Uncategorized

Iraq

Gaza: flashpoint for regional war? (redux)

The Pentagon carried out air-strikes on Iran-backed militia forces in Iraq in retaliation for a drone attack on a US airbase in Erbil, while a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Syria. Israel continues to trade cross-border fire with Lebanon's Hezbollah, while Yemen's Houthi armed movement claimed responsibility for drone attacks targeting the Israeli port city of Eilat. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel is now fighting on "seven fronts"—Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen. (Image: Pixabay)

Europe

Russia: unprecedented number of treason cases in 2023

The Russian authorities opened 70 cases in 2023 for "state treason" or "secret cooperation with a foreign state or organization," according to a report from the human rights organization Perviy Otdel. Out of the 70 new cases initiated in 2023, in addition to 28 pending from previous years, courts found defendants guilty in 37 cases, marking an historical high. Some cases progressed swiftly from initiation to final judgment, spanning a mere month. Often, the Federal Security Service (FSB) conducted online sting operations, particularly targetting individuals opposing the war in Ukraine. Those charged under the treason statute, Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, may face from 12 years to life imprisonment. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Europe

Russia ex-GRU officer to testify before ICC

Former Russian military intelligence officer Igor Salikov arrived in the Netherlands to testify as a witness at the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Russian war crimes. Salikov took part in operations in eastern Ukraine as an officer of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) starting in 2014, and later served as a senior instructor for the private military company Wagner in Syria. In 2022, he was a commander in the private military company Redut during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Salikov admitted to witnessing crimes against civilians, including child abductions. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Southern Cone

Hezbollah operative indicted in Argentina bombing

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment filed against Hezbollah operative Samuel Salman El Reda for his alleged involvement in a bomb attack on a Jewish community center in Argentina three decades ago. The 20-page indictment concerns the 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and caused hundreds of injuries. The US government claims El Reda colaborated with the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) in the attack. (Photo: khamenei.ir via Wikimedia Commons)

Planet Watch

CounterVortex launches weekly vlog

The CounterVortex now has a weekly vlog, with our roundup of under-reported news and views from around the world, from an unapologetically radical dissident-left perspective—brought to you by your chief reporter, ranter and blogger Bill Weinberg. Subscribe to our new YouTube channel, and please share on social media. If you wish to receive our weekly headlines and digest by email, you can subscribe to that via Substack.

The Caribbean

Podcast: geopolitics of the Essequibo dispute

In Episode 205 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg looks at the recent re-escalation and (hopefully) denouement of the dispute over Esequibo—an oil-rich territory controlled by Guyana and claimed by Venezuela. Ironically, this claim was first asserted by the conservative, anti-communist Venezuela of the 1960s to help destabilize the anti-imperialist Guyana of Cheddi Jagan. Today, the left-populist but increasingly nationalistic regime of Nicolás Maduro even entertains hubristic claims to sovereignty over Venezuela's other much larger neighbor, Colombia. But this revanchism appears to mask the fact that "revolutionary" Venezuela largely remains a petro-state with a rentier economy, vulnerable to drops in the global oil price, even if Chinese corporate exploiters have been replacing gringo ones. With the recent easing of sanctions, US giants like Chevron have even returned to Venezuela—while the extractivist model results in indigenous resistance. Contrary to the dogmas of left and right alike, the real root of the Venezuelan crisis is that the country is insufficiently socialist. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Map: SurinameCentral via Wikimedia Commons)

Greater Middle East

Yemen: Houthis ‘weaponize water’ in siege of Taizz

In a new report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) charges that both the Houthis and government forces have violated residents' right to water in the ongoing siege of Taizz, Yemen. For the past eight years, the besieging Houthi forces have cut off the flow from watersheds under their control to the Taizz Local Water & Sanitation Corporation, which manages the city's water supply and sewage treatment system. These watersheds previously provided 77% of the city's supply. The government troops that control the city have meanwhile sold the public water from wells within the urban area for their own profit. HRW called upon both parties to "allow Taizz's local water agency to access, repair, and operate water infrastructure on the front lines and in Houthi-controlled territory." (Map via PCL)

Greater Middle East

Houthis vow to continue attacks on Red Sea shipping

The leadership of Yemen's Houthi armed movement issued a statement saying they would not halt their military operations in the Red Sea unless Israel stops its "genocide crimes" in Gaza and allows humanitarian aid to enter the Strip. The move comes despite the US announcement of a new naval coalition to counter the attacks. The Houthis, backed by Iran, have launched over a dozen attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea since Israel's bombardment of Gaza began in October. A range of drones and ballistic missiles have been deployed against vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, or Gate of Tears, which separates the Horn of Africa from the Arabian Peninsula—a chokepoint for global trade. Shipping firms have already started to pull their vessels from the Red Sea route, opting for the much longer passage around Africa. The closing of the Red Sea to shipping has obvious implications for the price of oil and the ongoing worldwide food and energy crisis. (Image: NASA via Wikimedia Commons)

Palestine

West Bank tips deeper into crisis

With international eyes on the catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, an economic and human rights crisis is rapidly unfolding in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Violence by both the Israeli army and settlers is escalating, with entire Palestinian villages emptied, the residents forced to flee. Intensified restrictions on mobility are being imposed by the occupation forces, work permits are being cancelled by the tens of thousands, and tax revenues that Israel collects on West Bank exports are being withheld from the Palestinian Authority. At least 290 Palestinians, including 75 children, have been killed since Oct. 7—double the figure for all of last year. (Photo: B'Tselem)

Planet Watch

COP28: landmark deal, or messy compromise?

The COP28 climate summit concluded in the United Arab Emirates with a so-called "UAE Consensus" that resolves to "transition away from fossil fuels"—hailed as an historic first commitment to eliminate the principal cause of climate change. Many climate activists, however, assail the document as vague and non-binding. Another failure pointed to by skeptics is the lack of finance commitments to come out of COP28. The funds made available by rich countries to help developing countries adapt and transition continue to lag far behind what is needed. A New Collective Quantified Goal for Climate Finance is set to be discussed next year at COP29, to be held in Azerbaijan. (Photo: CounterVortex)

Palestine

Girding for a long war in Gaza

There have been resounding calls from across the world for a long-term ceasefire to bring an end to more than two months of bombardment and a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Over 20,000 people have now been killed by Israel's aerial campaign and ground invasion, according to the health ministry in the Strip, with over 80% of the 2.3 million residents of the enclave displaced from their homes. While Washington has continued to support Israel’s war effort (including through massive weapons transfers), Israel has paid little heed to belated US calls to try to limit civilian casualties and allow more access for humanitarian aid. Israel now says its war against Hamas could last months. With aid agencies already struggling to operate, amid food shortages and outbreaks of disease, the impact of a prolonged war in the Strip challenges the imagination. (Photo: Mohammed Zaanoun/TNH)

Planet Watch

Support CounterVortex with a year-end donation!

The global crisis was already at a horrific level due to Russia's war and campaign of genocide in Ukraine when 2023 began. Since this October, even Ukraine has been pushed from the headlines by Israel's unrelenting and massive bombardment of Gaza, now also approaching the level of genocide. And then there are the numerous conflicts around the word that get virtually no coverage. At the CounterVortex, we strive every day to bring an unorthodox dissident-left perspective to the conflicts that are in the headlines—demonstrating, for example, why progressives should support Ukraine and Palestine, in repudiation of the Great Power game that divides the world into rival camps—while also providing consistent coverage of under-reported conflicts outside the media spotlight. We can only continue this mission with your continued support. Please give what you can.