Saturday, November 2, 2024
U.S. Presidential Election, November 5
U.S. Intelligence Agencies Intervene in U.S. Election to Back Harris
Demonstrators
form red line around the Whitehouse affirming they must be heard
and
that Biden/Harris administration must end funding of genocide,
June 8,
2024.
• U.S. Intelligence Agencies Intervene in U.S. Election to Back Harris
• Responses to U.S. Claims of Election Interference
U.S./Zionist Occupation Forces Suffer Heavy Losses
• Resistance Forces Play Heroic Role in Northern Gaza
U.S. Presidential Election, November 5
U.S. Intelligence Agencies Intervene in U.S. Election to Back Harris
U.S. intelligence agencies are once again intervening in the presidential elections. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued its report on "Election Security," October 22, addressing what ODNI calls "foreign malign influence" and "foreign influence actors." It targeted Russia, but also included China, Iran, and Cuba.
According to an ODNI official, "Foreign actors, particularly Russia, Iran and China, remain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans' confidence in the U.S. democratic system." The officials also said foreign actors could consider physical threats and violence and are highly likely to conduct disinformation operations to create uncertainty and undermine the election process. A memorandum by the National Intelligence Council (NIC), which reports to the ODNI, warned that foreign operatives almost certainly will amplify false post-vote claims of election irregularities.
It is notable that the statements are qualified, "could," "almost certainly" "highly likely." Evidence that any of these "actors" have done so or are confirmed to be working for the governments named was not presented.
The U.S. electoral system does enough to discredit itself. Nonetheless such statements made about "undermining" and "uncertainty" about the election process are often followed by those saying that despite all this influence, the process for counting votes is safe. One expert from the U.S./NATO's Atlantic Council, Graham Brookie, put it this way:
"The electoral infrastructure is safe and secure, very trustworthy." He confirmed there is no indication Russia, China or Iran are planning to target it. "The influence operations are more designed to influence public opinion or interference operations would be more designed to influence people to do an action," he added, which is more significant in terms of the aim of raising the specter of foreign interference. "The specter of foreign influence is sometimes a lot greater than the impact of foreign influence," he said.[1]
Numerous news reports and headlines since then emphasize this claim about "foreign adversaries determined to undermine election trust." Echoing ODNI, Russia is a main target and used to promote fear about Trump and favor Harris. As the ODNI official emphasized, "Russia would prefer the former president to win and they would seek to more aggressively undermine the presidency of the then-president-elect (Harris)." "Some foreign actors also have the capacity to stoke protests and take violent actions during this (post-election) period," the official added.
Officials gave only one example of a video they claimed was generated by "Russian influence actors," against the Harris campaign.
Several issues stand out. One, which intelligence officials admit, is that they cannot verify where various materials, such as video or social media posts, come from. They simply say it "looks like" something the Russians would do, or "may be" from them. For the one example given in the report, the ODNI official said a review by the agencies showed "several indicators of manipulation" consistent with the actions of Russian actors. There are "indicators" that are "consistent" with what the U.S. says "Russian actors" do, but no specific evidence to verify it. Given all the ways to mask and make a given post appear to be from a certain place when it is not, there is not a way to fully verify, something well-known by the ODNI.
One aim of all the promotion of foreign interference, this specter, a ghost of a possible danger, is to instill fear about "adversaries" determined to undermine the U.S. to provide the basis for actions against them, be it Russia, China or Iran. These foreign powers are the ones responsible for "protests" not the peoples of the U.S. angered with conditions, with U.S./Zionist genocide and the whole election process that goes against the interests of the people. These adversaries are promoted as the ones responsible for violence, not the U.S. ruling class and its intelligence agencies, operating at home and abroad. It is not the brutal conditions of anarchy, violence and civil war stemming from existing relations, with intense factional fighting for the power of the presidency, but foreign actors.
Connected with claims about foreign actors, especially Russia, being able to "stoke protests " is the effort to discredit the protests themselves. This has been said against actions supporting Palestine, claiming they are organized by Hamas, and those opposing the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, designed to crush Russia, are said to be organized by Russia. Certainly not by U.S. citizens and residents.
The U.S. and their intelligence agencies have a long history of claiming communists, anti-war organizers, militant trade unionists, and now Muslims, are all agents of a foreign power. As with the ODNI reports, this serves to discredit these homegrown organizers and protests while also providing the basis for police repression against them. This repression is already evident in the case of the Uhuru 3, activists charged as agents of Russia.
San Diego, California, July 2024
Secondly the emphasis on Russia favoring Trump is designed to promote Harris as the one not influenced by these "foreign actors." It is Trump who is tied to Russia, who will do what they say, favor them, etc. The same was done by these agencies in 2016, in favor of Hillary Clinton against Trump. She put forward during the debates that the "intelligence community" thought he was unfit, something Harris is now repeating. Then there were all the reports and Congressional investigations about Russian hacking in support of Trump, right before the 2016 election, and more after he was elected. It was designed to discredit Trump and link him to Russia, which served to support Clinton, just as the reports today serve Harris. There are no reports, however, that ODNI is the one interfering in the elections.
