War Fever Is Now Gripping The Middle East

Image from The Economist

Turkey And Jordan Brace For The Worst As War Fever Grips The Region -- Haaretz

Like Israelis, people living in countries bordering Syria fear the violence may spill over and affect them.

Israelis aren’t the only ones in the region bracing themselves for a possible American attack on Syria; other nations that share a border with Syria are also tense, fearing a regional campaign that is liable to involve further use of chemical weapons.

Jordan seems to be the most concerned, as expressed by the stream of reports coming from Amman and the cities and regions adjacent to the Syrian border.

“Naturally it’s the talk of the day and the tension is great,” a Jordanian intellectual and resident of Amman told Haaretz yesterday evening. “I can attest that the pace of commerce and the markets in Amman are showing signs of a slowdown in the past week. There’s no doubt that people are concerned – perhaps in Amman less so, since it is the capital, after all, and there’s faith that the army, with the help of outside forces, will prevent any harm to the city. But as you get closer to the northern regions that are near the Syrian border, the situation is decidedly different.”

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My Comment: Turkish military forces are now on high alert. Military forces in Saudi Arabia are now on high alert. Hezbollah in Lebanon are now repositioning their military forces. Not to be left out .... Israel, Jordan, and Iraq have also put their military forces on high alert. On top of everything else .... Russia is sending in ships, and even more ominous warnings are coming from Iran. Everyone is now on the edge .... war fever and war coverage is on the air 24/7 .... and everyone is waiting for what President Obama will do.

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Britain says response to Syria chemical attack possible without unanimous UN backing

 

Updated: 1:55 PM

 

 

Members of the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster (Reuters / Jon Nazca)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/uk-response-without-un-backing-979/

A response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria is possible without the unanimous consent of the UN Security Council, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

“I would argue yes it is, otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don't think that's an acceptable situation," Hague said on BBC radio, when asked whether it would be possible to respond to the use of chemical weapons without the backing of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Royal Navy is reportedly moving ships into place for a possible strike with the US on Syria in the next few days.

Citing government sources, British daily The Telegraph wrote that as military commanders were discussing a list of potential targets, the Royal Navy is deploying vessels for a series of cruise missile strikes on Syria.

Since last week’s chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that left over 300 civilians dead, political rhetoric has been building against President Bashar Assad, alleging the regime carried out the attack against its own citizens. On Sunday, Britain added its voice to the chorus of countries urging for intervention in Syria.

Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the Assad regime, stating that “all the evidence points in one direction.”

"We cannot, in the 21st century, allow the idea that chemical weapons can be used with impunity, that people can be killed in this way, and there are no consequences for it," he said.

Branding Assad a dictator, Hague stressed a “strong response” was essential in light of the use of chemical weapons to “slaughter” Syrian citizens.

Syrian President Bashar Assadresponded to the calls for an international reaction to the chemical attack, warning that any international intervention in Syria would end in failure.

"The comments [accusing the regime of using chemical weapons] made by politicians in the West and other countries are an insult to common sense... It is nonsense," Assad said, adding the accusations were completely “political.”

Russia also urged caution, calling on Washington to avoid “repeating past mistakes.”

“All of this makes one recall the events that happened 10 years ago, when, using false information about Iraqis having weapons of mass destruction, the US bypassed the United Nations and started a scheme whose consequences are well known to everyone,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Moscow has also said a UN investigation into last Wednesday’s attack is of paramount importance and it was essential that its results were not influenced before time.

A team of UN experts arrived at the site of the attack on Monday in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, however doubts have already been raised over the validity of an investigation.

Washington has already alleged that an investigation would be “too late to be credible.” The British government echoed the US, stating that valuable evidence could have been destroyed in subsequent bombing of the area or tampered with.

"The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment. Other evidence could have degraded over the last few days and other evidence could have been tampered with," Hague told reporters on Saturday.

The toxic gas attack in Ghouta triggered a wave of media hysteria with mixed reports alleging that thousands had been killed. On Saturday, French charity Medcins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) said that 355 people had died and over a thousand were exhibiting systems related to neurotoxic poisoning. However, the non-profit organization said it was impossible to discern who was behind the attack.

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Saudi spy chief hails UK role in persistent Syrian civil war

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320534/saudi-spy-chief-hails-uk-role-in-syria/

Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan has in a secret meeting briefed Britain’s MI6 chief Sir Robert Sawers on Riyadh’s role in stoking the Syrian civil war and thanked London for its strategic cooperation to that end.

"At the meeting, the Saudi intelligence chief briefed Sawers on Riyadh's latest moves on Syria, including the supply of over 400 tons of weapons to the militants in Syria via Turkey," Fars News Agency quoted unnamed sources as saying.

“We have made the Syrian army engage in a civil war and of course this strategic mission could not be accomplished without your (MI6) cooperation,” the source quoted Prince Bandar as saying during the meeting.

