'Fight Smart' Update - 2 August 2006
Don't
Take the Bait - Fight Smart
ANIMATED 911 SUMMARY -
CLICK HERE
Who is the enemy?
Peace Cannot Be Achieved By
Redeploying The Methods Of Repeated Failure
Only A Completely Different Approach
Can Cool The Temperature In The Middle East
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/WATPeaceMiddleEast.htm
The Dark Secrets Of The Failure
Of NATO And UN 'Peace Keeping' In Kosovo
What Has Been Created In Kosovo Is No Model Of
Hope
For Arabs And Israelis In The Middle East
"A 2,000-strong UN mission has been monitoring the Lebanese-Israeli border
since 1978 - but it does not have the power to enforce peace."
UN calls for Lebanon peace force
BBC Online, 17 July 2006
A Lebanese demonstrator vents his fury against the UN building in Beirut, July 2006
"I remember reporting from Cyprus as
its incipient civil war got out of hand and United Nations peacekeepers rushed to the
rescue. Hail to assorted Finns, Canadians and Irish, under an Indian general. Heaven bless
the men in the blue berets. But the trouble, 42 years later, is that they're still there,
that there is still an insecure peace to be kept. The berets come in, but they don't go
away. Lebanon, of course, looks next on the list as Bush and Blair try to get their act
together. International communities need to do something more than talk. But then, as that
disastrous Israeli strike on the UN post showed, they have long since done something. Unifil (the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon - manpower 257; annual budget $99.23m; officer
commanding, French) has been toiling away since 1978 on a mission 'to help the Lebanon
government restore its effective authority'. One step forward, five steps back... The
cruel truth is that yet another force and yet another mission, blocking out a 15-mile
strip of southern Lebanon, offers nothing but the most feeble respite. It won't put
Lebanon together again. It won't stop the killing if Hizbollah or the Israeli army want to
resume operations. It will merely cost a lot of money and absorb a lot of international
community firepower to no long-term or even medium-term purpose...... It just disguises
the problem for a while, ploughs more good intentions after bad, sanctifies a de facto
annexation of territory without digging deeper."
We desperately need peacemakers, not peacekeepers
Observer, 30
July 2006
The UN Has Repeatedly Failed In Its Most Basic Mission
"The Purposes of the United Nations are: 1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace..."
Article 1
Charter Of The United Nations
"As I went back through the Pentagon in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan ... I left the Pentagon that afternoon deeply concerned."
General Wesley Clark
'Winning Modern Wars', p 130NBC's 'Meet The Press' Interview With General Clark About This (16 November 2003) - Click Here
"I told the officer, when [he] started to tell me that, I said, 'Stop, I don't want to get into anything that's classified. Just don't tell me that information.' But I do know this, that in the gossip circles in Washington, among the neo-conservative press, and in some of the statements that Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Wolfowitz have made, there is an inclination to extend this into Syria and maybe Lebanon. So you never know where this is headed. The administration's never disavowed this intent."
General Wesley Clark On US Plans To Strike Seven Countries
CNN Interview, 30 November 2003"The former chief of ISI, Maj. Gen (R) Hameed Gul has 'predicted' that America would definitely attack Iran and Syria simultaneously in October. He was talking after attending the Hamdard Majlis Shoora, Tuesday evening."
America will attack Iran, Syria in October: Gul
Pakistan News Service, 2 August 2006In the last few days, I learned from a credible and informed source that a former senior Labour government Minister, who continues to be well-connected to British military and security officials, confirms that Britain and the United States '... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year.' As we now know from similar reporting prior to the invasion of Iraq, it's quite possible that the war planning may indeed change repeatedly, and the war may again be postponed. In any case, it's worth noting that the information from a former Labour Minister corroborates expert analyses suggesting that Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize the imminent targeting of Iran before year's end.
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
OpEdNews, 23 July 2006
| "Since
wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must
be constructed." From the Constitution of UNESCO |
![]() |
| Tower Of Impotence The United Nations Building In New York Whilst the Constitution of UNESCO demonstrates an understanding within the UN of the basic cause of war, the actual track record of the UN demonstrates a near total inability to do anything about it before enormous suffering and loss of human life occur. So why does the international community continue to ignore the one approach that has a scientifically documented track record of success in international conflict resolution under the most arduous of conditions? |
Tried And Tested Experimentally
But Never Deployed By The International Community
Why?
The Only Proven Way To Lower The Temperature In The Middle East |
![]() |
Figure 2. Estimated
mean daily level of a composite Peace/War Index for the Lebanon War for
each of the |
"I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other on-going social or psychological research programme. The research has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution; I think this work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike."
David Edwards, Ph.D, Professor of Government
University of Texas, Austin, USAUntil The 'Temperature' In The Middle East Is Permanently Cooled Through Proven Methods
Those Who Seek War Will Continue To Succeed In Exploiting The Political Tension In The Region
The UN Has Repeatedly Failed In Its Mission Despite Its Decades Long Presence In The Middle East
A Track Record Of Failure Spanning Decades Into The Past Is Not A Recipe For Creating Lasting Peace Into The Future
If It Is Really Serious About Peace Then It Is Time For The International Community
To Begin Thinking And Acting 'Outside The Box'
"Reuven Zelinkovsky was a colonel in
the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic
flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a 'shield of invincibility' around the Jewish state.
As Hezbollah rockets fired from nearby Lebanon boomed in the background, he explained that
the solution to the latest conflict to engulf the Middle East was 'not to kill the enemy but to kill enmity.'... Here in Israel, according to a formula
that says the square root of one percent of a country's population is the number needed to
tap into a collective consciousness robust enough to create a 'shield of invincibility,' 265 people are needed [Note: the UNIFIL force in Lebanon numbers 257 with an annual budget $99.23m. It has proved completely ineffective due
to its rigid adherence to conventional 'peace keeping' methods since 1978]. But Zelinkovsky's squadron, which includes architects, health workers
and pensioners, many of whom are also teachers of TM, now numbers only about 20 after
falling from a peak of 65 last week.... 'I went to my commander and presented this
solution. It was like talking to the wall so I left. In my mind I continue to be an army
man. But now I use a new technology to serve the nation.'
