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Congressman Massie Wants A New Investigation Into Israel Over USS Liberty Attack 59 Years Ago

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In his speech on the House floor Monday marking the 59th anniversary of the USS Liberty incident, Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie called for a new investigation into what happened during the attack, as well as a resolution honoring the men onboard.

Massie’s speech referred to a June 8, 1967 incident involving the Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship sent to collect intelligence off the coast of the Sinai peninsula where it was bombed and strafed by two Israeli fighter jets and struck by three torpedoes. The Israeli government claimed it was a case of mistaken identity, and a subsequent U.S. Navy Court of Inquiry confirmed Israel’s statement.

Massie, the survivors of the tragedy, and others continue to contest this narrative, claiming that the Court of Inquiry was invalid. Notably, a number of sailors aboard the Liberty insist the attack was deliberate.

“This was an effort to kill everybody on board. There was no intention of taking prisoners,” Massie claimed.

Speaking on the House floor, Massie relayed a conversation he had just prior to entering the chamber with some of the survivors of the Liberty and how their recollection of the event was very different from the court findings. While the Israelis claimed they did not know they were bombing a U.S. ship, the survivors recalled that the American colors were flying high on a day with unlimited visibility. (Read more from “Congressman Massie Wants A New Investigation Into Israel Over USS Liberty Attack 59 Years Ago” HERE)

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Following U.S.-Mediated Talks, Israel and Lebanon Agree to Ceasefire if Hezbollah Ends Attacks

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Israel and Lebanon agreed Wednesday to implement a U.S.-brokered ceasefire framework contingent on Hezbollah ending its attacks, withdrawing operatives from southern Lebanon, and allowing the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume exclusive control over newly proposed security zones, as Iran simultaneously warned that renewed Israeli strikes on Beirut could trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the broader regional war.

Following two days of U.S.-mediated talks at the State Department, Washington, Jerusalem, and Beirut issued a joint statement announcing that the ceasefire would require “a complete cessation of Hezbollah fire” and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives from areas south of the Litani River, while establishing “pilot zones” in which the Lebanese army would exercise exclusive control “to the exclusion of all non-state actors.”

“These steps will enable progress towards a comprehensive peace and security agreement,” the statement read, while further emphasizing that “the future of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon must be decided by the two sovereign governments” and rejecting attempts by “any state or non-state actor” to “hold Lebanon’s future hostage” — a clear reference to Iran and its Hezbollah proxy, which has sought to tie the Lebanon conflict to ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran over the broader regional war and Strait of Hormuz crisis.

The agreement followed days of mounting tensions along the Israeli-Lebanese border, including continued Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel, Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, and threats from Jerusalem that additional Hezbollah attacks on Israeli population centers could trigger expanded Israeli operations in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that any renewed Israeli military action against Beirut would lead to a “full-scale resumption” of the war, insisting that Tehran viewed the Lebanon conflict as inseparable from ongoing negotiations surrounding the broader Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz crisis. (Read more from “Following U.S.-Mediated Talks, Israel and Lebanon Agree to Ceasefire if Hezbollah Ends Attacks” HERE)

Congress Discreetly Moves To Merge US Military Even Closer To Israel’s

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Congress quietly moved to further deepen military ties between the United States and Israel by advancing a provision buried in the House’s 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The NDAA released late May includes a measure embedded in section 224 called the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative,” which would strengthen military cooperation between both counties in the form of research, development, and even defense industrial base co-production. The provision also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion,” further intertwining the U.S. military with Israel.

The measure specifies several areas of cooperation between Israel and the United States, should the NDAA be adopted in its current form. Some of these “cooperative efforts” include cyber defense, artificial intelligence, anti-tunneling and subterranean threats, biotechnology, and any other “emerging technologies.”

“Remember last year when they tried to sneak that definition of antisemitism into federal law that would have banned portions of the New Testament?” Auron MacIntyre, host of the Auron MacIntyre Show, said in a post on X. “This is somehow just as absurd. Why does the GOP congress try to do this every summer?”

