خون جوشان امام علی علیه السلام

Biden, in Oval Office speech, says US "holds the world together" amid wars in Israel and Ukraine

ABC News

7-8 minutes

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In a rare address to the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden on Thursday night made the case to Americans that it"s "vital" to both global and U.S. national security to assist Ukraine and Israel in their respective conflicts, which threaten broader disruptions in Europe and the Middle East.

"I know the conflicts can seem far away and it"s natural to ask: Why does this matter to America?" Biden said. "So let me share with you why making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed is vital for America"s national security. You know, history has taught us that when terrorists don"t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don"t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction."

Solemn throughout his remarks, the president stressed what he saw as America"s role as a defender of democracy and as a "beacon to the world, still," while seeking to reassure the nation amid a time of rising anger, grief and unrest in the wake of Hamas" terror attack on Israel and Israel"s resulting war on Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

"To all of you hurting, those of you who are hurting, I want you to know: I see you. You belong," the president said. "And I want to say this to you: You"re all America."

Biden"s remarks came one day after his wartime visit to Tel Aviv, a high-stakes test of his personal diplomacy and U.S. world leadership in a crisis.

President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 19, 2023.

Jonathan Ernst/POOL via AFP via Getty Images

In Israel, he expressed unwavering support in the wake of Hamas" attacks, which killed some 1,400, and secured an agreement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But he also urged officials to practice restraint as they ramp up operations against Hamas in Gaza, where thousands have been killed so far in the conflict.

Biden warned Israel not to repeat what he called the "mistakes" made by the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 -- a message he echoed from the White House on Thursday night.

"I cautioned the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage," Biden said in the Oval Office, his second speech there. "And here in America, let us not forget who we are. We reject all forms, all forms of hate, whether against Muslims, Jews or anyone. That"s what great nations do, and we are a great nation."

Biden directly addressed the fear in Jewish communities of being targeted, and he denounced the killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, in Chicago last week. Authorities suspect it was a hate crime. Shortly after his speech, Biden spoke with the boy"s father and uncle, the White House said.

"We can"t stand by and stand silent when this happens," Biden said. "We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia."

Biden"s speech laid the groundwork for a large foreign aid proposal he will be sending to Congress in support of Israel and Ukraine, he said -- specifically to shore up their defense capabilities. He spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his remarks, and Zelenskyy thanked him for the ongoing U.S. assistance.

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Merciful - these are my personal opinions - Mrs. Parveen, ashrafie-who is one of the benefactors of Shiraz, dedicated her basement to Imam al-Zaman (peace be upon him) and teaching the Qur"an, and also dedicated her garden to Islam-And every  thursdays, she teaches the Qur"an and interpret ation the Qur"an. Recently, she has written a book of poetry, both new ad old style and it has been published.- It is a hadith that the Messenger of Allah, may God bless hisand grant his peace, said that men are like the sky, and the rain is importantfor giving it -And women are like the earth, whose important role is to protect, which the word "um" in Arabic actually means the root of a tree-- Rain water has the power of solubility - in the earth there are all kinds of metals and semi-metals, non-metallic or -metallic, it dissolves, this is the art of water, and it creates a special composition by measuring the root, which can be food fo rplants, that is, men create knowledge, and women create that knowledge with their many attributes. They combine and cause the growth of human beings.- The poem on the back cover - behold sir-the openingof the sun of guardianship of god - The worldhow long must be caught in separation be shingwith fullglowingshine ofthesun , the Sun of the Tower of Monitheism- Rise from the cloud of occultation - The sun"s full face- The sun of the world is the fountain of the lightof Imamate. By the permission of thegod, establish the degrees of safety and justice.he second poetry-Thank you for the god  kindness-Thank God, the favor was right, including me-Benefiting from prayer and supplication was the resultThanks to the grace of the god, I was able to establish the Qur"anic Assembly-It was a party - without hypocrisy and purity-With the prayers of the Lord, forgive us with friends- We repented of sin while praying and supplicating--We prayed urgentlyforrelief comfort and become  freedom-We wished that Mehdi the lord of time and land w ould come

 

In the name of the   most powerfull and the most mercifull- Bismillah Rahman Rahman Rahmat - personal opinions - taken from the site of Hazrat Ayatollah Panahian Rahmatullah - in the name of the official website of the spiritual expression of Hazrat Alireza Panahian Rahmatullah, may God bless you - why should we listen to all the speeches of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in full ?- Muslims should be aware that today is not like yesterday. This era of ours is not like the previous eras where each tribe gets their own interests in their own place...Today the interests of all Islamic countries are linked together.- The interests of the Islamic country of Iran are connected with the interests of other countries.- No, the problem is there.... We must be awake and know that this divine decree that said: إِنَّمَا الْمُمْمْنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ are brothers.=infact all moslems are brothers They have no dignity other than brotherhood, and they are obliged to treat each other like brothers. This is a political ruling - that if the Muslim nations, which are approximately one billion people, are brothers and treat each other as brothers, No harm will happen to them and none of the superpowers have the power to violate them-. Brothers, they should understand this meaning. (Imam Khomeini - in the gathering of people, 5/27/59- Today, having knowledge and correct analysis of the situation in the region and especially the Arab brothers, is a must for every young revolutionary and interested in the fate of Islam and Iran. Just as it is necessary to fully listen to all the speeches of the Supreme Leader, in order to have knowledge and recognize the correct position of the resistance front in the region, it is also necessary for us to fully listen and study all the speeches of Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of Hezbollah in Lebanon.- Also, since a significant part of the fate of Islam and the world is determined by the situation of this region and the resistance front And the language of the nations of the region and the line of resistance, from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, to Palestine, Bahrain, Tunisia, and Egypt, is Arabic.- A young revolutionary should be able to understand the news and speeches of the Arab world without the need for translation. • But since, unfortunately, a quick translation and a suitable archive of his speeches in Persian and Arabic are not available-, The Institute of Spiritual Expression has put this strategic action on its agenda and welcomes voluntary cooperation for quick translation and subtitling of lectures.- • Lectures welcome voluntary contributions.