In looking more closely, one can surmise that the intelligence agencies, along with military forces, favor Harris in part because they expect she can provide a more stable and predictable situation in the country and possibly forestall civil war. Functional institutions and reliable information for which standards are necessary, are required to make predictions. The dysfunction of the existing institutions and state-sanctioned disinformation to undermine public opinion creates a real problem for the rulers. Coupled with the plethora of intelligence agencies running amuck serving narrow private interests, even polling agencies have been unable to accurately predict election results in previous years. This is true not only for elections but also when it comes to setting U.S. foreign policy, a main arena for the intelligence agencies. Their record, like that of Biden and his administration, is one of failure to accurately predict, just as these agencies failed to accurately predict the results of the Clinton/Trump election.
Using this promotion of foreign interference, the intelligence agencies are hoping to get a better read on how the public as well as Russia, Iran and China will respond to U.S. actions.
Thirdly,
all this emphasis on foreign interference diverts from the fact
that
the existing institutions do not provide "free and fair"
elections. The
candidates are not chosen by the people and do not represent
them, as
the pro-war, pro-genocide stands of both indicate. U.S.
elections are
notoriously filled with corruption and massive amounts of money
from
private interests and are not democratic. They are designed to
keep the
people, the majority, out of power and the rich in. That is the
source
of the anger and dissatisfaction among the people. Rather than
providing information and
analysis on these problems and discussing the solutions the
peoples are
putting forward, this specter of foreign interference is widely
promoted.
The peoples are having none of it and are instead strengthening their unity and stands against U.S./Zionist genocide. A meeting of Jewish Voice for Peace in New York City titled Beyond Elections had 1,200 participants discussing and planning more actions, including securing an arms embargo and more. Demonstrations based on No Votes for Genocide are taking place November 2 and seminars and zooms with similar content and discussion on advancing the movements of the peoples for rights are occurring immediately after the election. The stand is that it is the people who can bring the change they want, and they are stepping up to do so.
Note
1. "Intelligence officials warn foreign adversaries determined to undermine election trust," PBS News Hour, October 23, 2024.
Responses to U.S. Claims of Election Interference
The countries targeted by the U.S. intelligence agencies, Cuba, China, Iran, and Russia have all issued statements condemning the claims as unfounded and without proof.
The Cuba Foreign Ministry, responding to claims made in previous reports from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and reported in the Miami Herald that Cuba was interfering in elections in Florida, issued a statement titled: "Categorical rejection of unfounded allegations of interference in U.S. elections." It stated in part that "The U.S. government cannot possibly refer to any evidence or sign whatsoever -- because they don't exist -- indicating that Cuba has interfered or intended to interfere in its electoral processes; or that Cuba is in favour of any particular politician in the state of Florida or any other state of that country. Any reference in this regard is absolutely mendacious.
"If these were not absolutely unfounded allegations about such a serious matter, they would otherwise cause surprise, because they could be construed as if the U.S. government had made a 180 degree shift and, for the first time in more than a century, had considered any interference in the internal affairs of other countries as something inappropriate. However, none of those articles clearly states whether that government intends to abandon such illegitimate and unacceptable practice, which has been part of the U.S. foreign policy for so long."
In response to the ODNI October 22 report, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said China has no intention of interfering in the election and hopes that whoever wins "will be committed to growing sound and stable China-U.S. ties."
The Iranian Mission to the United Nations issued a statement in response to the U.S. claims of interference in the elections saying: "Already devoid of any credibility and legitimacy, such allegations are fundamentally unfounded, and wholly inadmissible." It made clear that "The Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States. Having already unequivocally and repeatedly announced, Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the U.S. election; and it therefore categorically repudiates such accusations. The continued perpetuation of such unfounded claims will only serve to undermine their credibility."
The Russian embassy in Washington, DC, said "As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people. All insinuations about 'Russian machinations' are malicious slander," and that Russia had not received "any proof for these claims during its communications with U.S. officials."
U.S./Zionist Occupation Forces Suffer Heavy Losses
Resistance Forces Play Heroic Role in Northern Gaza
Israeli criminal destruction in northern
Gaza
Palestine Chronicle recently shed some light on just how difficult the fighting conditions are for the Palestinian resistance forces in Gaza. The article explained that those who do not understand the impossible conditions under which the Gaza Resistance is operating, particularly in the northern parts of the Strip, will certainly fail to understand the importance of the battle underway in Jabalia, for both the Palestinian Resistance and Israel.
For example, when the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launched their latest assault on Jabalia refugee camp in early October, it was the third such assault over the past year.