According to the report, the Saudi National Security Council Secretary and Intelligence Chief also reiterated that his country is sending the Salafi and other extremist fighters to Syria to get them killed and trigger religious discord among different Muslims groups in the region.

"The Prince also reminded the different advantages of the Saudi plan in Syria, saying that extremist groups, including the Salafis, have been engaged in the war in Syria and killed in there, while the Lebanese Hezbollah movement has also been pushed into direct confrontation with radical Sunni Muslims," the source said.

Prince Bandar also reportedly ensured Sawers of control over the extremist mercenaries in Syria so that they do not turn up against Saudi Arabia and its western allies.

Lebanon’s Assafir newspaper reported back in June that Prince Bandar has been an intermediary between the western governments and the Syrian militants to deliver heavy weapons to the terrorists.

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Updated: 2013 August 26, 1:55 PM

 

US cannot afford to wait for UN to attack Syria: Officials

 

 

US President Barack Obama meets with his national security team

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320575/us-cannot-afford-to-wait-for-un-to-attack-syria/

Rep. Eliot Engel (NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has said “this is time for us” to launch cruise missile strikes on Syria, and that the US government cannot afford to wait for the United Nations.

“The world is a better place when the United States takes leadership; this is time for us to do this. I hope we’ll do it soon,” the American lawmaker said on Fox News Sunday.

A growing number of Republicans and Democrats in Congress are urging President Barack Obama to approve military action against Syria following reports of a deadly chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus last week.

Engel said that the United States had to respond quickly and could not afford to wait for the United Nations.

“We could even destroy the Syrian Air Force if we wanted to… We have to move and we have to move quickly.”

Other senior US officials have also indicated that instead of seeking a UN approval for military action, Washington could work with its partners such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the Arab League.

"We'll consult with the UN. They're an important avenue. But they're not the only avenue," a senior administration official said.

The Syrian government has allowed UN inspectors to visit a site that allegedly came under chemical attack on Wednesday. Obama administration officials, however, have dismissed as too late the Syrian offer.

Although there is still no evidence to blame the chemical attack on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a senior administration official said there was “very little doubt” that Damascus was behind the attack.

“Based on the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts and other facts gathered by open sources, the US intelligence community, and international partners, there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident,” the unnamed official said in a written statement on Sunday, as reported by the New York Times.

The Syrian government and the army categorically denied any role in Wednesday’s chemical attack which killed hundreds of people. Russia, a key ally of Syria, insists that the attack was "clearly provocative in nature," and that it was staged by foreign-backed militant groups to incriminate the Assad government.

In recent days, the Pentagon has moved more warships into place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and American war planners have updated strike targets that include government and military installations inside Syria, officials said.

President Obama met with his national security advisers at the White House over the weekend to discuss “a range of options” for Syria, but officials said late Sunday that the president had yet to decide how to proceed.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel reiterated Sunday that the Pentagon has prepared “options for all contingencies” and is ready to use force if the president gives the green-light.

Meanwhile, the US top military leader is in Jordan to discuss possible strikes on neighboring Syria.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey was set to meet with his Jordanian counterpart and other regional defense chiefs during his visit.

"The exchange is designed to increase the collective understanding of the impact of regional conflicts on nations, foster ongoing dialogue and improve security relationships," Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson said.

President Obama said last year that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government was “a red line” that would provoke a military response

 

 

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Russia warns US of extremely dangerous fallout of strike on Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320519/russia-warns-us-against-attack-on-syria/

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the United States against the ‘extremely dangerous consequences’ of military action against Syria.

Lavrov made the remarks during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday.

“Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the extremely dangerous consequences of a possible new military intervention for the whole Middle East and North Africa region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Moscow was “deeply alarmed” by Washington’s statement about its readiness to intervene in Syria.

Foreign Minister Lavrov urged restraint during the conversation with John Kerry, the statement said.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on August 23 that the Pentagon was positioning military forces as part of “contingency options” provided to US President Barack Obama regarding Syria.

France and the Israeli regime have also called for military action against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Hagel’s comments have been interpreted as a tacit suggestion that the US may be preparing for a military strike on Syria. The US defense secretary repeated similar remarks on Sunday during a visit to Malaysia.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a recent interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia that any military intervention by the US would end in “failure.”

The United Nations says over 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria since March 2011.


 

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Iran warns US against overstepping red line on Syria

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/25/320395/dont-cross-syria-redline-iran-warns-us/

Deputy Chairman of Iranian Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri has warned the United States of the “severe consequences” of crossing the red line on Syria.

“The US knows where the red line of the Syria front is laid; and crossing Syria’s red line in any form will have severe consequences for the White House,” Brigadier General Jazayeri said on Sunday.

The Iranian commander said that the ongoing terrorist war in Syria is masterminded by the US and the reactionary forces in the region against the resistance front, adding that despite the enemy plots, the Syrian government and nation have gained considerable victories thanks to their resistance against this massive aggression.

He said that the Syrian government and nation currently have the upper hand in the imposed terrorist war.