Alex Kutai, the leader of the yogic flying movement in Israel who titles himself the Prime
Minister of the Peace Government of
Israel, was leading the squadron at the lakeside Nof Ginnosar Hotel from where all other
guests have fled for fear of being hit by rockets.... He has called on the elected Israeli
government to recruit the required number of yogic flyers instead of wasting millions of
dollars on military equipment. As Zelinkovsky put it, 'if you take the cost of the just
the tail of an F-16 fighter jet you could have peace in the Middle East for a year. We can
do what no army can do.' Across the border in Lebanon, another yogic flying group is
believed to be at work but the group here in the Galilee is not currently in contact with
them, said Zelinkovsky..."
Yogic flyers build 'shield of invincibility' around Israel
Agence
France Presse, 26 July 2006
"My point is that this war can't be
won in a conventional way."
British Prime Minister
World Affairs Council, Los
Angeles, 1 August 2006
In This Bulletin |
| Thinking
Outside The Box How To Win The 'War On Terror' What Is Needed Now To Cool The Temperature In The Middle East |
| The
Alternative Is More Death And Destruction With Bush And Blair's Failed 'War On Terror' |
| Uniting
The Islamic Militants How Israel Is Being Used As A Pawn In A Misguided US Strategy That Is Doomed To Failure |
| In
The Current Middle East Crisis The Powerlessness Of The UN Is Being Exposed From All Sides |
| 'We
Desperately Need Peacemakers, Not Peacekeepers' Cyprus, Kashmir, Africa, Caucasus, Middle East What Is The UN's Track Record In Creating Peace? |
| The Scandal No One Wants To Talk About The Impotence Of NATO And UN 'Peace Keeping' In Kosovo The Dark Secrets Of Their Failed Mission |
| A
Different Story In Mozambique Demonstrating The Importance Of First Creating The Right Ground Conditions So The UN Can Be Effective And The Importance Of Maintaining The Necessary Programmes To Sustain Peace |
"My point is that this war can't be
won in a conventional way."
British Prime Minister
World Affairs Council, Los
Angeles, 1 August 2006
"There are Katyusha rockets falling in
villages and towns all around them, but for the 'squadron' of 30 Israeli Yogic Flyers
assembled at a hotel on Lake Kinneret all is quiet. That's because they have managed to
create a shield of invincibility around their gathering place. Now they are calling for
another 235 Flyers to come and join them to create a shield that would, they say, cover
all of Israel. In an interview from the Nof Ginnosar Hotel near Tiberias on Saturday, the
Prime Minister of the Peace Government of
Israel and Yogic Flyer Alex Kutai called on the elected Israeli government to recruit a
group of 265
Yogic Flyers who, through an advanced technique of Transcendental Meditation (TM), he
asserted, would create a shield of invincibility around Israel and bring about an
immediate cessation of violence with the Hizbullah.... Kutai said that according to his
calculations, 500 Yoga Flyers would be needed to bring peace to the Middle East, but that
the Flyers would have to be spread throughout the region. Kutai said that the elected
government of Israel should establish a group of 265 Yogic Flyers and maintain them so
that peace could be ensured on a permanent basis. 'We have the best army but it cannot
prevent the missiles. The government should create this group now. It is much cheaper than
bombs. It is cheaper than even one wing of a fighter bomber,' Kutai said. Kutai's group
are the only guests at the Nof Ginnosar Hotel at this point in time, as Hizbullah rockets
have badly dented the entire tourism industry around Lake Kinneret. 'We put up a shield
around the 30 of us. There is nobody else here. If there were more people our shield would
extend even further outward, we could protect more people'..."
Forget F-16s, Israel needs Yogic Flyers to beat Hizbullah
Jerusalem
Post, 23 July 2006
"The violence continued, even escalated, in surrounding Muslim and Christian
villages, but no bombs fell again on Dr. Naders village [in Lebanon]....
I heard John Davies tell this story at a conference last fall. But as heartening as the
story is and as startling the implications, its only one of many in Davies
repertoire of heartening and startling stories... Davies and his colleagues have been
thinking biggermuch bigger.... Dr. Davies is an internationally recognized expert in
conflict management at the University of Maryland, and his concerns are large-scale
violent conflicts, wars, and the collective consciousness.... He recently spoke at the
Sacred Link 'Freedom from Fear' conference at the Himalayan Institute, where I had
the opportunity to question him further about his work." One Percent for
Peace "Film director David Lynch
wants to raise $7bn (£3.98bn) to introduce meditation into US schools in a bid to bring
about world peace. Twin Peaks director Lynch said he saw stress-relieving benefits of
meditation in schools in Iowa and South Africa... 'This is a way to bring
real peace to earth,' said Lynch, whose films include Mulholland Drive and Wild at Heart.
'I would like to find some very wealthy individuals who saw the truth of this and said
'I want to do something for the world which is meaningful.' Real peace isn't just
the absence of war. It is the absence of negativity.... you meet students who get this
opportunity and they shine like you cannot believe.' "
![]() "The Most Inspiring True Story Of Our Time" Read About What David Lynch Found In South Africa Click Here South African Press
Report On Lynch Proposal |
|
Click Here For More Information On Research On This Approach |
What Israel And Its Neighbours Need To Do Now To Restore Calm
"'We have an important message for the people of the Middle
East,' said Dr. John Hagelin, a quantum physicist and
author, and recipient of the prestigious Kilby Award for scientific research.... 'This practical approach, known as Invincible Defense Technology, applies
cutting-edge discoveries in quantum mechanics, neuroscience, and human consciousness to
diffuse stress, effectively disarming aggressors,' he said. 'It targets the root cause of violence acute stress resulting from religious
and ethnic tensions. Just as anger can spread through a
population, so can calm. Humanity is connected at the deepest level of human interaction an abstract,
quiet communication so that collective consciousness can be influenced in a tangible and
measurable way. There is a proven correlation between meditation and reduced social
stress,' he claimed, pointing to 19
published research studies."
