Luigi Mangione Fights NY Extradition as New Details Emerge, The Nurse Hannah Scandal, & Today's News
PDS Published 12/10/2024
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Luigi Mangione (Man-jee-own-ee) has been charged over the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Right, we talked about how he was identified at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s yesterday, he was initially arrested in the state over firearm charges.
But last night he was charged in New York with murder, illegal gun possession, and possessing a forged instrument.[]
He was denied bond at his arraignment and he will have to be extradited to New York to face those charges.
So far, he has not entered a plea, but CNN did note that he countered some claims coming from prosecutors.
He was reportedly found with $8,000 cash on him, which prosecutors argued showed he was trying to evade authorities. []
But Luigi said he did not know where that money came from and suggested it had actually been planted on him.
We have also learned a little bit more about his background, with lots of reports coming out about back pain he was suffering from, and a recent estrangement from his friends and family.
The New York Times spoke to RJ Martin, the founder of a co-living community in Honolulu that Luigi lived in in 2022,
And he said that Luigi lived with serious and sometimes debilitating back pain and had surgery for it last year. []
Explaining:
“His spine was kind of misaligned. He said his lower vertebrae were almost like a half-inch off, and I think it pinched a nerve. Sometimes he’d be doing well and other times not.”
Adding that upon moving to the community, Luigi took a surfing lesson that resulted in such debilitating pain he needed a new mattress, and the pain really just got in the way of his daily life, with RJ saying:
“He knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible. I remember him telling me that, and my heart just breaks.”
And some believe that this pain and surgery caused him to lose touch with his family.
Law enforcement sources told the New York Post, his mother actually reported him missing in November.[]
But some of his old classmates have said that it seems his whereabouts were unknown for quite a while, as some got a message earlier this year about Luigi’s family trying to find him.
One classmate saying it sounded like his family had not heard from him since undergoing back surgery.
The Wall Street Journal pointing to social media posts mentioning him in July and October from friends wondering where he was or if he was okay.[]
RJ also telling the New York Times that he tried to text Luigi about how his surgery went but all Luigi said was “long story” and never elaborated. []
And apparently he tried to catch up with him on the phone in May and June to no avail.
And some of this lines up with things people noticed yesterday, like the fact that a GoodReads account apparently belonging to him showed he read books about back pain.[]
But the people who knew him seem generally shocked by the news, by his arrest.
With his family putting out a statement saying:
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment on news reports regarding Luigi Man-jee-own-ee. We only know what we have read in the media. Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest. We offer prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.”[]
Regarding more of his motive, CNN obtained an NYPD intelligence report that explained some of Luigi’s alleged manifesto, and explained:
“He appeared to view the targeted killing of the company’s highest-ranking representative as a symbolic takedown and a direct challenge to its alleged corruption and ‘power games,’ asserting in his note he is the ‘first to face it with such brutal honesty.’”[]
But obviously, there is likely tons of more information to come, it is still one of the most talked about stories on social media.
Right now, we are seeing tons of companies trying to stop the support and sympathy he is receiving because of the arrest.
Because tons of people are making merch in support of both the shooting and him as the suspect.
Amazon even had to pull merch from its site for violating company rules.[]
But that is where we are at on this one for now, and I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here.
And we will obviously be looking out for updates.
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TikToker Hannah Hiatt (he-ett) is reportedly being investigated after people online have reported her to CPS.
Hannah is a mom influencer, you might know her as Nurse Hannah, and her content has been incredibly controversial, even leading some to speculate that her child is being abused.
And yesterday, the Ogden, Utah, Police Department told People Magazine that "there is an open, active investigation into" her.
The spokesperson for the department declined to explain what the investigation entailed, simply saying there is a detective assigned to the case.
And adding that it was sparked after Child Protective Services and police received a slew of reports after one video shows her son flinching away while his dad approaches him.
Hannah has since removed that video, but it showed her son sitting in a grocery store carriage and leaning back and covering his face when his dad approached him with a box of food.
People thinking that was defensive body language from the child, that he had terror in his eyes, like he was afraid he was going to be hit.