Jazayeri’s remarks came after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on August 23 that the Pentagon was positioning military forces as part of “contingency options” provided to US President Barack Obama regarding Syria.

Hagel’s comments have been interpreted as a tacit suggestion that the US may be preparing for a military strike on Syria. The US defense secretary repeated similar remarks on Sunday during a visit to Malaysia.

On August 21, the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that hundreds had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar. However, the Syrian government categorically rejected the baseless claims, and announced later that the chemical attack had actually been carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani also on Sunday described as shameful the United States’ warmongering gestures and propaganda against Syria.

Larijani said that the false accusation by the militants that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons in Syria is meant to set the stage for Washington and the Israeli regime to take advantage of the situation to advance their warmongering policies.

Chairman of Iran's Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi on August 23 also warned against a foreign military attack on Syria.

“In case of a potential attack, Syria will defend itself with greater unity and power; and Syria’s regional allies will not stand idly by in the face of such a potential attack,” Boroujerdi pointed out.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.

A very large number of the militants operating inside Syria are reportedly foreign nationals.

According to reports, the West and its regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants inside Syria

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UK, US warn Syria of ‘serious response’ over alleged chemical attack

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/25/320381/uk-us-toughen-antisyria-rhetoric/

Britain and the US have threatened Syria with a “serious response” over last week’s alleged chemical attack in the Arab country, which they claim was carried out by government forces.

An alleged chemical attack on parts of the Syrian capital Damascus killed hundreds of civilians on Wednesday.

The Syrian government has categorically denied any role in the attack.

However, British Prime Minister David Cameron and the US president Barack Obama said during a 40-minute phone call on Saturday that they are “gravely concerned” about the incident, claiming there are "increasing signs that this was a significant chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime".

"[Cameron and Obama] reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options," Cameron’s office said in a statement.

Britain and the US’s fresh anti-Syrian accusations come as a team of the United Nations chemical weapons inspectors are in Syria to investigate chemical weapons use in the country.

Foreign-backed terrorists in Syria claim that government forces carried out a chemical attack in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar on August 21, killing 1,300 people.

However, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that a footage posted online by the terrorists to back their claim, had been posted before the attack took place

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US ready for ‘all contingencies’ in Syria: Pentagon chief

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/25/320378/us-ready-for-all-contingencies-in-syria/

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has reiterated that the Pentagon has prepared “options for all contingencies” in Syria and is ready to use force if President Barack Obama gives the green-light.

"President Obama has asked the Defense Department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that and we are prepared to exercise whatever option -- if he decides to employ one of those options,'' Hagel said Sunday in Malaysia where he was starting a one-week tour of Asia.

He said that the administration was still weighing whether to launch a military offensive against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad following reports of a chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus earlier this week.

"There are risks and consequences for any option that would be used or not used - for action or inaction," the Pentagon chief told reporters. "You have to come to the central point of what would be the objective if you are to pursue an action or not pursue an action. So all those assessments are being made."

President Obama met with his national security team at the White House early on Saturday to discuss reports of the chemical attack in Syria and elaborate on a response.

"We have a range of options available, and we are going to act very deliberately so that we're making decisions consistent with our national interest as well as our assessment of what can advance our objectives in Syria," a senior administration official told CNN on condition of anonymity when discussing the options being revised in ongoing White House meetings.

Also on Saturday, Obama called British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss a potential response to the suspected chemical attack.

Meanwhile, the US Navy is pre-positioning four destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and is moving its forces closer to Syria in anticipation of a possible order for airstrikes by President Obama.

Obama said last year that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would “cross a red line.”

The Syrian opposition accuses government forces of attacking militant strongholds near the capital with a toxic gas on Wednesday. Damascus has rejected the claim as baseless, saying it has proof that the militants were responsible for the attack which killed hundreds of people

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Syrian army finds chemicals in militants tunnels

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/24/320277/chemicals-found-in-syria-militant-tunnels/

Syrian army soldiers have found chemical agents in tunnels dug by the foreign-backed militants in a northeastern suburb of the capital, Damascus, Syrian TV says.

The discovery came after the government forces surrounded a sector of militant-held district of Jobar on Saturday.

"Army heroes are entering the tunnels of the terrorists and saw chemical agents," Syria television said, adding, "In some cases, soldiers are suffocating while entering Jobar.”

It added that ambulances arrived in the region to rescue the people who were suffocating in Jobar and the area is now controlled by Syrian army forces.

The Syrian government also stated that the foreign-backed militants had carried out the recent chemical attack in Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

On Wednesday, Syria's opposition claimed that hundreds were killed in a government chemical attack on militants strongholds in Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar before dawn.

The Syrian army has vehemently denied allegations that it used chemical weapons against militants in the suburbs of the Ghouta region, saying the accusations were fabricated to distract the visiting team of UN chemical weapons experts and to cover up militants losses.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General Angela Kane arrived in Damascus on Saturday for talks aimed at establishing an investigation into the Wednesday’s attack.