Transcendental Meditation: The solution to terrorism?
Jerusalem Post, 1 July 2002
More Israeli Media Coverage On This Approach
Jerusalem Post, 16 February 2006
HOT - Israel National Radio Interview with Dr. David Leffler, 28 December 2005 - HOT
Jerusalem Post, 16 August 2002
Tikkun Magazine, May/June 2000
Click HereWhat Is 'Invincible Defense' Technology? - Click Here
'Invincible Defense' Strategy Welcomed on Capitol Hill - Click Here
The Only Proven Way To Lower The Temperature In The Middle East
Figure 2. Estimated mean daily level of a composite Peace/War Index for the Lebanon War for each of the
seven experimental periods between June 1983 and August 1985. Time series intervention analysis indicates significant
progress towards peace during each experimental period, and for all seven combined (p < 10-19)
(Journal of Social Behavior and Personality
17(1): 285338, 2005)
"The foundation of the film director David Lynch and the US Peace Government organization are planning to open a Peace University in Moscow.... The US Peace Government was established on July 4, 2003 to bring prevention-oriented, problem-free administration to the U.S. Its mission is to prevent social violence, terrorism and war, and to promote peace and harmony throughout the world, its website says. 'Moscow is a very interesting, open city but it is prone to negative tendencies,' Lynch was quoted by the agency as saying. 'A Peace University is necessary for it. It is important to try all means in the fight against crimes, terrorism or wars. We propose to do it with the help of group meditation.' Lynch said he will be among the professors to give lectures in the university..."
Film Director Lynch, US Peace Government to Establish University in Moscow
The Moscow News, 24 November 2004
NO SOLUTION IN SIGHT? |
||||||||||
"I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this
research exceeds that of any other on-going social or psychological research programme. The research has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution; I think
this work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by
academics and policy makers alike." |
||||||||||
'DefenceTalk' Web Site Examines The
Approach To Peace, Security And Freedom Advocated By 'The US Peace Government'
"These studies have been scrutinized and published in respected peer-reviewed
journals such as Social Indicators Research, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal
of Mind and Behavior and Journal of Crime and Justice. This coherence-creating effect has
also been documented on a global scale in a study published in the Journal of Offender
Rehabilitation. ... during [large experimental testing in] the years 1983-1985,
international conflict decreased 33%, terrorist casualties decreased 72% and violence was
reduced in other nations without intrusion by other governments.... Invincible Defense
Technology is the only scientifically validated means to prevent terrorism. There are no
peer-reviewed studies that that show that strategies and tactics such as military bombing
prevent terrorism."
Security & Political Risk Analysis (SAPRA)
"In the studies that I have examined on [this approach], I can find no
methodological flaws, and the findings have been consistent across a large number of
replications. As unlikely as the premise may sound, I think we have to take these studies
seriously. |
I would like to inform you that the
Ministry for the Defense of Mozambique has a new direction now and that the formation of
the new Armed Forces achieved its goal. In a few days we hope to take again the formation
of the unit of prevention in the army of Mozambique and to enjoy again the benefits of the
Maharishi Effect
which it brings....This phenomenon was called by the scientists the Maharishi Effect,
in honor of Maharishi who had predicted it since 1957. Since then, more than 40 scientific
research were completed and confirmed the Maharishi Effect...
Scientific research carried out on the Maharishi Effect was published in the following
international scientific reviews: The Journal of
Conflict Resolution, The Journal of Crime and Justice, The Journal of Mind
and Behavior and Social Indicators Research....Data
presented by the Ministry of Defense of Mozambique at the time of an international
congress on Defense at the Maharishi Vedic University, Holland, on November 14, 1994
[stated] 'In 1993, it was possible to confirm the existence of the Maharishi Effect
in Mozambique.....From February 1993, when more than 15,000 people in the country
[participated in this programme], the predicted results appeared. On another hand, because
of the demobilization of the troops in 1994, [which caused the number of programme
participants to fall], consequently, the predicted positive effects decreased and in
several cases ceased.'.... Sometimes it takes a long time before great discoveries are
accepted and put into practice. Despite everything, these examples drawn from human
history must be a lesson so that one avoids making the same errors. Let us remember that
it is those who think deeper than their contemporaries who make history."
Lt-Gl Tobias Dai, Minister Of Defence Mozambique
Speech
In Maputo, 26 December 1994 (based on Google Translation from French)
"Reuven Zelinkovsky was a colonel in
the Israeli army, but now he has renounced military might to join a squadron of yogic
flyers at the Sea of Galilee to throw a 'shield of invincibility' around the Jewish state.
As Hezbollah rockets fired from nearby Lebanon boomed in the background, he explained that
the solution to the latest conflict to engulf the Middle East was 'not to kill the enemy but to kill enmity.'... Here in Israel, according to
a formula that says the square root of one percent of a country's population is the number
needed to tap into a collective consciousness robust enough to create a 'shield of
invincibility,' 265 people are needed [Note: the
UNIFIL force in Lebanon numbers 257 with an annual budget
$99.23m. It has proved completely ineffective due to its rigid adherence to conventional
'peace keeping' methods since 1978]. But Zelinkovsky's
squadron, which includes architects, health workers and pensioners, many of whom are also
teachers of TM, now numbers only about 20 after falling from a peak of 65 last week.... 'I
went to my commander and presented this solution. It was like talking to the wall so I
left. In my mind I continue to be an army man. But now I use
a new technology to serve the nation.' Alex Kutai, the leader of the yogic flying
movement in Israel who titles himself the Prime Minister of the Peace Government of Israel, was leading the
squadron at the lakeside Nof Ginnosar Hotel from where all other guests have fled for fear
of being hit by rockets.... He has called on the elected Israeli government to recruit the
required number of yogic flyers instead of wasting millions of dollars on military
equipment. As Zelinkovsky put it, 'if you take the cost of the just the tail of an F-16
fighter jet you could have peace in the Middle East for a year. We can do what no army can
do.' Across the border in Lebanon, another yogic flying group is believed to be at work
but the group here in the Galilee is not currently in contact with them, said
Zelinkovsky..."
