NATO

NATO relocates Iraq mission personnel to Europe amid Mideast escalation

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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) logos at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. [VALERIA MONGELLI/AFP via Getty Images]

NATO has relocated all personnel from its mission in Iraq to Europe, the alliance said on Friday, citing a shift in operational posture amid the current hostilities in the Mideast, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe confirmed that NATO Mission Iraq personnel were safely moved out of the Middle East, with the final staff departing Iraq on March 20.

“I would like to thank the Republic of Iraq and all the Allies who assisted in the safe relocation of NATO personnel from Iraq,” said Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe.

He also praised mission personnel for maintaining operations during the transition.

READ: Trump slams NATO for refusal to aid his effort to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Following the relocation, NATO Mission Iraq will continue its work from Joint Force Command in Naples, Italy, the statement added.

The mission remains a non-combat mission focused on advising and building the capacity of Iraqi security institutions, it noted.

The statement said that the mission’s objective is to help Iraq develop sustainable, transparent, and inclusive security forces capable of maintaining stability, countering terrorism, and preventing the resurgence of the terror group ISIS (Daesh).

Since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing some 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hostilities have escalated.

⁠Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

READ: Trump considers risky Kharg Island takeover to force Iran to reopen strait: Report

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don't need people to join wars after they've already won.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Straight of Hormuz despite saying only 9 days ago that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won.
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it's easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel's genocidal expansion.
Donald Trump warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog, says that it’s easy atm, she only needs to report war crimes supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion.
Continue ReadingNATO relocates Iraq mission personnel to Europe amid Mideast escalation

Germany says Iran war has ‘nothing to do with NATO’

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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Government Spokesperson Stefan Kornelius holds a press conference in the capital, Berlin, Germany, on March 9, 2026. [Halil Sağırkaya – Anadolu Agency]

Germany said on Monday that the US war on Iran “has nothing to do with NATO,” Anadolu reports.

“It is not NATO’s war. NATO is a defensive alliance. The German government must also clearly assess the alliance’s territory and its own position on participation in this war,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told journalists in Berlin.

“The expansion of combat operations would bear great risks for other partners in the Middle East and Gulf region,” he added.

The German government has repeatedly stated that it would not participate in the US war on Iran.

READ: Iran says it sees no reason to negotiate with US amid escalating conflict

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace

Continue ReadingGermany says Iran war has ‘nothing to do with NATO’

NATO Chief Rebuffs Trump’s Attempt to Use Alliance to Help US Take Greenland

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Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House on March 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Trump is causing a completely unforced recession, the markets tanking, and your 401(k)s plummeting, and he’s focused on invading Greenland,” said one observer.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte met with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House in Washington, D.C., where he brushed off the Republican leader’s suggestion that the transatlantic alliance might get involved in his quixotic bid to annex the autonomous territory of another NATO member.

Revisiting his wish to somehow acquire Greenland from Denmark—an outcome opposed by Greenland, Denmark, and a majority of Americans—Trump told reporters during a joint press conference with Rutte and other NATO and U.S. officials including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he’s bullish on the prospects of annexation.

“I think it’ll happen,” the president said. “And I’m just thinking, I didn’t give it much thought before, but I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental. You know, Mark, we need that for international security, not just security, international.”

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At one point during the meeting, Trump turned to Hegseth and remarked, “You know, we have a couple of bases on Greenland already, and we have quite a few soldiers, and maybe you’ll see more and more soldiers go there, and I don’t know, what do you think about that, Pete?”

“Don’t answer that, Pete,” Trump said, eliciting laughter.

Maintaining the congenial vibe of the meeting, Rutte said with a laugh that “when it comes to Greenland yes or not joining the U.S., I would leave that outside, for me, this discussion, because I don’t want to drag NATO into that.”

The former longtime Dutch prime minister then said that Trump is “totally right” about countering Chinese and Russian regional influence, and that NATO cooperation on that matter is “very important.”

While many observers focused on Rutte’s diplomatic rejection of Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland, Rasmus Jarlov, a member of Denmark’s Parliament representing the Conservative People’s Party, said on social media that “we do not appreciate the secretary general of NATO joking with Trump about Greenland like this.”

“It would mean war between two NATO countries,” Jarlov warned. “Greenland has just voted against immediate independence from Denmark and does not want to be American, ever.”

The center-right Demokraatit Party pulled off a surprise victory Tuesday in Greenland’s parliamentary election, with Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the territory’s likely next prime minister, vehemently rejecting U.S. annexation.

“I hope it sends a clear message to [Trump] that we are not for sale,” he said of the election results in an interview with Sky News. “We don’t want to be Americans. No, we don’t want to be Danes. We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future. And we want to build our own country by ourselves.”

Trump’s comments came on the same day that NBC Newscited U.S. officials who said the president has ordered the Pentagon to prepare plans to “take back” the Panama Canal—including through the use of military force if deemed necessary.