In a related development, Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday accused Syria’s opposition of preventing an objective probe into the alleged attack.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, however, said his commanders have prepared a range of options for President Barack Obama if he chooses to go for military action against Syria.

"The Defense Department has a responsibility to provide the president with options for contingencies, and that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to carry out different options - whatever options the president might choose," he said.

 

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Foreign war on Syria to threaten entire Middle East security - Iran lawmaker

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/24/320211/attack-on-syria-to-endanger-mideast/

A senior Iranian lawmaker has warned against a foreign military attack on Syria, saying such aggression will threaten the security of the entire Middle East.

“If the West launches a war on Syria, an all-out and uncontrollable war will undoubtedly begin in the region, which will pose a serious threat to the security of the Middle East region; and its final outcome will be harmful to the US and the Zionist regime (Israel),” Chairman of Iran's Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Friday that the Pentagon was positioning military forces as part of “contingency options” provided to US President Barack Obama regarding Syria.

“The Defense Department has a responsibility to provide the president with options for all contingencies,” Hagel said. “And that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets to be able to carry out different options - whatever the president might choose.” The remarks have been interpreted as a tacit suggestion that the US may be preparing for a military attack on Syria.

Reacting to the hawkish remarks by Hagel as well as similar comments by other Western officials, Boroujerdi said that such statements, besides being threats against Syria, will also be challenging the security of the Israeli regime.

The Iranian lawmaker said that a war on Syria would be a repeat of the West’s past mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Boroujerdi stated that the US and its regional allies have so far made use of their utmost potential and utilized all levers that run counter to human rights, including full support for the terrorists in Syria, to defeat the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad.

“In case of a potential attack, Syria will defend itself with greater unity and power; and Syria’s regional allies will not stand idly by in the face of such a potential attack,” Boroujerdi pointed out.

On August 21, the militants in Syria alleged that 1,300 people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in the Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

However, the Syrian government vehemently dismissed the claim, saying the new accusations were fabricated to distract a visiting team of UN chemical weapons experts and to cover up militants’ losses.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011.

A very large number of the militants operating inside Syria are reportedly foreign nationals.

According to reports, the West and its regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants inside Syria

 

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US raises alert for warships in Middle East

 

USS Abraham Lincoln

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/05/317362/us-raises-alert-for-warships-in-mideast/

The United States has reportedly ordered its warships in the Middle East to be ready in case of a possible terror attack by al-Qaeda.

DEBKAfile said on Monday that US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel “is reported by CNN to be considering a special deployment of US forces in the Middle East ready for action if a terrorist attack makes it necessary.”

“US warships have been ordered to sail into waters opposite Yemen, which is reported to be the source of the terrorist threat which has closed 19 US embassies and consulates in the Muslim world since Sunday,” DEBKAfile reported.

“Marine units in southern Italy and Spain were also told to stand ready for intervention,” according to the report.

The United States closed 21 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa on Sunday, warning that al-Qaeda may be planning to conduct attacks by the end of August.

On Sunday, State Department said that the country’s embassies and consulates in 19 cities will remain closed until Saturday. US diplomatic posts will remain closed in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait among other countries.

The department also issued a global travel alert due to a possible terror attack by al-Qaeda.

“Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” the department said.

In an interview with Press TV, political analyst Dr. Kevin Barrett said that the recent global terror alert shows that Washington needs to keep the so-called war on terror going.

“There is a hidden agenda of course behind it and that is to keep the so-called war on terror going and to do that they need to periodically check and see if people still believe this kind of nonsense,” he said.

“Terror alert issued by the US government is just as ridiculous as previous series of terror alerts,” Barrett added.

 

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2013 - What's in Store? (Op-Ed)

 

By: Adrian Salbuchi

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/2013-global-politics-trends-150/

World Government stepping onto sovereign Nation-States, puppet politicians unable to cope with social challenges, chaos in the Middle East and ever increasing global crises – all this awaits us in 2013. Is it time for ‘We the People’ to wake up?

More violence in the Middle East; increased protests and commotion on the streets of Europe and America; a banking/debt crisis spinning faster and faster out of control with panicky governments running to save the bankers and kill the workers. That’s 2012’s legacy, so… thank God it’s (almost) over!

But – barring the Mayan Prophecies coming true, which is most unlikely – regrettably 2013 threatens us with even darker clouds on its horizon.

­We’re not into “predictions” or futurism, however understanding what really makes this world tick allows rational projections of tendencies on the basis of concrete facts. That can serve to give us an idea of what’s in store for 2013, so we can better prepare for what’s coming our way.

Let’s look at half a dozen Key Issues:

Where’s the pilot?

Glaringly visible on today’s global political stage is that leaders in just about every country are unable to tackle and solve the overwhelming swarm of growing crises and challenges affecting society; at least not in the West. Whether it’s political, social or military conflict; increasing ecological threats; on-going financial and economic collapse; mass cultural and intellectual dumbing-down; or obscene government corruption, everywhere you look things seem to be taking a turn for the worse.