Yogic flyers build 'shield of invincibility' around Israel
Agence
France Presse, 26 July 2006
The
Alternative Is More Death And Destruction
With Bush And Blair's Failed 'War On Terror'
".... why has the War on Terror been
such a failure?"
Ice-cool under terror attack
London Times, 13 July
2006
"The [British] Prime Minister has lost
his grip on world events. The most disturbing aspect
of the international crisis is that the global initiative has largely passed to the
terrorists. There are now four wars in the Middle
East. In Iraq, the Sunni insurgents and militant Shia frustrated the reconstruction of the
country. In Afghanistan, the Taleban can choose when and where to attack British
forces.... The terrorists threaten world peace and the global economy, which is fuelled by
Middle Eastern oil... The backdrop is the crisis of the Middle East war, but the front of
the stage is crowded with characters, such as John Prescott, the two retired Home
Secretaries, David Blunkett and Charles Clarke, Lord Levy and others. There is a justified
sense of world crisis and an equally justified anxiety that the Government is falling
apart."
It's now or never, Gordon
London Times, 17 July
2006
"Washington is failing to make
progress in the global war on terror and the next 9/11-style attack is not a question of
if, but when. That is the scathing conclusion of a
survey of 100 leading American foreign-policy analysts. In its first 'Terrorism Index,' released yesterday, the influential
journal Foreign Affairs found surprising consensus among the bipartisan experts. Some 86
per cent of them said the world has grown more, not less, dangerous, despite President
George W. Bush's claims that the U.S. is winning the war on terror. The main reasons for
the decline in security, they said, were the war in Iraq, the detention of terror suspects
in Guantanamo Bay, U.S. policy towards Iran and U.S. energy policy. The survey's
participants included an ex-secretary of state and former heads of the Central
Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency, along with prominent members of the U.S.
foreign-policy establishment. The majority served in previous administrations or in senior
military ranks.... In
the survey's accompanying report, Leslie Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on
Foreign Relations, said policy analysts have never been in such agreement. 'The reason is that it's clear to nearly
all that Bush and his team have had a totally unrealistic view of what they can accomplish
with military force and threats of force.' Some 82 per cent of participants said a
pressing priority for the U.S. is to end its dependence on foreign oil..... "
War on Terror Called Failure
Toronto Star, 15 June 2006
"Tony
Blair's Middle East policy was in tatters last night after British targets were attacked
in the Palestinian territories and London was accused of triggering one of the worst
crises in the region for months. In spite of years of
intense diplomacy and tens of millions of pounds in aid to the Palestinians,
Britains standing hit its lowest point since Mr Blair came to power nine years ago. British Council offices in Gaza City and the West Bank town of Ramallah
were set alight by angry mobs, while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warned all
British citizens to leave the area.... Last year Britain spent
£60 million in support of the Palestinian Authority
and projects in the Palestinian territories. But there is little to show for the effort
and Gaza remains isolated, poor and unstable. 'Tony Blair has had a history of promising
the Earth and delivering zero to the Palestinians,' said Chris Doyle, the director of the
Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding."
Britain's diplomacy counts for little now
London Times, 15
March 2006
"The ferocity of Israel's onslaught in
southern Lebanon and Hizbullah's stubborn battles against Israeli ground forces may be
working in the militant group's favor..... The stakes are high for Hizbullah, but it seems
it can count on an unprecedented swell of public support that cuts across sectarian
lines.According to a poll released by the Beirut Center for Research and Information, 87
percent of Lebanese support Hizbullah's fight with Israel, a
rise of 29 percent on a similar poll conducted in February. More striking, however, is the level of support for Hizbullah's
resistance from non-Shiite communities. Eighty percent of Christians polled supported
Hizbullah along with 80 percent of Druze and 89 percent of Sunnis. Lebanese no longer
blame Hizbullah for sparking the war by kidnapping the Israeli soldiers, but Israel and
the US instead."
Israeli strikes may boost Hizbullah base
Christian Science Monitor,
28 July 2006
"....as a new
generation of our leaders, and fools, gathers in Rome to chart out on what terms another
outside force can be sent to intervene in the Lebanon, its worth remembering
Qassirs contribution to the history of the Middle East, indeed the history of the
world. But it is not Qassir Ahmeds life but the manner of his death that is so
notable. Qassir was the worlds first suicide car bomber. On a wet November morning
in 1982 Qassir drove a car, packed with 500kg of explosives, into the Israeli military
headquarters in Tyre. He brought the building down, killing 76 Israeli troops.... In 1983
Hezbollah followed up Qassirs work with the the most powerful acts of terrorism
before 9/11 the April 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and the October 1983
bombing of the US Marines barracks.... A few months later the US President, Ronald Reagan,
pulled the Marines out from their supposed peace-keeping mission in the Lebanon. The
withdrawal was an ignominious end to another flawed peace keeping mission where the US
superpower, aided by its European allies, naively believed it could assert its will in the
Lebanon and suffer no consequences. In Rome today we hear similar misguided rhetoric....
this coming story of folly, hubris and blindness will end the same way with another Ahmed,
a car packed with explosives, a blown-up barracks and a pile of dead foreign troops."
When in Rome, don't forget the bombs of 1983
London Times, 27 July
2006
"At the onset of the Lebanese crisis,
Arab governments, starting with Saudi Arabia, slammed Hezbollah for recklessly provoking a
war, providing what the United States and Israel took as a wink and a nod to continue the
fight. Now, with hundreds of Lebanese dead and Hezbollah holding out against the
vaunted Israeli military for 15 days, the tide of public opinion across the Arab world is
surging behind the organization, transforming the Shiite group's leader, Sheik Hassan
Nasrallah, into a folk hero and forcing a change in official statements. The Saudi royal
family and King Abdullah II of Jordan, who were initially more worried about the rising
power of Shiite Iran, Hezbollah's main sponsor, are scrambling to distance themselves from
Washington.An outpouring of newspaper columns, cartoons, blogs and public poetry readings
have showered praise on Hezbollah while attacking the United States and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice for trumpeting.... The Saudi royal court has issued a dire warning that
its 2002 peace plan - offering Israel full recognition by all Arab states in exchange for
returning to the borders that predated the 1967 Arab-Israeli war - could well perish....
