I can't believe there isn't a single word here about Israel's immediate violation of the 'ceasefire' yesterday when it launched a massive bomb attack on densely populated areas in Beirut and other areas in Lebanon only hours after the agreement was enacted, killing over 250 men, women and children.
The Contrarian continues to entirely ignore Israel's assault on Lebanon that has now killed nearly 1800 people in just the past 5 weeks, while barely saying anything about Israel's many attacks on Iran's civilian infrastructure and residences.
The only mention of Israel here is that the ceasefire was a 'defeat' which may increase Iran's 'ability to wreak havoc'.
What about Israel's 'ability to wreak havoc' in Iran, in Lebanon, in so many other places in the past two years, along with its partner, the US?
Does The Contrarian even acknowledge this illegal and unprovoked war was brought by an alliance of the US and Israel?
I think the very nature of the so-called ”alliance” between Israel and Trump /the Christian nationalists needs to be brought into the spotlight. The nation and Congress have no idea what the parameters and agreements of this alliance is, how and when and by whom it was crafted, how long it is to last. Are these two armed conflicts essentially independent? Is Israel at the table during Iran/US “negotiations”? Do they have a say in the Iran outcome separate from the US? Do they consider Lebanon a separate issue? And what is Russia’s role in all of this mess? The whole situation stinks to high heaven.
That is all certainly true. It seems clear the only country that knew the war was being planned, and of course was involved in that planning, was not any of our NATO allies, but Israel. None one seems to have any concrete plan at all for any of this.
I would go further though - the entire special, very unique, and very toxic relationship between the US and Israel needs to be, at the very least, fundamentally re-examined. Trump and the Christian nationalists are no doubt a big part of the problem, but I'd say its even bigger than that.
In the past few years, this alliance of aggression has killed at least 100,00 people in several countries and regions, made millions more homeless, and has committed countless war crimes.
I wouldn't be too hard on Jen as, after all, no one here has any control over what Israel does and, besides, the campaign money that flows from Zionist Americans is too good for any national politician of any party to give up.
Any person with a smidgen of analytical ability knows that this disaster was concocted by Netanyahu, who simply lead a gullible Trump by the nose.
While this may be true, none of that explains why Jennifer Rubin and The Contrarian continue to completely ignore major facets of this war, especially regarding Israel's attacks on Lebanon, but even Israel's general involvement.
She doesn't have to have any control over what Israel does to report crucial and important news, like Israel's brazen ceasefire violation and mass killing of hundreds of civilians in broad daylight, in one of the biggest single assaults of the entire war so far. That's what journalists are supposed to do, right?
It's not even just today either...look back on the past weeks daily newsletters from Rubin. She barely even mentions Israel at all, and the very few times she does, its in some other context, not about Israel's actual, ongoing, illegal actions and its full partnership with the US.
I don't disagree with anything you've said. The support the U.S. has given Israel since the Hamas attack in 2023 has been obscene and Joe Biden bears a LOT of responsibility for that due to his doddering tunnel-vision on Israel even though I suspect he couldn't have felt good about schmoozing with Netanyahu. As I said, the money is too much for a national politician or party to throw away.
However, I feel that The Contrarian, which is not, to me, journalism, but rather opinion, is directed towards what the U.S. is doing or enduring (ICE) and not what other countries are doing. I wasn't a subscriber when the U.S. stepped up its support of Israel's Gazan killing spree, but I suspect there were newsletters decrying the enabling of Israel's murder for murder's sake.
Honestly, it doesn’t look like there was anything to sabotage. Israel was never a party to the ceasefire — and now it appears that maybe Iran wasn’t, either. The ceasefire was mainly Trump wishcasting - an attempt to declare victory and get out.
Not saying this to excuse Israel in the slightest. But the Trump administration’s incompetence is just staggering: they can’t even figure out how to give up.
Another point ignored by The Contrarian for a long time now - in the past year or so, Israel has shown, shall we say, a 'flexible' understanding of what the word 'ceasefire' means...and always with US support, of course.
Since the 'ceasefire' in Gaza began on October 2025, Israel has killed 800 men, women and children in Gaza in nearly daily attacks, wounding thousands more, all while effectively annexing half the entire region and continuing to block aid, all violations of the supposed agreement.
In a similar fashion, since the November 2024 'ceasefire' with Lebanon, Israel has killed several hundred people there, in near daily attacks, leveling thousands of homes and periodically occupying parts of the country, even before the dramatic escalation of attacks there since the Iran War began.
The response to these violations from the US has been either silence or excuses, while most US media, including The Contrarian, have simply ignored them.
Now, within hours of the 'ceasefire' with Iran, Israel launched one of the biggest bombing attacks in the entire war so far, in the middle of the work day, in the densest parts of Beirut and across Lebanon, killing hundreds within 10 minutes. Now Trump and his cabal are stammering excuses and lies to justify this war crime.