This push to further integrate the two militaries comes at a time where popular perception of Israel in America hits record lows. (Read more from “Congress Discreetly Moves To Merge US Military Even Closer To Israel’s” HERE)

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Israeli Military Attempts To Halt Catholic Marian Festival In West Bank, Until Cardinal Intervenes

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Israeli military officials allegedly attempted to halt a Catholic Marian festival in honor of the Virgin Mary in a Christian village located in the West Bank on Friday, sources say.

Jason Jones, founder and president of the Vulnerable People Project (VPP), told the Daily Caller that VPP had witnessed an Israeli military vehicle enter the village of Taybeh in the early morning and order organizers preparing for the festival to leave the area.

“A permitted Catholic festival honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary was nearly shut down by armed military intervention before it even began,” Jones said.

VPP told the Caller that it had been stationed in Taybeh to document the festival as part of its Save West Bank Christians Campaign, following concerns that the annual celebration may have been the target of Israeli settlers encroaching on the Christian village.

Approximately 30 minutes later, another military vehicle appeared and delivered the same orders, VPP told the Caller.

The parish priest overseeing the festival, Fr. F, contacted church authorities immediately, until the matter reached Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. (Read more from “Israeli Military Attempts To Halt Catholic Marian Festival In West Bank, Until Cardinal Intervenes” HERE)

‘A World Without America’: U.S., Israel Reportedly Floated Installing Ex-Iranian President as New Leader

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In the opening days of the Iran War, the United States and Israel were reportedly considering an unlikely choice as a potential new leader for Iran, according to The New York Times.

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was viewed as a favorable choice to replace the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the NYT reported, citing anonymous U.S. officials. Ahmadinejad was injured when Israeli airstrikes intended to free him from house arrest failed, the outlet reported.

Ahmadinejad has been an ardent anti-U.S. critic, according to public statements that he made in the past.

He called called for “a world without America,” on Oct. 26, 2005, at a conference in Tehran titled The World without Zionism, according to a congressional resolution passed on Jan. 27, 2006.

“As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map,” Ahmadinejad said in reference to statements by Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini at the conference, Al Jazeera reported.

(Read more from “‘A World Without America’: U.S., Israel Reportedly Floated Installing Ex-Iranian President as New Leader” HERE)

US Used over Half its THAAD Interceptors Defending Israel from Iran

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The U.S. used more than half of its THAAD anti-missile interceptor inventory defending Israel from Iranian attacks during the war, according to reports.
The Washington Post reported the U.S. also used more than 100 SM-3 and SM-6 interceptors, while Israel used fewer than 100 Arrow interceptors and around 90 David’s Sling interceptors.

Citing an official, the outlet reported that if fighting resumes with Iran, the U.S. would likely need to use even more interceptors because the IDF has sent some missile defense batteries for maintenance.

“Israel is not capable of fighting and winning wars on its own, but nobody actually knows this because they never see the back end,” the official said.

The Pentagon denied there was any issue with sharing resources with Israel, saying, “Ballistic missile interceptors are just one tool in a vast network of systems and capabilities.” (Read more from “US Used over Half its THAAD Interceptors Defending Israel from Iran” HERE)

Nick Kristof’s Israel Abuse Claims Spark Civil War at New York Times: ‘I’m sick of being embarrassed’

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A civil war has erupted inside the New York Times over Nicholas Kristof’s explosive column alleging widespread sexual abuse of Palestinians by Israeli prison guards.

Staffers at the newspaper are questioning whether some of the most incendiary claims, including an allegation that Israel trains dogs to rape Palestinian detainees, would have ever cleared the paper’s newsroom standards, according to Puck News.

The internal backlash has grown so intense that one Times journalist vented to Puck: “I am sick of being embarrassed by the Opinion section.”

The controversy centers on Kristof’s May 11 opinion essay, “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” which included graphic allegations from Palestinian detainees who claimed they were sexually assaulted, raped with objects and abused by Israeli prison guards, interrogators and settlers.