There are evident concerns among Arab governments that a victory for Hezbollah - and it
has already achieved something of a victory by holding out this long - would further
nourish the Islamist tide engulfing the region and challenge their authority. Hence their first priority is to cool simmering public opinion."
Tide of Arab Opinion Turns to Support for Hezbollah
New York Times, 28 July 2006
Making America More Vulnerable To Terrorist Attack
Washington's Support For Disproportionate Military Action In Lebanon
"..... Robert
Baer, a former CIA covert officer who tracked Hizballah, says that by the late 1990s, the
CIA was watching the group to see if it might resume violence against the U.S., but it
never did.... encouraging
Israel's continued onslaught puts the U.S. in the position of being blamed for mounting
Lebanese civilian deaths.....The President would be
better off leveling with the American people. The
U.S. has interests in the Middle East...."
Why the Middle East Crisis Isn't Really About Terrorism
TIME, 31 July
2006
And What Are Those Interests?
"
Robert Baer, a former CIA spy who presents a television documentary on the history of suicide bombing, says he knew the practice would come to the UK. And its not the Wests values, but its foreign policies, that are to blame..... As someone who prefers his terrorism confined to Sunday nights and episodes of 24, I had been clinging to the hope that Londons recent Thursdays were an aberration. My optimism is severely dimmed by meeting Robert Baer, a former CIA spy who has returned to his old beat in the Middle East to make a grimly fascinating two-part history of suicide bombing for Channel 4. What he delivers is not good news. It provides, however, an unusually clear view of the landscape...He does not disown the words he uses at the end of this Thursdays documentary, that suicide bombing, 'like a pathological virus', has become unstoppable. He does add, perhaps for my sake, the proviso 'until you take the causes away', but by this stage even I can see they are not going to be..... 'The other one thing is, they hate us, which is just total bullshit.' [he says] Is it? 'Yes,' he says, 'it is.' In a school run by Hezbollah, he asked a class dominated by the daughters of [suicide bomber] 'martyrs' if they watched US television. 'Everybody raised their hand. And what did they watch? Oprah. I said, How can you watch this crap? And they said, No, shes great. We love Oprah...... 'So, it wasnt our values. It wasnt Western values. Its Western presence. They want us to get out.'..... There is, however, a three-letter reason why the US will not impose a peace plan on Israel and leave the region. Baer, the author of Sleeping With The Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, well knows what it is. 'I dont think any American politician, however at fault we are in Iraq or anywhere else, can say, All right, let the crazies have the oil fields, because oil at $200 a barrel would put us into a depression.' So because the American economy is at stake, we cant get out even to save our skins? 'That, I believe, is your classic paradox.'"Blair Knows The Whole War
On Terror Is Proving A Complete Disaster
Which Cannot Be Won Through A Conventional Approach
"My point is that this war can't be
won in a conventional way."
British Prime Minister
World Affairs Council, Los
Angeles, 1 August 2006
But Despite Endeavouring To Project An Image Of Boldness
And Radicalism
Blair Has A Long History Of Following 'Received Wisdom' Of A Type Popular Within
Britain's Tory Party
Both Blair And His Tory Predecessors Have Persistently Rejected The Only
Evidence-Based Approach
Which Has A Proven Track Record Of Neutralising The Dangers That His Failed 'War On
Terror' Is Supposed To Address
So Is Blair Really Ready To Be Unconventional In His Approach?
If Not His Principal Political Legacy Will Be The Growing Global Mayhem
That The Primitive Violence-Based Approach Of The Current British And American
Governments Has Succeeded In Fuelling
"In the studies that I have examined on [this unconventional approach], I can find no methodological flaws, and the findings have been consistent across a large number of replications. As unlikely as the premise may sound, I think we have to take these studies seriously.
Ted Robert Gurr, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Government and Politics,
University of Maryland, USA
The Only Proven Way To Lower The Temperature In The Middle East |
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Figure 2. Estimated
mean daily level of a composite Peace/War Index for the Lebanon War for
each of the |
"I think the claim can be plausibly made that the potential impact of this research exceeds that of any other on-going social or psychological research programme. The research has survived a broader array of statistical tests than most research in the field of conflict resolution; I think this work and the theory that informs it deserve the most serious consideration by academics and policy makers alike."
David Edwards, Ph.D, Professor of Government
University of Texas, Austin, USA
In The Current Middle East
Crisis
The Powerlessness Of The UN Is Being Exposed From All Sides
"The day after Israeli jets bombed a
UN outpost in Lebanon, killing four UN observers from Canada, China, Austria and Finland,
a 'diplomatic firestorm' has erupted over the incident."
UN deaths prompt 'diplomatic firestorm'
Christian Science Monitor,
26 July 2006
"Brandishing Hezbollah flags and
portraits of its leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, thousands of enraged protesters smashed
their way into the United Nations building in Beirut yesterday, where they ransacked
offices and started fires.... Last night Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, thanked
Lebanons forces for rescuing his staff and handing the headquarters back to his
shaken envoys. All those who had witnessed the mayhem realised that Hezbollah alone had
prevented further destruction. Fouad Siniora, Lebanons Prime Minister, saluted the
outlawed Hezbollah organisation last night for 'its sacrifices' as he summoned
international diplomats to explain why he had told Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of
State, that there was no point in her travelling to Beirut yesterday unless it was to
agree an immediate and unconditional surrender, as demanded by his country. Mr Siniora
accused Israel of war crimes and almost broke down as he told the diplomatic corps that
one of the Qana victims was a one-day-old baby. Amin Khoudouri, a 23-year-old US educated
computer analyst, expressed the view of many when he shouted during a demonstration: 'I
was never Hezbollah before, but now I swear I will join them.'