For Israel, 'ceasefire' is an entirely one way agreement, especially when its big friend across the pond always has its back and gives it all the weapons it can use.
It is clearly time to break away from the influence of Israel, as long as Netanyahu is calling the shots. He is still trying to save himself from prosecution and prison, and it is an election year. That he was able to inveigle our weak-minded president into supporting an illegal war of choice is good reason to shun him.
Netanyahu clearly has influenced Trump in this case (and others), although this latest illegal war is a US/Israeli partnership. Still, Trump and his cabal made the ultimate decision, along with Netanyahu's gang of killers.
I'd say yes, break away from Netanyahu's influence, but its beyond just him. The US needs to stop funding and politically supporting Israel's war machine, now, completely, to start.
This has been a bipartisan exercise. Biden fully supported Israel's genocide in Gaza for 15 months, and he called the ICC indictment of Netanyahu and Gallant 'ridiculous'. One of Biden's last actions was to approve another shipment of weapons to Israel. Schumer, Jeffries and many other Democratic leaders were on board for all of this. When Netanyahu has visited the US, he is warmly welcomed by both GOP and Democratic reps...
...its not like Netanyahu just arrived in Israeli politics. He is the longest serving prime minster in the country's history, and has been in leadership positions for 30 years.
The US needs to recognize that the US/Israel alliance's 'ability to wreak havoc' (to use Rubin's term from this piece) is a primary driver of terror and instability in the Middle East this century. While I have little hope for MAGA, Democratic voters can continue to demand their leaders refuse AIPAC funding and speak out clearly and forcefully against Israel's US-funded genocide and apartheid.
A bit long-winded, but a complex situation deserves critical examination. You provided it, and I agree. Supporting Israel today is the equivalent of corporate subsidies (welfare) for businesses that are already doing quite well for themselves. Our government should be doing neither.
"The US needs to recognize that the US/Israel alliance's 'ability to wreak havoc' (to use Rubin's term from this piece) is a primary driver of terror and instability in the Middle East this century."
The actual existence of Israel and the inability of the Palestinians and Iranians to accept its continued existence is the primary driver. Most of the countries in the region have grudgingly accepted that Israel should remain, leaving the problem of the Palestinians and Iran's support of them unsolved. That is the primary driver of this and many other recent conflicts, and the solution is binary: accept Israel or make it go away. Pick one.
At this point in the conflict, Israel is taking a hard stance, curb stomping anyone who messes with it. Without Netanyahu perhaps they could take a more conciliatory stance, but that would have to be reciprocated, and it leaves the Palestinian problem unsolved.
No, it is the lack of any recognition of Palestine or any autonomy for the Occupied Territories that is the issue.
Instead of talking about Israel's right to exist, since Israel exists...ask, does Palestine have a right to exist? The leaders of Israel has emphatically said no, and the US has shrugged.
Here is an incomplete list of Israel's 'havoc' from just the past couple years: (all of course funded supported and protected and in some cases fully partnered by the US)
- a bare minimum of 72,000+ killed in Gaza. The actual number, once thousands of still buried bodies and those that died from disease, starvation and other causes directly due to Israel's onslaught will likely reach 100,000 or more....and of course, this number is increasing daily, despite the 'ceasefire'
- around 4000 killed in Lebanon between Oct '23 and Nov '24..then during the 'ceasefire' which lasted until the Iran War began, Israel killed several hundred more men, women and children in Lebanon..since Feb 28th, Israel has killed at least 1500 more there, until today, when Israel killed at least 250 more in a matter of minutes, again during another so-called 'ceasefire'
- over 1000 people in the West Bank since fall 2023, more every day
..
- several hundred in Syria in that time period, which is barely ever reported in the US
- several hundred more in Yemen, again, barely reported here
- around 1000 people killed in the so-called '12 Day War' last year, then at least 2000 (likely a lot more) killed in Iran in the past 5 weeks along with Israel's BFF, the US
..and this does not include the several million people displaced, the assassinations, the maiming of thousands of children, the murder of journalists and health care workers, the intentional starvation, the effective annexation of land left and right, the countless injuries...
Here you go again wishing for editorial control over the writings of other people. Jen is not the enemy. She shares her opinions which we are welcome to agree or disagree with. All opinion writers have their biases and we give them the freedom to express them in their own ways.
If you find the US-Israel relationship not to your liking, then say so. If you don't like Jen's content, then don't read it. But please stop trying to make Jen your puppet. It's not going to work and I for one, am tired of your odd attempts to be the editor in chief.
That is all utter nonsense. There is no way that The Contrarian simply overlooked Israel's primary role in this war, let alone its massive assault just yesterday that has already led to the derailment of the so-called 'ceasefire'. Her opinions are, obviously based on supposed factual account and 'unvarnished truth'. This isn't fiction.
Jennifer Rubin is accountable for her posts just like every other journalists and commentator...if you want to meekly fawn over every word she posts as some do here, you are welcome to do so. "Don't read it" sounds like the words of a MAGA drone, not a 'contrarian'.
