This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Oct. 1, 2024. It is shared here with permission under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Israeli forces invaded southern Lebanon early Tuesday with the open support of the United States, which endorsed what it called “limited operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure” despite warnings that a ground assault could spark a wider conflict and intensify the humanitarian disaster facing Lebanese civilians.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described its ground invasion with the same terms it has used to characterize its bombing campaigns in Lebanon and Gaza, which—despite being called “targeted” at Hezbollah and Hamas—have frequently killed scores of civilians and obliterated schools, hospitals, shops, and residential buildings. Since mid-September, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed more than a thousand people and displaced roughly a million.
The IDF launched its ground invasion with the backing of the Biden administration. In a statement, the White House said that the invasion of Lebanon is “in line with Israel’s right to defend its citizens and safely return civilians to their homes.”
A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council acknowledged the risk of “mission creep” only to effectively wave it away, saying that “we will keep discussing that with the Israelis.”
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Analysts likened Israel’s movement of troops into Lebanon to its invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah earlier this year—an operation that was initially described as limited but ultimately left the area in ruins.
“Gaza was a testing ground for Israel to see what they could get away with and, it turns out, the answer is absolutely anything it wants,” said historian and analyst Assal Rad. “It did not stop at Gaza or the West Bank and it may not stop at Lebanon, because war was [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s objective all along and his prize is Iran.”
“Make no mistake: The Biden administration is providing cover for Israel as it invades a neighboring, sovereign nation.”
The invasion comes after the Netanyahu government rejected a three-week cease-fire proposal put forth by the U.S., France, and other nations and intensified its bombing of Lebanon, hammering Beirut with airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and many civilians. The attack that killed Nasrallah was reportedly carried out with 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the U.S.
Coverage of the invasion in the Western corporate media painted the U.S. as “increasingly powerless,” with “limited” influence to forestall a massive ground assault on Lebanon. But the Biden administration has yet to seriously leverage American military aid to prevent a war that could envelop the entire region.
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On the contrary, billions of dollars of aid and American weapons have continued to flow to Israel, enabling its war on Gaza and Lebanon. The Washington Postobserved that “the events of recent weeks appear to fit a pattern in which the administration urges against specific Israeli actions only to later backtrack so it can avoid imposing conditions on military aid.”
The U.S. has also engaged in what’s been described as “unprecedented” intelligence-sharing with Israel, further deepening its complicity in the devastating wars.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a statement late Monday that “Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, following its devastating attacks on Lebanon over the past two weeks, is the entirely predictable consequence of the Biden administration’s ceaseless coddling and resupply of weapons to Israel, whatever public bleats for cease-fires the administration has otherwise made.”
“The Biden administration has acted recklessly in giving Israel a blank check to light the entire region on fire, all while disregarding our own legal obligations under both U.S. and international law to halt the weapons flow to them,” Whitson added.
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The U.S.-based anti-war group CodePink said that “Israel claims its operation in Lebanon is ‘targeted,’ but like in Gaza, civilians are the real victims.”
“Make no mistake: The Biden administration is providing cover for Israel as it invades a neighboring, sovereign nation,” the group said. “U.S. taxpayers fund Israel’s military, providing billions annually and supplying weapons used to kill innocent people.”
“The Biden administration and Congress could halt this escalation by cutting military aid, demanding a cease-fire, and holding Israel accountable,” CodePink continued, “but instead, they allow continued aggression across the Middle East.”
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“We think that there’s lots of water-ice near Ceres’s surface, and that it gets gradually less icy as you go deeper,” said co-author Mike Sori from Purdue University.
The findings suggest Ceres could once have had a muddy ocean, somewhat similar to Jupiter’s moon Europa.
The team used computer simulations to understand how craters on Ceres have evolved over billions of years, showing that the presence of even a small amount of solid rock mixed with ice could keep the planet’s surface relatively stable over time.
A Frozen Ancient Ocean World
The research also offers insight into how Ceres might compare to other icy bodies in the solar system.
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“If we’re right, we have a frozen ocean world pretty close to Earth,” Sori explained.
While moons like Europa and Enceladus have long been considered as targets for exploration, Ceres may now emerge as an easier and equally fascinating destination.
“Ceres, we think, is the most accessible icy world in the universe. That makes it a great target for future spacecraft missions,” Sori added.
EMIRATES — This was supposed to be one of the hard ones for Arsenal.