Original article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Neo-Fascist Climate Science Denier Donald Trump says Burn, Baby, Burn.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.
Continue ReadingNATO Chief Rebuffs Trump’s Attempt to Use Alliance to Help US Take Greenland

Sunak and Starmer unite for war

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sunak-and-starmer-unite-war

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (left) and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a press conference at the Warsaw Armoured Brigade in Warsaw during Rishi Sunak’s visit to Poland and Germany, April 23, 2024

Leaders join forces to condemn Farage for comments on Nato expansionism

RISHI SUNAK and Sir Keir Starmer united in support of their bipartisan war policy as the row spread over Nigel Farage’s remarks blaming Nato and European Union expansion for contributing to the Ukraine conflict.

The two leaders expressed outrage that anyone would make an election issue out of the apparent drive to a wider war in Europe and Britain’s complicity in it.

But anti-war campaigners warned that the conflict could not be swept under the carpet.

Reform Party owner Mr Farage had been the first to break through the wall of silence surrounding British policy towards Russia and Ukraine during the election.

Mr Farage said: “The West’s errors in Ukraine have been catastrophic. I won’t apologise for telling the truth.”

He had told the BBC that “the ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union was giving this man a reason to say to his Russian people, ‘they’re coming for us again’ and to go to war,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Making it clear that he did not support Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he added: “I am not, and never have been, an apologist or supporter of Putin.

“As a champion of national sovereignty, I believe that Putin was entirely wrong to invade the sovereign nation of Ukraine.

“What I have been saying for the past 10 years is that the West has played into Putin’s hands, giving him the excuse to do what he wanted to do anyway.”

The squabbling Tory Party briefly united to condemn Mr Farage.

Mr Sunak said he had played “into Putin’s hands” and former defence secretary Ben Wallace called him, somewhat irrelevantly, “a pub bore.”

Security minister Tom Tugendhat linked the Reform leader with the left, telling the press: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re Jeremy Corbyn or Nigel Farage — if you parrot the Kremlin’s lies, you cannot be trusted with our national security.”

Not to be outdone, Sir Keir huffed that Farage’s comments were “disgraceful,” adding that Ukraine was basically off-limits as a subject for political debate.

“Anyone who is standing for Parliament ought to be really clear that Russia is the aggressor, Putin bears responsibility, that we stand with Ukraine — as we have done from the beginning of this conflict — and Parliament has spoken with one voice on this since the beginning of the conflict,” the Labour leader said.

Indeed, he threatened a dozen Labour MPs with loss of the whip for expressing concern at Nato policy slightly before the 2022 invasion.

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sunak-and-starmer-unite-war

Response to Rishi Sunak's extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024. Second version of this image with text slightly altered.
Response to Rishi Sunak’s extremism speech at Downing Street 1 March 2024. Second version of this image with text slightly altered.
Zionist Keir Starmes is quoted "I support Zionism without qualification." He's asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
Zionist Keir Starmes is quoted “I support Zionism without qualification.” He’s asked whether that means that he supports Zionism under all circumstances, whatever Zionists do.
Continue ReadingSunak and Starmer unite for war

Morning Star: The imperialist consensus exposes the hollow sham of democracy under capitalism

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I would like to quote all of this editorial but I am unfortunately restricted to quoting only an excerpt. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-imperialist-consensus-exposes-hollow-sham-democracy-under-capitalism

Labour leader Keir Starmer addressing 400 business leaders at the Kia Oval, London, during the launch of Labour Party’s plan for business, February 1, 2024

BRITAIN’S ruling class is eager to carry on the pretence that there is real choice under their political system.

Capitalism promises us that it’s the politicians that call the shots, there are real differences between those politicians and that we’re the ones that elect the politicians and they’re answerable to us.

But as with most tricks, when looked at too closely, reality and the nature of the fraud become clear.

Nowhere is it clearer that there is no real difference between the ruling-class parties than the imperialist consensus on questions of foreign policy, militarism and war.

Rather than questioning the Tory government’s policy or strategy on the burning issues of Palestine or Ukraine, Keir Starmer has bent over backwards (not hard when you’re spineless) at each and every turn to not only stymie any criticism, but to heartily endorse Tory policy.

…

Britain is a proud western democracy — the oldest in the world in fact: you can stand as a candidate for whoever you want; you can vote for whoever you want; just as long as they enthusiastically cheerlead genocide in 2024.

…

I would like to quote all of this editorial but I am unfortunately restricted to quoting only an excerpt. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-imperialist-consensus-exposes-hollow-sham-democracy-under-capitalism

Image of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. UK halts aid to UNRWA in Gaza over Israeli allegations that 12 staff from a total of 13,000 were involved in the 7 October 2024 attack on Israel.
Image of UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. UK halts aid to UNRWA in Gaza over Israeli allegations that 12 staff from a total of 13,000 were involved in the 7 October 2024 attack on Israel.
Zionist Keir Starmer supports Israel's Gaza genocide.
Zionist Keir Starmer supports Israel’s Gaza genocide.
Continue ReadingMorning Star: The imperialist consensus exposes the hollow sham of democracy under capitalism