As tensions spill over in the South Caucasus, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it would not be attending a meeting with Armenia that was set for next Monday in Washington, D.C., condemning the U.S. for taking a “one-sided approach” to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-hate-us-so-much-worlds-oldest-christian-nation-faces-ethnic-cleansing-as-emboldened-azerbaijan-wages-a-silent-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conflict</a> between the European countries. 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been looking to ramp up <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenian-pm-says-intensify-efforts-agree-peace-treaty-with-azerbaijan-tass-2023-11-16/">peace talks</a> between his country and Azerbaijan as the nations contend for the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The 1,700-square-mile mountainous slice of land has been inhabited by Armenians for thousands of years, but it is surrounded by Azerbaijan, a majority Muslim nation that says the region is its territory. 
Azerbaijan was angered by testimony from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien, who spoke to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-snubs-armenia-meeting-washington-accusing-us-bias-2023-11-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The country said O’Brien’s remarks were “one-sided and biased” after the assistant secretary of state discussed Azerbaijan’s take over of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, which forced more than 100,000 Armenians to flee their homes in what has escalated to ethnic cleansing of the Christian population from the oldest Christian nation in the world. 
During the hearing, O’Brien <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA14/20231115/116574/HHRG-118-FA14-Wstate-OBrienJ-20231115.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the committee that the U.S. government has “urged Azerbaijan to ensure all ethnic Armenians who have departed Nagorno-Karabakh are guaranteed a safe, dignified, and sustainable return, should they so choose, with their rights and security guaranteed.” 
“We have also called for Azerbaijan to respect and protect the cultural heritage of the many groups who have lived in the region throughout the millennia,” O’Brien said, adding, “Our message to Armenia and the displaced has been unambiguous: The United States will support Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic institutions.”
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry claimed that O’Brien’s testimony left out important context in the conflict. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of refusing to respond to peace negotiations “for more than two months” and claimed Armenia was “illegally stationing” more than 10,000 troops in Nagorno-Karabakh before Azerbaijan’s takeover. The country also said U.S. officials are unwelcome in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. 
The Muslim country’s bombardment of Nagorno-Karabakh in September was preceded by a military blockade that began last December, which cut off access to food, electricity, and water from the outside. Yana Avanesyan, a doctoral researcher who is originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-hate-us-so-much-worlds-oldest-christian-nation-faces-ethnic-cleansing-as-emboldened-azerbaijan-wages-a-silent-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told The Daily Wire</a> last month that the religious difference between the two countries plays a major role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.
“When we say Armenians, we are speaking about us being Christians,” Avanesyan told The Daily Wire. “We know they hate us so much that they will just destroy everything.” 
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The U.S. has taken a clear stance in the conflict, condemning Azerbaijan for its recent actions in Nagorno-Karabakh. 
“Azerbaijan’s use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh has eroded trust and raised doubts regarding Baku’s commitment to a comprehensive peace with Armenia,” O’Brien said. “Given this new reality, the Department has made it clear to Azerbaijan that there cannot be ‘business as usual’ in our bilateral relationship. The United States has condemned Azerbaijani actions in Nagorno-Karabakh, canceled high-level bilateral meetings and engagements with Azerbaijan, and suspended plans for future events.”  
Michael Whittaker contributed to this report.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Slams U.S. For Siding With Armenians, Will Skip Meeting With Armenia In D.C. As Tensions Rise

Armenians

Christians

Europe

Global Politics

Muslims

Washington D.C.

World

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ben-shapiro" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ben Shapiro</a> said that multiculturalism might lead to the breakdown of Western civilization in the latest episode of his YouTube series “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/facts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facts</a>.”
In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ffByO07NcM">episode</a>, which was released on Saturday, Shapiro details the three main problems that can come with a society being built on multiculturalism. He said that many people who have come into the West in recent years did not share many of the values that built the West, such as recognizing a political system based on ordered liberty and rule of law.
“Political multiculturalists have long suggested that all cultures are equally worthy of respect and inclusion, and the best society is the most diverse society. This point of view is disastrous,” Shapiro said. “It&#8217;s disastrous because not all cultures are morally equivalent. Some cultures, for example, prized truth as a value above others. Other cultures value death over life.”
The first major problem Shapiro outlined was that multiculturalism contributed to the breakdown of civic bonds.
“Every society has baseline propositions to which all members must pledge fealty. In the West, for example, most countries rely on social agreement to the rule of law and equal justice before the law,” Shapiro said. “Importing large numbers of people who disagree with these propositions results not in a richer and more wonderful life for Western countries, but in societal breakdown.”
Shapiro then discussed the mass migration of mostly males from the Middle East and Africa into Europe over the last 20 years and the impact it had on society there. In the wake of this migration, rates of sexual assault increased across Europe and some authorities were even worried to investigate over concerns that they would be accused of racism.
The second key problem with multiculturalism is the taxing effect it has on public resources. Shapiro pointed to statistics showing that immigrants were more likely to be on welfare in the U.S. than native-born citizens.
Third, Shapiro said that mass immigration broadened the Overton window, pointing to examples of the high amount of immigrants in France who expressed sympathy for the motives behind the terrorist attack on French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo. He also pointed to a recent poll showing that over half of Muslim Americans had sympathy for Hamas following the Hamas terrorist attacks that left over 1,400 Israelis dead.
“Diversity can, in fact, be a strength, but only when that diversity serves a common purpose and a societal goal,” Shapiro said. “The West must rediscover its shared values and stand in pursuit of them or allow itself to be torn apart from the inside.”
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="This Is How The West Ends | Facts Ep. 6" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5ffByO07NcM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Facts Intro Still

Ben Shapiro Says Multiculturalism May Bring About ‘Downfall Of Western Civilization’ In Latest ‘Facts’ Episode

Ben Shapiro Says Multiculturalism May Bring About 'Downfall Of Western Civilization' In Latest 'Facts' Episode

Ben Shapiro

General

Hamas

Immigration

Muslim Immigration

U.S.

After Russia decided to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) on Tuesday, NATO allies responded by <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_219811.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcing</a> they will also withdraw from the treaty.
The CFE, which limited categories of conventional military equipment that countries of NATO and the then-Warsaw Pact could use, was signed on November 19, 1990, by 22 countries, including 16 NATO members: The United States, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Six Warsaw-Treaty states also signed: Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union.
In July 2007, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend implementation of its Treaty obligations; in 2015, the Russian Federation announced it would not actively participate in the Treaty.
&#8220;The CFE Treaty was concluded at the end of the Cold War, when the formation of a new architecture of global and European security based on cooperation seemed possible, and appropriate attempts were made,&#8221; the Russian Foreign Ministry <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-formally-withdraws-key-post-cold-war-european-armed-forces-treaty-2023-11-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> on Tuesday, citing the addition of Finland to NATO and Sweden applying for membership as reasons for its withdrawal.
In a statement from NATO, the organization said, “The Allies condemn Russia&#8217;s decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and its war of aggression against Ukraine which is contrary to the Treaty&#8217;s objectives. Russia&#8217;s withdrawal is the latest in a series of actions that systematically undermines Euro-Atlantic security.”
NATO then explained how Russia routinely violated principles that undergirded international order, stating, “Russia continues to demonstrate disregard for arms control, including key principles of reciprocity, transparency, compliance, verification, and host nation consent, and undermines the rules based international order. While recognizing the role of the CFE as a cornerstone of the Euro-Atlantic security architecture, a situation whereby Allied States Parties abide by the Treaty, while Russia does not, would be unsustainable.”
“Therefore, as a consequence, Allied States Parties intend to suspend the operation of the CFE Treaty for as long as necessary, in accordance with their rights under international law. This is a decision fully supported by all NATO Allies,&#8221; the organization declared.
NATO then offered an opportunity for other countries to join them in their effort to bring security to the European continent: “Allies reiterate their continued commitment to reduce military risk, and prevent misperceptions and conflicts. Allies strive to build trust and confidence, based on key principles of transparency, compliance, verification, reciprocity and host nation consent, thereby contributing to peace and security. Allies invite those states that share this commitment and these principles, to join our efforts to also contribute to increasing predictability and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.”
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“Our Allies unanimously share our view that a situation where the United States and our NATO Allies continue to be militarily constrained by the CFE Treaty, while Russia – whose armed forces are the largest in Europe, and who continues to actively wage a war of aggression against Ukraine using the very forces the treaty aims to constrain – is not, would be unacceptable,” The White House said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/07/statement-from-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-united-states-suspension-of-the-cfe-treaty-alongside-nato-allies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.