Hezbollah shows its authority as mob raids UN
London Times, 31
July 2006
"Take the Israeli killing of four UN
soldiers last week, condemned by Kofi Annan as 'deliberate'. On July 18 one of the doomed
officers e-mailed home to say that Israeli ordnance was landing nearby and that, 'this has
not been deliberate targeting, but has rather been due to tactical necessity'. A retired
Canadian general interpreted this for Canadian television. 'What he was telling us was
Hezbollah soldiers were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them. And
thats a favourite trick by people who dont have representation in the UN. They
use the UN as shields, knowing that they cant be punished for it.'... Getting in
among the UN positions and the civilians, firing at 'settlers' while seeing the other side
condemned for its inhumanity, is part of the new asymmetry. And while Hezbollah might
bring out the Lebanese flags for the press in Beirut, in their southern fastnesses the
only banners are theirs. And what do we say, knowing this? That Bad Blair should lean on
Worse Bush who should put the squeeze on Murdering Olmert and itd all be over.
Thats the new orthodoxy. God alone knows, the Israelis have, in their history,
committed crimes and terrible errors. Sabra and Chatilla, the refusal to recognise for
many years that Palestinians actually existed, the brutalities of the occupation, the
settling on the West Bank and in Gaza and so on. The Palestinian organisations have their
own track record of deceit and murder. Consequently, each slow step towards a peace has
been agonising, and now the new asymmetry makes
progress almost impossible. As of today, I have no
answer."
We can't bear pictures of the dead. Hezbollah want to see nothing else -
London Times, 1 August
2006
"Ehud Olmerts declaration that
there would be no immediate ceasefire needs no explaining in terms of Israeli public
opinion. His earlier commitment to a 48-hour pause in the bombing to allow Lebanese
civilians to escape lasted just hours in the face of uproar at home. But it will bring
Israel even more isolation abroad than it has yet faced, coming only a day after the
deaths of 37 children in an Israeli airstrike....Israels
move makes a nonsense of the main plan on which Blair, in particular, had based his
position: a UN peace-keeping force in southern Lebanon. Blair had spent the hours before Olmerts comments in telephone
diplomacy, trying to ensure that Turkey and other key countries would take part in that
force. Britain had hoped that France would emerge as leader of that force, while Sweden
and Norway said that they would consider taking part, and Egypt might have played a role,
possibly patrolling the Syrian border to prevent Hezbollah rearming. Blair, and many other
leaders, were in danger of resting too many hopes on that force, which remained fanciful
while key questions remained unanswered. Who would supply the troops, given that the US
and Britain would not? And would it have a mandate to take on Hezbollah, risking violent
counter-attack, like the 1983 barracks bombing that led to the exit of one international
force? Or would it risk impotence and derision, of the kind suffered by the current Unifil
force, because of a mandate to keep the peace and not pick a fight? To judge from
preparations for a European Union meeting, which had been due today, that seemed the more
likely option. The most threatening unanswered question was whether the force could move
in if Hezbollah rejected its presence. Surely not, many thought."
Will Israel's gamble put Blair in the firing line?
London Times, 1
August 2006
"If Israel can't bring Hizballah down,
could foreign forces help squeeze it into better behavior? Potential donors to a multinational force will
be trying to hash out a plan this week. But its composition, mission and rules of
engagement are acutely tricky. Rice declared that no U.S. troops would join; they're
already overstretched in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. French President Jacques Chirac
said he might be willing to commit French forces, but not through NATO. Soldiers from
Muslim countries like Turkey and Egypt would be a plus, but so far none have materialized.
The harder question is what the force would do after deployment.... If no outside force
can pacify Hizballah, what's the chance it will choose to restrain itself?"
Why Hizballah Can't Be Disarmed
TIME, 31 July
2006
One Penny Drops
But Fundamental Downing St Delusions Still Persist
"Five years into the War on Terror,
Tony Blair called yesterday for a 'complete renaissance of our strategy' to defeat
militant Islam.... The West had to address issues such as poverty, climate change, trade,
but above all to 'bend every sinew of our will to making peace between Palestine and
Israel'. Unless that happened 'we will not win, and it is a battle we must win.... We need
. . . to put a viable Palestinian government on its feet, to offer a vision of how the
roadmap to final-status negotiation can happen and then pursue it week in, week out until
its done. Nothing else is more important to the success of our foreign
policy.'"
We must rethink the War on Terror - Blair
London Times, 2 August
2006
If That's What Blair Really Thinks Then He Is Heading For
Even More Failure
Islamic War Against Israel
Or Islamic War Against America?
"Many in the West see the mini-war
between Israel and Hezbollah, now in its fourth week, as another episode in a tedious saga
of an Arab-Jewish conflict that began with the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, a
political version of the 'original sin'. The
conventional wisdom in the West is that the whole tale would end if Israel were to return
the occupied territories to the Palestinians, allowing them to create a state of their
own. But that analysis does not reflect the Middle Easts new realities.....The broader aspects of the Lebanon crisis are better understood in
the Middle East than in the West. For the first time, Israel is under attack from Islamist
and Arab secular radicals as 'an American proxy'. Writing
in Asharq Alawsat, a pan-Arab daily, a Syrian Cabinet minister, makes it clear that
the war in Lebanon today is between 'the forces of Islam and America, with Israel acting
as an American proxy'. Irans 'supreme guide',
Ali Khamenei, expressed a similar view this week during an audience he granted in Tehran
to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President. 'What we see in Lebanon today represents the
revolt of Muslim nations against America,' he said. 'Hezbollah is backed (by Iran and
others) because it is fighting America.' President Chávez endorsed that analysis by
calling on Muslims and non-Muslim revolutionaries to unite to 'save the human race by
finishing the US Empire'. Irans state-controlled media has said that Lebanon would
become 'the graveyard of the Bush plan for a new Middle East'.... All that is good news
for President Ahmadinejad, who claims that Sunni radicalism has reached the limits of its
capabilities in the fight against the global system led by the US and that it is now the
turn of the Shia, led by Iran, to be in the driving seat. 'Hezbollah has fought Israel
longer than all the major Arab armies combined ever did,' President Ahmadinejad told a
crowd in Tehran this week. He also promised that Muslims would soon hear 'very good news'
about the jihad against the United States. The idea of Shia leadership for the jihad was
further boosted this year when Iran took Hamas under its wings. As a branch of the global
Muslim Brotherhood movement, a Sunni outfit, Hamas has exerted its influence to win wider
support for Iranian leadership at least as a tactical choice. Many
in the Middle East are alarmed by these shifts of power and dread the prospect of the
region entering a new dark age under radical Islamist regimes."