Even the leaders of powerful countries as the United States, Britain and the European Union fail dismally when addressing these crises highlighting their mediocrity, lack of vision and creativity. This becomes more obvious when comparing today’s leaders with those of yesteryear.

Take France, for instance: having given the world a true statesman like Charles de Gaulle, today they’re run by political midgets like Hollande and Sarkozy. Worse still is the US, which had a great president like John F Kennedy but today is misgoverned by puppets like Bush junior and Obama. Even Britain, Italy and Germany once led by inspirational figures like Churchill, De Gaspari and Adenauer, today can only muster grey mediocrities like Blair, Cameron, Berlusconi, Monti or Merkel.

Is it all just coincidence, or does it reflect a monolithic political system that ensures that not the best and brightest, but the worst and dimmest rise to become presidents and prime ministers?

Is this the result of the Global Power Masters’ preferred system of control over entire nations through “money-powered democracy”? This is in stark contrast with what “We the People” are clamouring for in every country. In fact, “We the People” have instinct and are neither stupid nor cowardly. Unfortunately though, their political leaders for the most part are.

Is there a “superior will” making sure that growing national problems remain unresolved, and get worse and worse as presidents and prime ministers come and go?

Is it just “bad financial judgment” that’s made all national debts with the Mega-banker Over-world balloon way out of control? Just bad luck that pension funds are massively broke and health systems are in shambles?

Just bad luck that; Orwell-like, peace-making has turned into warmongering?

Is it just bad luck that basic human decency, ethics and solidarity are scorned by that moral cesspool known as the “entertainment industry”, which is the prime driver or the dumbing-down of populations everywhere?

We don’t think so…

Is all of this a way of telling the world in no uncertain terms just who’s really in charge, by “proving” that Sovereign Nation-States can no longer cope, and “a thing of the past” to be thrown into the dustbin of history? That certainly ties in with the Global Power Masters’ fundamental long-term objective geared on dissolving the nations of the world so their power can be sucked up into the coming World Government organisations?

But look again: it’s not Nation-States that are failing, but rather the “democratically elected” politicians who run them! Let’s not thrown the baby away with the bath water…!

World Government needs to do away with sovereign Nation-States because they’re the only social institution that can hold the Global Corporate and Mega-banker Over-world in check. In fact, the Sovereign Nation-State is the Over-world’s Public Enemy No. 1!

Back in 1974, the Elite think-tank Council on Foreign Relation’s journal “Foreign Affairs” suggested that “the house of world order will have to be built from the bottom up… It will look like a great "booming, buzzing confusion," …but an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault.” That was written over 38 years ago… Now that’s what I call long-range planning!

So, get ready: 2013 will bring ever increasing crises as all Nation-States are weakened more and more. In Orwellian newspeak, this is “democracy”. However, “We the People” are waking up to the fact that such a “democracy” is nothing but a prison of the mind.

In 2013 more people will be asking themselves “Where’s the pilot?” They will want to know who’s really running this ghastly global show. You can bet your bottom dollar that “the pilot” is definitely not in the White House, or the Palais d'Elysee, or 10 Downing Street. Clearly, we need new pilots!

United States of America

Had Republican candidate Mitt Romney won November’s presidential elections, today we’d be in global doldrums on a range of important issues. The Global Power Masters would have had to wait until Romney is inaugurated in late January 2013, and then give him the privileged “100 days’ honeymoon” as new White House tenant, before they actually began pressing and coaxing him to do their bidding. That would have given the world four, maybe five, months’ respite.

However, Romney lost the elections, and Barack Obama will be president four more years. No waiting; no honeymoon.

Time is of the essence and Big Brother Bwana is already shouting orders at Boy Obama demanding him to move… and fast! The Big Bosses in AIPAC, Wall Street, Tel-Aviv, Goldman Sachs, the FED, JPMorganChase, and the Lodges have lots of plans for the US… Obama had been dragging his feet on certain issues: Time to act!

But one may even wonder whether Obama’s staying “at the helm” might be so he oversees “Mission Transformation”: the controlled collapse of the US. Will Obama turn out to be America’s Mikhail Gorbachev?

Over a decade ago, Russian Ministry of Foreign Relations academic Igor Panarin pointed to the coming dismemberment of the US due to growing internal political, social and cultural centrifugal forces, overcoming the increasingly weak centripetal forces holding America together.

Right now, we see secessionist movements in just about every state in the US. Texas, North & South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio have gathered the 25,000 petition signatures needed to make it mandatory for the Federal Government to address their request.

By the end of the 1980’s, the 'Powers That Be' decided it was time for “Globalisation” to go into full gear: a chaotic, horizontal, transitory and transitional process that has greatly weakened national sovereignties. But they needed to liquidate the then formidable Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that was getting in their way. That was Mikhail Gorbachev’s job and he certainly played his role magnificently even if power brokers in New York and London like him far more than citizens in Moscow or St Petersburg.