And for her part, Hannah has already addressed these concerns, posting videos around two weeks ago saying:
“My husband is the sweetest, nicest, kindest, most loving, most nurturing father in the entire world.” (0:27-0:35)
“I promise, and when I promise this, I am serious, nothing is going on.” (2:12-2:19)
“The fact that I’m even being compared right now to Ruby Franke is absolutely comical. It’s hilarious really. We live in a world nowadays where people will turn nothing into something.” (0:00-0:11)
But the video of her son flinching was far from the first time she has been criticized for her parenting.
She posted one very viral video of her picking up 17 dirty diapers that were strewn about her house after a day of not throwing any out.
They were on tables, scattered around the floors of different rooms, people thinking that is just an unsanitary house for small children.
Other videos that have generated controversy are ones where it appears she is eating in front of her son and seemingly denying him food.
So people have long been criticizing her.
And right now, she is just reportedly being investigated, officials did not say if they found anything or even what they specifically are looking for.
But we will have to see where this story goes.
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We got big AI news to talk about today!
Right, after 10 months of anticipation and hype, OpenAI has finally launched its video-generation model Sora - which allows users to type in a prompt and the AI generates a brief, high quality video.
Notably, Sora allows users to give it feedback to change AI-generated video exactly how they want, (Broll: 4:14)
Right, adding objects, removing them, changing the color, etc.
And you can even storyboard prompts to try to generate a cohesive video.(Broll: 5:56)
And some of the videos that people are releasing are absolutely insane - with many noting just how realistic the people it can generate look.
The likes of MKBHD, for example, sharing this video on Twitter and those news anchors? (broll)
They’re not real.
Which is something Marques even highlighted, though he also added that video isn’t perfect.
Right, for one, it still has garbled text onscreen. []
And in a review he posted on YouTube, he touched on some other criticisms,
One being that a lot of objects in motion still seem to pass through one another, (Broll: 6:56)
And connected to that, Sora struggles to realistically recreate how things move – right, people walking in very stilted or almost slow-motion like ways. (Broll: 11:12)
Though he also highlighted some strengths too.
For example, if you turn a video into a cartoon or stop-motion, a lot of those unrealistic looking movements no longer feel noticeable. (Broll: 13:12)
And then connected to that, praising Sora’s ability to generate abstract backgrounds and short infographic-like animations. (Broll: 11:43, 12:21)
But ultimately, MKBHD saying Sora a is “powerful tool,” and really emphasizing the “tool” part — noting that this tech is both “horrifying and inspiring” at the same time.
Hitting on energy concerns and adding that one of the scariest parts is just how much we still don’t know about this tech:
“I also asked for a video of a tech reviewer sitting at a desk and I said nothing about this fake plant, but Sora took the liberty of adding this exact fake plant here… And that is a convenient reminder of the other side of the tools like this, the unknown behind a lot of the tools… Are my videos in that source material? Is this exact plant part of the source material? Is this just a coincidence? I don’t know. OpenAi has talked about using publicly available media and data, and it’s always to me been kind of a sketchy definition. We don’t know if it’s everything. We don’t know if it’s too late to opt out, if we wanted to opt out.” 13:32-13:46, 13:48-13:57, 14:04-14:25
And on that note, the road to get this launch has been long and not everyone is happy.
Right, just last month, a group of artists shared their limited access to Sora in protest of the way OpenAI was treating the artists it was partnered with.
Saying that the labor of hundreds of those artists - giving feedback and testing for bugs - went unpaid and only a very select few were chosen for a competition to have their Sora-made films screened. []
And there’s also the fact that Sora isn’t alone anymore.
Following OpenAI’s tease of it back in February, a lot of companies jumped on the AI video-generation train.
Like Google’s Veo or Kling or the more recently released Hunyuan Video. []
And these other options have dimmed the shine of Sora’s launch a bit here.
With some people comparing the results from several different generators - some saying that Sora doesn’t measure up quite yet. c
There’s also been concerns regarding safeguards.
As deepfakes become more and more common, people have worried that tools like Sora could only make that worse.
Which OpenAI has acknowledged - they even limited Sora’s ability to generate videos with people in them for right now.