Also, and this should be obvious, comments in these thread are not for Rubin herself...I highly doubt she reads any of this, and I also doubt someone who has half a million subscribers and has been in the public eye for 20 years will be terribly concerned about one reader's opinions...these comment are for and read by other readers...if you had any level of critical thinking skills, you would understand this.
But, if you don't like my posts, 'don't read them'. I have just as much 'freedom to express' my opinions as anyone else here. If you don't like it, well, i couldn't care less.
If you have something substantive to say, post it. IF you are going to just whine, I don't care. I see many people here that share my views on this and have responded in kind.
Oh, btw, one last thing - this is from The Contrarian's 'About' page:
The Contrarian offers that: unflinching, unapologetic, and unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling. The Contrarian contributors may not agree on all issues (and, in fact, enjoy lively debate), but we share an unequivocal determination to defend our fundamental freedoms and the values essential to a pluralistic democracy....(and to) to deliver the unvarnished truth.
“There is no way that The Contrarian simply overlooked Israel's primary role in this war” I said nothing about “overlooking” anything. My comment, which you failed to comprehend, goes to YOU and your insistence that Jen writes what YOU want her to write. It’s not all about YOU, Jason.
She's not "ignoring" it but focusing on the many extensive American failures, recording them in detail for all of us, and for the future. Yes, the Contrarian and its authors know (as we all do) that this war was a joint Israeli-US venture. No, Jennifer Rubin is not a part of a Benjamin Netanyahu conspiracy -- she's likely despised Netanyahu for far longer than you or I have been writing.
That's of course not true. If you find any criticism of Netanyahu from Rubin in the decades he was a leader in Israel before Trump was in office, and post it here. Back then, Rubin was a very much more right wing hawk and supporter of Israel than she is now. All her criticism were leveled at Obama and the Democrats for not being hawkish enough.
And, maybe one can assume The Contrarian writers know this 'was a joint Israeli-US venture.' but hat can only be an assumption, since that has not been reflected at all in the writing here...and there has been even less mention of Israel's assault on Lebanon....all of which is very much important and relevant to US policy in many ways, of course.
No one said Rubin was part of a 'Benjamin Netanyahu conspiracy', you can take down that straw man. In fact, when there is occasional and limited criticism of Israel's actions here, it is always directed at Netanyahu and Netanyahu alone by Rubin, Eisen and other Contrarian writers.
The role of a majority of Knesset reps and the IDF, the long time political and financial support form the US, and the generations of apartheid and oppression brought by Israel are rarely, if ever discussed.
I am sorry to post too many facts and reasoned arguments that address your falsehood filled comment for you to absorb...still, your quip about 'rants' is pretty funny, seeing as how you post 'rants' every day here...again, yawn.
But I am looking forward to your evidence that Rubin 'despised Netanyahu' before Trump was President.
While you are correct in pointing out the alliance between drumpf, a convicted felon who will do all he can to stay out of jail for as long as he can, and Netanyahu, ditto, you fail to mention Saudi Arabia's Mohamed bin Salman, who's been pressing drumpf to take more and more aggressive actions against Iran. The cretinous cease-fire was a verbal agreement with no parameters--no mention of Israel stopping the attacks on Hezbollah, no mention of opening the Strait without demanding outrageous tolls.
Personally, I'd rather blame Trump for being so easily led (by Putin, Xi, Kim Jung Il, Orban, etc. ) than trying shift the colossal failure of this war onto Israel. They have their own problems. We have ours.
Until we fix Trump (and his Republican enablers) he'll continue to empower our enemies and alienate our allies. The Middle East will always be our crucible and we're unlikely to solve its problems, other than urging more negotiation and less bombing. And at this point, we'd be huge hypocrites to tell others to "do as we say, not as we do".
Problem is, the MAGA crowd will not pay attention unless they are directly, personally, affected by events – it took the rise of domestic gasoline prices to cause some stir of awareness. Once the fertilizer and other domestic price shocks start to kick in, there will be further awareness.
Don, you say "problem is maga will not pay attention" and then you added "unless personally affected". We are already there Don. Would they modify their behavior? Well, there's more pain yet to come and my hope is that at least a good percentage of them, the ones not to blindly fanatics would at least stay home for the midterms. 🤞
The brainwashing and sane-washing are effective on some. A neighbor recently admitted that this is a painful time for everyday Americans, but also claimed, "the Golden Age is coming, next year" and that we just need to hang on until it arrives under Trump's golden finger. SCARYYYYY.
And those guys vote Don. There's no cure for stupidity. They should have their own Republic so thay can sit and wait for a miracle that will never happen. Recognizing that you were wrong it's not a natural, normal trait.
We should make sure that we vote in massive numbers 😉
I have often said that these people should be sent to the Dakotas to live. We could dis-assemble the Mexico wall and send it up there to wall them in. They can live their lily-white lives of delusion without having to deal with us Woke Folk.
