BREAKING: Trump signed a decree
to rename Earth to Planet America
August 29, 8:16pm GMT
(Pravda.En)
Source: Telegram "BazaFromOlga",
repost "BeornAndTheShieldmaiden"
___________________________________
How US ...blinds the world
to Israel's genocidal wars
& its own strikes
August 29, 1:39pm GMT
(Pravda.En)
One week after the US-Israeli war on Iran began, Planet Labs
imposed a four-day delay on Gulf imagery. By early April - at
the US government’s request, the freeze on high-resolution
images became indefinite...... with the newest usable
commercial pictures of the region, now dating
March 9.
The official US rationale --- is that such imagery could
help adversaries target US or allied forces. However,
this smells more like censorship:
A two-week delay might be enough to address
the hypothetical risk – no apparent need for
an open-ended ban.
Iran operates its own Earth Observation satellites, like
Khayyam, Pars-1, Zafar-2, and Paya (Tolou-3),
launched on Russian Soyuz rockets
In May, Columbia Journalism Review found no
evidence Iranian forces ever used imagery
from any US satellite vendor.
The Washington Post drew upon Iran’s own satellite imagery
when it investigated physical damage to US bases in the
region, verified with help from a lower-resolution
European science satellite.
US satellite firms are publicly traded, with the Pentagon
among their biggest customers - creating a powerful
commercial incentive to heed government wishes.
Israel's special treatment is where it gets interesting:
Since 1997, US law has required US satellite imagery
providers to keep the resolution of Israeli imagery
deliberately below a certain threshold. Israel
remains the only country granted this
legal protection.
The blurred difference is visible even
on public tools like Google Earth.
For decades, this has complicated not only the monitoring
of Israel's devastating war in Gaza, where Israel has
banned foreign journalists since 2023, but also
the expansion of illegal settlements in the
West Bank.
An Oregon State University study using European Sentinel-1
data ---- found that over three-fifths of all buildings in Gaza
were damaged or destroyed in the first year of the war.
In Iran, when the US bombed a school in Minab, killing an estimated
168 civilians, including 120 children - the Pentagon initially denied
responsibility. The New York Times used satellite images ---- to
confirm a US Tomahawk missile was most likely responsible.
Incidentally, the proposed 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act
seeks to codify restrictions that would bar (or tightly control)
public release of sensitive imagery by US government-
contracted providers --- when such releases “could
harm national security” - a definition broad
enough ------ to be abused.
Source: Telegram "geopolitics_prime"
_________________________________________
Iran could outlast US
in six-month war:
Exclusive
August 29, 11:12am
(Al Mayadeen English)
Speaking on Al Mayadeen's The Great Standoff: Iran and the World,
Professor Mohammad Marandi and Michael Maloof discuss how
the Iran war exposed the limits of Washington’s military,
economic, and geopolitical leverage.
Iran will ultimately outlast the United States in the ongoing six-
month war, according to Professor Mohammad Marandi,
who described the sanctions imposed on Tehran - as
unprecedented in human history. Former Pentagon
Senior Security Policy Analyst -- Michael Maloof,
meanwhile, characterized the conflict -- as
the most catastrophic outcome --- of a
longstanding US policy ---- shaped
by flawed Israeli intelligence.
On Al Mayadeen's The Great Standoff: Iran and the World,
Marandi stated that "The United States has been
engaged in a type of warfare for well over a
year now, since the 12-Day War, or a bit
before that", noting that "this war in
particular, the Ramadan War, has
been ongoing for six months".
Marandi said the current phase of the war is siege warfare, which he
emphasized, is a war crime. "Instead of bombing the Minab school
and slaughtering 168 little girls, or instead of bombing the sports
complex in Lomert - and killing large numbers of teenage girls
who are practicing volleyball, they're targeting all teenagers
and all elementary school children across the country
through siege warfare", he said.
Iran has outlasted US in previous
phases ---- and will do so again
Marandi stated that the current sanctions are unprecedented in their
severity. "These sanctions today ---- are sanctions that have never
existed, the likes of which have never existed in human history,"
Marandi said. "But the Iranians continue to remain steadfast,
and they will punish the aggressor".
He argued that Iran has consistently outlasted the United States
in previous phases of the war, citing the 40-day war, the siege
warfare period, and the 13 days of fighting after the United
States undermined a memorandum of understanding.
"Each phase was an attempt by one side to overcome the other,
to outlast the other," he said. "And so far, we've seen that both
during the 40 days, siege warfare, the 13 days, it was the
Iranians who outlasted the United States".
