Call it the curse of oil
and gas. Countries with large and smaller reserves are affected. So are
some with few or perhaps none. Living in a targeted neighborhood is challenging.
Independent governments are most vulnerable.
Reports suggest the worst ahead. Iran remains a longtime US/ Israeli target.
Syria's very much on the boil. Washington's proxy war rages. It's been
ongoing since early last year.
It was planned many years ago. Previous articles explained that America
wants all independent governments replaced by pro-Western puppet ones.
War is the bottom line option of choice when other methods fail.
Direct US/NATO intervention looms. Deploying attack Patriot missiles in
Turkey near Syria's border comes perilously close to declaring war. Doing
so may follow.
Germany agreed to participate. It approved sending 400 troops to the Turkish/Syrian
border. Washington, Berlin, and the Netherlands will provide Patriot missiles.
On Tuesday, NATO formerly approved deploying them. Operationally, the
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) will control them.
Washington considers the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean Sea its private
lakes. Powerful naval forces dominate their waters ominously.
The USS Eisenhower sits off Syria's coast. On board are eight fighter
bomber squadrons and 8,000 troops. It joined the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious
Ready Group. About 2,500 marines are on board.
Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) said "10,000 US fighting men, 70 fighter-bombers
and at least 17 warships, including three Iwo Jima amphibious craft, a
guided missile cruiser, and 10 destroyers and frigates" are positioned
off Syria or nearby.
Four ships have Aegis missile interceptors. Some are nuclear armed. US
firepower off Syria's coast can destroy the entire country. It remains
to be seen what's next.
The combination of powerful warships, heavy armaments, thousands of combat
troops, dozens of attack aircraft, offensive Patriot missiles, Aegis Ballistic
Missile Defense System readiness, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) capability suggests direct US-led intervention could happen any
time.
On Tuesday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a 2013 National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAA) amendment. It requires Obama to inform Congress of intentions
to impose a Syrian no-fly zone or planned intervention in other ways.
Voting 92 - 6, it requires "a report on military activities to deny or
significantly degrade the use of (Syrian) air power against civilian and
opposition groups in Syria."
It suggests possible US intervention. Allies should be involved if it
comes. US boots on the group should be avoided. Hostilities could erupt
any time. Opinion in Washington is divided. Influential hawks want something
done now.
Amendment language said it's not a declaration of war or authorization
of force. It didn't rule them out. It wants US military options evaluated.
It suggests establishing a no-fly zone.
Attack Patriot missiles deployed on Syria's border impose one. The Senate
amendment adds more teeth. It suggests possible intervention in one of
three ways or a combination of two or more.
US aggression may involve offensive Patriot missiles, no-fly zones over
population centers, and/or US-led NATO air strikes.
Backers called the amendment a "reasonable assessment" of how Pentagon
forces can degrade and deter Assad's air capability. Some call it step
one toward direct US involvement.
Senators want to be kept informed about plans. Most House members likely
concur. They passed their NDAA measure earlier this year. Both versions
will be reconciled once a final Senate bill passes. Obama will sign it
into law.
He made baseless threats about Syria's chemical weapons. He called using
them crossing a "red line." He's looking for ways to provoke full-scale
intervention.
When America wants war, pretexts are claimed to justify it. When none
exist, they're invented. Washington wants Assad removed. Expect full-scale
war. It's coming.
Timing may follow Obama's January inauguration. It could be sooner. Reports
suggest Israeli involvement in plans to remove Assad. A previous article
discussed Israel approaching Jordanian officials about attacking Syrian
chemical weapons sites.
Baseless US claims suggest Assad has sarin nerve gas bombs ready for use.
They say he's positioning them at as yet unknown locations.
Syria categorically denies it. A Foreign Ministry statement said military
forces "would not use chemical weapons, if (they) had them, against its
own people under any circumstances."
On December 2, The New York Times hyped the baseless chemical weapons
threat. Unnamed officials were cited as sources. A US one said "activity
we are seeing suggests some potential chemical weapon preparation."
It goes beyond moving them from one location to another, he claimed. No
evidence whatever of planned use was given.
Leaking the chemical weapons story was strategically timed. It came ahead
of NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. They approved deploying
Patriot missiles.
Doing so permits establishing no-fly zones over Syrian population centers
without Security Council authorization. Incrementally, US-led NATO heads
for war.
Following his one day Istanbul meeting with Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan,
Vladimir Putin issued a veiled warning. It was meant for Washington, saying:
"What we are concerned about is Syria's future. We don't want the same
mistakes to be repeated in the near future. We shall remember how some
regimes supported the militants in Libya and" how badly that turned out.
At the same time, Putin knows Washington's war on Syria looms. Russia
and China have much to lose if America achieves unchallenged regional
control. It remains to be seen how both countries will respond.
Egypt also remains very much on the boil. On November 23, protests erupted
throughout the country. They came after President Mohamed Morsi's November
22 decree asserted dictatorial powers.
Despite strong opposition, Egypt's Constituent Assembly approved a draft
constitution on November 30. In mid-December, a national referendum will
be held on whether to adopt it. Elections in early 2013 will follow.
Morsi said once a new constitution is approved, he'll rescind his unlimited
executive powers. Egyptians are justifiably skeptical. Similar earlier
promises proved hollow.
Washington supports him and his Muslim Brotherhood led government. They're
reliable imperial allies. They're too important to lose. So is Egypt's
military. It retains enormous power. It has considerable say over whatever
it chooses to control.
Morsi's government is Egypt's public face. Opponents and supporters squared
off for days. Police attacked anti-government protesters.
On December 6, tanks and armored vehicles protected the presidential palace.
Three Morsi advisors resigned. His planned Wednesday address was cancelled.
Prime Minister Hisham Qandil called for calm and national dialogue.
Since protests erupted, six people died. Hundreds more were injured and/or
arrested. Clashes show no signs of ending. On Tuesday, protesters broke
through presidential palace barbed wire barriers.
Morsi fled for his own protection. Later he returned. Street clashes reflect
pandemonium. Demonstrators call their efforts a "last warning."
They demand Morsi rescind his degree. They oppose the hastily written
constitution. It's based on Sharia law. It establishes an Islamic dictatorship
and military rule.
It hardens the worst of what most Egyptians oppose. It keeps Egypt on
the boil. It assures vicious crackdowns against opponents. Public anger
erupted on and off last year. Broken pledges continued them this year.
Ousting Mubarak reaped the whirlwind. America wanted him replaced. Morsi
is Washington's man in Cairo. Obama wants Muslim Brotherhood officials
and Egypt's military running things.
Western funding supports them. Considerable amounts are provided. Morsi
is a US-educated technocrat. His public persona belies his collusion with
Washington and other NATO countries.
He's hardline anti-Assad. He supports anti-Syrian death squads. He feigns
Palestinian support. He's another tinpot regional despot. He's secure
as long as he retains Western support. He's got it as long as he remembers
who's boss.
Egyptians are no better off than before anti-Mubarak clashes erupted.
Their legitimate grievances are ignored. It's the same throughout most
of the region.
Despite uprisings in a dozen or more countries, substantive change didn't
follow. Liberating struggles remain.
Throughout most of the region, people want jobs, decent pay, better services,
ending corruption and repression, as well as liberating democratic change
in a part of the world where poverty, unemployment and despotism reflect
daily life for tens of millions.
Regional despots enforce the worst of conditions. Fed up people want change.
They're on their own against repressive entrenched power.
Western support makes their liberating struggles harder. Expect no resolution
easily or quickly. Dark forces will go all out to crush them. Real change
remains a distant dream. |