This is just the start of a showdown between the West and The Rest
London Times, 2 August
2006
"... to say that Israel overshadows U.S. foreign policy is incorrect.
Because I think that Israel is an instrument of U.S. foreign policy. And it is being used in this particular context in the pursuit of U.S. hegemony.... I dont share the viewpoint that somehow Israel is now hijacking U.S. foreign policy and manipulating it. That position is simply incorrect.""Although Downing Street publicly
insists that Bush and Blair remain 'closely in touch' on the Iranian threat, some British
officials are privately concerned that Dick Cheney, the hardline American vice-president, is driving the
administrations policy on Iran.... One well known US weapons specialist last week
described the Iranian nuclear issue as 'the Cuban missile crisis in slow motion'....
[there are] reports in Israel that Washington
is secretly encouraging Tel Aviv to strike....
an Israeli attack would demolish the Middle Eastern peace process and provide Arab
terrorist groups with a potentially lethal recruiting tool.... what
British officials believe is a persuasive argument against a military attack: far from
encouraging Iranian reformers to rise up against their theocratic government, any form of
US intervention might unite the country behind Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the countrys
supreme leader."
Blairs loyalty tested as Bush menaces Iran
Sunday
Times, 23 January 2005
".... And the vice president today in a kind of a strange parallel statement to this declaration of freedom hinted that the Israelis may do it [attack Iran] and
in fact used language which sounds like a justification or even an encouragement for the Israelis to do it. And I happen to think that this would be very destabilizing in the region. We would be viewed as complicit. It would intensify the problems that we are already facing in manifold fashion...."In the last few days, I learned from
a credible and informed source that a former senior Labour government Minister, who
continues to be well-connected to British military and security officials, confirms that
Britain and the United States '... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year.' As we now know from similar reporting prior
to the invasion of Iraq, it's quite possible that the war planning may indeed change
repeatedly, and the war may again be postponed. In any case, it's worth noting that the
information from a former Labour Minister corroborates expert analyses suggesting that Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize the
imminent targeting of Iran before year's end.
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
OpEdNews,
23 July 2006
So What Is The Bush
Administration Really Up To? NBC's 'Meet The Press' Interview With General Clark About This (16 November 2003) - Click Here "I told the officer, when [he]
started to tell me that, I said, 'Stop, I don't want to get into anything that's
classified. Just don't tell me that information.' But I do know this, that in the gossip
circles in Washington, among the neo-conservative press, and in some of the statements
that Secretary Rumsfeld and Secretary Wolfowitz have made, there is an inclination to
extend this into Syria and maybe Lebanon. So you never know where this is headed. The administration's never
disavowed this intent." |
Economic Desperation
Why America Wants The Middle East
".... Such action could itself trigger
responses from other major powers with fundamental interests in maintaining their own
access to regional energy supplies, such as Russia and particularly China, which has huge
interests in Iran. Simultaneously, the dollar-economy would be seriously undermined, most
likely facing imminent collapse in the context of such crises. Which raises pertinent
questions about why Britain, the US and Israel are contemplating such a scenario as a
viable way of securing their interests. A glimpse of an answer lies in the fact that the
post-9/11 military geostrategy of the War on Terror does not spring from a
position of power, but rather from entirely the opposite. The global system has been
crumbling under the weight of its own unsustainability for many years now, and we are fast
approaching the convergence of multiple crises that are already interacting fatally as I
write. The peak of world oil production, of which the Bush
administration is well aware, either has already just happened, or is very close to
happening. It is a pivotal event that signals the end
of the Oil Age, for all intents and purposes, with
escalating demand placing increasing pressure on dwindling supplies. Half the world's oil
reserves are, more or less, depleted, which means that it will be technologically,
geophysically, increasingly difficult to extract conventional oil.
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
OpEdNews,
23 July 2006
"Middle Eastern oil was as essential, in 1956 as now, to the economy and security of the United States, Europe and world trade....The world community had an essential interest in the free flow of oil through the [Suez] canal. That could have been secured only by joint Anglo-American action. Eisenhower decided against such action; Dulless conduct convinced Eden that he personally was hostile and untrustworthy. The Suez Crisis was indeed the end of the [British] Empire, but it was a blunder of American policy, for which the United States is still paying a very high price."
Lord William Rees-Mogg
Suez: why I blame it on Ike
London Times, 24 July 2006
Bypassing Suez
Why America Wants Control Of Iraq, Iran, Syria, And Lebanon
Transporting Gulf Oil Directly By Pipeline To The Mediterranean
"At the beginning of the 20th Century King Edward VII ruled over a vast empire with interests in every part of the world. India became increasingly important because it was the second pillar of British power in the world. Moving the Indian army about was extremely important in extending British interests and British influence across the globe and the Suez canal was of course the quick way to do that. It's very important for the British geopolicital position to ensure the Suez canal remains safe and secure. With this aim in mind Britain had become the only European power to establish a major foothold in the Middle East, in the principalities around the Persian Gulf, in Aden, and in Egypt.... Pouring over a map of the Levant, Sykes and Picot personally drew in the areas they wished to see under their control. Their secret deal amounted to the virtual carve up of the Middle East.... [France was to have Greater Syria and] ...
