MESOPOTAMIA NEWS PERSPECTIVES: Biden Can Keep the Two-State Solution Alive

 But He Needs a Plan to Manage the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

By Ilan Goldenberg June 21, 2021 – FOREIGN AFFAIRS

President Joe Biden and his team came into office understandably hoping to deprioritize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They saw Washington-led negotiations as a trap that had ensnared previous U.S. administrations, and the prospects for progress looked bleaker than ever.

But some issues can’t be ignored. As last month’s escalation between Israel and Hamas underscored, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires regular U.S. engagement to avoid spasms of violence that sap Washington’s ability to deal with other priorities.

The Biden administration isn’t wrong to eschew yet another round of high-profile negotiations.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : VIREN MUTIEREN IMMER / DIE DELTA VARIANTE

Der neue Blockbuster des Sommers ist da. Er heißt: „Die Delta-Variante“. Es handelt sich um einen echten Schocker. Einiges spricht dafür, dass er einschlägt. Produziert wird dieser Schocker schließlich von jenem eingespielten Erfolgsteam aus Modellierern, Journalisten, Virologen und manchen Politikern, das uns auch schon „Die britische Mutante“ (Untertitel „Jetzt noch tödlicher!“), die deutsche Tragikomödie „Macht die Schulen dicht!“ und den Politthriller „Die Bundesnotbremse“ gebracht hat.

Blockbuster – Moment mal. Was soll das heißen? Gibt es etwa die Delta-Variante nicht, breitet sie sich nicht in England und Portugal rapide aus? Selbstverständlich gibt es sie, genauso wie die „britische“, die „südafrikanische“ und die „brasilianische“. Sehr wahrscheinlich, dass die Delta-Variante schon im Herbst in Deutschland die „dominante“ sein wird. Dass Viren immer neu mutieren, dass sie sich nur in den seltensten Fällen ausrotten lassen, kurz: dass auch pandemische Viren irgendwann endemisch werden, ist normal.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : New leaders, new era: US-Israel relations reach crossroads

How President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett manage that relationship will shape the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

By  AP and ILH Staff  ISRAEL HAYOM –  Published on  06-21-2021 12:28

Their countries at crossroads, the new leaders of the United States and Israel have inherited a relationship that is at once imperiled by increasingly partisan domestic political considerations and deeply bound in history and an engrained recognition that they need each other.

How President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett manage that relationship will shape the prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : AFTER TRUMP : BIDEN DELEGATES  AFGHAN AIRPORT INTO ERDOGAN’S  CONTROL !

Taliban Enters Key Afghan Cities in Ongoing Offensive; Ghani to Meet Biden
The Taliban entered two provincial capitals in northern Afghanistan on Sunday, local officials said, after around a dozen districts fell to the Taliban—mostly in the country’s north—over the weekend. In Kunduz city, the capital of Kunduz Province, the Taliban seized the city’s entrance before dispersing throughout its neighborhoods. In Maimana, the capital of Faryab Province, Taliban fighters appeared at the city’s entrance before moving into the city’s periphery. Since May 1, when U.S. forces officially began their withdrawal from the country, the Taliban have taken more than 50 districts. Only a small number of districts have been retaken by government forces as the defeats have forced Afghan commanders to consider what territory they can hold following the American departure. Rohullah Ahmadzai, an Afghanistan defense ministry spokesman, said on Saturday, “There is a new, robust and effective plan to retake areas from which we have pulled back our forces.”

On Saturday, in a sign of the deteriorating security situation, the Afghan government appointed a new acting minister of defense, minister of interior, and army chief. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced that he was appointing Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as defense minister, replacing Asadullah Khalid. Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal was picked as new interior minister replacing Hayatullah Hayat, while General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai was appointed as the new chief of army staff, replacing General Yasin Zia. The cabinet changes still need to be approved by the country’s parliament.

The Taliban said on Sunday they were committed to peace talks, adding they wanted a “genuine Islamic system” in Afghanistan that would make provisions for women’s rights in line with cultural traditions and religious rules. “We understand that the world and Afghans have queries and questions about the form of the system to be established following withdrawal of foreign troops,” said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s political office, in the statement, adding the issues were best addressed during negotiations in Doha. Calling for an Islamic system as the best solution to the issues facing all Afghans, he added that women and minorities would be protected and diplomats, and NGO workers would be able to work securely.