NATO Summit In Vilnius, Lithuania

Russia Withdraws From Arms Treaty. NATO Responds By Also Withdrawing.

Arms treaty

NATO

Russia

United States

Senior officials from the United States and its allies have begun discussing possible terms for an end to hostilities <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine-russia-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">between Russia and Ukraine</a>, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/us-european-officials-broach-topic-peace-negotiations-ukraine-sources-rcna123628" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a report</a> from NBC News.
According to the report, possible outlines for a peace deal were discussed last month during a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an organization of more than 50 nations who have provided military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Officials were reportedly concerned about a perceived &#8220;stalemate&#8221; and a lack of public support for a drawn out war.
Since Russia launched its invasion, Ukraine has received nearly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/05/world/ukraine-money-military-aid-intl-dg/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$350 billion in foreign aid</a>, including $113 billion from the U.S., which has been crucial to its continued war effort. 
But, according to <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/513680/american-views-ukraine-war-charts.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gallup</a>, support for more aid has been steadily declining for over a year. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/plurality-of-americans-say-u-s-is-doing-too-much-for-ukraine-new-gallup-poll-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A plurality of Americans</a>, 41%, believe the U.S. is too involved in the war in Ukraine, including 62% of Republicans and 44% of independents. While only 14% of Democrats say the same, more than 60% of Democrats, Republicans and independents believe that neither side is winning the war.
That opinion was echoed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, Valery Zaluzhny. 
“Just like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate,” Zaluzhny told <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/11/01/ukraines-commander-in-chief-on-the-breakthrough-he-needs-to-beat-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Economist</a>. “There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.”
That assessment came months after Ukraine began its long vaunted counteroffensive in June, which has resulted in limited territorial gains but come nowhere near punching through the Russian line, which has disappointed many of Ukraine’s allies.
Zaluzhny said that he had underestimated Russia’s willingness to take heavy casualties in order to hold their positions – the general claimed that 150,000 Russians have been killed since the invasion began.
The fog of war makes verifying exact casualty numbers difficult, but by August 2023, U.S. officials estimated that 120,000 Russians have been killed. Various European journalists have tracked <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-dead-ukraine-war-open-sources/32627135.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least 34,000 public obituaries</a> of Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine, although they estimate that the true death toll is much higher. Russia itself has not disclosed casualty numbers, but since the war began, it has <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/from-prison-to-the-frontlines-thousands-of-russian-convicts-sent-to-fight-in-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recruited extensively from its prison system</a> and mobilized <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/26/russia-conscription-maximum-age-raised-ukraine-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds of thousands of new conscripts</a>, in some instances with <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/russia-troops-complain-lack-training-putin-ukraine-1786014" target="_blank" rel="noopener">little to no training</a>.
&#8220;We are in a hopeless situation, as we are considered expendable, and the command is indifferent to our lives,&#8221; one unnamed Russian draftee <a href="https://t.me/astrapress/22305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a Telegram post.
Despite these losses, and widespread morale issues culminating in a mutiny by the infamous Wagner Group earlier this year, Russia seems to have held the line, and General Zaluzhny expressed concern that Russia, which has more than three times as many people as Ukraine, would have an advantage in a war of attrition. The general argued that Ukraine needed new advanced military systems to break the deadlock, and while aid from the U.S. and other countries allowed them to fight Russia on an even footing, it wasn’t enough to give them an edge.
“They are not obliged to give us anything, and we are grateful for what we have got,” Zaluzhny  said. “I am simply stating the facts.”
American, Ukrainian and other European officials have also worried that the outbreak of violence in Israel after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-hamas-official-were-ready-to-repeat-october-7-attack-again-and-again-until-israel-annihilated" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the brutal October 7</a> terror attacks last month will divert attention and resources away from Ukraine. The Biden administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill have pushed for a joint multi-billion dollar aid package to Israel and Ukraine, but the Republican controlled House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/12-house-dems-ignore-biden-veto-threat-help-pass-israel-aid-with-irs-cuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed a standalone bill</a> to support Israel while leaving aid to Ukraine on the negotiating table, possibly as part of a deal for increased border security.
President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer(D-NY) have said that proposal is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/schumer-announces-senate-wont-even-consider-house-gop-israel-aid-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dead on arrival</a>, but allies of Ukraine are worried that the debate itself shows unqualified support for Ukraine is becoming unsustainable. The U.S. still has about $5 billion of outstanding allocated aid waiting to be sent to Ukraine, as the result of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pentagon-accounting-error-gives-extra-6-2-billion-in-aid-to-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accounting error</a> by the Pentagon, but once that runs out further funds would have to be approved by the divided Congress.
The details of any hypothetical peace deal are indeterminate, but would almost certainly involve Ukraine ceding occupied territory to Russia, possibly in exchange for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nato" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NATO</a> membership or other security guarantees from the West. American and European officials have reportedly begun working out an informal timeline to begin negotiations, with some saying that Ukraine has until the end of the year at most before they have to come to the table.
One official told NBC that while the Biden administration has discussed a peace summit framework with Ukraine, the White House “is not aware of any other conversations with Ukraine about negotiations at the moment.”
“Any decisions about negotiations are up to Ukraine,” Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement. “We are focused on continuing to stand strongly in support of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence against Russian aggression.”