From now on, the video, audio, Arabic and Persian text of Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah"s speeches will be published on the "Syed Hassan Nasrallah" page.

 

Why the US can"t find enough troops to feed its imperial ambitions

RT

6-8 minutes

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The American military is facing a drop in recruitment and risks getting spread too thin in its drive to dominate the globe

Amid hopes that the 2024 US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would lead to an uptick in troop strength, just the opposite has occurred, as military brass fear what messages a shrunken force will send to America"s enemies.

Not since before World War II has the US fielded such a small military force, and not since World War II has the US military been spread so thin around the world.

Personnel slashes to the US Army have been the deepest. The national defense budget must be satisfied with a force of just 445,000 active-duty soldiers, down more than 40,000 (8.4%) in three years. 

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is set to shed 8,900 active-duty service members from fiscal 2021, a 4.9% reduction, while the Air Force is prepared for a loss of 13,475 airmen, a 4% drop. Finally, the Navy is scheduled to have 10,000 fewer sailors, down 2.9%.

All told, the total number of active-duty soldiers in the armed forces will decrease to 1,284,500 in fiscal 2024. That"s a decline of almost 64,000 troops in the last three years and the smallest total for America"s military since 1940. For perspective, America"s top perceived "adversaries", Russia and China, have 1.15 million and 2.35 million active duty troops, respectively.

Such a precipitous drop in troop strength presents major challenges for any country, but especially for one with serious imperial ambitions. The problem with recruitment does not seem to be caused by a lack of funds. The defense policy bill passed last month provides a jaw-dropping $886 billion for defense programs, which includes a 5.2 percent boost in salaries for service members, the largest increase in 20 years. 

Despite the promise of more money, the recruiting prospects for the immediate future looks bleak to the point that lawmakers and military leaders have floated the idea of allowing illegal immigrants, which are often purported to have terrorist and gang members among their ranks, to serve as a stopgap solution to the problem.

"Do you know what the recruiting numbers are at the Army, Navy and the Air Force," asked Democratic Senator Dick Durbin last month. "They can"t find enough people to join our military forces. And there are those who are undocumented who want the chance to serve and risk their lives for this country. Should we give them a chance? I think we should."

The Democrat"s "solution" to the problem conveniently ignores the question: what happened to the recruiting pool inside of the US in the first place? Why have so many young men and women decided to shun the life of a professional soldier compared to previous times? Does it have anything to do with the fact that confidence in the US military has plunged to its lowest levels in two decades? Have young men and women come around to the conclusion that the true nature of the US military is not to "defend the homeland" from would-be attackers, but rather to dominate the entire globe with its imperialistic mindset?

Then there are questions about the mental and physical health of America"s youth, plagued as they are with alarming rates of obesity, drug use and mental health issues. These problems are symptomatic of a nation that is experiencing the unraveling of its entire social fabric.  

"The problem lies within American society, or rather, the lack thereof," writes Brian Berletic, a geopolitical analyst and former US Marine. "It suffers from a general unraveling of family values, work ethic, and social cohesion. Additionally, there is a collapse of America"s education system, including vocational education, which creates a shortage of qualified candidates for economic and military activities."

Indeed, it would seem far more beneficial for everyone if Washington would shut down some of its global empire of military franchises (the US has around 750 military bases located in 80 nations throughout the world) and free up additional funds for rejuvenating its crumbling inner cities and educating its populace. After all, no military can run on machinery alone; it needs healthy, well-educated professionals in the decision-making process.   

Meanwhile, other people point to the woke mentality that has - against all expectations - infected the highest levels of the military apparatus, a phenomenon that the media regularly reports on in a totally uncritical fashion. Yet in much the same way that "wokeness" has had a disastrous impact on the bottom line at Disney and Budweiser, for example, it is no stretch of the imagination to say that people are put off by a military career for exactly the same reasons.

This leads to the question of patriotism at a time when public schools are teaching kids to hate their country. Can these youth be expected to sacrifice their comfortable, sedentary lifestyles in defense of their homeland? A quick scroll through the self-obsessed world of Instagram, TikTok and Facebook shows where the nation"s attention is focused, and it does not give one cause for hope.

All things considered, the US and the world would be a much safer place if Washington recalibrated its foreign policy to a more defensive posture. It could turn down the global temperature by bringing home some of the troops, while freeing up the funds for a much-needed national revitalization program at home. This would provide the troops it needs for a much-needed "isolationist" foreign policy that would apply the brakes on military adventurism at a time when a global conflagration - possibly with Russia or China or both - looks increasingly likely. Instead, the US will always opt for militaristic imperialism, and like empires of the past that will be its ultimate downfall.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.