War

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump claims that Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states should pay protection money to the U.S. for their military support against the Islamic State. He said that the US  could stop purchasing their oil unless they reimbursed Washington for its military efforts against ISIS or send ground troops to join the fight. The Republican front-runner for the White House gave a foreign policy interview to the New York Times, saying US presidents should have “gone to the beach” instead of meddling in the Middle East.

Some very good, if politically incorrect, points from Glenn Greenwald on cause and effect in the aftermath of the Brussels terrorism in this DemocracyNow interview.

The key section is below:

While the Western media is busy reporting each and every development (no matter how insignificant) in the ongoing effort to uncover more information about the ISIS cell responsible for the Paris attacks and Tuesday's bombings at the Brussels airport and metro, the Arab world continues to suffer from daily violence the scope of which is often far greater than what unfolded in Belgium this week. 

"You know I mean look... broadly speaking .... you know... it's not a great choice... an either/or... but... you know..."

That was the response from State Department spokesman Mark Toner when two reporters asked him whether the US was pleased that the Syrian army, backed by Hezbollah ground forces and Russian airstrikes was set to retake the ancient city of Palmyra from Islamic State.

Brussels is restless.

Protesters and demonstrators gathered in the Place De la Bourse on Sunday and riot police were forced to step in when far-right activists pushed out Belgians bearing flowers and lighting candles.

"We don't believe in candles and flowers. That is for the dead," one demonstrator, who described himself as a "hooligan from Ghent" told The Telegraph who reports that "nearly 400 far-right "hooligans" have gathered at Place de la Bourse, in what they describe as an "anti-Isil" protest."