It has been another exciting week in and around Washington. The murder of Charlie Kirk has produced speculation that has resulted in all the loonies and haters coming out from their various hidey-holes. This has inevitably included the chorus of knuckleheads that makes up the Donald Trump cabinet. Since Kirk’s death, Republican conservatives have called for a crackdown on the left, though it is by no means clear that any identifiable left-of-center group was in any way implicated in the killing.
More likely perhaps, is the suggestion that Kirk might have been killed by Israel, which had both motive and means to carry out the assassination. Israel also has an international record for political assassinations that is second to none as the United States always provides it with political cover when it kills someone. This has been the case recently in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Qatar. The instantly after-the-fact babbling by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing how much he loved Kirk is in itself extremely suspicious as it is clear that the Israelis and their friends in the US were at odds with Kirk over his concerns about the Jewish state’s control over both Trump and US policy.
And no one has yet satisfactorily explained the mysterious departure from a nearby airport on a private jet with its Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which provides positioning information between the aircraft and air traffic control, deliberately turned off. The plane is owned by Derek Maxfield, a businessman who is wealthy Jewish supporter of local Chabad Lubavich Utah. It might be assumed that the real assassin was being removed from the scene by air. There was in fact a somewhat bizarre distraction at the site of the killing when one George Zinn, who has been identified by some sources as Jewish and by others as Mormon-Zionist, shouted out, falsely, that he was the shooter. His outburst disrupted whatever police investigation was taking place and may have allowed the actual killer to escape. There has also been difficult to explain surveillance video that seems to question the whereabouts and status of the rifle allegedly used in the killing when the suspect who has been arrested was believed to be fleeing. One thing that is certain is that if the investigation does actually implicate Israel in the killing, there will be an organized government cover-up just as there was in the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty in 1967 that killed 34 American sailors as well as the suspicious assassination of JFK and the equally questionable final report issued on 9/11, both of which might have involved Israel.
Lacking any genuine target for revenge over Kirk, those in charge of the government investigation have been venting their anger against the usual targets, which include the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. A number of employees who vented their dislike of Kirk due to some of the controversial positions he has taken have been punished. Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is perhaps most prominent from among a growing number of people across the US who have been fired or sanctioned at their workplaces for comments deemed offensive describing Kirk’s brand of politics. Some of the comments that have been revealed in media coverage have certainly included language that might be considered over the top, but others have not appeared to glorify or celebrate the shooting of Kirk’s death.
Trump’s State Department is also stepping up to the plate to find whom to punish, saying that it would identify non-citizens “on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event” and take appropriate action against them, such as refusing or revoking visas and deporting them if they are already in the US. And Attorney General Pam Bondi has also threatened ordinary American citizens who post the “wrong thing” on social media, saying that the Justice Department would prosecute “hate speech.” Bondi should perhaps check the First Amendment to the Constitution, which she and all the Trumpsters have sworn to uphold and defend. It does not include any “hate speech” clause which would take away one’s right to speak freely on any topic. Bondi has perhaps become confused by her constant citation of “antisemitism,” which includes any criticism of Israel, as “hate speech” which must be combatted and criminalized. Perhaps she should look at a map where she might discover that Israel is not part of the United States even if Congress and the White House are sometimes confused on the issue.
Speaking of which, the usual crowd of Israel Firsters have been active on all fronts in their effort to make Israel’s ongoing slaughter of the Palestinians appear to be the right thing to do. Congressman Brian Mast of Florida, who served in the Israeli Army and who sometimes wears that uniform when present in the House Office Building, has introduced a bill that would have authorized the Secretary of State to revoke the passports of any American whom he decides has provided “material support” to terrorists. The “terrorists” in question are, of course, Hamas and the other Palestinian resistance groups, and the bill would mean that anyone writing something on social media defending the Gazans could have his passport taken away. Fortunately, Mast withdrew his bill due to powerful response from numerous civil liberties groups that had warned last week that the bill endangered the right to travel freely and that it essentially granted to the Secretary of State “thought police” power.
But, inevitably, when one yo-yo head in Congress takes a step back on the Israel issue, there is someone else ready to step forward, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York state has presented legislation that would prevent future New York City officials from arresting Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the US. Stefanik describes her bill as intended to “protect American sovereignty and prohibit radicals like Zohran Mamdani from illegally arresting the leader of our democratic ally Israel.” The legislation would block state and local law enforcement officers from arresting Netanyahu on a visit to New York City, where the United Nations is headquartered.
Zohran Mamdani is a New York state representative and the current Democratic nominee for New York City mayor who is leading in the polls. There is an active arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court based on Israel’s war crimes and its genocide which the US government has refused to recognize. Mamdani supports an international boycott of Israel, has condemned the genocide taking place, and has suggested that he would serve it if Netanyahu arrives in town! That is why he is being targeted by folks like Stefanik.
The Kirk furor has perhaps opened the gates to still more behavior by the Trump regime that borders on insanity. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio has been in Israel crawling in front of Netanyahu to “guarantee” Israel’s security after the obligatory prayer session at the so-called wailing wall. He and the oddly designated US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee donned their kippah small hats and demonstrated their obedience to a higher power, which is clearly the Jewish state’s government and America’s domestic Israel Lobby. One wonders if Netanyahu, who will be in Washington next week, will be required to reciprocate by dropping in for a prayer session at the National Cathedral when he is in town.
And as a final item, a little happy news. It is clear that Israel knows how to reward its few defenders, in this case Donald Trump, whom Netanyahu describes as his country’s best friend ever among the US presidents. Bezalel Smotrich, the extreme right winger Israel finance minister has revealed that plans for the redevelopment of Gaza once it is cleansed of Palestinians is moving right along. He has described the project as a “Real Estate Bonanza” and has indicated that the Jewish state is in talks with the United States regarding dividing Gaza’s land between the two countries. Smotrich observed that Israel is now finishing up the “demolition phase” for rebuilding Gaza, and negotiations are now underway with the US regarding a business plan for redevelopment. He added that the reconstruction plan is “on President Trump’s desk.” The Trump Riviera dream is becoming a reality, it appears, and there have been reports that Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been active recently both in Israel and in several Gulf Arab States pursuing development projects.
Some might churlishly observe that Donald Trump plays fast and loose with enriching his family through opportunities presented to him while he is serving as president of the United States of America. He has initiated personal lawsuits against news outlets that he perceives as having insulted or defamed him, the latest of which is last week’s announcement by Trump on Truth Social: “Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times. I am PROUD to hold this once respected ‘rag’ responsible, as we are doing with the Fake News Networks.” Trump has also sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion and ABC and CBS news, both of which settled in court for $16 and $15 million respectively. Should this kind of personal litigation on the part of a head of state be allowed? Trump has declared that as president “he can do whatever he wants to do.” Many Americans might disagree with that!
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
Original at Unz.com: https://www.unz.com/pgiraldi/more-turmoil-from-washington/