Now the Global Power Masters are wrapping up “Globalisation” and moving on towards something far more ambitious: outright World Government which, contrary to globalisation, will be vertical, authoritarian, disciplined and highly centralised. To achieve this new stage, they now need for the other superpower nation-state to go into the waste bin of history. Soon they won’t need a powerful America.

In fact, a powerful US is a potential danger to them because, whilst so far their trillions have ensured the White House always stays in "friendly hands” – Reagan, Bush Senior, Clinton, Bush junior, Obama – can you imagine what would happen if a True Patriot were to make it to the Oval Office? Someone who would say “Enough with the FED!”, “Enough with unrestricted and irrational support for Israel!”, “Enough engineering chaos in Libya, Afghanistan, Mali, Syria, Egypt, Latin America!”

So – yes! – Perhaps our American Gorbachev’s true mission is to kick-off the controlled demise of the US.

War and more war in the Middle East

From the Global Master’s viewpoint, the more chaos the better. The more Libya’s and Syria’s, the better; and the more Egypt-style social chaos, the better; all massively fed by their multimedia PsyWar. Why? Because, irrespective of whether things turn out “well” or “not so well” for them in Palestine, Syria, Iran or Egypt, they always make headway on one permanent overriding objective: weakening Nation-States. In addition, this all ties in with a key Fundamentalist Zionism goal in the region: the destruction of Iran.

In addition, all this “experience” renders useful lessons, knowledge, “case studies” and rules of engagement for designing future “Springs” in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, even the US.

Stay tuned: this may be coming in 2013 to a country near you.

Israel’s bad temper

As we all know when Israel gets up in a bad mood, they cheer up by going into Palestinian-bashing mode, knowing Big Brother Homer will look the other way. That just occurred in Gaza, as it did in 2009; as it did in Southern Lebanon in 2006.

Now we’ll see a lull as Benjamin Netanyahu campaigns for re-election in January 2013, which may be why he’s pushed aside his embarrassing extreme right-wing ally and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. This may be linked to trying to accommodate – not Obama – but the American military, which is growing increasingly weary of America’s imperial overdrive and resource stretch, as a consequence of fighting too many of Israel’s proxy wars.

John Kerry and Chuck Nagel will probably become Obama´s new secretaries of State and Defence. Both are friendly towards Israel, however not irrationally fanatic, which is what Israel and AIPAC demand. This explains the Jerusalem Post’s 17th December article pointing out that both are “hardly Israel’s preferred choices”.

Fiscal cliff

Like the naked Emperor that no one dared to point that interesting fact out to him, the truth is that the American Emperor is nakedly broke, as is the UK. Now, when weak countries like Argentina, México, Thailand or Iceland collapse, they painfully discover that their local currencies (or lack thereof in the cases of Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland) are backed by nothing. That’s when chaos marches in and the locals suffer all sorts of dreadful economic and social hardship, as seen on TV decade after decade.

When the US, UK or EU go broke, however, they still have an ace up their sleeves: their currencies – Dollar, Pound or Euro – are backed by their formidable, powerful and hugely expensive military forces. In practice, those currencies are backed by supersonic stealth bombers, drones, aircraft carriers, Tomahawks, Blackhawks and public (and private!) armies of highly trained and vicious troops.

But if worse comes to worse, they can always tap into their “Final Solution”; their “Samson Option” so to speak: unleash World War Three in which case who’ll care about the collapse of the Dollar, or the banks, or social upheavals even in New York or London.

World War Three means forcefully fleeing forwards. The Global Power Masters know this only too well: “we pulled this off with the first and second world wars… and it worked!” they seem to say.

Might this be one of 2013’s wild cards?

Watch out with Russia and China

Particularly now that Vladimir Putin is really back in town, Russia is clearly showing that it’s not for turning its back on traditional ally Syria; even less on Iran.
Not so much out of principle, but for defence and survival. If Syria and Iran fall to the US/UK/Israeli hegemon, who do you think is next? And those NATO missiles in Poland, what are they there for?

China, in turn, just named Xi Jinping as new Communist Party Secretary General and soon-to be President. Depending on a wide array of interests and goals, China shrewdly works together with Russia, Iran, India, Latin America or Africa; even with historical foe, Japan.

The Chinese know what they want and need in the medium and long terms. Maybe that’s why they seem paradoxical and difficult to fathom to us short-term thinking Westerners.

Long terms planners at the Pentagon and Western think-tanks, however, know this and they’re preparing for war. So, 2013 will see Russia, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Brazil, South Africa move closer together to tackle common goals and confront common threats.

As the Western geopolitical serpent tries to tighten its hold on planet Earth, time is not on their side: key Castles and Bishops will move on the Global Grand Chessboard. Watch China and Russia….