"It is important to keep in mind that Jabalia does not exceed 1.5 sq km in size. To control this small area, the Israeli army has dedicated nearly 50,000 soldiers and hundreds of tanks and other military vehicles. The bulk of the Israeli army attacking Jabalia comes from the 162nd Armored Division, which is supported by the 460th Armored Brigade, along with the Givati Brigades special forces. All of this is happening within the context of the scorched earth policy, essentially the complete destruction of Jabalia, its residential neighborhoods, its water and electric infrastructure, its food facilities, and the like," Palestine Chronicle pointed out. It added:
"Currently, there are about 111 tanks besieging the Jabalia refugee camp alone. Yet, the resistance continues at an even higher rate than before."
Even within these conditions the various Resistance groups are in action every day targeting tanks, military bulldozers, armored personnel carriers and IOF command headquarters. The Resistance is also able to target top officers in the Israeli army, including the commander of the 401st Brigade, Col. Ehsan Daqsa, along with other top officers.
On October 30, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, confirmed that its fighters destroyed two Israeli Merkava tanks, one with a high-explosive device in the Beit Lahia project area near the Razan intersection and another with a barrel bomb near the Sakafi intersection. They hit an Israeli armored personnel carrier and targeted a Merkava 3 tank with two Shawaz explosive devices and subsequently targeted a maintenance crew as it arrived at the vehicles' locations using an anti-personnel device that left several casualties and injuries among the occupation forces.
In the Jabalia camp, Al-Qassam Brigades targeted three Israeli D9 military bulldozers. The Abdel Qader al-Husseini Brigades also targeted occupation groupings east of Jabalia. Al-Quds Brigades (the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad), the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades (the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), and Al-Amoudi Brigade of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades renewed their bombardment of Israeli command and control sites in the Netzarim area southwest of Gaza City using 107 rockets and heavy-calibre mortar shells.
On October 31, the Palestinian Resistance attacked a building where Israel's Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was meeting with IOF staff carrying out a "field assessment." Halevi had left the premises just before the attack, however four IOF soldiers from the 888 Multidimensional Unit were killed.
Resistance targets Israeli occupation forces East of Jabalia,
November 1, 2024
Palestine Chronicle wrote: "It indicates that Palestinian fighters in the northern Strip are still in control of the battlefield and continue to operate based on credible intelligence information, [and demonstrates that] the Resistance groups in Gaza are not only able to intercept but also to execute their plans with a great degree of accuracy; and finally, that the "General's Plan" is running into major obstacles and might not be viable.
Al Mayadeen also reports that Hezbollah continues to inflict significant losses on the occupation's military in both personnel and equipment across multiple fronts, stretching from the forward southern Lebanese villages to Israeli positions deep within occupied Palestine.
On October 31, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah, released video footage documenting the targeting of the Ein Shemer Base (an air defence and regional brigade base) east of Hadera, as well as Israeli positions in the Elyakim Military Camp (of the Northern Command) south of Haifa and the Shraga Base north of the occupied city of Akka. The footage documents a complex operation which involved the launch of high-end missiles and one-way drones. The targets were struck accurately as the Israeli forces failed to intercept the missiles and drones that hovered over the occupied Palestinian territories for some time, Hezbollah said.
Senior Zionist military officials are expressing concern about Israel's losses. One senior security official told the Ynet website that army chiefs already believe they are nearing the end of their operation in Lebanon. "It's either an arrangement or a war of attrition and a security zone," the official was quoted as saying.
Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport told Middle East Eye that he believed that the apparent shift in the army's position was based on its concerns that casualties would continue to increase as long as combat operations continued. "If the army now says the war must end it is because of the dead," Rapoport said.
Resistance in Palestine and Lebanon Inflict Heavy Losses on U.S./Zionist Occupation Forces
In October, Israel recorded its worst month for military deaths this year amid continuing fierce fighting in southern Lebanon and northern Gaza. At least 62 soldiers have been killed since the start of October, according to official figures, making this the deadliest month for the Israeli military since last December when 110 soldiers were killed at the height of its war against the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza.
It also marks a steep increase in reported fatalities compared with recent months. Just nine deaths were recorded by the Israeli military in September, and 63 in total between June and August.
Since Israel began its invasion of Lebanon on October 1, it has acknowledged that 35 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon or on the Lebanese border, and as is known, Israel lies about everything.
Hezbollah says it has killed more than 90 Israeli soldiers in the past month. Resistance forces in Gaza report at least 19 Zionist soldiers were killed this past month in Gaza alone. Over the past year, based on official information published on the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the IOF have sustained a total of 780 military casualties including hundreds killed during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led military operation in southern Israel. It includes at least 365 soldiers listed as "fallen in combat" in Gaza, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank, as well as those killed in rocket attacks or other attacks within Israel, and others who died in road accidents. But many soldiers are identified only by their name, rank and unit with no further detail about the circumstances of their deaths.
Israeli Channel 12 news media puts the number of Israeli soldiers who have died since October 7, 2023 at 890, with another 11,000 injured.
(Palestine Chronicle, al-Mayadeen, Press TV, Electronic Intifada, Middle East Eye)
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