This probably scares me the most. He is bankrupting the country, the deficit is unimaginably high, and after he shakes all of us taxpayers down with the prices of housing, gas, and food, we will have nothing left with which to pay it off, nor our children, nor grandchildren.
"Trumps big problem is that he thinks that the Iranians are stupid......oh and, the Iranians know that he is."
Iran's big problem is they never considered Trump would actually attack them to this extent, Israel would have such great intel, and the rest of the Gulf states would align with us. Now the regime is hoping they can convince Trump that they can stay in power and keep their nuclear materials. This isn't over yet.
tRump has cost us our national prestige and the good will of nearly the whole world. He is busy wrecking the underpinnings of our economy. He is blowing through billions with unplanned and unfunded spending on his whims and fancies. This failed regime - with the help of the reichwing media - may very well have destroyed the ability of Americans to tolerate and work with people of different backgrounds and political and religious viewpoints. They have flipped 'E Pluribus Unum' on its head and made one into many... once we rid ourselves of this disastrous experiment, how do we knit it all back together? We need to start thinking now about that.
I think it was a decisive victory for the Republican party. They delivered everything that Vladimir Putin could have ever wished for and more. I am confident they will all be justly rewarded.
It’s not over yet. Unfortunately. I personally see no problem with Iran and Oman controlling the strait and sorting out issues with UAE, Saudi Arabia etc. Exactly why USA, Britain, France should be in charge there continues to puzzle me. Meantime we should grow spines and eject this monster from office.
This seems like history repeating itself. In July, 1956, Egyptian President Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which they had owned and operated since the Suez Canal's construction in 1869. France, Britain and Israel invaded Egypt to stop the takeover and remove Nasser from power. The crisis lasted from July 1956 to March 1957, with the main military action happening around November 1956. The Eisenhower Administration eventually was able to get Britain and France to accept a United Nations ceasefire on November 6th as well as a UN peacekeeping force for the area around the Canal. The difference here is that no one 'built' the Strait of Hormuz. It is an international waterway and should remain so without any country trying to control it and make money off of it.
Interesting analysis of the war with Iran without any comment about how Israel has with it's total control of the United States wiped out Gaza, total destruction, massive civilian massacre and continued bombing. Then walking the United States by the nose to attack Iran because they were going to bomb Iran. Then Israel bombs Lebanon. Then when the United States is trying to negotiate a deal Isreal attacks civilian areas again, bombing a funeral. With the republican fascist party circle of friends: Israel, Hungary, Russia, and North Korea who needs enemies.
The US, along with the rest of the world, is now worse off than before Bibi convinced Trump to attack Iran. Prior to the attack, the Strait of Hormuz was open to all traffic, and Iran was not sending missiles and drones toward its neighbors. Hapless Lebanon is so much worse off that words fail me. Over a million people displaced and desperately trying to find a place that is safe, thousands killed, infrastructure devastated, while Israel bombs civilian areas and threatens to destroy everything in the south of the country to create a "buffer zone."
hegseth , gabbard and caine should all be impeached. Not one of them met the minimum qualifications for the jobs they were nominated and confirmed for. Those confirmations are the first HUGE failure of the Congress
No, it is the failure of the MAGApublican senators (no cap. intentional). They were the ones who confirmed these incompetents in the first place and didn't do due diligence in researching their pedigrees before confirming. They set this bunch upon us.
Yes! Campaign finance reform is waaay overdue. If congress was the temple, then the moneychangers have taken control of it with the help of the corporate lobbyists. It's time to throw them out of the 'temple'.
If we give 1 egomaniac and 1 deluded theocratic megalomaniac a $1 trillion dollar budget, what else should we expect? The GOP should be considered finished by the Iran exploit.
“It will then be up to Democrats to chart a path to recover from this nightmare.” I dunno - strongly worded letters may not be enough, but on the evidence that’s about all we can expect.
I can't believe there isn't a single word here about Israel's immediate violation of the 'ceasefire' yesterday when it launched a massive bomb attack on densely populated areas in Beirut and other areas in Lebanon only hours after the agreement was enacted, killing over 250 men, women and children.
The Contrarian continues to entirely ignore Israel's assault on Lebanon that has now killed nearly 1800 people in just the past 5 weeks, while barely saying anything about Israel's many attacks on Iran's civilian infrastructure and residences.
The only mention of Israel here is that the ceasefire was a 'defeat' which may increase Iran's 'ability to wreak havoc'.
What about Israel's 'ability to wreak havoc' in Iran, in Lebanon, in so many other places in the past two years, along with its partner, the US?
Does The Contrarian even acknowledge this illegal and unprovoked war was brought by an alliance of the US and Israel?
