Trump sounds Napoleon Bonaparte

Fears that the United States is in the midst of a constitutional crisis—or something significantly worse ‑ intensified Saturday after President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post, "He who saves his country does not violate any law," a variation of a quote attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

If Trump successfully defies the courts, the only remaining obstacle to dictatorship will be public revulsion, national popular protest, and the hope that such a reaction would cause Trump to retreat and, at long last, recall some fraction of the Republican Party to its constitutional duty.

Trump's post on X—the platform owned by billionaire shadow government leader Elon Musk—came as his administration continued its sweeping and destructive assault on the federal government and workforce, running roughshod over the law in the process.

Trump's post Saturday was the latest brazen signal that the president doesn't recognize limits on his authority to impose his far-right agenda.

New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie called Trump's message "the single most un-American and anti-constitutional statement ever uttered by an American president."

Since taking office less than a month ago, Trump and Musk have moved aggressively to dismantle federal agencies and remove any officials who could shine light on or obstruct their efforts.

Trump, his handpicked Cabinet officials, and Musk have also disregarded or openly attacked the other two co-equal branches of government, accusing judges who have moved to halt or limit the new administration's actions of being Democratic partisans.

In some cases, the Trump administration has actively defied rulings from federal courts, an alarming indication of what's to come.

Yasmin Abusaif and Douglas Keith of the Brennan Center for Justice noted Friday, "The last time the United States saw widespread open defiance of court orders by elected officials was when governors in Southern states refused to integrate their schools after the Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public education in Brown v. Board of Education."

"President Dwight Eisenhower—though he was no fan of the court's decision—ultimately dispatched troops to the South to help enforce the ruling, saying, “The Supreme Court has spoken and I am sworn to uphold the constitutional process in this country, and I will obey,” Abusaif and Keith continued.

"The governors' efforts to defy court orders are widely acknowledged as one of the most shameful periods in US history."

Frank Bowman, a law professor and former federal and state prosecutor, wrote for Slate last week. "With each passing day, the practical ability of the courts to stop, or even materially hinder, the catastrophe diminishes."

Courtesy: Common Dreams

The Day Arafat Visited Iran

On February 18, 1979, six days after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Yasser Arafat, Chairman, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) arrived in Tehran on a sudden and unannounced visit. He was the first foreign guest who visited Iran to meet Imam Khomeini in Tehran. He congratulated him and the Iranian nation over the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Arafat was detested by the King Mohammad Reza Shah, a close ally of the Zionist occupying Israeli regime. Upon arrival from Damascus at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, he told reporters, “Iran and Imam Khomeini showed that our Umma (Muslims) will never give up. The Iranians broke the chains tied around the Palestinians. This great revolution of yours is the guarantee of our victory.”

"Your revolution was like an earthquake that sent shockwaves across the globe and trembled Israel and imperialism,” the PLO chairman also said in his interview at Mehrabad Airport.

According to media reports, when Arafat was asked whether the Palestinian movement felt “stronger” since the Iranian uprising, he replied, “Definitely, it has changed completely the whole strategy and policy in this area. It has been turned upside down.”

The oppressed Palestinian nation was just one of the many Muslim and non-Muslim nations that were inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The victory of the Islamic Revolution was a very important, decisive, and promising factor for the future of the Palestinians' struggle.

The victory of the Islamic Revolution brought lots of joy among Muslim Palestinians, especially in the occupied territories and among the people of Lebanon.

Palestinian fighters took to the streets of occupied cities and refugee camps across the occupied lands and fired salvos of celebratory gunfire into the sky to express their joy over the Islamic Revolution's victory.

The visit was a striking sign of the turn in Iran's foreign policy towards the Palestinian issue, the New York Times reported about the visit at the time. The Shah had maintained relations with the usurping Israeli regime and furnished the regime with about 60 percent of its oil needs, the Times report added.

The Pahlavi regime initially refused to recognize Israel but after the Shah tightened his grip on power, his regime established overt and covert ties with the occupying regime. An unofficial Israeli embassy was operating in Tehran for years to advance the interests of the Zionists in Iran.