Joe Biden/Volodymyr Zelensky

Report: U.S. And European Officials Float Peace Terms For Ukraine

Conflicts

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Over the years, the United States has produced many remarkable generals and admirals, but only a few have stood out as world-class strategists and leaders of troops. As Veterans Day approaches on November 11, let’s remember and celebrate them. Here is my list of America’s finest 11 commanders.
<h2>George S. Patton Jr., 1885 &#8211; 1945 (World War II)</h2>
Much has been said and written about this American icon, and some of it is exaggeration to be sure. The Germans, for example, though they believed Patton the best Allied commander in the West, were not obsessing over his every move as depicted in the eponymous 1970 film. They did, however, expect him to lead the cross-channel invasion of Europe. Nevertheless, one of his most effective roles in the war was as a decoy to divert the German High Command’s attention away from the actual event in Normandy to prepare for Patton’s (fictional) First Army Group to land at Calais, which never happened.
But it was Patton’s exceptional skill, unrelenting drive to attack on the battlefield, and his unmatched understanding of highly mobile tank warfare that set him apart from the other ETO commanders. 
<div id="attachment_647771" style="width: 500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647771" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647771" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-541068933-490x576.jpg" alt="(Eingeschränkte Rechte für bestimmte redaktionelle Kunden in Deutschland. Limited rights for specific editorial clients in Germany.) GEORGE SMITH PATTON (1885-1945). American army officer. Photograph, 1944 (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)" width="490" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-541068933-490x576.jpg 490w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-541068933-255x300.jpg 255w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-541068933-768x903.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-541068933.jpg 871w" sizes="(max-width: 490px) 100vw, 490px" />GEORGE SMITH PATTON (1885-1945). American army officer. Photograph, 1944 (Photo by ullstein bild/via Getty Images)</div>
His first success was to breathe life back into the demoralized U.S. II Corps in North Africa after its severe mauling at the hands of Rommel’s Afrika Korps at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass (February 1943). After taking over command from the incompetent Gen. Lloyd Fredendall, Patton quickly initiated a regimen of strict discipline and training. By the next encounter with the Wehrmacht at El Guettar (March 1943), it was the Germans who ceded the field. 
<div id="attachment_647769" style="width: 635px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647769" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647769" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462729-625x576.jpg" alt="American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 - 1945) sits on the sand and watches a tank battle in Tunisia, 1943. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)" width="625" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462729-625x576.jpg 625w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462729-300x277.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462729-768x708.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462729.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px" />American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 &#8211; 1945) sits on the sand and watches a tank battle in Tunisia, 1943. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)</div>
Next, Gen. Patton landed in Gela in Sicily. To his chagrin, his troops were positioned to merely act as a covering force for his rival British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s drive north along the east coast to Messina. Montgomery’s forces were to cut off the retreating Axis from their only escape across the water to the Italian peninsula. The brash Patton, impatient with Montgomery’s plodding advance, effectively defied orders by detaching flying columns farther west through the Sicilian hills to fall upon the northern port city of Palermo. Showing grim determination to beat the British to Messina before the Germans could escape the island, the general even shot a farmer’s two mules when the stubborn animals held up a column under air attack, adding to the Patton legend. 
<div id="attachment_647763" style="width: 716px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647763" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647763" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462985-706x576.jpg" alt="American Generals George S. Patton (1885 - 1945) (left) and Omar Bradley (1893 - 1981) (center) speak with British General Bernard Law Montgomery (1887 - 1976), July 7, 1944. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)" width="706" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462985-706x576.jpg 706w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462985-300x245.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462985-768x627.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462985.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px" />American Generals George S. Patton (1885 &#8211; 1945) (left) and Omar Bradley (1893 &#8211; 1981) (center) speak with British General Bernard Law Montgomery (1887 &#8211; 1976), July 7, 1944. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)</div>
Once having taken Palermo, Patton whipped and drove his men as a jockey would a thoroughbred on the homestretch to Messina. His men arrived in the port city hours before Montgomery, satisfied that he’d proven to, what he believed to be, a condescending ally what properly led Americans could do. But by then the Germans had already made their escape across the Strait of Messina, promising years of bitter fighting on the rugged Italian mainland ahead. 
It was during the Sicily campaign that Patton infamously slapped two soldiers: One was suffering from “combat fatigue,” what we now would call PTSD, which Patton saw as cowardice, but the other most likely had malaria and was combat ineffective. These actions earned him public ridicule, a rebuke from General Eisenhower, and almost got him sent home. For a baffled Patton, who knew the Germans routinely executed their own men for showing cowardice in the field, this was a bewildering response.
<div id="attachment_647767" style="width: 829px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647767" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-647767 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515449222-819x576.jpg" alt="Dwight D. Eisenhower with General George S. Patton. Other military men are in the background. Getty Images." width="819" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515449222-819x576.jpg 819w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515449222-300x211.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515449222-768x540.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515449222.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" />Dwight D. Eisenhower with General George S. Patton. Other military men are in the background. Getty Images.</div>
By the summer of 1944, with his decoy work done, and having paid enough for the slapping incidents, Patton was back where he was most effective — in command of an army in the field. Placed at the head of the Third Army, he was the right man to lead the Allied breakout from the Bocage and into the heart of France, inflicting heavy casualties on the Wehrmacht along the way. 
By December 1944, with France liberated and the Allies at the German border, the Allied high command was waiting out the winter while basking in the fruits of victory. They’d confidently deemed Germany incapable of offensive operations. But Patton was not so sanguine. Believing his own intelligence, which offered the Germans may try something desperate, he was already preparing his Third Army to pivot north to face just such an attack when Hitler launched his Ardennes offensive on 16 December 1944. Patton’s sudden and unexpected lurch ninety degrees to drive his entire army like a knife into the southern underbelly of the German salient was beyond the capacity of all but a few great commanders. The Third Army’s drive towards besieged Bastogne disrupted the German attack and liberated the town and its dogged paratrooper defenders on 26 December. 
<div id="attachment_647779" style="width: 721px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647779" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647779" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462242-711x576.jpg" alt="American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 - 1945) (center left) talks with Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe (1898 - 1975), Bastogne, France, December 28, 1944. McAuliff commanded the 101st Airborne Division, which was beseiged in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, until the seige was broken by troops under Patton shortly before this picture was taken. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)" width="711" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462242-711x576.jpg 711w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462242-300x243.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462242-768x622.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119462242.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px" />American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 &#8211; 1945) (center left) talks with Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe (1898 &#8211; 1975), Bastogne, France, December 28, 1944. McAuliffe commanded the 101st Airborne Division, which was beseiged in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, until the seige was broken by troops under Patton shortly before this picture was taken. (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)</div>
However, Patton disagreed with his superiors Eisenhower and Gen. Omar Bradley on what to do next. The high command opted to gradually push the salient back with assaults along the entire front, rather than, as Patton recommended, cutting it off at its exposed base and killing or capturing those Germans trapped within. Patton fumed: “The Kraut’s stuck his head in a meat grinder and I’ve got hold of the handle!” In retrospect, given the heavy losses after Bastogne, Patton was probably right. 
Famously nicknamed “Old Blood And Guts” for his relentless determination to close with the enemy and destroy him, one can only speculate how the war in Europe might have played out if Patton, rather than the timid John Lucas, had been in command at Anzio, Italy.
Lucas allowed Allied landing forces to sit idle for five days allowing the initially surprised Germans to surround and besiege the exposed beachhead for months. Later on in Italy, rather than the self-promoting Mark Clark, Patton surely would have pursued and attempted to destroy the retreating Germans rather than allow them to escape just to take the symbolic but strategically irrelevant Rome. 
<div id="attachment_647789" style="width: 695px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647789" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647789" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119460600-685x576.jpg" alt="American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 - 1945) (center, in helmet with three stars), Commander of the 3rd Army, visits men of 1303rd Engineers, whose completed bridge across the Sauer River linked Luxembourg and Germany, February 20, 1945. The sign reads 'Gen. Patton Bridge; Built by the MIghty Midgets [obscured] 1303 Engr.' (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)" width="685" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119460600-685x576.jpg 685w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119460600-300x252.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119460600-768x646.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-119460600.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px" />American military commander Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885 &#8211; 1945) (center, in helmet with three stars), Commander of the 3rd Army, visits men of 1303rd Engineers, whose completed bridge across the Sauer River linked Luxembourg and Germany, February 20, 1945. The sign reads &#8216;Gen. Patton Bridge; Built by the MIghty Midgets [obscured] 1303 Engr.&#8217; (Photo by PhotoQuest/Getty Images)</div>Patton also saw the true character of Stalin’s regime and pushed hard for the Western Allies to take Berlin. Eisenhower believed the casualties would be too extreme, and later pointed to the Soviets’ roughly 350,000 casualties taking the city as justification for leaving the prize to the Red Army. Patton, however, argued that the Germans would not have fought nearly so fiercely to defend their capital from the more humane Americans as they did resisting to the bitter end Stalin’s raping and pillaging Red Army hell bent on revenge.
As it turned out, Patton’s fears were correct. The end of Nazi Germany meant a new menace would take its place: Stalinist Russia. And so he protested that as little of Europe should be ceded to the Russians as possible, even if it meant military conflict. Interestingly, just seven months after V-E Day, while serving as military governor of Bavaria, the general was killed in a freak Jeep accident; speculation remains to this day whether it was a genuine mishap or a Russian hit. We may never know.
<div id="attachment_647795" style="width: 719px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-647795" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-647795" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-615318650-709x576.jpg" alt="Pall bearers carry the casket of General George Patton through a Luxemburg train station. Patton was killed in a post-war traffic accident. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)" width="709" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-615318650-709x576.jpg 709w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-615318650-300x244.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-615318650-768x624.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-615318650.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px" />Pall bearers carry the casket of General George Patton through a Luxemburg train station. Patton was killed in a post-war traffic accident. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)</div>
Although Patton lacked the tact necessary to be a modern general/bureaucrat (a skill at which Eisenhower excelled) he was a consummate military man who knew how to win battles and inspire men to do the same. 
Patton was one of the war’s most fascinating characters and a study in contradictions. He prayed like a nun yet cursed like a sailor. He loved the finer things and creature comforts, and yet the man relished and even drew his energy from the grime, filth, and blood of the battlefield. He kept his helmet mirror-shiny and sported two ivory-handled revolvers. He believed he had been reincarnated several times over; his past lives included one of Napoleon’s field marshals and Roman Legionnaire. Patton even designed a tankman’s uniform that, though gaudy, was also quite practical; the Army passed.
He was from one of the wealthiest families in California and married into more, which explained some of the resentment towards him among his peers from the heartland. And, although his mouth could be a more formidable enemy than the Wehrmacht, Patton was a fearless and bold leader whose drive from the Bocage to the heart of Central Europe took more territory in less time than any land army in U.S. history, was a model of how to use mobile armor to its utmost effectiveness.
One final thought on Patton’s oversized confidence. He actually participated in the 1912 Olympics as a competitive pentathlete. After coming in fourth in the shooting competition, the future American buzzsaw complained to the judges that he’d been wrongfully denied his medal. When it was pointed out he had only scored one bullseye, he insisted it was because he was such a good shot that he kept putting subsequent rounds through the same centered bullet hole. Who knows, he may have been right. 
* * *
America&#8217;s Top 11 Generals
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-11-curtis-e-lemay" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: #11 Curtis E. LeMay</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-10-matthew-ridgway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: #10 Matthew Ridgway</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-9-nathanael-greene">RELATED: #9 Nathanael Greene</a>
* * *
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and author of two acclaimed novels. His newest book, the fact-based <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pits-Rough-Tumble-Exchange/dp/B0CKPNCMQW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1331509151681009&amp;hvadid=83219665089301&amp;hvbmt=bp&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=97755&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=p&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83219680392082%3Aloc-190&amp;hydadcr=18892_13467888&amp;keywords=brad+schaeffer&amp;qid=1698162015&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LIFE IN THE PITS: My Time as a Trader on the Rough-and-Tumble Exchange Floors</a> will be published in December and is currently available for pre-order. You can also find more of Brad&#8217;s articles on <a href="https://bradschaeffer.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Substack</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

