Synopsis: Benjamin Netanyahu is the new Prime Minister of Israel. This is much more than a simple changing of the guard of a head of state. Netanyahu and his Likud party represent a serious shift to the political right for Israel…which means a much more hawkish approach to Iran and Hamas, and a virtual end to any peace process with Palestine. The US and the world will have to seriously change their approach to all things Israel with this new leadership in command.
Synopsis: An internationally-brokered power sharing deal to 'redistribute' political power within the crumbling state known as Zimbabwe has just been implemented today. Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition MDC leader, is now the Prime Minister of the country to Robert Mugabe's president position. The Avenger elaborates on why Mugabe would allow this to happen and why these moves are a total sham.
Kyrgyzstan announced that it was closing a major US air base in their country which is a strategic center of the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan. This comes one week after a promise of huge amounts of aid to Kyrgyzstan from the Russians, as well as a joint security venture including these two sates and others. But the Russian motives are more complex than just pissing off the US. This move increases western reliance on Russia's aid and influence to fight the Afghan campaign….thereby having a strategic lever by which to get what is wants out of the US/NATO, namely no more NATO meddling in Ukraine and Georgia, and possibly stopping the development of the proposed NATO missile defense shield in eastern Europe.
Synopsis: The Plaid Avenger reports form the US/Mexican border on the serious nature of the current cartel calamity causing consternation to the Mexican government, as well as anyone in the US who is smart enough to know about the issue. The Gulf, Tijuana, Sinaloa, and Federation (combo team-up) drug cartels have become staggeringly powerful due to the $15 to $50 billion illegal drug trade….all of which goes to supply the outrageous US demand. These cartels are increasingly cavorting with gang crime/violence within the US itself. This is now a North American problem that demands increased attention from the US and Canada.
As the Obama administration begins the task of taking the helm of the US superpower state, they have been making it very clear that they want to break strongly with the past Bush administration's foreign policy tactics and targets. Thus, a huge shift is underway to make the US approach to international matters a more open and multilateral process…but not necessarily suggesting that they will be entirely dovish. While this is certainly a more diplomatic approach, the Plaid Avenger wants you to be aware that there are many international issues which may not be substantially changed (if at all) by this shift in administrative policy.
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