I think the very nature of the so-called ”alliance” between Israel and Trump /the Christian nationalists needs to be brought into the spotlight. The nation and Congress have no idea what the parameters and agreements of this alliance is, how and when and by whom it was crafted, how long it is to last. Are these two armed conflicts essentially independent? Is Israel at the table during Iran/US “negotiations”? Do they have a say in the Iran outcome separate from the US? Do they consider Lebanon a separate issue? And what is Russia’s role in all of this mess? The whole situation stinks to high heaven.
That is all certainly true. It seems clear the only country that knew the war was being planned, and of course was involved in that planning, was not any of our NATO allies, but Israel. None one seems to have any concrete plan at all for any of this.
I would go further though - the entire special, very unique, and very toxic relationship between the US and Israel needs to be, at the very least, fundamentally re-examined. Trump and the Christian nationalists are no doubt a big part of the problem, but I'd say its even bigger than that.
In the past few years, this alliance of aggression has killed at least 100,00 people in several countries and regions, made millions more homeless, and has committed countless war crimes.
I wouldn't be too hard on Jen as, after all, no one here has any control over what Israel does and, besides, the campaign money that flows from Zionist Americans is too good for any national politician of any party to give up.
Any person with a smidgen of analytical ability knows that this disaster was concocted by Netanyahu, who simply lead a gullible Trump by the nose.
While this may be true, none of that explains why Jennifer Rubin and The Contrarian continue to completely ignore major facets of this war, especially regarding Israel's attacks on Lebanon, but even Israel's general involvement.
She doesn't have to have any control over what Israel does to report crucial and important news, like Israel's brazen ceasefire violation and mass killing of hundreds of civilians in broad daylight, in one of the biggest single assaults of the entire war so far. That's what journalists are supposed to do, right?
It's not even just today either...look back on the past weeks daily newsletters from Rubin. She barely even mentions Israel at all, and the very few times she does, its in some other context, not about Israel's actual, ongoing, illegal actions and its full partnership with the US.
I don't disagree with anything you've said. The support the U.S. has given Israel since the Hamas attack in 2023 has been obscene and Joe Biden bears a LOT of responsibility for that due to his doddering tunnel-vision on Israel even though I suspect he couldn't have felt good about schmoozing with Netanyahu. As I said, the money is too much for a national politician or party to throw away.
However, I feel that The Contrarian, which is not, to me, journalism, but rather opinion, is directed towards what the U.S. is doing or enduring (ICE) and not what other countries are doing. I wasn't a subscriber when the U.S. stepped up its support of Israel's Gazan killing spree, but I suspect there were newsletters decrying the enabling of Israel's murder for murder's sake.
Well said. Sadly, for this world.
Clearly, Netanyahu is trying sabotage the ceasefire. And so far, his lapdog Trump is letting him get away with it
Honestly, it doesn’t look like there was anything to sabotage. Israel was never a party to the ceasefire — and now it appears that maybe Iran wasn’t, either. The ceasefire was mainly Trump wishcasting - an attempt to declare victory and get out.
Not saying this to excuse Israel in the slightest. But the Trump administration’s incompetence is just staggering: they can’t even figure out how to give up.
...which surprises exactly no one.
Another point ignored by The Contrarian for a long time now - in the past year or so, Israel has shown, shall we say, a 'flexible' understanding of what the word 'ceasefire' means...and always with US support, of course.
Since the 'ceasefire' in Gaza began on October 2025, Israel has killed 800 men, women and children in Gaza in nearly daily attacks, wounding thousands more, all while effectively annexing half the entire region and continuing to block aid, all violations of the supposed agreement.
In a similar fashion, since the November 2024 'ceasefire' with Lebanon, Israel has killed several hundred people there, in near daily attacks, leveling thousands of homes and periodically occupying parts of the country, even before the dramatic escalation of attacks there since the Iran War began.
The response to these violations from the US has been either silence or excuses, while most US media, including The Contrarian, have simply ignored them.
Now, within hours of the 'ceasefire' with Iran, Israel launched one of the biggest bombing attacks in the entire war so far, in the middle of the work day, in the densest parts of Beirut and across Lebanon, killing hundreds within 10 minutes. Now Trump and his cabal are stammering excuses and lies to justify this war crime.
For Israel, 'ceasefire' is an entirely one way agreement, especially when its big friend across the pond always has its back and gives it all the weapons it can use.
It is clearly time to break away from the influence of Israel, as long as Netanyahu is calling the shots. He is still trying to save himself from prosecution and prison, and it is an election year. That he was able to inveigle our weak-minded president into supporting an illegal war of choice is good reason to shun him.
Netanyahu clearly has influenced Trump in this case (and others), although this latest illegal war is a US/Israeli partnership. Still, Trump and his cabal made the ultimate decision, along with Netanyahu's gang of killers.
I'd say yes, break away from Netanyahu's influence, but its beyond just him. The US needs to stop funding and politically supporting Israel's war machine, now, completely, to start.