Promising to roll out more access once they refine their system for preventing deepfakes. []
And they also included a feature that will identify when a video comes from Sora and verify its origin. []
For now, that’s where we’re at - we’ll have to keep our eyes on Sora and OpenAI from here to see how this develops.
But I would love to know your thoughts about this - whether you love Sora or hate it or whatever.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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Who is going to take over the world’s largest right-wing media empire after Rupert Murdoch inevitably perishes? [Image]
The answer could profoundly influence how insufferable your parents and extended family are at Thanksgiving for many years to come.
Right, because the owner of News Corp, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and hundreds of other newspaper and TV stations in Britain and Australia? [Image]
He’s now at the ripe old age of 93, and we don’t even have to wait for his death to see a dynastic succession crisis.
Right, so let’s delve into it.
Starting in 2006, when Murdoch established his family trust. [Quote, find “2006”]
With him dividing up the financial pie among his six children, and retaining absolute control over his empire for himself. [Same quote and Image, Image, Image]
Now this struggle we’re about to get into isn’t about the money; it’s about that second eternal vice which corrupts all souls: power.
Because under the terms of the trust, once Murdoch dies, voting power will be distributed equally among his four oldest children: Lachlan [Lock-lin], James, Elisabeth and Prudence. [Image, Image]
Thing is, though, they’re all very different people.
Right, to start off, Lachlan’s the furthest right politically and the closest to his father in that respect. [Image]
Hence why he’s been appointed to chair News Corp for the time being.
Then you’ve got Prudence, the oldest child and only daughter from Murdoch’s first marriage; right, she’s the most private and least involved in her father’s business. [Image]
Then there’s Elizabeth, a TV entertainment mogul and socialite who capitalized on her last name, but still tried to carve her own path through the business world. [Image]
And finally there’s James, the youngest of the four and seemingly the most liberal, or at least the most moderate. [Image]
Right, he and his wife are outspoken climate activists, he donated to the Anti-Defamation League after Charlottesville, and he both donated to and voted for Joe Biden. [Image]
Yet surprisingly he’s also been the most involved in the Murdoch empire alongside his right-wing older brother, Lachlan. [Image]
Right, the pair shared operating responsibility for the companies from 2015 through 2019.
But that year he left, and the next year he stepped down from the board of News Corp as well. [Quote, find “to 2019”]
With him citing “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets.” [Same quote]
Or to translate that, he couldn’t stand the network’s Trumpification, election denialism and climate denialism any longer.
But despite their differences, all four children, even including James, have been considered at one time or another to be the potential heir to the Murdoch throne.
Which has naturally led to some “friendly” competition between each of them.
Most famously during the British phone hacking scandal in 2010 — you know, when Murdoch’s tabloids were found to have illegally spied on politicians and celebrities.
And since James oversaw News Corp’s British operations at the time, Elizabeth reportedly tried to convince her father to fire him and promote her, though she denied that. [Quote, find “fire”]
Now if all of this family drama sounds a little familiar, like, oh I don’t know, the plot of HBO’s Succession, you’re not the only one who thought that.
Right, according to court documents obtained by The New York Times,
Elizabeth’s representative to the family trust saw the episode where — spoiler alert: in case you haven’t seen the show, skip ahead like 20 seconds,
The father, Logan Roy, unexpectedly dies, throwing his media empire into turmoil.
So Elizabeth’s guy reportedly drafted a so-called “‘Succession’ memo” meant to avoid a real-life repeat of those fictional events. [Quote, find “real-life”]
And in April of last year, Murdoch’s children began secretly discussing a public relations strategy for their father’s eventual death. [Same quote]
Hell, it even goes both ways; right, the writers of Succession are open about having taken inspiration from the Murdoch dynasty. [Image]
Though funny enough, one of Murdoch’s ex wives was barred by her divorce settlement from giving them ideas for the show. [Quote, find “divorce settlement”]
So does art imitate life, or life imitate art? I guess it’s both at the same time.
[Clip, 00:14 - 00:18] Caption: “You know what? Sometimes it is a big dick competition.”
