iraq

Once considered foes, Iran-backed groups get a warm welcome from Iraq 

US, UK ‘want war,’ continue to fan the flames of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

 

US, UK ‘want war,’ continue to fan the flames of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

By Global Times

Published: Sep 12, 2024 The actions of the US and UK to fan the flames of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict have further accelerated and intensified. On one hand, they discourage peace negotiations, and on the other, they exacerbate the escalation of the conflict, with Ukraine ultimately bearing the greatest cost.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced new aid packages for Ukraine on Wednesday during their joint visit to the war-torn country, the first such visit in over a decade. According to reports, the US will give Ukraine $700 million in humanitarian and energy assistance, while the UK will allocate nearly $800 million in financial support and military equipment supplies. 
Regrettably, amid Western allies' belief that the conflict is entering a "critical moment," this rare joint visit still does not aim to bring peace. Experts suggest that this visit reflects a clear political posture of the US and UK. The two want to ensure that Ukraine adopts a hardline, uncompromising position and to exhaust Russia militarily through Western aid to Ukraine. For the US and UK, peace talks are not even an option. Their real intention is to fan the flames of war, ensuring that Ukraine continues to serve as a pawn in this protracted conflict.
The Ukraine crisis has now dragged on for more than two and a half years, and it is precisely under the overt and covert interference of Western countries like the US and UK that opportunities for peace have repeatedly slipped away. Recently, former US ambassador to NATO Victoria Nuland acknowledged that the US and its allies advised Ukraine to reject a peace deal with Russia in 2022. David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian politician, also said that British prime minister Boris Johnson visited Kiev in 2022 to inform Ukrainian officials that the West would not sign anything with Moscow, urging: "Let's just fight."
However, it is the people of Ukraine who have paid the price for the "let's just fight" instigation with their lives, while the US and UK, who continue to stoke the flames, are calculating the political and economic benefits they stand to gain. For the US, its self-serving "war economy" has caused immense damage and suffering to many countries, while simultaneously bringing enormous profits to the American military-industrial complex, fostering a vicious cycle between "war and profit." No wonder independent US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr once bluntly stated that the US is disrupting peace negotiations because Washington "wanted the war."
As the US' front-runner in containing Russia, the UK has closely followed Washington in its military support for Ukraine, hoping to gain more benefits and influence from the Ukraine crisis while demonstrating its great power status and ability to maintain control over European security. However, the UK's continued arming of Ukraine has not come without a price. While the US profits immensely, the spillover effects of the Ukraine crisis have increased the risk of stagflation in the UK, and the massive military aid has exacerbated the country's financial difficulties, with social discontent continuing to grow. As Europe finds itself drawn into the vortex of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by the US and unable to extricate itself, the UK should carefully consider its true gains and losses as it follows Washington's lead. 
Ironically, while the US and UK are busy fueling the conflict and obstructing peace talks, they continue to baselessly accuse China of supporting Russia's military actions. During the US-UK joint press conference held on Tuesday, Blinken once again mentioned "China's support." In fact, China is neither a creator nor a party to the Ukraine crisis and is committed to promoting talks for peace. As the true instigators of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US and its allies should not shift the blame for the problems they created onto China. Their attempts to unjustly smear China and portray themselves as "defenders of peace" will ultimately be in vain⍐.

 

 A man looks as smoke billows after a missile attack from Yemen in central Israel, September 15, 2024.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Houthi missile from Yemen hits central Israel, no one hurt

By Reuters September 15, 2024

JERUSALEM, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen fired a surface-to-surface missile that reached central Israel for the first time on Sunday, hitting an unpopulated area and causing no injuries.

Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the missile landed at around 6:35 a.m. local time (0335 GMT), sending residents running for shelter. Loud booms were heard, which the military said came from missile interceptors.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, a surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing into central Israel from the east and fell in an open area. No injuries were reported," the military said.

The deputy head of the Houthi's media office, Nasruddin Amer, said in a post on X on Sunday that a Yemeni missile had reached Israel after "20 missiles failed to intercept" it, describing it as the "beginning".

In a statement on Telegram, the group said its military spokesman would soon give details about a "qualitative operation that targeted the depth of the Zionist entity".

Reuters saw smoke billowing in an open field in central Israel, though it was not immediately possible to determine if the fire was caused by the missile or interceptor debris.

Sunday's strike appears to be the first time the Houthis have penetrated deep into Israeli airspace with a missile. They have fired at Israel several times since the outbreak of the Gaza war last October in what they describe as solidarity with the Palestinians. Most such missiles have been shot down although one hit an open area near Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat in March.

In July, a Houthi drone reached Tel Aviv, killing one man and wounding four others. That attack, the first from abroad to target Tel Aviv with a drone, prompted Israel to carry out a major air strike on Houthi military targets near Yemen's Hodeidah port, killing six people and wounding 80.

The Israeli military also said that 40 projectiles were fired towards Israel from Lebanon on Sunday and were either intercepted or landed in open areas.

"No injuries were reported," the military said⍐.