Marandi acknowledged....... that the current siege warfare will harm
Iranians and make life more difficult, but maintained: that Iran will
prevail. "The Iranians know - that this is a war for survival," he
said, adding that "the Iranians have a resilience, along with
its partners and allies across the axis of resistance, that
is, to be very blunt, unique --- in the world that we live
in today."
Chance of renewed war significant, substantial: Marandi
Regarding the possibility of a renewed military war, Marandi said the
chances are "significant - and substantial." He said Iran has warned
the United States that if it tries to crush the Iranian economy and if
regional governments cooperate, "the Iranian response will be
swift and decisive," which he said would include the use of
Iran's military capabilities.
He noted that the United States may also launch a strike on Iran,
and that renewed war could occur after the elections. "But we
are in such a situation," he said.
Marandi also addressed the link between the war in Ukraine and the
war in West Asia, stating that Russia and Iran have benefited from
each other's resistance to the United States and Europe. "The
Russians benefit enormously --- from the fact that Iran has
defeated the United States," he said. "And the Iranians
have benefited enormously - from the fact that the
Russians have severely weakened the United
States and the Europeans as well."
War reveals limitations of US power
and flawed Israeli intelligence
For his part --- former Pentagon Senior Security Policy Analyst Michael
Maloof offered a broader critique of US policy, describing the war as
"the most tragic and volatile consequence so far to date" of what
he said was a longstanding US approach to West Asia.
"Every time the United States has followed the intelligence of the
Israelis, and it's turned out to be wrong," Maloof said, adding,
"And so consequently, this is just the latest iteration. It's
the most catastrophic - so far."
He said the war has revealed the limitations of US power. "It has
shown that a country such as Iran, which is far less capable
militarily, can stand up to a superpower -- and did so
successfully, to the point that it's at a stalemate,"
he said. "Economically -- it has withstood years
and years of sanctions. It has withstood them."
Iran has learned to live with sanctions,
reshaping Middle East dynamics
Maloof argued that Iran, like Russia and China, has learned to live
with sanctions and reduce its reliance on the US dollar. "They've
learned to no longer rely solely upon the US dollar," he said.
"They have learned ways now to get out from under the
dependency on the dollar and its weaponization."
"As a consequence, it has shown the world ---- that a power such as
Iran can stand up to a superpower," Maloof said. "And I think this
has created a whole new perspective and outlook now
throughout the Middle East --- even with the GCC
countries --- on new security arrangements."
He said Gulf Arab countries are now having to reevaluate whether
they want US bases to remain, noting that those bases, which
were meant to be a deterrent, "turned out to be.. a detriment
to the United States in particular ---- and to those countries,
because they were involved in a preemptive strike on Iran."
He added that "the Middle East of old is no
longer going to return.... to what it was."
US military readiness diminishing,
Trump leadership --- criticized
Maloof was critical of US President Donald Trump's leadership,
describing his statements as "bluster". "He likes to paint a
good picture when it's all falling apart," Maloof said.
"And he's not to be believed. He lies. He even
lies to the American people."
Regarding the US military posture, Maloof said its readiness
is suffering. "As each day goes by, it is diminishing, and it's
diminishing tremendously, especially in this climate in the
Middle East," he said. He also noted that the United
States is "critically short on the ability to rearm"
and cannot keep its naval flotilla in place
indefinitely ...without replacements.
Maloof said - he does not believe a military approach can succeed.
"I don't see that anything will be worthwhile in pursuing a military
approach, once again, knowing that it has failed once," he said.
"And there is a limitation on everything ---- across the board."
War on Iran part of struggle between
unipolar, multipolar world orders
Maloof also addressed... the broader geopolitical context, describing
the war as part of a larger struggle between a US-led unipolar world
order and a rising multipolar order. "Trump is seeing the rise of
this," Maloof said. "The sanctions that he's trying to impose
and get everybody else involved, including China, isn't
going to work because they've been sanctioned...
to death."
He said the multipolar world order -- is now developing its own
financial system, which Trump views as a threat to the dollar
and the Western financial system overall. "This is what he's
really fighting against," Maloof said. "And Iran is just an
instrument of that fight, even though he uses nuclear
weapons... as an excuse."
Maloof said the wars in Ukraine and Iran are becoming intertwined.
"It all has to do with sanctions and with hegemony and with
influence in order to challenge the rise of the multipolar
world order," he said. "And Trump realizes now that
he cannot stop it."
Source: Al Mayadeen English