George Patton

America’s Top 11 Generals: #8 George Patton

America's Top 11 Generals: #8 George Patton

American General

Nazi Germany

Readers Pass

World War II

This month has seen the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
It has also seen the worst global spike in anti-Semitism since the Holocaust.
According <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/open-hatred-jews-surges-globally-inflamed-by-gaza-war-2023-10-31/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to Reuters</a>, “In countries where figures are available from police or civil society groups, including the United States, Britain, France, Germany and South Africa, the pattern is clear: the number of antisemitic incidents has gone up since Oct. 7 by several hundred percent compared with the same period last year.” 
Such incidents range from verbal abuse to threats to property attacks to assaults. Some are happening on our nation’s campuses. The editor of the Harvard Law Review, Ibrahim Bharmal, joined in accosting a Jewish student and blocking his way.
Anti-Semitism also extends into the administrative halls of our universities: Georgetown just hired the radical anti-Semite Aneesa Johnson as new assistant director of academic and faculty affairs, who posted about “Zio bitches” saying, “They’re dogs.”
Meanwhile, some Jewish businesses are being boycotted for the crime of being Jewish businesses. According to the Washington Post, more than 30 Jewish eateries and markets in Philadelphia are being hit with a boycott organized by a pro-Hamas group because they are “owned by Zionists.” Even some shops that aren’t owned by Jews are being boycotted for serving Israeli food, because according to the Philly Palestine Coalition, such food is “a means of erasing Palestinian existence.”
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1842-time-to-cut-off-your-own-head-to-prevent-community-tension-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
But there’s something peculiar about all the media reports about the extravagant spike in anti-Semitism: They all carry notes about a supposedly concomitant rise in “Islamophobia.”
This is odd, to say the least.
What the hell does Islamophobia have to do with anti-Semitism?
The answer is: precisely nothing. 
Precisely nothing, that is, unless you wish to suggest that response to anti-Semitism is linked with Islamophobia — that if you wish to oppose radical Muslim anti-Semitism, that is an aspect of Islamophobia.
Which, of course, is precisely what anti-Semites are suggesting these days. 
Take, for example, Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR is the most frequently cited group on “rising Islamophobia.” CAIR is a group that, by the way, was an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of Hamas front charity, the Holy Land Foundation. Saylor refuses to condemn boycotts on Jewish businesses; he told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/11/01/israel-gaza-jews-antisemitism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Washington Post</a> that “it is 100 percent on the table to criticize supporters of Israeli apartheid.” 
CAIR itself accuses Israel of “textbook ethnic cleansing” and “war crime” for defending itself, trots out anti-Semite extraordinaire Linda Sarsour, and promotes the Hamas lie that Israel bombed a hospital (it was Palestinian Islamic Jihad). On October 7, the date of the Hamas massacre, CAIR National tweeted, “We join @USCMO and the American Muslim community in reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people&#8217;s right to freedom and calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, which kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians every year, subjects millions of Palestinians to racist oppression, and sparks the deadly violence that we see again and again, including today.”
On October 7, before any Israeli response, they also called for an end to American aid to Israel and the Abraham Accords.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We join <a href="https://twitter.com/USCMO?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@USCMO</a> and the American Muslim community in reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people&#39;s right to freedom and calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, which kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians every year, subjects millions of Palestinians to racist… <a href="https://t.co/eW4waBJGc2">pic.twitter.com/eW4waBJGc2</a>
&mdash; CAIR National (@CAIRNational) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAIRNational/status/1710758201358966893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The group has not offered a single word condemning Hamas.
Good thing the Biden Administration infamously invited CAIR to participate in its national anti-Semitism strategy back in May.
CAIR is, by any stretch of the imagination, a fomenter of anti-Semitism.
But that’s the point of focusing on supposed Islamophobia: the goal is to treat response to anti-Semitism as a form of Islamophobia. So Saylor claims that it is Islamophobia to publicize the names of students who sign petitions siding with Hamas, while claiming it is not anti-Semitism to boycott Jewish businesses.
Fascinating.
Columbia University is playing the same game. The President of Columbia University sent out <a href="https://president.columbia.edu/news/announcing-doxing-resource-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a letter</a> yesterday praising the “persistence and perseverance of the students” who have signed letters supporting Hamas, after their names and faces have been shown publicly. Opposing Hamas means Islamophobia, apparently.
The legacy media feel the same way. That’s precisely why, since October 7, the media have rushed to link anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, as though the two phenomena are part of a “cycle of hatred.” 
That’s a disgusting and wrong take that excuses anti-Semitism through false charges of Islamophobia. But it’s extraordinarily common on the Left these days. One variation on the theme comes from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has emerged as one of the nation’s leading anti-Semites. She now accuses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee of being an “extremist group” attempting to undermine American democracy and targeting “members of color.” 
Yes, those wily Jews and their dirty shekels are clearly the problem as anti-Semitism spikes. They must be stopped.
The Biden administration is falling into the trap of linking anti-Semitism and Islamophobia — a link that has the purposeful goal of demonizing opposition to Hamas. Fearful of their own base, the Biden Administration announced yesterday a White House National Strategy to combat Islamophobia. Karine Jean-Pierre explained, “For too long, Muslims in America, and those perceived to be Muslim, such as Arabs and Sikhs, have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks and other discriminatory incidents.”
In actuality, Sikhs are targeted more often than Muslims, according to the FBI, despite representing just a few hundred thousand people in the United States; Jews represent around 60% of the victims of federally monitored hate crimes.
But Islamophobia is top of mind. Vice President Kamala Harris announced the new initiative yesterday.
Why is the White House playing this game? Because they’re attempting to buy back the support of Muslims across the United States who are enraged that the White House has sided with Israel instead of Hamas. The latest polls show that nearly six in ten American Muslims agree that “Hamas was justified in attacking Israel as part of their struggle for a Palestinian state.” The White House is trying to buy off the Hamas fans by jabbering about the supposed victimhood to which they are subjected.
It’s perverse. It continues to drive a false narrative that opposition to Hamas is opposition to Muslims — a proposition that Muslims themselves should reject, although precious few have done so publicly.
If the Biden administration feels the necessity to keep radical Muslims in their electoral coalition by pandering, that says something pretty nasty about their moral stature in fighting anti-Semitism, as they claim they wish to do.
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Screenshot 2023-11-02 at 3.45.07 PM copy

