Antiwar.com Weekly Newsletter for June 2, 2021

Your source for foreign policy news.

June 2nd, 2021

Memorial Day: US Nuclear-Capable Bombers, NATO Warplanes Fly Over All 30 NATO Nations in One Day

U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa announced that American B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers accompanied by military aircraft from twenty-one other NATO nations flew over all 30 NATO member states today. Those would include the five that border Russia - Norway, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - of course.

The B-52s (designed to carry nuclear weapons during the Cold War), like their fellow nuclear-capable long-range bombers the B-1 and B-2, started deployment to Europe in 2018 under the aegis of the Pentagon's Bomber Task Force and so far this year have maintained a ready presence in Europe, in one instance landing at a Norwegian air base within the Arctic Circle.

Today's transcontinental flights were codenamed Operation Allied Sky and were the second such since last August when six B-52s accompanied by 80 NATO fighter jets flew over the thirty member states in a single day. The message sent by the operations shouldn't be difficult to understand.

By Rick Rozoff

Netanyahu Would Risk 'Friction' With US to Attack Iran

In his latest veiled threat aimed at Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would risk "friction" with the US to take action against Tehran's nuclear program.

"If we have to choose, I hope it doesn't happen, between friction with our great friend the United States and eliminating the existential threat - eliminating the existential threat," Netanyahu said Tuesday at a ceremony for David Barnea, the new chief of Israel's Mossad spy agency, who also threatened to attack Iran.

The "existential threat" Netanyahu refers to is a nuclear-armed Iran, which he claims is an inevitability if the US returns to the Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA. This ignores the fact that the JCPOA places strict limits on Iran's civilian nuclear program and makes it subject to the most stringent nuclear inspection regime in the world.

By Dave DeCamp

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Air Force Wants New Bombs for War With China, Not ISIS

The US military's focus away from the Middle East towards so-called "great power competition" with China and Russia is reflected in the Pentagon's budget request for 2022. For the Air Force, the service is seeking significantly fewer weapons that it has used against groups like ISIS as it hopes to invest in more sophisticated long-range missiles that can be used in the Pacific to fight China.

To fund more sophisticated long-range missiles, the Air Force will significantly reduce the purchase of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDMs, a small diameter bomb that the US has used across the Middle East. The Air Force will also reduce the purchase of Hellfire missiles, which are typically used for drone strikes.

According to documents reviewed by Military.com, the Air Force will ask Congress for 1,900 JDAM munitions, compared to 16,800 last year. The Air Force will ask for 1,176 Hellfire missiles, down from 4,517. The military service will also reduce to purchase of GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs to 998, down from 2,462.

By Dave DeCamp

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Eisenhower Rejected Military Chiefs' Demand for Nuclear War on China, Classified Account of '58 Taiwan Strait Crisis Reveals

A previously censored account of the 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis that was sponsored by the Pentagon has been published in full by the leaker of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg. The report provides a hair-raising portrait of a reckless US military leadership relentlessly pressing President Dwight Eisenhower for the authority to carry out nuclear attacks on communist China.

After holding the still-classified version of the account in his possession for fifty years, Ellsberg said he decided to release it because of the growing threat of US war with China over Taiwan, and the danger that such a conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange.

By Gareth Porter

Biden's 2022 Budget Includes Boost in Aid to Afghan Military

As the US is withdrawing from Afghanistan, Pentagon officials have made it clear they would continue to support the Afghan government financially after the pullout. President Biden's proposed military budget for 2022 includes a major increase in funding for the Afghan military.

The budget would give $3.3 billion to Afghan forces, a $300 million increase from 2021. The fund, known as the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund, would pay for military equipment, training, and some infrastructure.

While the US says it is leaving, the Pentagon still seeks $8.9 billion to cover "direct war costs" in Afghanistan for 2022, about a $4 billion reduction from this year. Anne McAndrew, an acting undersecretary of defense, said this money would cover "an over-the-horizon capability outside Afghanistan."

By Dave DeCamp

After Gaza Slaughter, Israel Wants Another $1 Billion Out of the US

After an 11-day bombing campaign in Gaza that killed at least 256 Palestinians, including 67 children, Israel has its hand out to its greatest ally for an additional $1 billion in "emergency" military aid, on top of the $3.8 billion Washington provides each year.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) confirmed that Israel will make the request a day after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. "There is going to be a request made by the Israelis to the Pentagon on Thursday for $1 billion in aid to replenish Iron Dome batteries," Graham told Fox and Friends on Tuesday.

By Dave DeCamp

Memorial Day: A Day for Politicians To Preen and People To Remember

Gareth Porter on Daniel Ellsberg's Shocking New Account of the Taiwan Strait Crisis

The US Cannot Bring Peace to Yemen, But It Can End America's Involvement in Yemen's War

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