Adrian Salbuchi for RT

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Lebanese Army imposes ceasefire between rival Tripoli factions

 

Lebanese army tanks deploy in the Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods where clashes are taking place between Sunni and Alawites in the coastal city of Tripoli, northern Lebanon, on October 23, 2012. (AFP Photo/Joseph Eid)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/lebanon-tripoli-army-ceasefire-syria-089/

The Lebanese Army has deployed soldiers to Tripoli, claiming a ceasefire has been arranged there following three days of deadly fighting between Sunni and Alawite gunmen. Both claim loyalty to different sides in the Syrian civil conflict.

­The army says an agreement for a ceasefire was reached between rivaling factions in the city.

"The army will restore security, and we urge Tripoli's residents to fully comply with security forces and deal with things wisely, because security forces will start erecting checkpoints in Tripoli and staging patrols to arrest anyone who disrupts security," read a statement issued Tuesday.

The Army Command announced on Tuesday that its units had arrested about 100 gunmen, including 34 Syrians and four Palestinians, in security sweeps in Beirut and Tripoli. Fifteen troops, including two officers, were wounded during the raid, the statement added.

Soldiers also seized weapons while raiding properties in Beirut and Tripoli where gunmen were staying. Army units continue to raid the “hideouts” in order to restore calm in the two cities, the announcement said.

The army is implementing a security plan laid out by the Command to suppress violence on the streets.

The rival districts have been gripped by frequent fighting between pro- and anti-Assad militias as tensions spilled over the border from Syria.

The Sunday fighting in Tripoli involved the neighboring areas of northern city Bab al-Tabbaneh, a Sunni Muslim stronghold that supports the Syrian opposition, and Jebel Mohsen, an Alawite district that backs Assad government.

Security is the main concern in recent days, as the country was hit by violent attacks and riots triggered by the assassination of Lebanese security official Wissam al-Hassan in central Beirut on Friday.

The powerful car bombing claimed the lives of the official and his bodyguard, along with others, and wounded more than 100 people.

The assassination also sparked mass disturbance among Prime Minister Najib Mikati's opposition as people suspect he played a role in the high-profile killing. Mikati is a Sunni Muslim who earlier had personal ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while his cabinet includes many politicians close to Damascus.

 

AFP Photo/Joseph Eid

 

AFP Photo/Joseph Eid

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US Israel begin their biggest ever war games

 

An Israeli missile is launched from the Iron Dome missile system in the city of Ashdod in the central part of the Occupied Territories on March 11, 2012

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/21/267918/us-israel-in-biggestever-wargames/

The US and Israel are within hours of launching their reportedly most-extensive-ever military maneuvers, which enlists 3,500 US personnel and 1,000 Israeli troops and is to last for some three weeks.

The "Austere Challenge 2012" (AC12), which Tel Aviv is to stage in cooperation with the United States European Command (EUCOM), was to begin on Sunday, Israeli media network Arutz Sheva reported on its English-language website.

“The scenario will focus on multiple areas and its goal will be to learn how to deal with various threats in the area,” said a source from the Israeli military.

The drills are to include review and examination of Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile systems, both produced with the US assistance.

Lieutenant General Craig Franklin, the commander of the Third Air Force (3 AF), a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe, has described the drills as "the largest exercise in the history of the longstanding military relationship between the US and Israel."

He has claimed “…the scenario is driven by the overall situation in the Middle East,” and said it “is not related to national elections nor to any perceived tensions in the Middle East."

The US, Israel’s oldest and strongest ally, provides Tel Aviv with annual military assistance of about three billion USD.

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Arab monarchies Muslim Brotherhood source of all problems in Islamic world

Members of Muslim Brotherhood group. (AFP Photo)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/gulf-monarchies-muslim-brotherhood-008/

The rulers of several major Arab nations have accused the Muslim Brotherhood of ambitions to seize power illegitimately. Several governments branded the organization a major threat to stability as the party’s influence grows steadily.

­After the Muslim Brotherhood legally took power in Egypt’s elections, with Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi becoming President, several Arab Gulf states expressed concern. Monarchies that narrowly escaped the Arab Spring were taken aback when a popular Islamist party suddenly became a key player in the region.

United Arab Emirate Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah urged Gulf states to deal with an alleged Muslim Brotherhood plot to undermine regional governments. "The Muslim Brotherhood does not believe in the nation-state. It does not believe in the sovereignty of the state," Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said at a press conference.

The Brotherhood is banned in the United Arab Emirates, and Abdullah claimed his country’s security forces had arrested some 60 people this year belonging to the local group Al Islah (‘Reform and Social Guidance Association’), a nonviolent political association advocating greater adherence to Islamic precepts.

The Sheikh claimed that Islamists – some of whom are connected with the Muslim Brotherhood – were planning to stage a coup in the UAE.

Al Islah shares a similar ideology with Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, though it does not have direct links to the organization. The group claimed that it only supports nonviolent reform.

The accusation came the same day Kuwaiti lawmaker Saleh al-Mulla said that the Muslim Brotherhood is putting pressure on his country’s rulers by taking part in demonstrations “after losing their typical alliance with the government.”

Earlier, Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz denounced the Brotherhood, saying the organization is guilty of “betrayal of pledges and ingratitude” and is “the source of all problems in the Islamic world,” the Washington Post reported.