This has been a bipartisan exercise. Biden fully supported Israel's genocide in Gaza for 15 months, and he called the ICC indictment of Netanyahu and Gallant 'ridiculous'. One of Biden's last actions was to approve another shipment of weapons to Israel. Schumer, Jeffries and many other Democratic leaders were on board for all of this. When Netanyahu has visited the US, he is warmly welcomed by both GOP and Democratic reps...
...its not like Netanyahu just arrived in Israeli politics. He is the longest serving prime minster in the country's history, and has been in leadership positions for 30 years.
The US needs to recognize that the US/Israel alliance's 'ability to wreak havoc' (to use Rubin's term from this piece) is a primary driver of terror and instability in the Middle East this century. While I have little hope for MAGA, Democratic voters can continue to demand their leaders refuse AIPAC funding and speak out clearly and forcefully against Israel's US-funded genocide and apartheid.
A bit long-winded, but a complex situation deserves critical examination. You provided it, and I agree. Supporting Israel today is the equivalent of corporate subsidies (welfare) for businesses that are already doing quite well for themselves. Our government should be doing neither.
There isn't any way to explain a 'complex situation' in a few sentences, is there?
"The US needs to recognize that the US/Israel alliance's 'ability to wreak havoc' (to use Rubin's term from this piece) is a primary driver of terror and instability in the Middle East this century."
The actual existence of Israel and the inability of the Palestinians and Iranians to accept its continued existence is the primary driver. Most of the countries in the region have grudgingly accepted that Israel should remain, leaving the problem of the Palestinians and Iran's support of them unsolved. That is the primary driver of this and many other recent conflicts, and the solution is binary: accept Israel or make it go away. Pick one.
At this point in the conflict, Israel is taking a hard stance, curb stomping anyone who messes with it. Without Netanyahu perhaps they could take a more conciliatory stance, but that would have to be reciprocated, and it leaves the Palestinian problem unsolved.
I'm not optimistic.
No, it is the lack of any recognition of Palestine or any autonomy for the Occupied Territories that is the issue.
Instead of talking about Israel's right to exist, since Israel exists...ask, does Palestine have a right to exist? The leaders of Israel has emphatically said no, and the US has shrugged.
Here is an incomplete list of Israel's 'havoc' from just the past couple years: (all of course funded supported and protected and in some cases fully partnered by the US)
- a bare minimum of 72,000+ killed in Gaza. The actual number, once thousands of still buried bodies and those that died from disease, starvation and other causes directly due to Israel's onslaught will likely reach 100,000 or more....and of course, this number is increasing daily, despite the 'ceasefire'
- around 4000 killed in Lebanon between Oct '23 and Nov '24..then during the 'ceasefire' which lasted until the Iran War began, Israel killed several hundred more men, women and children in Lebanon..since Feb 28th, Israel has killed at least 1500 more there, until today, when Israel killed at least 250 more in a matter of minutes, again during another so-called 'ceasefire'
- over 1000 people in the West Bank since fall 2023, more every day
..
- several hundred in Syria in that time period, which is barely ever reported in the US
- several hundred more in Yemen, again, barely reported here
- around 1000 people killed in the so-called '12 Day War' last year, then at least 2000 (likely a lot more) killed in Iran in the past 5 weeks along with Israel's BFF, the US
..and this does not include the several million people displaced, the assassinations, the maiming of thousands of children, the murder of journalists and health care workers, the intentional starvation, the effective annexation of land left and right, the countless injuries...
Here you go again wishing for editorial control over the writings of other people. Jen is not the enemy. She shares her opinions which we are welcome to agree or disagree with. All opinion writers have their biases and we give them the freedom to express them in their own ways.
If you find the US-Israel relationship not to your liking, then say so. If you don't like Jen's content, then don't read it. But please stop trying to make Jen your puppet. It's not going to work and I for one, am tired of your odd attempts to be the editor in chief.
That is all utter nonsense. There is no way that The Contrarian simply overlooked Israel's primary role in this war, let alone its massive assault just yesterday that has already led to the derailment of the so-called 'ceasefire'. Her opinions are, obviously based on supposed factual account and 'unvarnished truth'. This isn't fiction.
Jennifer Rubin is accountable for her posts just like every other journalists and commentator...if you want to meekly fawn over every word she posts as some do here, you are welcome to do so. "Don't read it" sounds like the words of a MAGA drone, not a 'contrarian'.
Also, and this should be obvious, comments in these thread are not for Rubin herself...I highly doubt she reads any of this, and I also doubt someone who has half a million subscribers and has been in the public eye for 20 years will be terribly concerned about one reader's opinions...these comment are for and read by other readers...if you had any level of critical thinking skills, you would understand this.
But, if you don't like my posts, 'don't read them'. I have just as much 'freedom to express' my opinions as anyone else here. If you don't like it, well, i couldn't care less.
If you have something substantive to say, post it. IF you are going to just whine, I don't care. I see many people here that share my views on this and have responded in kind.