But one major difference between Logan Roy and Rupert Murdoch is that the real-life media magnate actually did choose a successor in the end.
And there’s no big plot twist here; it’s Lachlan, of course. [Image]
[Clip, 03:54 - 03:58] Caption: “You’re my boy. You’re my number one boy.”
Right, that’s been pretty clear for several years now, but here’s where things get really messy.
Because you see, they’re still bound by the terms of the family trust, which gives each child equal voting power after their father dies.
That is, unless there’s one key exception.
Right, Murdoch can legally revise the terms only so long as those revisions are in good faith and in the best interests of his beneficiaries. [Quote, find “best interests”]
Including his three other children: James, Elizabeth and Prudence.
Which means he would have to argue that stripping them of their power is actually in their best interests, whether they realize it or not.
Or in other words, daddy knows best.
So on their side, Murdoch argued that consolidating power around Lachlan would ensure the companies remain on their right-wing course, which would keep them commercially viable, and therefore financially benefit the less right-wing kids. [Quote, find “locking in”]
But on the other side, James countered that Fox and News Corp’s slide into Trumpism may have brought short-term profits, but it threatens the empire’s long-term future.
And for a while, Prudence and Elizabeth’s loyalties were a bit ambiguous, though the Murdoch-Lachlan team thought they smelled betrayal.
Right, they reportedly alleged that the daughters participated in a brewing plot by James to launch a coup against Lachlan after Murdoch’s death and reel in the empire’s right-wing bent. [Quote same link, find “coup”]
With them pointing to a meeting that James, Elisabeth and Prudence had at a Hotel in London last year as proof of their alleged scheme. [Same quote]
Hence why, in a blueprint to revise the family trust fittingly titled “Project Family Harmony,” Murdoch’s and Lachlan’s lawyers singled out James as the so-called “troublesome beneficiary.” [Quote same link]
But the news this week is that the Nevada commissioner tasked with reviewing these conflicting claims has completely shut down Murdoch’s proposal to revise the trust.
Writing in a 96-page opinion that the plan was a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” inside the empire “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust. [Quote]
And specifically, he concluded that Murdoch and Lachlan acted in bad faith for months. [Quote same link, find “secret for months”]
Then only notifying the other children mere days before a scheduled vote at a special emergency meeting of the trust. [same quote]
Meanwhile, Murdoch and Lachlan had been securing other votes by appointing two very interesting representatives to the trust.
First, William Barr, yes, that William Barr, Trump’s former attorney general. [Quote same link, find “Bill Barr”]
And second, an unnamed person whose research into the trust consisted of “Google searches” and “YouTube videos about the Murdochs (or the fictional family in the show ‘Succession’).” [Quote same link, find “Google”]
Okay, the balance just tilted in favor of life imitates art.
So now, James, Elisabeth and Prudence put out a joint statement in response to the news, saying:
“We welcome Commissioner Gorman’s decision and hope that we can move beyond this litigation to focus on strengthening and rebuilding relationships among all family members.” [Quote same link]
Or translation: fuck you, dad. We won.
But it turns out the war is not over yet, not even close.
Because the commissioner only weighs the testimony and evidence and submits a recommended resolution to the Probate Court.
Then, a district judge has to ratify or reject that recommendation, and of course that decision can be appealed.
And of course, even if these legal maneuvers don’t work, Lachlan can try other power plays like buying out his siblings’ shares.
So we’re gonna be hearing more of this juicy, juicy drama for a long while, which is kind of nice because I was really sad when Succession ended.
And now I don’t even need a subscription to Max; I can just watch the news!
But I guess we’ll have to see if one or all of the kids take over the Murdoch empire, or — spoiler alert: skip to the next story —
Lukas Matsson pushes all of them out and leads with Tom and Greg happily ever after.
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/business/media/rupert-lachlan-murdoch-family-trust.html
https://apnews.com/article/rupert-murdochs-children-lachlan-james-elisabeth-prudence-9f3e4b0009200110fac44f34712e322a
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A new Boeing whistleblower says that some employees installed defective parts on planes in order to keep the production line moving at all cost.
