(2021-07-09). Good Riddance to Bad Rummy. counterpunch.org They say that history is written by the winners. But what if you wage a war that nobody wins? That's the Iraq War (also the Afghan war). Everybody lost (except maybe Iran and Israel) and continues to lose, 20 years later, as a defeated America fitfully attempts an ignominious, dangerous, but better-late-than-never withdrawal. One of
(2021-07-09). Iranian-Backed Forces Deployed Decoy Rocket Launchers In Syria's Deir Ezzor. southfront.org 
Illustrative image. | Iranian-backed forces have deployed decoy rocket launchers in the government-held part of the eastern Syrian governorate of Deir Ezzor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on July 9. | According to the London-based monitoring group, Iranian-backed forces in southern Deir Ezzor also redeployed and camouflaged a number of real rocket launchers which are aimed at US bases on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. | "The Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas militia set up fake rocket launchers near the a…
(2021-07-09). Taliban Claim Capture Of Border Crossing With Iran, Other Border Areas. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On July 8th, Taliban seized control of a key district in western Afghanistan that includes a major border crossing with Iran, Afghan security officials said. | Two senior security officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran, located in Herat province, had fallen to the Taliban and that Afghan security and customs officials had fled across the border. | In the last week, the Taliban has overrun areas bordering five countries…
(2021-07-09). Central Syrian Insurgency: Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed In ISIS IED Attack. southfront.org 
Illustrative image. | On July 9, a commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was killed in an attack by ISIS cells in central Syria. | Syrian sources claimed that the commander, Reza Safdari, was killed when his vehicle was struck with an improvised explosive device that had been planted by ISIS terrorists. The incident reportedly took place in the eastern countryside of Homs. | Late IRGC commander Reza Saf…
(2021-07-09). Nuclear Stockholm Syndrome. counterpunch.org the civilian operation of nuclear power plants also places future generations at military risk. I have written that, historically, nuclear reactors were "born violent." That is to say, they were invented by the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s to manufacture plutonium for use in nuclear weapons, and were instrumental in killing almost 100,000 people in 1945. The "first" American commercial atomic plant in Shippingport, PA that went critical in 1958, was actually the 14th industrial nuclear reactor built in the United States, the other 13 only manufactured plutonium, which by then formed the fissile cores of t…
(2021-07-08). Iran Urges Peaceful Solution to Differences Among Afghans. telesurenglish.net Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday urged peaceful solution to differences among Afghan political parties. | RELATED: | "For peace one should sacrifice and forgive, should refrain from the maximum demands, and pay attention to the demands of the other side," Zarif said at the end of the intra-Afghan dialogue in Tehran. | "What I demand from you (the Afghan parties) is to seize this opportunity…
(2021-07-08). As U.S. Troops Withdraw from Afghanistan, Gov't Turns to Armed Volunteers to Fight Taliban. democracynow.org 
Taliban fighters are escalating their offensive across much of Afghanistan, attacking major cities and seizing more territory as the U.S. military withdrawal from the country nears completion after nearly 20 years of war. The Taliban now reportedly control a third of all 421 districts and district centers in Afghanistan. Taliban representatives met with the Afghan government in Iran for high-level peace talks and said in a joint statement that "war is not the solution" to the country's problems. We go to Kabul to speak with reporter Ali Latifi, who says Afghan security forces are arming local groups across the co…
(2021-07-08). Military Situation In Afghanistan On July 8, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On July 7, a joint meeting of the Afghan government-Taliban delegation mediated by Iran was held at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Tehran | On July 7, Taliban captured Zendah Jan district in Herat province | On July 8, clashes between Taliban and Afghan Army were reported in the Nawur district in Ghazni province | 107 Taliban militants were killed and 58 others wounded as a result of Afghan Army operations in Laghman, Logar, Paktika, Khost, Balkh, Faryab, Helm…
(2021-07-08). Iranian Security Forces Arrested Three Workers in Key Power Plant For Sabotage. southfront.org 
Nuclear power plant in Iran. Image source: Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons | Iranian security forces have arrested three workers at one of the country's key power plants on charges of sabotage, the A source familiar with the case told the agency that the three workers were actively destroying and disabling a part of the power plant in order to cause frequent power outages…
(2021-07-08). Tomgram: Karen Greenberg, The Age of Unaccountability? warisacrime.org This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. Only recently, more than 18 years after President George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq and quickly declared victory ("Mission accomplished!"), Joe Biden once again ordered U.S. air strikes, three of them, against Iranian-backed Iraqi militias in …
(2021-07-08). France's "New" Nukes: Another Industrial and Financial Disaster. counterpunch.org Despite the fact that it has proven incapable of properly carrying out the construction of the EPR (European Pressurized) nuclear reactor at the never-ending Flamanville site underway since 2008, EDF (Électricité de France) leadership has nevertheless decided — according to the media outlet, Contexte — to allocate hundreds of millions of Euros to launch a construction
(2021-07-08). [Research Paper] Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cardiovascular outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. thelancet.com Omega-3 FAs reduced cardiovascular mortality and improved cardiovascular outcomes. The cardiovascular risk reduction was more prominent with EPA monotherapy than with EPA+DHA.