Oh, btw, one last thing - this is from The Contrarian's 'About' page:
The Contrarian offers that: unflinching, unapologetic, and unwavering in its commitment to truth-telling. The Contrarian contributors may not agree on all issues (and, in fact, enjoy lively debate), but we share an unequivocal determination to defend our fundamental freedoms and the values essential to a pluralistic democracy....(and to) to deliver the unvarnished truth.
“There is no way that The Contrarian simply overlooked Israel's primary role in this war” I said nothing about “overlooking” anything. My comment, which you failed to comprehend, goes to YOU and your insistence that Jen writes what YOU want her to write. It’s not all about YOU, Jason.
Yawn. Maybe read more than my first sentence...then look up what 'contrarian' means.
Nah. I generally address the first lie in any screed.
She's not "ignoring" it but focusing on the many extensive American failures, recording them in detail for all of us, and for the future. Yes, the Contrarian and its authors know (as we all do) that this war was a joint Israeli-US venture. No, Jennifer Rubin is not a part of a Benjamin Netanyahu conspiracy -- she's likely despised Netanyahu for far longer than you or I have been writing.
That's of course not true. If you find any criticism of Netanyahu from Rubin in the decades he was a leader in Israel before Trump was in office, and post it here. Back then, Rubin was a very much more right wing hawk and supporter of Israel than she is now. All her criticism were leveled at Obama and the Democrats for not being hawkish enough.
And, maybe one can assume The Contrarian writers know this 'was a joint Israeli-US venture.' but hat can only be an assumption, since that has not been reflected at all in the writing here...and there has been even less mention of Israel's assault on Lebanon....all of which is very much important and relevant to US policy in many ways, of course.
No one said Rubin was part of a 'Benjamin Netanyahu conspiracy', you can take down that straw man. In fact, when there is occasional and limited criticism of Israel's actions here, it is always directed at Netanyahu and Netanyahu alone by Rubin, Eisen and other Contrarian writers.
The role of a majority of Knesset reps and the IDF, the long time political and financial support form the US, and the generations of apartheid and oppression brought by Israel are rarely, if ever discussed.
Rants are tiresome, predictable and boring things to endure...
I am sorry to post too many facts and reasoned arguments that address your falsehood filled comment for you to absorb...still, your quip about 'rants' is pretty funny, seeing as how you post 'rants' every day here...again, yawn.
But I am looking forward to your evidence that Rubin 'despised Netanyahu' before Trump was President.
While you are correct in pointing out the alliance between drumpf, a convicted felon who will do all he can to stay out of jail for as long as he can, and Netanyahu, ditto, you fail to mention Saudi Arabia's Mohamed bin Salman, who's been pressing drumpf to take more and more aggressive actions against Iran. The cretinous cease-fire was a verbal agreement with no parameters--no mention of Israel stopping the attacks on Hezbollah, no mention of opening the Strait without demanding outrageous tolls.
Sure, throw in Jamal Khashoggi's killer, always deserving of criticism. His influence is definitely in the mix too.
What about Hezbollah launching rockets at Israel from its southern border.
Personally, I'd rather blame Trump for being so easily led (by Putin, Xi, Kim Jung Il, Orban, etc. ) than trying shift the colossal failure of this war onto Israel. They have their own problems. We have ours.
Until we fix Trump (and his Republican enablers) he'll continue to empower our enemies and alienate our allies. The Middle East will always be our crucible and we're unlikely to solve its problems, other than urging more negotiation and less bombing. And at this point, we'd be huge hypocrites to tell others to "do as we say, not as we do".
Trumps big problem is that he thinks that the Iranians are stupid......oh and, the Iranians know that he is.
Further Rich....not just the Iranians but the whole world knows now. All we need to do now is to convince the maga crowd to pay attention.
Problem is, the MAGA crowd will not pay attention unless they are directly, personally, affected by events – it took the rise of domestic gasoline prices to cause some stir of awareness. Once the fertilizer and other domestic price shocks start to kick in, there will be further awareness.
Don, you say "problem is maga will not pay attention" and then you added "unless personally affected". We are already there Don. Would they modify their behavior? Well, there's more pain yet to come and my hope is that at least a good percentage of them, the ones not to blindly fanatics would at least stay home for the midterms. 🤞
The brainwashing and sane-washing are effective on some. A neighbor recently admitted that this is a painful time for everyday Americans, but also claimed, "the Golden Age is coming, next year" and that we just need to hang on until it arrives under Trump's golden finger. SCARYYYYY.
And those guys vote Don. There's no cure for stupidity. They should have their own Republic so thay can sit and wait for a miracle that will never happen. Recognizing that you were wrong it's not a natural, normal trait.
We should make sure that we vote in massive numbers 😉
I have often said that these people should be sent to the Dakotas to live. We could dis-assemble the Mexico wall and send it up there to wall them in. They can live their lily-white lives of delusion without having to deal with us Woke Folk.
shouldn't be too hard...they think trump is Jesus
Funny you say they think....😄
they will believe anything...
trump's ability to bankrupt is staggering, and he has moved on to america and the world by the stupid stuff he does...tarrifs etc.
