Mask-off outbursts by Maga insiders and most strikingly, the destruction and reconstruction of the presidential seat, with a huge new $300m ballroom, means Trump isn’t planning to leave the White House when his term ends, writes LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
On Israel’s other war
The war in Gaza is being used as the perfect smokescreen to finalise old colonial plans in the West Bank, argues RAMZY BAROUD
PROMISES of “absolute victory” in Gaza are nothing but “gibberish,” according to Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. Gallant’s comments were not meant to be public, but somehow were leaked and published by Israeli media on August 12.
The explanation of why Benjamin Netanyahu is pursuing a losing war in Gaza has been largely confined to the prime minister’s personal interests: avoiding the outcome of his corruption trials, preserving his extremist government coalition and avoiding early elections.
Still, none of these rationales explain the absurdity of continuing with a war which, in the words of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, is “the worst failure in Israel’s history.”
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Will 2025 be a year of combat for Israel, as promised by the new IDF chief of staff, wonders RAMZY BAROUD
Unlike previous military campaigns in Gaza, there is no significant strand of Israeli society claiming victory, and a political crisis long-brewing has now reached crisis point, argues RAMZY BAROUD
The Israeli PM has won political favour by repeatedly playing the victim card – but when the war on Gaza ends this kind of manoeuvring will no longer suffice in order to maintain his coalition, says RAMZY BAROUD
Israel’s right-wing government refuses to acknowledge its military failures and declining global legitimacy, while allowing itself to entertain delusional expansion plans fuelled by religious extremism, writes RAMZY BAROUD



