Latest news with #IranianAirspace
Globe and Mail
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Democrats wanting to impeach Trump for Iran attack show just how out of touch their party is
U.S. Air Force B2 bombers had barely left Iranian airspace last week before Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for Donald Trump's impeachment for 'impulsively' risking 'a war that may ensnare us for generations.' Setting aside the question of whether the U.S. President's move to authorize attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities could be construed as an impeachable offence – former president Barack Obama did not seek congressional approval before bombing Libya in 2011 either, and nobody tried to impeach him for it – Republican majorities in both houses of Congress would block any attempt to launch impeachment proceedings in the first place. So would many of AOC's fellow Democrats, who, unlike her, represent competitive districts. Globe editorial: Donald Trump and the art of nuclear diplomacy Indeed, that is exactly what happened on Tuesday, when Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green sought to bring forward a motion to impeach Mr. Trump for 'unconstitutionally usurping Congress's power to declare war.' More than half of the Democrats in the House of Representatives – 128 in all – joined Republicans to block the proposal. They knew that another impeachment sideshow is the last thing most voters are looking for right now. Unfortunately for them, most of their party's leading public figures continue to push a left-wing populist agenda that appeals to the activist base, but which alienates average voters in the very states and districts Democrats need to win to regain control of Congress in 2026 and the White House in 2028. Earlier this year, AOC and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders launched their Fighting Oligarchy Tour, to 'take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country.' But Democrats are heading for serial defeat if they embrace the AOC-Sanders message in future election campaigns. Corporations and billionaires may wield too much power. But the solutions pitched by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Mr. Sanders – more government, more taxes, more regulation, more redistribution – are downright scary to most Americans. They have seen the dystopia that formula has created in one-party Democrat states such as California and New York. 'In much of San Francisco, you can't walk 20 feet without seeing a multicoloured sign declaring that Black Lives Matter, Kindness is Everything and No Human Being is Illegal,' write Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson in their book, Abundance. 'Those signs sit in yards zoned for single families, in communities that organize against efforts to add new homes that would bring those values closer to reality. San Francisco's Black population has fallen in every Census count since 1970. Poorer families – disproportionately non-white and immigrant – are pushed into long commutes, overcrowded housing and street homelessness.' Mr. Klein and Mr. Thompson argue that affordability crises facing Californians and New Yorkers – which are the worst in the country – are not the result of excessive corporate power or insufficient taxation but rather the high-tax, high-regulation policies of Democratic state and city governments. U.S. strikes set back Iran's nuclear program by only a few months, intelligence report says In a recent New York Times column, Mr. Klein noted that it costs four times more per square-foot to build subsidized housing in California than it does to build non-subsidized housing in Texas, mainly due to the 'avalanche' of environmental and social requirements faced by California developers, all imposed in the name of liberal progressivism. The book by Mr. Klein and Mr. Thompson has generated a backlash among the progressive Democratic left. And its critique of the California model will not help the state's Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, as he seeks to woo voters nationally and launch a 2028 presidential bid. Mr. Klein argues that 'anti-corporate populism' is not helping the Democratic Party win over mainstream American voters. Democrats are 'struggling,' he insists, because 'they fail to solve problems.' Yet, the Democratic base continues to move further to the left by the day. The winner of Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, is promising free bus rides, rent freezes and government-owned grocery stores, paid for with a US$10-billion tax increase on businesses and wealthy New Yorkers. He handily beat former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who had been endorsed by former president Bill Clinton and ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg. Granted, Mr. Cuomo – who resigned as governor in 2021 amid an onslaught of sexual harassment allegations – had more baggage than an Airbus 350. But what really sank his mayoral bid was the online war waged against him by left-wing activists backing Mr. Mamdani. The Democratic nominee will now face off in November against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who might be vulnerable (he faced corruption charges until the Trump administration intervened to have them dropped) were it not for Mr. Mamdani's strident anti-Israel views and high-tax platform. New York City counts more Jews than any other urban centre except Tel Aviv, and the most millionaires of any U.S. city. For now, Mr. Mamdani is a political asset – for Mr. Trump and other Republicans.
New York Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Iran's air defenses were diminished in rounds of conflict, giving Israel greater aerial freedom.
Israel's powerful strikes that targeted Iran's nuclear infrastructure and killed senior military officials have been underpinned by its ability to traverse Iran's skies without significant disruptions, according to current and former Israeli officials. Israeli fighter jets have been able to repeatedly strike sensitive targets across Iran, including in the capital, Tehran, after destroying much of Iran's air defenses. The dynamic has left Iran struggling to defend itself as Israel launches the biggest attack in its history against the Islamic Republic. 'We have opened up the skies of Iran, achieving near-air superiority,' Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said on social media. Still, Israel does not have complete freedom of operation in Iran, and Iranian officials have claimed to have shot down Israeli drones in recent days. Some of Iran's air defense systems remain intact, requiring Israeli pilots to navigate through carefully mapped aerial corridors, according to an Israeli defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. The Israeli military, the official said, relies on real-time intelligence to track possible threats to its aircraft as they enter and exit Iranian airspace. At least 128 people in Iran have been killed, according to the country's health service. The toll included top security chiefs, nuclear scientists and civilians. Opening up Iran's airspace was a gradual process. During two clashes with Iran in April and October of last year, Israeli security forces struck important air-defense systems. In the October attack, Israel hit four S-300 systems, according to Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister at the time. Since Friday, Israel has continued to target Iran's air defenses, carving out a pathway for Israeli fighter jets to reach Tehran freely, according to two Israeli military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News in an interview on Sunday that Israel had worked to 'peel off the layers of protection' of Iranian defenses. Israeli aircraft, in turn, now have the ability to fly through much of Iranian airspace almost as easily as they can over Lebanon and Syria, according to Zohar Palti, a former senior official in Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. 'Let's say I have a target that I missed or that I'm not happy with the result,' said Mr. Palti, now an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 'I can go back tomorrow and the day after tomorrow again, again, and again.' Even Iranian officials have acknowledged shortcomings in their defenses. In private text messages shared with The New York Times on Friday, some officials were angrily asking one another, 'Where is our air defense?' and 'How can Israel come and attack anything it wants, kill our top commanders, and we are incapable of stopping it?' Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting to this article.