The Islamophobic Lie

Anti-Semitism

Islam

Israel

Palestinians

While war and atrocity dominate headlines around the world, a largely overlooked conflict in the Caucuses has escalated to ethnic cleansing of the Christian population from the oldest Christian nation in the world.
For fear of their lives, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/nagorno-karabakh-enclave-emptied-entire-armenian-population-flees/story?id=103655356">more than 100,000 Armenians</a> have been forced to flee their ancestral home in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan seized total control over the region in September. The 1,700-square-mile mountainous slice of land has been inhabited by Armenians for thousands of years, but it is surrounded by Azerbaijan, a majority Muslim nation that says the region is its territory. 
Though the fight is over territory, experts say that at its core, the conflict stems from ethnic and religious differences between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
“Ethnicity and religion are intertwined. Azerbaijanis may say they do not hate Christians But, when it comes to Armenians — the indigenous population in the region — the Azerbaijanis show no tolerance,” explained Dr. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and expert on the region. “Azerbaijanis recognize deep down that had it not been for Joseph Stalin, they would have no claim whatsoever to Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijanis realize they have no legitimacy and so target with special animus those who do.”
Yana Avanesyan, a doctoral researcher who is originally from Nagorno-Karabakh, says the religious difference between the two countries plays a major role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. 
“When we say Armenians, we are speaking about us being Christians,” Avanesyan told The Daily Wire. “We know they hate us so much that they will just destroy everything.” 
Many refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh are sick and malnourished – Azerbaijan’s military began blockading the region in December of last year, cutting off access to food, electricity and water from the outside. Some are also exhausted after fleeing into Armenia on foot – and Armenia has expressed concern that it may not have the resources to care for such a massive influx of people.
Her family was among the more than 100,000 who fled the region without a place to go. The estimated population of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh is roughly 120,000, meaning nearly the entire population have decided to flee.
“War started in Nagorno-Karabakh, and people were forced to flee, and more than 100,000 people — including my entire family, my parents, my sister, my grandma — they were forced to flee their homes,” Avanesyan said. She was finally reunited with her family around a month ago, but they are now struggling to find a place to live after being uprooted from their home. 
“There are not enough resources in Armenia and people try to solve their issues by themselves. So we are trying to find apartments or houses for me, my family, and my relatives,” said Avanesyan. “I&#8217;m currently trying to find an apartment for my family before we will know what&#8217;s going on because the situation now is very uncertain.”
“No one from the displaced people knows what is going to happen to us,” she said.
<div id="attachment_643009" style="width: 481px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-643009" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-643009" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.29.15-PM-264x300.png" alt="" width="471" height="535" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.29.15-PM-264x300.png 264w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.29.15-PM-508x576.png 508w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.29.15-PM-768x871.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.29.15-PM.png 1220w" sizes="(max-width: 471px) 100vw, 471px" />Ethnolinguistic distribution in The Caucasus Region in 2007 via Wikimedia Commons</div>
Armenia has existed in some form or another for nearly three millennia, and became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. While it has historically been in the political orbit of Russia, since <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/country/armenia">2018</a> it has made significant anti-corruption and pro-democracy reforms, and has been <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/putin-trip-goes-awry-angry-184312726.html">distancing itself from Moscow.</a> It is currently home to about 2.7 million people.
Azerbaijan traces its <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Azerbaijani-people">roots</a> back to the Old Azeris, who were conquered by and intermarried with the Seljuk and later the Mongol Turks between the 11th and 13th centuries. It is predominantly Shia Muslim, although its culture is comparatively secular. Despite its historic and ethnic ties to Iran (more ethnic Azeris live in Iran than Azerbaijan) it is most closely aligned in global politics with Turkey. While it is nominally a republic, it is in fact an authoritarian state controlled by de facto dictator Ilham Aliyev, who was preceded by his father, Heydar Aliyev. It is home to 10.3 million people.
Azerbaijan’s claim to Nagorno-Karabakh, as explained by Rubin, can be traced to Stalin and the Soviet Union, which absorbed both nations.
The Soviets nominally advocated for a universal communist model that would transcend ethnicity and language barriers, but in practice, they often found it prudent to administer regions and subregions based on ethnic divides – the Socialist Republic of Armenia and the Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan were both members of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the Armenian-majority region of Nagorno-Karabakh was given autonomous status within Azerbaijan.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-643025" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.42.53-PM-300x194.png" alt="" width="568" height="367" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.42.53-PM-300x194.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.42.53-PM-892x576.png 892w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.42.53-PM-768x496.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.42.53-PM.png 1174w" sizes="(max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px" /></div>
In the late 1980s, as the Soviet Union began to collapse, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/nagorno-karabakh-conflict-visual-explainer#:~:text=In%201988%2C%20ethnic%20Armenians%20living,grew%20into%20an%20outright%20war.">petitioned</a> to leave Azerbaijan and unify with Armenia – but Azerbaijan refused. What started as a political dispute became a military dispute between the newly independent nations in 1992, in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands of ethnic minorities in both nations were expelled from their homes.
In the aftermath of the 1994 ceasefire, the ‘Republic of Artsakh’ was allowed to exist as a de facto independent state within Azerbaijan, though no other nation, including Armenia, formally recognized its independence. The uneasy truce persisted for decades in what was widely regarded as a “frozen conflict.”
But that conflict rethawed in 2020 after years of border clashes, and ended with Azerbaijan seizing large portions of the Republic of Artsakh. Russia stepped in to negotiate a truce, and sent peacekeepers into Artsakh, as well as the Tachin Corridor (the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world) to ensure the continued independence of the region.
The situation changed in February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. As the war dragged on, it became clear that Russia was bogged down and could not commit its forces to another theater, and the Russian peacekeepers who remained in the region did not intervene when Azerbaijan blockaded the Tachin Corridor and cut Nagorno-Karabakh off from the outside world.
“We cannot tolerate any longer having such armed forces on our territory and also a structure which, on a daily basis, challenges the security and sovereignty of Azerbaijan,&#8221; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-says-six-its-citizens-were-killed-by-land-mines-karabakh-2023-09-19/">said</a> Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to President Aliyev.
A coalition of global organizations called <a href="https://www.120000reasons.org/">120,000 Reasons</a> launched a campaign in September that seeks to end the Azerbaijan blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh, and bring attention to what it says is an attempted genocide of the region’s entire Armenian population.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ySWKyVjXJU">Gev Iskayjan</a>, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh who recently fled to Armenia, told 120,000 Reasons that “over 99% of the ethnic population of Artsakh has left the area. 
“That land that we were on, that Armenians lived on for thousands of years, now, only a handful remain,” Iskayjan said.
<div id="attachment_643011" style="width: 637px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-643011" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-643011" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-300x177.png" alt="" width="627" height="370" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-300x177.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-974x576.png 974w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-768x454.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-1536x908.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-25-at-3.32.47-PM-2048x1211.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px" />Timeline of the flight of the ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh via Wikimedia Commons</div>
Azerbaijan has denied claims that it is pursuing genocide or forcing Armenians out. Its claims were undermined after it captured Stepanakert, the capital of the region, when it renamed one of the city’s streets in honor of Enver Pasha, a military officer for the Ottoman Empire who is known as the architect of the last Armenian genocide, which killed more than a million people in the 1900s. 
That sent a clear signal to the city’s Armenian population.
“Azerbaijan did not order any Armenians to leave,” Amberin Zaman wrote from Armenia for <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/10/azerbaijan-eyes-iran-armenia-borderlands-after-voluntary-exodus-nagorno-karabakh">Al-Monitor</a>. “Yet it ensured that life was so miserable that few would opt to stay. Indeed, even as Azerbaijani authorities rebuffed claims of ethnic cleansing, insisting their forces had struck ‘legitimate military targets,’ eyewitness accounts of rape and indiscriminate shelling that wounded and killed children began to emerge.”
Various Western nations, including the United States, condemned Azerbaijan, and as recently as last month <a href="https://asbarez.com/u-s-will-not-tolerate-ethnic-cleansing-in-artsakh-opening-lachin-corridor-is-not-negotiable/">senior U.S. officials</a> said they would not tolerate any action against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. But in the aftermath of the invasion and dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh there has been no meaningful response. Even Armenia stayed out of the conflict, to the outrage of many of its citizens.
“It is amazing that an ethnic cleansing happened in the 21st century and there is absolutely no reaction from the international community,” political analyst Tigran Grigoryan told <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/04/1203548012/armenia-scrambles-to-absorb-the-flood-of-refugees-from-nagorno-karabakh">NPR</a>. “If this happened somewhere in Europe, I believe [the Azerbaijani leadership] would already be on international wanted lists.”
Iskayjan told reporters that while he and many other Armenians feel “betrayed” by the international community, the incident raises broader questions about the influence of the United States and its allies overseas.
“Policymakers in the United States have to ask themselves, Does our word mean anything?” he said. “If a state actor like Azerbaijan can, at any time, willingly disregard what we say, what does that say about the strength of our State Department and the strength of our foreign policy?”
It’s possible that Azerbaijan believes it has too much leverage to be cowed by Western condemnation – the country is rich in natural gas, and since trade sanctions against Russia have cut Europe off from Russian energy exports, Azerbaijan has stepped in to cover some of the shortfall, with tentative plans to <a href="https://eurasianet.org/plans-for-doubling-azerbaijans-gas-flows-to-europe-on-hold">double its gas exports to Europe</a>. 
Now that Azerbaijan has secured Nagorno-Karabakh, many observers fear that an emboldened Azerbaijan could push into Armenia proper to seize control of the strategic <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/11/azerbaijan-armenia-karabakh-nakhchivan-corridor/">Zangezur corridor</a>, which would create a direct land route from the Caspian Sea to its close ally, Turkey. Armenia had promised Azerbaijan access to trade throughout the territory as part of the 2020 truce but has since walked back that promise, arguing that Azerbaijan’s presence in the area would effectively mean military occupation.
It’s unclear how other global or regional powers would respond to such an invasion, given the muted response thus far to the seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh. The escalated conflict could produce strange bedfellows, according to <a href="https://nesa-center.org/the-stakes-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-and-the-strategic-alliances-mapping/">foreign policy analysts</a>.
Russia could pivot into Azerbaijan’s camp out of a simple desire to side with the stronger party and minimize its own involvement. Turkey, formally a U.S. ally, is very close to Azerbaijan, and Israel has <a href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/azerbaijan-israels-secret-muslim-friend-431810">a strategic partnership</a> with the Azerbaijanis based on their mutual enmity with Iran. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-considers-sending-armenia-more-weapons/articleshow/104707633.cms">India</a>, meanwhile, has been strengthening its ties with Armenia, while Iran is also backing the Christian nation against its regional rivals.
It’s also possible that Armenia could pivot further into the Western camp now that it no longer sees Russia as a reliable protector.
Former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback, has called for greater U.S. support to Armenia and blasted the Biden administration for <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/551577-biden-waiving-restriction-blocking-aid-to-azerbaijan-over-armenia/">sending U.S. aid and weapons to Azerbaijan</a>. He also expressed concern that the mass exodus was part of a broader pattern of anti-Christian discrimination around the world.
&#8220;We&#8217;re seeing another ancient Christian population being run out of the region,” Brownback said. “Most of the Middle East and North Africa, the Christians have all been run out.”