The column immediately ignited outrage from pro-Israel critics, sparked denunciations from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and triggered threats of a libel suit against the Times. (Read more from “Nick Kristof’s Israel Abuse Claims Spark Civil War at New York Times: ‘I’m sick of being embarrassed’” HERE)

Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has suspended the nation’s defense cooperation agreement with Israel amid the war with Iran.

Meloni spoke outside a wine industry event in Verona Tuesday, where she told reporters the Italian government “has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel in consideration of the current situation,” according to a Politico report.

The defense agreement was first established in 2003. It covers the transfer of military equipment and technology-related research between Italy and Israel’s armed forces, and it is set to automatically renew every five years, Politico reported.

The development comes amid rising tensions between Italy and Israel, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired warning shots at an Italian peacekeeping convoy in Lebanon on April 8, according to a Politico report.

“A logistics convoy of the Italian contingent, moving from Shama towards Beirut, was subjected to warning shots fired by the IDF about two kilometres from the base of departure,” the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, stated April 8. The peacekeepers were with UNIFIL, or the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

(Read more from “Trump Ally Suspends Defense Agreement With Israel After IDF Fired Warning Shots At Country’s Peacekeeping Convoy” HERE)

Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’

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Over the past month, President Donald Trump has dramatically escalated his administration’s war against Iran, culminating with his threat to destroy Iran’s entire civilization earlier this week, but according to Tucker Carlson’s independent media outlet, a “blackmail” operation could potentially be forcing the president’s hand.

The theory was outlined in a Friday morning newsletter from the Tucker Carlson Network, which pointed to a past incident that some have characterized as an attempted effort to blackmail a sitting U.S. president. Specifically, the newsletter cites claims made by political writer Daniel Halper in his 2014 biography “Clinton Inc.,” supported in part by sworn testimony given in 1998 to the congressionally established Office of Independent Counsel.

“Establishment media never reports this, but the Israeli government has a storied history of blackmailing U.S. Presidents,” the newsletter reads. “Perhaps the most jarring example occurred in the 90s, when Israel used recordings of a Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky phone sex session as leverage to pressure Clinton into releasing convicted spy Jonathan Pollard from prison. We’re not joking. That really happened.”

Evidence supporting the allegation that Israel had attempted to use phone recordings of Clinton and Lewinsky as “leverage” first emerged in 1998 after Lewinsky testified before the Office of Independent Counsel about her affair with the sitting president.

During her testimony, Lewinsky said that in early 1997, Clinton had told her “that he suspected a foreign embassy was tapping his telephones, (he did not specify which one),” just one month after then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Clinton in the Oval Office. (Read more from “Trump Hit with ‘Haunting’ Blackmail Theory Explaining His Iran Moves: ‘We’re not joking’” HERE)

Israel Sold Trump On War With Shaky Intel Pitch: REPORT

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Israeli leaders convinced President Donald Trump to launch strikes on Iran with a plan some administration officials described as “farcical,” a new report claims.

U.S. cabinet officials such as CIA Director John Ratcliffe voiced skepticism of Israel’s plan for attack and regime change in Iran just weeks before the war began, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. However, Trump appeared to have already been sold on the plan after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Situation Room on Feb. 11.

The plan laid out by Israeli officials in a top-secret meeting at the White House included killing the ayatollah, weakening the regime and installing a secular leader to take over the nation. But several top officials, including Vice President JD Vance, doubted the possibility of the U.S. and Israeli forces to conduct a full regime change.

“Sir, this is, in my experience, standard operating procedure for the Israelis. They oversell, and their plans are not always well-developed. They know they need us, and that’s why they’re hard-selling,” Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine reportedly said in the Situation Room meeting the following day.

“In other words, it’s bullshit,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly said. . .

Trump remained set on killing the ayatollah and destroying the Iranian military anyway, NYT reported, adding that instituting a full regime change would not be the U.S.’s problem. (Read more from “Israel Sold Trump On War With Shaky Intel Pitch: REPORT” HERE)