Right, the whistleblower in question is a man named Sam Mohawk who has worked in quality assurance at Boeing for 13 years.
But Mohawk just spoke out for the first time in an interview with 60 Minutes where he said he started noticing problems during the pandemic, when Boeing was increasing production and coping with supply chain issues.
Right, as a quality inspector, part of his job is to keep track of defective airplane parts that are separated out and put in what’s known as “parts jail” —
Where they are supposed to be under lock and key with a whole chain of evidence to make sure they aren’t put back into any planes.
But Mohawk said that because of the pressure to keep production moving, some factory workers went against protocol and took parts out of “parts jail” when his team wasn’t looking.
With him explaining:
“There's so much chaos in that factory that [...] there's a desperation for parts. Because we have problems with our parts suppliers. So [...] in order to get the plane built and out the door in time, I think unfortunately some of those parts were recycled back onto the airplanes [in order to] keep building the airplane and not stop it in production.”
And when asked whether this was a continuous problem or a couple bad parts being put on a jet, Mohawk responded:
“I think it's happening repeatedly. We have thousands of missing parts.”
Beyond that, he also said it’s not small parts that go missing, but major ones like rudders, which are one of the key tools for literally steering an airplane.
With Mohawk alleging that 42 flawed or “non-conforming” rudders have gone missing.
Rudders that, very significantly, likely wouldn’t last the 30-year lifespan of a Boeing jet.
And the prospect of these missing faulty parts being installed on Boeing aircraft is seriously concerning.
In fact, Mohawk said that he actually warned both Boeing and federal regulators about the safety lapses mere months before the door plug disaster.
Which is why he claims he wasn’t surprised by the incident at all.
But he also believes that the door plug debacle could just be the beginning, telling 60 Minutes:
“I think without a proper investigation it could-- it could lead to a catastrophic event. It might not happen within the first year, but down the road they're not gonna last the lifetime that they're expected to last. It's like Russian roulette, you know? You don't know if it's gonna go down or not.”
Right, so obviously, those claims are super wild and alarming.
But, very notably, they also echo similar allegations made by another whistleblower we’ve talked about before on the show.
With that being John Barnett, a quality manager who apparently took his own life while in the process of giving a formal deposition against Boeing.
And specifically, Barnett alleged that Boeing would compromise safety in order to rush jets through the production line.
Claiming that managers would pressure workers to ignore federal regulations — including by not tracking defective parts properly.
And after Barnett’s death, other whistleblowers felt the need to come forward.
This including Merle Meyers, another whistleblower who has spoken out before and relayed his allegations to 60 Minutes in the segment featuring Mohawk.
Right, Meyers had a 30-career at Boeing and worked as a quality manager before he left.
And specifically, he told 60 Minutes that, back in 2015, he discovered that defective landing gear axles that had been thrown away were brought back to the factory.
Alleging that workers installed them on planes to meet the fast-paced production schedule and not spend time waiting for new, properly functioning parts.
With him providing photos to 60 Minutes that showed the axles spray-painted red and clearly marked as “scrap.”
Adding that he learned scrap parts like this had been taken without approval for over a decade, and sometimes workers would just use chemical cleaners to remove the red paint that denoted them as faulty.
Now Boeing, for its part, has previously denied Meyers’ claims about the axles..
But he told 60 Minutes that senior managers would openly talk about these issues and even compete for broken parts at meetings attended by vice presidents.
But with that, we saw Boeing hitting back against all the allegations made in the 60 Minutes segment with a blanket statement.
Saying they investigate all quality and safety concerns, including those of the whistleblowers, and “address any validated issue.”
Saying that the whistleblowers interviewed by 60 Minutes had shared their concerns with the company and adding:
“We listened and carefully evaluated their claims, and we do not doubt their sincerity. Some of their feedback contributed to improvements in our factory processes, and other issues they raised were not accurate. But to be clear: Based on investigations over several years, none of their claims were found to affect airplane safety.”
But then going on to claim:
“We encourage and welcome employees' feedback and will continue to incorporate their ideas to make Boeing better.”
