In his final days, Biden doubles down on his failed policies

His alliance with the neocons was a disaster for Democrats.

As he prepares his White House exit, a rapidly deteriorating Joe Biden doubles down on the politics that may have cost Dems the election. He presents a medal of honor to neocon war-monger Liz Cheney and then threatens to bomb Iran.

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Remember the “ceasefire agreement” in Lebanon? It wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.

The Israeli military continues to violate last month’s ceasefire agreement with Lebanon by carrying out fresh attacks on the country. The Israeli army’s new strikes hit the Nabatieh region in southern Lebanon on Thursday. (Middle East Monitor)

As for a ceasefire in Gaza, NYT reports,

Talks between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages have appeared to make little headway, according to officials familiar with the discussions, as the clock runs down on the Biden administration’s remaining days to reach an agreement on a cease-fire.

Biden’s inability to bring about even a temporary halt to the US-backed genocidal assault on Gaza will be seen as his (and Blinken’s) biggest diplomatic failure.

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If Marvin Gaye sang “What’s Going On?” today, it would not be a protest anthem, but an honest question. No one knows what’s going on and oligarchs are eliminating the means of finding out. (Sarah Kendzior)

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It doesn’t get much stupider…

A piece in Foreign Affairs by Robert E. Kelly and Min-hyung Kim suggests that the best way for South Korea to defend itself from North Korea is to develop its own nuclear weapons.

What they fail to mention is this. How can Seoul nuke the north without nuking themselves? The geographical proximity between North and South Korea makes it nearly impossible to use nuclear weapons without causing significant fallout and collateral damage to both sides. The consequences would be catastrophic for the entire region.