Four men in Washington shape America’s policy in the Middle East. Three are obvious: President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The fourth is less well-known, despite his huge sway over the other three ― and despite his determination to keep championing policies that many see as fueling bloodshed in Gaza and beyond.
His name is Brett McGurk. He’s the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, and he’s one of the most powerful people in U.S. national security.
McGurk crafts the options that Biden considers on issues from negotiations with Israel to weapon sales for Saudi Arabia. He controls whether global affairs experts within the government ― including more experienced staff at the Pentagon and the State Department ― can have any impact, and he decides which outside voices have access to White House decision-making conversations.
A former official said there’s a joke in some national security circles:
“If a nuclear bomb was dropped on D.C., two forms of life would survive: cockroaches and Brett McGurk.”
A former Obama administration official described McGurk as placing “less emphasis on the human rights side of things, except where it serves as useful leverage for his preferred strategic outcomes.”
McGurk frequently discourages colleagues from raising rights concerns with other governments, often saying it will make them more likely to draw away from the U.S. and toward China.
For all his influence, McGurk is ultimately not the chief decision-maker over Middle East policies that are drawing public disdain and risking U.S. interests.
“He is giving the president what he wants,” the former Obama administration official said. “Biden owns these decisions.”
Source: HuffPost
🇮🇷❌👑👑❗️ — Videos coming out of Iran, after the Internet ban, share some of the most gruesome and terrific images so far in this protest season
At least 10 protesters in Fardis, Karaj area of Alborz province of Iran, West of Tehran, were reportedly killed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Troops under orders of the Islamic Republic Regime in Iran.
According to reports from netizens via Musk's Starlink, dozens of other deaths are being reported as having occurred in other locations on Iranian soil.
In one of the videos, it's possible hear in Persian/Farsi:
"Right in front of Fardis Police Station No. 11, a Toyota was pulled up and sprayed with gunfire.
People were mowed down with heavy weapons, machine-gun fire, indiscriminately."
🇻🇪 Call of Duty: Ghosts, PC Game, was released 12 years ago when Venzuela Maduro started his Presidency.
🇺🇸 In the game, US Military raid Venezuela at night and capture the Venezuelan Dictator.
In the game, it says this Event happens in the Year 2026.
🇬🇧 The Prevent video game that treats every teenager like a far-Right extremist
Youngsters threatened with referral to anti-terror programme if they question migration while playing
A state-funded computer game is warning teenagers that they risk being referred to a counter-terrorism programme if they question mass migration.
Pathways is an interactive game designed for 11- to 18-year-old pupils and funded by Prevent, a Home Office programme for tackling extremism.
Young players are directed to help their in-game characters – a white teenage boy and girl – to avoid being reported for “extreme Right-wing ideology” after discussing migration online.
Characters can face extremism referrals if they choose to engage with groups that spread “harmful ideological messages”, or join protests against the “erosion of British values”. Even researching online immigration statistics is portrayed negatively.
Other in-game pitfalls include sharing a video that claims Muslim men,...
IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE: A BURIED CIA VIDEO JUST SURFACED… AND ERIKA KIRK IS IN IT
https://x.com/hustlebitch_/status/2009688114923745442?s=46
A 10-year-old documentary about EMP attacks and U.S. power grid vulnerability has quietly surfaced - and buried inside it is Erika Kirk.
She’s not observing.
She’s not a host.
She’s in a role most civilians never get near, briefing national security professionals alongside a former CIA National Security & Energy Specialist on how an EMP or coordinated physical attack could collapse the U.S. power grid.
This isn’t casual footage.
It’s technical.
It’s inside-baseball.
And it’s the exact kind of material most people never get near, let alone present.
Which raises some very uncomfortable questions:
Why was she in that role?
What qualified her to brief on national security threats?
Who brought her into that room, and why is none of it explained?
Back then, this clip passed quietly. Today, with everything surrounding her, it ...