That followed Dubai's outspoken police chief Dhahi Khalfan’s claim in July that the Brotherhood was carting out an "international plot" against Gulf Arab states.

The UAE Foreign Minister’s statement came one day after thousands took to the streets of Jordan's capital of Amman over King Abdullah II’s decision to dissolve the country’s parliament. The move was seen as an attempt to compromise with the country’s Muslim Brotherhood branch, Jordan’s main opposition party.

The Jordanian wing of the Brotherhood urged the country’s leadership to undertake reforms that would result in the monarchy losing political power. Abdullah II conceded, allowing changes to the procedure by which the country forms a government, with more privileges granted to the electoral winners. The Brotherhood criticized the move as insufficient, and called on their supporters to protest.

Egypt – where the Muslim Brotherhood took power after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak last year – sought to reassure Gulf Arab states that it will not push for political change outside of the country. President Morsi said that the country has no desire to "export the revolution."

Most Arab Gulf states are hereditary monarchies with limited political representation, with only Bahrain and Kuwait having popularly elected legislatures. Their main sources of revenue come from oil and gas exports, which exist in abundance in their territory. Strong social welfare systems have largely shielded the monarchies from the Arab Spring unrest that has ousted rulers in other majority Muslim countries.

“The Muslim Brotherhood's primary goals have been expressed through welfare programs, and it’s a reason for its continuing popularity in places like Egypt, Jordan, Syria,” author and journalist Eric Margolis told RT.

The Arab Spring revolutions, most of which started as political rather than economic protests, demonstrated to the Gulf’s monarchic regimes what political Islam can do when it is supported by a mass popular uprising.

“Certainly the advent of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt has made people nervous there,” Margolis said. In his opinion, the Brotherhood is little threat to the status quo in the Gulf, since the organization became very conservative over its long history.

The bloody civil war in Libya and overthrow of longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi served as an example to the Gulf monarchies that sponsored the uprising, who now see that “terrorist activity has drastically increased after the Gaddafi regime was removed by terrorist groups,” Ekaterina Kuznetsova of the Center for Post-Industrial Studies told RT.

“This is often the case with totalitarian regimes and the vacuum that remains after they’ve been eliminated,” Kuznetsova said.

Egypt’s new constitution – drafted by the Islamists who now dominate the parliamentary assembly – is expected to be finished in November.

However, the current draft does not meet basic human rights standards, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The key problem areas mentioned by the New York-based group are the lack of full bans on torture, the trafficking of women and children and discrimination on the grounds of sex.

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US fabricates lies on Iran to sell arms to Persian Gulf states: US Daily

A US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf (file photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/09/255348/us-fabricates-iran-threat-to-sell-arms/

The United States uses the pretext of the ‘Iran threat’ to sell massive amounts of arms to Persian Gulf kingdoms in a failed effort to establish a united alliance among the dictatorships in the oil-rich region.

The US and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf are attempting to knit together a “missile shield” system through billions of dollars worth of American arms purchases by the US-backed Persian Gulf states in a supposed bid to bring added pressure on the Islamic Republic besides the US-led sanctions scheme, the New York Times reports on Thursday.

That would include, according to the report, the deployment of radars to boost the range of early warning coverage across the Persian Gulf, as well as launching command, control and communications systems that could exchange that information with missile interceptors whose triggers are controlled by individual countries.

To meet the objective, Pentagon announced late last year the sale of two advanced missile defense radars to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, a similar high-resolution, X-band missile defense radar was sold to Qatar earlier this year.

Moreover, three weeks ago, the US Defense Department revealed the newest addition to its Persian Gulf missile system, notifying the US Congress of a plan to sell Kuwait $4.2 billion worth of weaponry that would include 60 Patriot Advanced Capability missiles, 20 launching pads and 4 radars. All this would come in addition to Kuwait’s existing arsenal of 350 Patriot missiles purchased between 2007 and 2010.

Citing Pentagon documents, the report also reveals that the UAE has purchased over $12 billion worth of missile systems in the past four years.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, notorious for its persistent purchase of massive weapon systems from the US and Europe, has also acquired a significant arsenal of Patriot systems, the most recent being $1.7 billion worth of upgrades last year.

Despite the purchase of such massive amounts of weapon systems, the report says, it is the US military forces that provide a core capability for ballistic missile systems in the Persian Gulf.

Yet, the US is facing major technological and political challenges in establishing what it boasts as being an “integrated regional missile defense system.”

Technologically, they admit, no missile defense system can promise 100 percent effectiveness. Additionally, the Americans argue, Iran is increasing both the type and number of its own missiles in the field.

Political challenges for the Americans, says the report, stem from historic rivalries that prompt its Persian Gulf allies to enhance their respective security through bilateral ties with the US, resisting multilateral security arrangements among themselves.

Iranian officials have repeatedly announced that the Persian Gulf security can best be preserved through a regional collaboration rather than the interference of foreign powers.

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