Armenia Ethnic Cleansing

‘They Hate Us So Much’: World’s Oldest Christian Nation Faces Ethnic Cleansing As Emboldened Azerbaijan Wages A Silent War

Christian

Foreign Policy

Religion

Secretary of State <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/antony-blinken" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Antony Blinken</a> reportedly warned some U.S. lawmakers last week that Azerbaijan could soon invade Armenia.
POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/13/blinken-warned-lawmakers-azerbaijan-may-invade-armenia-in-coming-weeks-00121500" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the Biden administration is concerned that conflict in the Middle East could soon spread after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made recent remarks that he will retake the region “by force” after he invaded the Nagorno-Karabakh region last month.
Blinken claimed that the Biden administration was looking for ways to hold Azerbaijan accountable, including cutting off military assistance to the country. U.S. officials reportedly believe that the invasion could happen in the next several weeks.
The report, based on the way it was written, suggested that the administration only briefed Democrat lawmakers, saying that he expressed confidence about ongoing talks between the nations &#8220;to the Democratic lawmakers.&#8221;
The U.S. would cut off funding to Azerbaijan by not renewing a waiver that allows the U.S. to do so, which it has renewed every year for the last two decades.
When Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabak last month, more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to flee. Dozens of leaders were arrested during the invasion.
&#8220;But Nagorno-Karabakh is not the only territorial dispute between the two Caucasus countries,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;[Azerbaijan] has proposed a route to the Nakhichevan exclave that would cut through Armenia’s southern Syunik region, known in Azerbaijani as Zangezur, and enable road traffic to bypass Iran.&#8221;
The chaos is the latest example of a pattern of instability that has sprung up across the world under the Biden administration as countries from Europe to the Middle East have been invaded and destabilized.
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Another country that could soon take aggressive action is China &#8212; invading Taiwan as Beijing sees America getting spread thinner and thinner as it grapples with trying to contain the fallout from a weak Biden administration.

Antony Blinken

Biden Admin Warns Lawmakers Another Country Might Be About To Get Invaded

Biden Administration

Middle East

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> issued an order on Thursday that will allow the Pentagon to call up to 3,000 military reservists for deployment to Europe.
The order <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/07/13/ordering-the-selected-reserve-and-certain-members-of-the-individual-ready-reserve-of-the-armed-forces-to-active-duty/">released</a> by the White House says the president determined it is &#8220;necessary to augment&#8221; U.S. forces — which The Washington Post reported as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/13/biden-pentagon-reservists-russia-ukraine/">about 80,000 troops</a> — who are on a mission to deter further Russian aggression just days after the war in Ukraine surpassed the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/10/1185995394/russia-ukraine-war-news-nato">500-day mark</a>.
Up to 450 of the troops authorized for activation under Biden&#8217;s order can be pulled from the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) — which includes service members who are nearing the end of their enlistment contracts and are no longer required to attend regular drills and training.
&#8220;These authorities will enable the department to better support and sustain its enhanced presence and level of operations,&#8221; <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3458187/lt-gen-douglas-a-sims-ii-usa-director-for-operations-j-3-the-joint-staff-brigad/">said</a> Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director for operations on the Joint Staff.
He also said the move &#8220;reaffirms the unwavering support and commitment to the defense of NATO&#8217;s eastern flank in wake of Russia&#8217;s illegal and unprovoked war on Ukraine.&#8221;
In addition, U.S. European Command&#8217;s Operation Atlantic Resolve will be designated as a &#8220;contingency operation,&#8221; Simm said, which &#8220;benefits troops and families with increases in authorities, entitlements and access to reserve component forces and personnel.&#8221;
Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said Biden&#8217;s new order unlocks the ability to call on National Guard or reserve forces to support Operation Atlantic Resolve and have them &#8220;be entitled to the same kind of benefits as their active duty counterparts.&#8221;
The Biden administration <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-mocks-britains-utterly-confused-johnson-before-putin-talks-2022-02-02/">previously ordered</a> extra service members to Eastern Europe just before Russia invaded Ukraine in February of last year.
Biden insisted at the outset of the conflict that he would not send troops into Ukraine to fight Russian forces, but the United States has sent <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12040">tens of billions of dollars</a> in aid to help with the defensive effort.
The president&#8217;s order on Thursday comes shortly after a <a href="https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_217102.htm">NATO summit</a> in Vilnius, where Biden <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3456385/biden-speaks-on-ukraines-future-with-nato-in-vilnius/">said</a> the U.S. and its allies are &#8220;doing everything we can&#8221; to support Ukraine. However, Biden <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/09/politics/joe-biden-ukraine-nato-russia-cnntv/index.html">told CNN</a> that the war in Ukraine needs to end before Ukraine could be brought into the alliance.
The U.S. most recently sent <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4096495-us-cluster-munitions-arrive-in-ukraine-pentagon-confirms/">cluster bombs</a> to Ukraine, which the Pentagon <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4096495-us-cluster-munitions-arrive-in-ukraine-pentagon-confirms/">said</a> on Thursday had just arrived in the country. Biden said he chose to give Ukraine these munitions, which are <a href="https://www.clusterconvention.org/states-parties/#:~:text=The%20Convention%20was%20adopted%20in,States%20Parties%20and%2012%20Signatories.">banned by more than 100 countries</a> over concerns about the danger they pose to civilians, because the defenders are running out of ammunition.
&#8220;The main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now from their — keeping them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas, or they don’t. And I think they needed them,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-blasted-for-revealing-sensitive-u-s-military-info-during-interview">Biden told CNN</a>.