In the revamped Champions League, where the Swiss model of randomised fixtures promises to make games more competitive than ever before, Paris Saint-Germain represented a real test of how far the Gunners have come after two years of title-chasing in the Premier League.
If ever there was a moment that it felt like they were not only vying ambitiously for a seat back at the top table of European football, but sitting firmly in place, it was this result.
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PSG were unbeaten on arrival at the Emirates in a run that included six wins and one draw – with an average of three goals scored per game. They were two down in north London in 35 minutes.
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Arsenal looked organised, composed, possessing almost an inner self-belief that the result was assured provided they stuck to another of Mikel Arteta’s game plans. They were aggressive off the ball, incisive on it.
The silky slick move on in the 51st minute, a combination of clipped passes keeping the ball in the air that ended with Kai Havertz teeing the ball up for Gabriel Martinelli to volley goalwards, was not only deserving of a goal – it produced a fine save – but was indicative of a side in total control of their senses.
Bukayo Saka had fans on their feet after nine minutes, leaving their seats as he cut inside in what has become a trademark move, straining for a better a look as he curled the ball towards the far corner and narrowly missed the post.
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They scored the opening goal on 20 minutes. Havertz and Leandro Trossard played as revolving centre-forwards, one dropping back, the other further forward, confusing the PSG centre-backs, Marquinhos and Willian Pacho.
The Arsenal pair combined for the goal: Trossard deeper this time, cutting inside and sending a delightful in-swinging cross into the area of nightmares for goalkeepers. Should they come? Should they wait?
The last thing a goalkeeper wants in that area is a six-foot-two forward but in galloped Havertz between the centre-backs, beating Gianluigi Donnarumma’s fist to the ball and cushioning the ball around the Italian with his head.
PSG, for their part, reminded Arsenal they were still there. Nuno Mendes hit the post and when Achraf Hakimi was slipped in behind Riccardo Calafiori the Italian struggled to catch up but David Raya saved with his legs.
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But with the home crowd going a little flat, Gabriel strongly held off Warren Zaire-Emery to earn a goal kick and spark a rise back out of them, and the second goal followed two minutes later.
From a free-kick wide on the right, Saka sent in a hopeful low in-swinging ball, finding another of those devilish areas. Three Arsenal players missed it, but so did Donnarumma, who could only flap his hands as the ball bounced him and in.
Another nightmare delivery on a nightmare of a night for the PSG goalkeeper.
And the thing is, Arsenal are probably about to get better. With Martin Odegaard out since the international break and Mikel Merino out with an injured shoulder since signing for £27.4m from Real Sociedad, they have been missing two of three key central midfielders. Merino came on in the second half, easing back in.
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Even without them there is such a strong core to this side. If teams get through Declan Rice, which rarely happens, they hit a brick wall of William Saliba and Gabriel. If that fails, which it rarely does, Raya is fast becoming the finest goalkeeper in the game.
The comparison that your FT Money columnist Moira O’Neill draws between the Mafia “pizzu” and tax is inappropriate and wrong (“Should you ‘fill to the max’ on tax-free allowances?”, Opinion, FT Money, FT Weekend, September 21).
Pizzu is an illegal payment extracted by organised crime groups, through threats of violence or intimidation, in exchange for “protection”. Taxation, on the other hand, is at the core of the social contract between the state and its citizens and is based on governance and accountability.
In modern democracies, taxes are legally enforced contributions to fund public services such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, defence and social welfare. Transparency and accountability mechanisms exist to prevent misuse of tax revenues.
The level of taxation — and public expenditure — depends on voters’ preferences, and tax rates and spending are typically decided by elected representatives. Citizens can vote, engage in protest, or influence policy to change how taxes are levied or spent.
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Some societies may prefer, for instance, to restrict the range of public services in exchange for a lower level of taxation and let services such as healthcare to be mostly privately funded.
Modern democracies began with the citizens’ demand to have a say on how much they pay and to no longer be burdened with taxes decided elsewhere — no more taxation without representation.
Taxes are often perceived as unfair, but drawing a comparison with the pizzu confuses purposes, context and legality — or lack of it. Above all, it overlooks the fundamental role of democracy, governance, law, and the provision of public services and collective goods that taxes support.
Paola Subacchi Professor of Economics, Sciences Po, Paris and Essential Economics, London W1, UK
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