Simultaneously with the visit of the Palestinian delegation in Tehran, a sign that read "Palestine Embassy" was installed at the top of the front door of that unofficially declared embassy building in downtown the capital in the presence of Arafat.

The embassy used to be like an espionage center. Israeli security experts helped in building the notorious Pahlavi regime’s secret police known as SAVAK. They contributed much to SAVAK's personnel training.  Israeli intelligence services and SAVAK were in close contact, oppressing the freedom-seeking movement in Iran before the revolution.

Israeli regime’s high-ranking officials repeatedly visited Iran to hold meetings with the Shah regime’s authorities, despite sparking anger among Muslim nations.

Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution led by Imam Khomeini reversed course in line with Muslim people’s demands and the country severed all diplomatic and trade ties with the usurping Israeli regime. Even before the revolution, many Iranians were in Lebanon to help the oppressed of the Shia community and the Palestinian refugees there who were under aggression by the Zionist regime in the south of the country.

In the meeting, Imam Khomeini stressed to Arafat that leftist Arab nationalism and reliance on foreign powers would not direct the Palestinian struggle toward victory. Instead, the Imam told Palestinians that only trusting in God Almighty and relying on the holy Quran and Islamic teachings would show the way forward to achieve the goal of liberation of the occupied Palestinian lands.

“The Shah too pinned hope on the support from America, the United Kingdom, China, Israel, etc. But their support was not too strong. Only support the God bestows is reliable,” Imam Khomeini further stressed.

Imam Khomeini further stressed that the Palestinian issue was an issue of the entire Islamic world, emphasizing the need for supporting Palestinians uprising as a religious duty that has to be shouldered by all Muslim nations, not only in their political struggle but also on the battlefield and armed struggle with the usurpers of holy Quds and their backers.

Nearly a decade after meeting with Imam Khomeini in 1988 amid indifference to the Palestinians suffering on the part of Arab rulers, Arafat, charmed by the infeasible two-state solution bid, gave in to pressures and began to negotiate with the Israeli regime, followed by signing the Oslo Accord in which the PLO acknowledged the State of Israel and pledged to reject armed struggle. But all this had a devastating impact on the struggle of Palestinians.

In the years following the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic of Iran helped different Muslim nations in the region to forge a powerful alliance of Resistance forces against the occupying regime.

Tehran also helped in globalizing the Palestinian nation. It was Imam Khomeini who named the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan the International Quds Day during which Muslims across the globe show their solidarity with the Palestinians.

Unlike Arab nationalism, which suffered humiliating defeats against the Israeli regime in both the 1967 and the 1973 wars, the Resistance came out victorious on many battlefields against the usurping regime and its Western backers.

The Resistance inspired by the Iranian revolution has now become a global movement and has found supporters among freedom seekers all around the globe, even among people in Western countries.

Today, Iran is proud of its assisting role in creating a powerful Resistance movement that has waged a successful battle against the most barbaric regime in history.

 Courtesy: Tehran Times

Trump an accomplice of Netanyahu in Gaza genocide

After US president Donald Trump announced to “Takeover” Gaza, the suspicion started developing that he is a partner of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in the Gaza genocide. The most substantial evidence came on Sunday, February 16, 2025 when a shipment of MK-84 2,000 bombs arrived in Israel.

The arrival of shipment in Israel was confirmed by the Defense Ministry, officially ending an approximate nine-month freeze by the Biden administration, which the Trump administration reversed upon entering office.

Reportedly, the shipment came in as the IDF was considering renewing the war in Gaza in the coming two weeks should Hamas cease delivering hostages according to the Phase I deal schedule or should the sides fail to reach a deal for continuing hostage releases in Phase II.

The MK-84 is an unguided 2,000 pound bomb, which can rip through thick concrete and metal, creating a wide blast radius.

It may be recalled that the Biden administration declined to clear them for export to Israel out of concern about the impact on densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip.

The Biden administration has sent thousands of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel after the October 07, 2023 but later held up one of the shipments. The hold was lifted by Trump last month.

"The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States," Defence Minister Israel Katz said late on Saturday.

Washington has delivered lethal arms to Israel worth billions of dollars since Israeli incursion started in Gaza in October 2023.