Joe Biden

Biden Authorizes Pentagon To Send 3,000 Reservists To Europe

Military

White House

Mobs of French rioters, largely made up of teenagers, took to the streets for nearly a week from the end of June through early July, wreaking havoc in response to “police violence” in what has been described as “<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a8780bf6-5032-4abc-8462-f7f72dbc61ef" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France’s George Floyd Moment</a>.” The ensuing riots <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/violent-riots-cost-french-businesses-over-1-billion-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost</a> French businesses over $1 billion as numerous cities burned across the country. 
Rioters caused damage from Paris all the way to Roubaix in the north and Marseilles in the south. Over a six-day period, the country deployed some 45,000 police to fight the mobs and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/thousands-of-teens-have-been-arrested-in-french-protests-though-violence-is-subsiding#:~:text=In%20all%2C%20more%20than%203%2C600,largely%20subsided%20in%20recent%20days." target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> more than 3,600 people, including over 1,500 minors, whom French President Emmanuel Macron accused of using social media apps to organize riots.
Here’s the timeline of how the riots started and intensified, and where France stands after six days of destruction.
<h2>June 27: Nahel Merzouk Killed</h2>
<div id="attachment_585331" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585331" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585331" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1507227409-864x576.jpg" alt="NANTERRE, FRANCE - JULY 1: A woman pays her respects at the site where Nahel M. died, shortly after his funeral, on July 1, 2023 in Nanterre, France. Nahel M., a French teenager of North African origin was shot dead by police on June 27th, the third fatal traffic stop shooting this year in France - causing nationwide unrest and clashes with police forces. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1507227409-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1507227409-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1507227409-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1507227409.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Sam Tarling/Getty Images</div>
Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old of Moroccan and Algerian descent from a Paris suburb, was approached by officers on motorcycles at a red light for speeding in a bus lane. After being ordered to stop, Merzouk drove through the red light and committed multiple traffic violations. Heavy traffic forced him to come to a stop, and the officers got off their motorcycles, pointing their guns at the teen. When Merzouk again attempted to drive away from the police, one officer fatally shot him in the shoulder and chest.
The killing was captured on video and quickly spread on social media, causing outrage among many French who say the country is plagued by social inequities and institutional racism, but the government vehemently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/paris-protest-against-police-violence-banned-after-riots-2023-07-08/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denies</a> any “systemic racism or discrimination by law enforcement.”
Police initially <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/28/france-police-shooting-nanterre-nael/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Merzouk was killed after officers’ lives were put in danger by the teen, according to the French newspaper Le Monde. However, Yassine Bouzrou, the lawyer representing Merzouk’s family, said the video footage contradicts the authorities’ version of events.
“Acting on behalf of the family of the deceased young man, we announce that we will file a complaint for intentional homicide against the policeman who fired the shot …” Bouzrou said.
Merzouk’s mother Mounia told France 5 television that she was angry at the officer who shot her son and accused him of targeting Merzouk because of his race.
&#8220;He saw a little, Arab-looking kid, he wanted to take his life,&#8221; she said. &#8220;A police officer cannot take his gun and fire at our children, take our children&#8217;s lives.&#8221;
<h2>June 27-28: Riots Begin </h2>
<div id="attachment_585329" style="width: 879px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585329" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585329" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-869x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - Demonstrators run as French police officers use tear gas in Paris on July 2, 2023, five days after a 17-year-old man was killed by police in Nanterre, a western suburb of Paris. French police arrested 1311 people nationwide during a fourth consecutive night of rioting over the killing of a teenager by police, the interior ministry said on July 1, 2023. France had deployed 45,000 officers overnight backed by light armoured vehicles and crack police units to quell the violence over the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb on June 27, 2023. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)" width="869" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-869x576.jpg 869w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-768x509.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1379794217-1-2048x1357.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px" />LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images</div>
Violent riots <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/28/france-police-shooting-nanterre-nael/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rocked</a> Paris and its surrounding suburbs immediately following Merzouk’s death. Rioters set fire to trash cans, cars, and buildings and clashed with police. During the first night of rioting, 24 police officers were injured and 31 people were arrested, according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. In Viry-Châtillon, a suburb just east of Paris, a group of young people <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/world/europe/france-police-shooting-paris-nanterre.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">set</a> a bus ablaze and rioters threw rocks and shot fireworks at police, while rioters in Mantes-la-Jolie, roughly 25 miles northwest of Paris, set a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/nanterre-paris-teenager-police-shooting-protests/story?id=100434360" target="_blank" rel="noopener">town hall</a> on fire.
<h2>June 29: Stores Looted, Arrests Ramp Up </h2>
<div id="attachment_585333" style="width: 778px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585333" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585333" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1376936379-768x576.jpg" alt="MONTIGNY LE BRETONNEUX, FRANCE - JULY 01: A damaged store is seen following fourth night of unrest triggered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager in Montigny-le-Bretonneux, west of Paris, France on July 01, 2023. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)" width="768" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1376936379-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1376936379-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1376936379.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" />Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</div>
The French government deployed 40,000 police across the country by Thursday, June 29, as mobs <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/29/france-police-shooting-second-night-of-unrest-as-protests-over-teenagers-death-spread" target="_blank" rel="noopener">looted</a> stores and continued rioting. In Paris, retail stores Nike and Zara were vandalized and looted leading to over a dozen arrests, Le Monde reported. More stores on one of the city’s famous shopping streets were damaged by rioters breaking windows, and in an eastern suburb of the city, hundreds of teens ravaged a pharmacy and a McDonald&#8217;s.
<h2>June 30 &#8211; July 2: Violence Intensifies </h2>
<div id="attachment_585343" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585343" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585343" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1348630049-864x576.jpg" alt="TOPSHOT - People look at burning tyres blocking a street in Bordeaux,, south-western France on late June 29, 2023, during riots and incidents nationwide after the killing of a 17-year-old boy by a police officer's gunshot following a refusal to comply in a western suburb of Paris. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ / AFP) (Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1348630049-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1348630049-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1348630049-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1348630049.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images</div>
Dozens of police officers in the city of Lyon were injured — some by gunfire — on Friday, June 30, forcing Mayor Grégory Doucet to ask for reinforcements, saying police in the city were “overwhelmed.” Other cities across the country faced “apocalyptic” scenes of rioting on Friday night.
“The results of the night can be summed up in one word: apocalyptic,” Rudy Manna, of the Bouches-du-Rhône police union, said, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/07/01/police-arrest-1000-rioters-nahel-funeral-france-violence/#:~:text=“The%20results%20of%20the%20night,of%20vehicles%20and%20trash%20cans.”" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> The Telegraph. “We had scenes of guerrillas in the center of Marseille, the northern districts were also affected by looting, burning of vehicles and trash cans,” Manna added.
Around 30 young people broke into a gun store in Marseille and stole at least four hunting rifles. One of the thieves was arrested with a rifle and police were forced to guard the store after the break-in, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66076332" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
On July 1, while riots plagued Marseille, a 27-year-old man <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-07-04/man-dies-in-marseille-after-being-shot-at-time-of-riots-prosecutor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">died</a> after being hit in the chest by a “flash ball” projectile often used by riot police, according to prosecutors, but authorities did not determine who fired the projectile, and it was unclear if the man who died was partaking in the riots.
Violence continued the next day when, in the early morning hours of July 2, rioters drove a car into a suburban mayor’s home before setting it on fire while his wife and two daughters slept inside. Vincent Jeanbrun — the mayor of south Paris suburb, L’Haÿ-les-Roses — was at a town hall when rioters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/french-mayors-home-attacked-by-rioters-with-flaming-car-while-wife-and-children-slept-inside" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attacked</a> his home, but his wife and two young children were chased out by the mob. The local prosecutor called the attack on the mayor’s home and family an “assassination attempt.”
<h2>July 3-8: Riots End, But Protesters Defy Government Orders</h2>
<div id="attachment_585345" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585345" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585345" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1517819896-864x576.jpg" alt="PARIS, FRANCE - 2023/07/08: A placard that says &quot;Justice for Adama, Nahel&quot; seen amidst the crowd during the protest against police violence.. Despite the police rejecting the demonstration in honor of Adama Traoré, a young black man who died in 2016 at the hands of a policeman, around two thousand demonstrators were present to denounce police violence. (Photo by Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1517819896-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1517819896-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1517819896-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1517819896.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</div>
Arrests between Sunday night and Monday morning (July 3) dropped significantly as some demonstrators <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230704-protest-violence-in-france-falls-sharply-a-week-after-fatal-police-shooting-of-teen">called</a> for a “return to republican order.” While French authorities finally quelled much of the violence, demonstrators continued to take to the streets in Paris over the weekend, defying a government ban on the protest. Hundreds of people gathered to protest “police violence” on Saturday, leading to the arrest of two people, according to Reuters.
Demonstrations in other French cities such as Marseilles and Lille were also banned or ordered to be moved out of the city center. The Paris Police Department cited a “context of tensions&#8221; as the reason it moved to ban the protest in France’s capital. On Sunday, the French government also banned the sale, possession, and transport of all fireworks as the country prepares for its Bastille Day festivities on July 14, the BBC <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66147920" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
President Macron sympathized with the anger surrounding the killing of Merzouk, but has rebuked rioters, pinning much of the blame for the destruction on young people being inspired and organized through social media apps such as TikTok.
“We need to think about how young people use social networks … when things get out of hand, we may have to regulate them or cut them off,” Macron <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/macron-floats-shutting-down-social-media-access-when-things-get-out-of-hand-after-riots-rock-france" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “Above all, we shouldn’t do this in the heat of the moment and I’m pleased we didn’t have to.”
“I think it’s a real debate that we need to have in the cold light of day,” he added.
<div id="attachment_585347" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-585347" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-585347" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1494938741-864x576.jpg" alt="France's President Emmanuel Macron addresses mayors of cities affected by the violent clashes that erupted after a teen was shot dead by police last week during a meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris on July 4, 2023. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1494938741-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1494938741-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1494938741-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1494938741.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images</div>
According to MEDEF, a French business association, about 200 businesses were looted alongside the destruction of 250 tobacco stores and 300 banks. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire promised those affected by the violent riots that the government would help them get back on their feet.
“If your store has been burned to the ground and a life’s work has been reduced to ashes, the state must be by your side,” he said. “We’ll do everything necessary so that economic activity can calmly pick up again in our country as quickly as possible.”