So yeah, not really different from anything we’ve seen Boeing say in response to the many whistleblower claims that have come out against them in the last year or so.
And honestly, it’s pretty hard to square that largely unspecific denial with 1) what we’ve seen with our own eyes and 2) what has been relayed by an ever-growing number of whistleblowers and damning investigations.
But, with that said, I’d really love to know what you make of all this in those comments down below.
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We gotta talk about the latest massacre in Haiti.
And I say the latest, because unfortunately, the country is no stranger to this type of violence.
Though, with that, this attack? It stands out.
Right, gang members armed with guns, knives, and machetes descended on one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country’s capital, killing at least 180 people.
With nearly 130 of them being over 60 years old.
And with gang members burning their bodies and flinging them into the sea.[]
And as far as why this happened?
Well, a leading Haitian rights group described the massacre as the personal vendetta of a gang leader who had been told that Voodoo caused his son’s deadly illness. []
With another group saying the attack targeted “all elderly people and Voodoo practitioners who, in [this gang leader’s] imagination, would be capable of casting a bad spell on his son.” []
Plus, since the massacre, elderly residents and Voodoo practitioners are reportedly still being targeted by gangs. []
And with that, I should say, Voodo? It might not be what you think it is.
Right, it’s often been misunderstood and misrepresented in Western popular culture.
But it’s a religion like any other.
In fact, it’s one of Haiti’s official religions, coexisting alongside Christianity, for example, as one of several recognized faiths.
And with that, you’ve had the country’s recently appointed prime minister vowing “every resource” of the state would be used to restore peace and exact justice, saying:
The “machinery of the State will be deployed in all its force and with the greatest speed to track down, capture and bring to justice the perpetrators and accomplices of this unspeakable carnage.”[]
But of course, it’s not that easy.
Right, gang-related violence has already killed 5,000 people and displaced 700,000 this year alone. []
In June, like we talked about, a Kenyan-led police force was deployed to try and help authorities take back territory from gangs.
But it’s struggled to make progress as it’s also dealt with chronic shortages of funding and personnel.
Right, only around 400 of the 2,500 foreign officers pledged to the mission have been deployed. []
And then, last month, violence in the capital flared up again, triggering an all new wave of displacement.
Also, you may remember, three US airliners were struck by gunfire while taking off or landing from Haiti’s main airport.
And with that, the airport remains closed and flights from the US remain halted, which has just further complicated humanitarian relief efforts.
And then, on top of all that, there’s been a recent shift in the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Right, the two nations share the island of Hispaniola.
And so, of course, besides Haiti, it’s the country that’s been most affected by the displacement crisis triggered by the violence there.
And in October, it said it would start deporting 10,000 Haitians per week.
With the country’s foreign minister later saying:
“The general feeling of the Dominican population is that we are providing social services greater than what the Dominican Republic is responsible for.”
And adding “ that the international community has left us alone to attend to Haitian needs.” []
And with that, more than 71,000 people have reportedly been deported to Haiti since just October.[]
But on top of taking issue with the very idea of forcing people back to a country as unsafe as Haiti, human rights groups say the removals have been plagued by abuses and a lack of due process.
With the New York Times reporting that, quote, “cage-like trucks fitted with iron bars that appear designed to carry livestock line up every morning at the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.” []
But of course, rather than being loaded up with cattle, they’re filled with people being deported.
Including young men, pregnant women, unaccompanied children, and even some people who have never lived in Haiti.[]
And with that, you have activists and deportees saying immigration agents are simply sweeping Black people off the streets, regardless of their residency status or even citizenship.[]
This, including, for example, one 29-year-old man born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents who said he had a police report showing that he had reported his national ID card as lost. []
And so, ultimately, the situation just somehow seems to keep getting worse.
And we’ll have to wait and see if anything can change anytime soon.
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And then, in international news, I gotta update you on the whole Syria situation.
Right, as we’ve talked about before, in just about a week’s time, rebels led by a group by the name of HTS advanced all the way from Aleppo to Damascus…
Taking control of both cities (1, 2) and toppling the government of Bashar al-Assad, whose family has ruled the country for over fifty years.