India-US Relations: Implications for Pakistan

The evolving relationship between the United States and India under the leadership of President Donald Trump demands closer attention of Pakistan’s ruling junta. This developing alliance raises concerns in Islamabad, as the strengthening ties between the two countries may deepen the already strained relations between the US and Pakistan.

Recent developments prompted Pakistan’s foreign office to publicly express its concerns following a meeting between President Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A major point of contention was Trump’s offer to sell advanced military technologies, including F-35 jets, to India. This could have serious implications for Pakistan’s defense capabilities.

The joint communiqué issued after the meeting highlighted concerns about Pakistan's role in terrorism, calling for Pakistan to “expeditiously bring to justice” those responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2016 Pathankot incident. It further emphasized the need to prevent Pakistani territory from being used for cross-border terrorism.

Additionally, the appointment of S. Paul Kapur, a scholar of Indian origin known for his hawkish stance on Pakistan, as the US representative for South and Central Asia is seen as another sign of Washington’s increasingly critical view of Islamabad. His nomination adds to a growing list of individuals in the new US administration who are vocal critics of Pakistan’s policies.

Some vocal Pakistani expatriates in the United States, who supported Trump during his campaign, have been pushing for a tougher stance on Islamabad. This situation places the Pakistani government in a difficult position, it will once again have to prove its strategic value to US policymakers.

Meanwhile, New Delhi appears to be using its growing economic influence to deflect international scrutiny over its involvement in global assassination and terrorism networks, while simultaneously shifting the blame onto Pakistan.

In light of these challenges, Pakistan must adopt a more proactive approach in diplomacy, actively establish its credibility and strengthen its global position. Despite Pakistan’s long-standing engagement in the global war on terrorism and its ongoing counterterrorism cooperation with the US, the heavy toll on its people in social and economic terms remains largely unrecognized and underappreciated.

Moving forward, Pakistan needs to reassess its foreign and security policies, aligning them more closely with the expectations of its international allies while safeguarding its national interests.

 

South Asia: More of a meow than a roar

In the bubble years of the late 1980s, the appreciation of the Japanese yen sent a flood of investment from corporate Japan to the fast-growing economies of Southeast Asia. That was before the rise of China as a manufacturing powerhouse in the 1990s. But today, the optimism accompanying China's ascent has waned ‑ China is more likely to compete with ASEAN economies than support them.

According to Nikkei Asia, such diverse national circumstances suggest that, sadly, Southeast Asia remains less than the sum of its parts -- its once-promising Tiger economies have mostly lost their roar.

Nowhere is this reversal in ASEAN's economic fortunes more apparent than in Thailand, where auto sales have collapsed. Indonesia, which has vast natural and mineral resources, should also be doing better than it is.

While Vietnam is struggling in finding enough workers, not all of Southeast Asia has lost its "Tiger" dynamism.

Laos sells hydropower to its neighbors at a time when cheap power is an increasingly valuable competitive advantage.

Malaysia has benefited from its proximity to Singapore.

Lebanon: Saad Hariri’s promising return

In February 2005, the young man, Saad Hariri, who was grieving the loss of his father, Rafik Hariri was not knowledgeable enough in the muzzy maze of Lebanese politics; by capitalizing on his experiences, he has now reemerged seriously to lead the Sunni public and is approaching his fellow compatriots.

Upon Hariri’s instructions, Martyrs Square in the center of Beirut was overcrowded with his supporters who waved the national flag without the Future Movement’s flag, the largest Sunni movement.

“I will remain with you. Everything will be fine in its time,” he said, hinting at his intention to contest the municipal elections scheduled for May 2025 and the parliamentary elections in May 2026.

“I bow before all the martyrs from our people in the South, the Bekaa, Beirut, the southern suburb and all the regions,” Hariri said, describing the recent US-backed Israeli war on Lebanon as “crazy and criminal” targeting “our country”. 

He said, “It killed our people. It destroyed their homes, institutions, crops and society.”

Hariri’s rational speech has foiled the relentless efforts to put Sunnis and Shiites against each other; he also praised his popular base’s solidarity with the displaced as they confirmed – in action and not in words – that “Lebanon is one and the Lebanese are one body.” 