President Biden will meet at the White House with Ghani and the chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah on Friday to discuss the U.S. troop withdrawal. Biden will seek to reassure Ghani and Abdullah of U.S. support for the Afghan people including diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian assistance, the White House said in a statement. Biden will also repeat his pledge to ensure that the country never becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups. New York Times, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Axios
Related:
New York Times: Departure of U.S. Contractors Poses Myriad Problems for Afghan Military
Politico: U.S. Failed in Afghanistan, Former President Says
Wall Street Journal: Taliban Advances Test Afghan Forces’ Morale as the U.S. Leaves
Voice of America: Taliban Donations Soar in Pakistan Ahead of US Pullout From Afghanistan

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS LATEST : Turkey’s top court accepts indictment to shut pro-Kurdish party

  • Ahval NEWS – Jun 21 2021 02:19 Gmt+3

Turkey’s Constitutional Court unanimously accepted an indictment for the closure of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged links to terrorism, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Monday.

The ruling threatens to undermine calls by the European Union and the United States for Turkey to strengthen its democracy and only prosecute individuals and groups with proven involvement and links to terrorist acts. Turkey is a candidate for membership of the EU and a NATO ally.

In April, the Constitutional Court turned down a first indictment to close the HDP, citing an insufficiently built and evidenced case. The HDP is the second largest opposition party in Turkey’s parliament.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS UNTER DER REGENBOGENFAHNE: Bundesregierung will Fahnen & Zeitungen von revolutionären Organisationen aus Lateinamerika und Asien verbieten – und von Islamisten.

NUR NOCH ERLAUBTES IST ERLAUBT !

21 Juni 2021 – PERSPEKTIVEN NEWS – Die Bundesregierung will noch vor der Sommerpause eine Gesetzesverschärfung durchbringen, welches sich gegen Organisationen auf der „EU-Terror-Liste“ richtet. Darunter sind zum einen islamistische Organisationen zum anderen jedoch auch revolutionäre Organisationen aus Kolumbien, Philippinen, Peru, Kurdistan, Palästina, Türkei und Sri Lanka die teils seit Jahrzehnten gegen faschistische Unterdrückung kämpfen.

Die Regierungsfraktionen von CDU, CSU und SPD haben sich auf eine Verschärfung des Paragrafen 86 im Strafgesetzbuch geeinigt. Dieser stellt das „Verbreiten von Propagandamitteln verfassungswidriger Organisationen“ unter Strafe. Dazu gehört beispielsweise das zeigen von Fahnen oder Verbreitung von Publikationen der Organisationen.

Nach Willen der Bundesregierung soll der Paragraph um Organisationen ergänzt werden, die auf der „EU-Terrorsanktionsliste“ stehen. Die Gesetzesverschärfung soll noch vor der Sommerpause beschlossen werden.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS  : Iranisches Atomkraftwerk nach „technischem Fehler“ abgeschaltet

  • Aktualisiert am 21.06.2021-08:38  FAZ – Führung im August 2010: Weibliche Sicherheitskräfte vor dem iranischen Atomkraftwerk Buschehr beobachten Medienvertreter. Das iranische Atomkraftwerk Buschehr ist nach einem „technischen Fehler“ abgeschaltet worden. Eine genauere Beschreibung des Problems gab es zunächst nicht.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS ISRAEL : IT WILL NEVER BE AS IT WAS BEFORE ! -Operation Guardian of the Walls: Moving the Conflict from the Periphery to Jerusalem and the Heart of the Country?

 

The recent operation in Gaza reflected the maturation of processes originating in the late 20th century, culminating in the spillover of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the West Bank and Gaza to the center of the country, including Jerusalem and the cities with mixed Jewish and Arab populations. From now on, any future political process must be managed in ways different from prior attempts, insofar as the fundamental premises driving previous talks are no longer relevant

 

Menachem Klein Yohanan Tzoreff – INSS Insight No. 1490, June 20, 2021

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS KURDISTAN : PKK/PYD SHUTTING DOWN KURDISH PRESS OFFICE

Statement from Kurdistan 24 Company for Media and Research Ltd.

Statement from Kurdistan 24 on authorities in northeast Syria (Rojava) forcibly shutting down our bureau.   20 June 2021  Kurdistan 24 The head office of Kurdistan 24 Company for Media and Research Ltd.

On Sunday, June 20, 2021, security forces belonging to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) forcibly shut down the Kurdistan 24 regional bureau in northeast Syria (Rojava). This act directly undermines our reporting and the hard work of our journalists, who give a voice to the people of the region. Kurdistan 24 has reported on the situation in Rojava impartially and professionally; hindering our work is in violation of press freedom.

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MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : TAKEOVER – China’s New Security Concept for Afghanistan

By Emil AvdalianiJune 20, 2021 AL MONITOR  – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The announced withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan could represent an opportunity for Beijing to expand its geopolitical influence westward. This would be fraught with security risks for Xinjiang and Central Asia. Beijing might be creative in how it manages the Afghan problem, possibly establishing a quartet of states that share not only security and economic interests but a deep revulsion toward an America-led world order.

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan will create a geopolitical vacuum—the inevitable result of any withdrawal, be it physical or political. Another truism is that geopolitical vacuums, like all vacuums, never remain unfilled for long.

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