And now, of course, we’re waiting to see what comes next.
So far, a man by the name of Mohammed al-Bashir has been appointed as Syria’s interim prime minister.
Right, he’s the guy who’s been heading the HTS-led government in and around the city of Id-leeb.
With him yesterday meeting with HTS leader Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, as well as the previous Syrian prime minister, who for now is working with the group on the transition.
And with that, the UN is saying it may remove HTS from the terror list if it passes the test of forming a truly inclusive transitional government.
But of course, while HTS may be saying and even doing some of the right things right now, it’s too early to tell.
But in the meantime, we’re already seeing foreign powers that see themselves as having a stake in the conflict taking action.
Israel, for example, is a big one.
The country’s warplanes have reportedly already carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, including on Damascus.
With the Israeli defense minister also saying today that the country's navy successfully destroyed the Syrian fleet. []
And with that, these strikes are targeting what Israel says are suspected chemical weapons and missile sites in Syria to prevent them from “falling into the wrong hands.” []
But notably, that’s not all.
Right, there’s also boots on the ground.
Actually, with Israeli ground forces making their first open crossing into Syrian territory since 1973.
Specifically, with the IDF confirming that it has troops operating in Syrian territory BEYOND a demilitarized UN-monitored buffer zone established by a 1974 ceasefire deal.[]
In fact, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that "Israeli tanks were seen penetrating the far southwestern countryside of Damascus."[]
And with that, the UN’s special envoy to Syria cautioned Israel that its airstrikes and ground invasion into Syrian territory need to stop, saying its actions are in violation of the 1974 agreement[]
Israel, for its part, is claiming it’s a short-term measure.
With Netanyahu, who actually testified for the first time in his corruption trial today, saying:
“We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel.”
“This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”[]
But with that, you have a lot of people doubting his word, saying Israel is exploiting Assad’s downfall to expand into Syria, making a land grab.
And of course, whether or not that’s true, the perception that it is could have real consequences.
With one expert telling NBC News, for example::
“If [Israel] pushes further, or stays permanently in areas it currently controls, then this will fuel instability and embolden radical elements who could use religious rhetoric to justify fighting Israel.” []
And of course, with that, Israel isn’t the only foreign power involved.
Right, about 900 American troops are currently in the northeast of the country.
With Biden saying they’ll stay there, supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Forces against the Islamic State. []
Right, because while ISIS is much weaker than at the peak of its power in 2014, it still reportedly has thousands of members in Syria.
And with that, the US has already carried out dozens of airstrikes aimed at making sure the group doesn’t take advantage of the chaos.
The Department of Justice has also unsealed charges against what it said were two high-ranking Assad officials,
Charging them in connection the torture and abuse of US citizens and other detainees in Syria between 2012 and 2019.
Although, that said, Biden officials have also tried to distance themselves from appearing too involved, especially when it comes to the question of the new Syrian government.
With State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, for example, saying:
“Ultimately, this is a process that needs to be led by Syrians, not by the United States, not by any other country in the region.”[]
“And so what we can do is make clear that we will support the Syrian people on this path towards a better future.”
But adding: “We’re going to protect our own interests while we do that, we’re going to make sure that ISIS doesn’t reemerge.” []
And then, we gotta talk about Turkey.
Right, over the past few days, Turkish-backed forces have launched attacks against the those US-backed Kurdish forces[]
And while the US and Turkey have now reportedly reached an agreement to ensure the safe withdrawal of the SDF….[]
There’s still concern that Turkey and the allied HTS could target the Kurds again.
With one retired general telling The Washington Post that HTS may not be willing to leave the Kurds alone in the semi-autonomous northeastern region they have controlled for several years []
Right, like we talked about yesterday, some say them being distracted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are part of the reason Assad fell so easily.
And now, one of the big questions is whether the new Syrian government will kick their forces out of the country []
And with Iran specifically, you have people wondering if the potential loss of an ally in the region might push them to pursue nuclear armament more aggressively []
And so, ultimately, there’s a lot of moving pieces here, in some ways, everything just making the region even more of a powder keg than it already was.
And we’ll have to wait and see where this all ends up.