During the recent September-October 2024 Israeli war on Lebanon, the mainstream Arab media refused to say how those Sunnis welcomed the displaced Shiites in their own homes. Instead, they repeated the claim driven by Israel’s secretive cyber warfare unit 8200 that Hezbollah was involved in the assassination of his Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. 

Further, Hariri pointed to the responsibility of rebuilding the destroyed areas. “This is everyone’s responsibility, just as it is their responsibility to solve the economic crisis and restore development in all regions. Today, after electing a new president and a prime minister, we have a golden opportunity,” he stressed.

Hariri addressed his “partner”, the Shiite duo, without explicitly naming it, saying: “You are partners in this opportunity, and without you it cannot be achieved.”

“You are partners in opening bridges of relations with our Arab brothers and partners in reconstruction. Most importantly, you are strong partners in restoring the prestige of the state, which alone, with its army, security forces and institutions, protects all Lebanese,” he maintained.

Saad Hariri, who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2020, added, “We are with the state and our national army. We support every effort they make to impose the implementation of the ceasefire and Resolution 1701 in full, with the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation from all the villages it still occupies.”

Besides, Hariri announced his support for the choices of the Syrian people and his rejection of the settlement of Palestinian refugees.

Since Hariri’s absence, the active role of the Sunni component has declined in favor of rogues selected and oriented by the US embassy in Beirut and suspicious NGOs funded by George Soros.

Those have neither a popular base nor a comprehensive national discourse that is keen on Lebanon’s sovereignty, which contributed to the dispersion of the Sunnis as reflected during the formation of the current government, as Nawaf Salam was imposed from the outside and does not represent the Sunnis’ national agenda.

Relentlessly, those pro-US renegades have spared no efforts to pave the way for the decentralization of Sunni leadership, separating the premiership from the leadership of the Sunni component.

It is worth noting that 3 out of 27 Sunni MPs are affiliated with the Shiite duo. The rest are distributed among the National Consensus Bloc, headed by MP Faisal Karami, and the National Moderation Bloc, which was absent from the new government for the first time since the 1990s.

Hariri’s national speech reconfirmed that there is no victor or vanquished in Lebanon, but rather a crucible with diverse identities that requires concessions, cooperation, and thwarting the Israeli conspiracy threatening the people and the state.

Amid the sensitive situation that Lebanon is going through, activating the moderate Sunni presence is an urgent Lebanese need, given Hariri’s extensive relations both regionally and internationally. 

 

Trump policy rattles European allies

Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday made separate speeches that rattled European leaders. US officials said Europeans cannot expect American troops to be on the continent forever.

Speaking at a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, Hegseth said that US force levels in Europe are important but must be scrutinized.

"What happens five, 10, 15 years from now is part of a larger discussion that reflects the threat level, America’s posture, our needs around the globe, but most importantly the capability of European countries to step up," he said.

"That’s why our message is so stark to our European allies — now is the time to invest because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever."

His comments come on the end of a week-long trip through Europe that included stops in Germany to visit US Africa Command and Brussels for a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers. While at the alliance headquarters, he hinted that Europeans would have to step up conventional deterrence against Russia.

Hegseth also sparked fears as to whether the US would largely abandon investment in NATO moving forward after he expressed “that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”

No decision has yet been made on changing US force presence in Europe, though the Trump administration has said it is reviewing where it puts troops globally.

Vance, meanwhile, in remarks at the Munich Security Conference, argued the biggest threats facing Europe were not China or Russia, but the issue of mass migration and laws that restrict free speech.

“While the Trump administration is very concerned with European security and believes we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine … the threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” Vance said.

“And what I worry about is the threat from within,” he continued. “The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”

Vance’s remarks did not delve into the conflict in Ukraine, where the Trump administration is pushing for a ceasefire negotiation, nor did he discuss at length President Trump’s desire for Europe to commit more to defense spending.

Instead, Vance accused European officials of using laws meant to minimize misinformation and disinformation to marginalize populist voices and voters, which garnered a tepid reception in the room.