TOPSHOT-FRANCE-CRIME-POLICE-DEMO

Six Days Of Destruction: A Recap Of The ‘Apocalyptic’ Riots In France

Six Days Of Destruction: A Recap Of The 'Apocalyptic' Riots In France

Emmanuel Macron

France

Paris

Riots

Dutch archeologists have announced the discovery of an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/archaeology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">archeological</a> site that was a religious burial ground used as a solar calendar — a discovery that’s been dubbed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands.”
Researchers announced the find this week after excavating the site between 2017 and 2018. The location, described as a &#8220;sanctuary,&#8221; includes a burial mound and ditches that allow the sun to shine through on the summer and winter solstices, similar to the famous Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. Roughly a million objects from the site and surrounding areas were excavated — some of which date to the Stone Age.
“What a spectacular archaeological discovery! Archaeologists have found a 4,000-year-old religious sanctuary on an industrial site,” the municipality of Tiel, where the site was discovered, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/21/archaeologists-unearth-stonehenge-netherlands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on its Facebook page. “This is the first time a site like this has been discovered in the Netherlands.”
The sanctuary was roughly <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/4000-year-old-archaeological-site-dubbed-stonehenge-netherlands-unearthed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">four</a> soccer fields long and built with wood and soil. There were multiple mounds, cemeteries, wooden posts, and a “ritual” road; the solar calendar was likely located on the largest mound, De Telegraaf, a Dutch newspaper, <a href="https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/443844941/sporen-van-4000-jaar-oud-heiligdom-gevonden-in-tiel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The solar calendar would have been used to determine harvest days and important events. The site is also believed to have been used for rituals, as &#8220;rows of poles stood along pathways used for processions.&#8221; The large mound was likely an observation point, and it’s believed all three mounds were used for roughly 800 years.
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“A person, for example a priest or priestess, stood on the hill, which was flat on top and on which probably stood a large pole. The priest then viewed the position of the sun from the fixed point of the pole. There were more posts around the hill as markers. They helped the priest determine the exact time of the year,” a <a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/stonehenge-of-the-netherealnds-archaeologists-discovery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spokesman</a> told De Telegraf.
“On certain days the sun shone straight through those passages on the hill. Just like in Stonehenge, where the sun shines through the stones on important days,” the spokesman added.
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The outlet notes that in the openings on the mount, where the sun shines through, archeologists discovered human skulls, animal remains, a spearhead, and other valuable items. Several graves at the site were also discovered, including one with a woman buried with the oldest bead ever found in the country. Researchers revealed the glass bead had come from Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, indicating the people had contact with groups over 3,000 miles away, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/stonehenge-like-4000-year-old-sanctuary-discovered-netherlands-2023-06-21/#:~:text=AMSTERDAM%2C%20June%2021%20(Reuters),a%20similar%20purpose%20to%20Stonehenge." target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a>.
&#8220;Glass was not made here, so the bead must have been a spectacular item, as for people then it was an unknown material,&#8221; Stijn Arnoldussen, a professor at the University of Groningen, told The Guardian.
It took researchers six years to analyze all the artifacts discovered at the historic site. While some items date from the Stone Age, others hail from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman Empire, and Middle Ages, according to Reuters. Many of these items are expected to go on display for the public to see.
WATCH: 
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Sunset over Stonehenge

4,000-Year-Old ‘Stonehenge Of The Netherlands’ Discovered

Archaeology

History

Netherlands

Viral internet personality <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-hosts-dissect-the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-controversial-internet-star-andrew-tate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Tate</a> has been indicted by a Romanian court on charges of rape, human trafficking, and forming an organized crime ring to sexually exploit women.
Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate were arrested alongside two Romanian women, their alleged co-conspirators, in December 2022, and were released from prison and moved to house arrest in March 2023. Prosecutors <a href="https://www.diicot.ro/mass-media/4082-comunicat-de-presa-2-20-06-2023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allege</a> that the defendants began operating a human trafficking ring in 2021, and lured seven women into the scheme with the so-called “loverboy method,” promising marriage or cohabitation in a loving relationship before forcing the women to produce pornography for their business.
“[The women] were later transported and housed in buildings in Ilfov county [Romania] where, by exercising acts of physical violence and mental coercion (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts), they were sexually exploited by group members by forcing them to perform demonstrations pornographic in order to produce and disseminate through some social media platforms,” the indictment alleges.
The indictment also alleges that one of the defendants repeatedly raped one of their victims in March 2022.
Tate and his co-defendants have categorically denied the charges.
“The case that has been put against me is completely and utterly fabricated,” Tate said in an interview with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65959097">BBC</a>. “ I’m never going to be found guilty of anything.”
Tate is a former kickboxing champion who first gained media notoriety after his appearance on British reality TV series &#8220;Big Brother&#8221; — Tate was removed from the show after <a href="https://twitter.com/12xClout/status/1561030908047769600">video emerged</a> of him striking a woman before appearing to beat her with a belt. Tate <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3641710/Big-Brother-kicked-Andrew-Tate-video-beating-ex-girlfriend-belt-emerged-lady-friend-claim-just-bit-fun.html">said</a> that the footage depicted consensual roleplay and that he was “still friends” with the woman involved.
Tate later became a prominent social media influencer with millions of followers on various platforms. Tate’s primary claims to fame were his apparently luxurious lifestyle and his controversial beliefs on sex and relationships. Tate has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star">said</a> that women are the property of men, “belong in the home” and bear some responsibility for being sexually assaulted. He has also condemned western society for devaluing traditional masculine roles.
“You can’t slander me because I will state right now that I am absolutely sexist and I’m absolutely a misogynist, and I have f*** you money and you can’t take that away,” Tate <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/andrew-tate-final-message-banned-b2151544.html">said</a>.
Tate was removed from most major social media platforms after a concerted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/technology/andrew-tate-banned-tiktok-instagram.html">deplatforming campaign</a> in August 2022. His Twitter account was reinstated after Elon Musk acquired the company and he currently has 6.9 million followers.
Tate and his brother are British-Americans with dual citizenship who moved to Romania in 2017, reportedly because of the country’s lax law enforcement. According to the <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/romania/">U.S. State Department</a> Romania is the primary center of human trafficking in Europe.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not a f*** rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free,&#8221; Tate <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/gammasecretkings/comments/u3ih83/andrew_tate_explains_the_primary_reason_he_moved/">said</a>, while decrying the #MeToo movement and spurious claims of rape and sexual assault. “In Eastern Europe, none of this garbage flies.”
When Tate was arrested last year, police seized 15 luxury cars, 14 luxury watches, several properties, the equivalent of $100,000 in various currencies and nearly $400 million worth of Bitcoin.
“[I&#8217;m] sure this case has absolutely nothing to do with stealing my wealth,” Tate <a href="https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1671105531430273029">tweeted</a> after the indictment.
A Romanian judge will have 60 days to review the case before it is either thrown out on procedural grounds or brought to trial. According to the BBC, any trial in this case is expected to take years to resolve.

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