This probably scares me the most. He is bankrupting the country, the deficit is unimaginably high, and after he shakes all of us taxpayers down with the prices of housing, gas, and food, we will have nothing left with which to pay it off, nor our children, nor grandchildren.
IMO I think don-old thought he would be getting a cut from Iran’s take on the Strait of Hormuz.
"Trumps big problem is that he thinks that the Iranians are stupid......oh and, the Iranians know that he is."
Iran's big problem is they never considered Trump would actually attack them to this extent, Israel would have such great intel, and the rest of the Gulf states would align with us. Now the regime is hoping they can convince Trump that they can stay in power and keep their nuclear materials. This isn't over yet.
Nothing more dangerous than a moron who believes he's a genius. Especially if he has nukes.
tRump has cost us our national prestige and the good will of nearly the whole world. He is busy wrecking the underpinnings of our economy. He is blowing through billions with unplanned and unfunded spending on his whims and fancies. This failed regime - with the help of the reichwing media - may very well have destroyed the ability of Americans to tolerate and work with people of different backgrounds and political and religious viewpoints. They have flipped 'E Pluribus Unum' on its head and made one into many... once we rid ourselves of this disastrous experiment, how do we knit it all back together? We need to start thinking now about that.
How do Magats spin this? We are objectively much worse off than when Trump started this nonsense.
I'm sure FAUX News can do this spin, as they do every day...
And we are much worse than magats voted for the scumbag.
I think it was a decisive victory for the Republican party. They delivered everything that Vladimir Putin could have ever wished for and more. I am confident they will all be justly rewarded.
That is the important point, Russia, Russia, Russia.
It’s not over yet. Unfortunately. I personally see no problem with Iran and Oman controlling the strait and sorting out issues with UAE, Saudi Arabia etc. Exactly why USA, Britain, France should be in charge there continues to puzzle me. Meantime we should grow spines and eject this monster from office.
This seems like history repeating itself. In July, 1956, Egyptian President Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, the joint British-French enterprise which they had owned and operated since the Suez Canal's construction in 1869. France, Britain and Israel invaded Egypt to stop the takeover and remove Nasser from power. The crisis lasted from July 1956 to March 1957, with the main military action happening around November 1956. The Eisenhower Administration eventually was able to get Britain and France to accept a United Nations ceasefire on November 6th as well as a UN peacekeeping force for the area around the Canal. The difference here is that no one 'built' the Strait of Hormuz. It is an international waterway and should remain so without any country trying to control it and make money off of it.
Israel is complicit because of their failure to remove Netanyahu. The dumb duo has screwed their nations.
Looks more and more like Herbert Hoover who I famously cratered the GOP for 5 presidential election cycles. Heck of a job Donny!
Interesting analysis of the war with Iran without any comment about how Israel has with it's total control of the United States wiped out Gaza, total destruction, massive civilian massacre and continued bombing. Then walking the United States by the nose to attack Iran because they were going to bomb Iran. Then Israel bombs Lebanon. Then when the United States is trying to negotiate a deal Isreal attacks civilian areas again, bombing a funeral. With the republican fascist party circle of friends: Israel, Hungary, Russia, and North Korea who needs enemies.
And let it be noted that the world needs to get off the oil BS.
Magnificent, concise, devastatingly accurate.
The US, along with the rest of the world, is now worse off than before Bibi convinced Trump to attack Iran. Prior to the attack, the Strait of Hormuz was open to all traffic, and Iran was not sending missiles and drones toward its neighbors. Hapless Lebanon is so much worse off that words fail me. Over a million people displaced and desperately trying to find a place that is safe, thousands killed, infrastructure devastated, while Israel bombs civilian areas and threatens to destroy everything in the south of the country to create a "buffer zone."
hegseth , gabbard and caine should all be impeached. Not one of them met the minimum qualifications for the jobs they were nominated and confirmed for. Those confirmations are the first HUGE failure of the Congress
No, it is the failure of the MAGApublican senators (no cap. intentional). They were the ones who confirmed these incompetents in the first place and didn't do due diligence in researching their pedigrees before confirming. They set this bunch upon us.
We can no longer have feckless Democrats.
Responsibility for the country’s safety and operation must be taken up.
We can not protect and care for our people if both parties continue to to serve themselves only.
We have to get rid of Citizens United ruling and eliminate the flood of money into congressional campaigns before that will happen.
Yes! Campaign finance reform is waaay overdue. If congress was the temple, then the moneychangers have taken control of it with the help of the corporate lobbyists. It's time to throw them out of the 'temple'.
If we give 1 egomaniac and 1 deluded theocratic megalomaniac a $1 trillion dollar budget, what else should we expect? The GOP should be considered finished by the Iran exploit.
.
“It will then be up to Democrats to chart a path to recover from this nightmare.” I dunno - strongly worded letters may not be enough, but on the evidence that’s about all we can expect.