the area... known as Iraq with its strategic ports, railways, and oil... was to be under British rule. ... Palestine.... was envisaged as an international zone, except for Haiffa. What the British wanted was the oil of Iraq and they concentrated on getting Iraq and getting a way from Iraq to the Meditteranian in order to transport this oil. So they got Haiffa on the Palestinian coast and they got most of Iraq. ... Unaware of these secret dealings behind their backs Hussein and Feisal proclaimed independence and in June 1916 attacked the Turkish troops... The Turkish garrason at Mecca was soon overun and the sea port at Jiddha seized... In a pincer movement Britain had launched a campaign from the south west to ensure control of the Suez canal and the Levant, and from the South East it was fighting to secure the oil wells of Iraq... In the east the Ottoman area of Messoptamia, which included the oil fields of Mossul, was given to Britain as the mandate for Iraq. ... this was basically the importance of the Sykes-Picot agreement, to divide what was called the fertile crescent between Iraq and Syria, and let Britain get access to the oil of the area and be able to exploit it in the future...."
<<<---- To USA and Europe Blue = Pre-War Iraqi Oil Transit Route To Meditteranian Via Arabian Peninsula And Suez Canal (Suez Cannot Take Largest Tankers)
Red = Post-War Potential Alternative Route Via Syria/Lebanon/Israel
Yes, Folks, It's 'Opportunity Knocks'
Capitalising On The Hot Political Temperature In The Levant
White House Promotes Escalation of Violence As It Places An Avaricious Eye On
The Middle East's Mediterranean Coast
"Rice will not leave Washington until later today, and it was clear
from her pronounced lack of urgency that President George W Bush had torn up previous
manuals for Middle East crisis intervention. The White House played down the seriousness
of the Lebanon crisis, characterising the death and destruction as the 'birth pangs of a new Middle East'. Officials argued that it was pointless to negotiate with Hezbollah and
that only its eradication could create the necessary conditions for a durable political
settlement. The crisis was 'an opportunity, not a setback', insisted one senior US official."
Hell in the Holy Lands
Sunday Times, 23
July 2006
In the last few days, I learned from
a credible and informed source that a former senior Labour government Minister, who
continues to be well-connected to British military and security officials, confirms that
Britain and the United States '... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year.' As we now know from similar reporting prior
to the invasion of Iraq, it's quite possible that the war planning may indeed change
repeatedly, and the war may again be postponed. In any case, it's worth noting that the
information from a former Labour Minister corroborates expert analyses suggesting that
Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately
escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize
the imminent targeting of Iran before year's end.
UK Govt Sources Confirm War With Iran Is On
OpEdNews,
23 July 2006
'Remaking The Middle East'
US Exploits Israel's Deep Sense Of Insecurity And Shared Need For Oil
In Its Undeclared Energy War Against China
"Israel stands to benefit greatly from the US led war on Iraq, primarily by getting rid of an implacable foe in President Saddam Hussein and the threat from the weapons of mass destruction he was alleged to possess.
But it seems the Israelis have other things in mind. An intriguing pointer to one potentially significant benefit was a report by Haaretz on 31 March that minister for national infrastructures Joseph Paritzky was considering the possibility of reopening the long-defunct oil pipeline from Mosul to the Mediterranean port of Haifa. With Israel lacking energy resources of its own and depending on highly expensive oil from Russia, reopening the pipeline would transform its economy.... All of this lends weight to the theory that Bush's war is part of a masterplan to reshape the Middle East to serve Israel's interests. Haaretz quoted Paritzky as saying that the pipeline project is economically justifiable because it would dramatically reduce Israel's energy bill. US efforts to get Iraqi oil to Israel are not surprising. Under a 1975 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the US guaranteed all Israel's oil needs in the event of a crisis. The MoU, which has been quietly renewed every five years, also committed the USA to construct and stock a supplementary strategic reserve for Israel, equivalent to some US$3bn in 2002. Special legislation was enacted to exempt Israel from restrictions on oil exports from the USA. Moreover, the USA agreed to divert oil from its home market, even if that entailed domestic shortages, and guaranteed delivery of the promised oil in its own tankers if commercial shippers were unwilling or not available to carry the crude to Israel. All of this adds up to a potentially massive financial commitment. The USA has another reason for supporting Paritzky's project: a land route for Iraqi oil direct to the Mediterranean would lessen US dependence on Gulf oil supplies. Direct access to the world's second-largest oil reserves (with the possibility of expansion through so-far untapped deposits) is an important strategic objective.""[Former Reagan Administration Assistant
Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy Frank] Gaffney cited the
growing scarcity of resources in a world with burgeoning economies and populations, such
as China as having the potential to create a 'perfect storm.' Faced with a scenario of
increasingly insatiable and expensive demands for energy, countries like the U.S. and
China could find themselves at the brink of war."
Report On The Annual Policy Forum Of The American
Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)
Washington, 6-7 December 2004
RenewableEnergyAccess.com,
14 December 2004
"The world faces the
real threat of a new conflict over oil as China competes with existing world powers for
scarce resources to feed its growing economy, according to a report published today. The State of the
World 2006, released by the Worldwatch Institute, says that last year China became the
second- largest importer of oil, after the US... While environmentalists
are concerned about the impact on the world's climate and the drain on its resources,
strategists fear that the competition for energy, particularly oil, could destabilise the
planet. According to the report, China was
nearly self-sufficient in oil in the mid-1990s. But over the past decade its consumption
has doubled and it has now overtaken Japan as the second-largest importer of oil, with 3.2
million barrels a day in 2004. It predicts that if the economies of China and India
continue to grow at their current rate, the world will not be able to produce enough oil
to meet demand by 2050, when consumption will have grown from the current 85 million
barrels a day to 200 million barrels. 'Few geologists believe that output will reach even
half those levels before beginning to decline,' the report says. As a result China
is already looking for new oil suppliers from Siberia to Sudan, often dealing with
notorious regimes, such as the junta in Burma. Of
even greater concern is the possibility that open conflict could break out between nations
competing for resources or trying to protect their supply lines, such as key trade routes,
currently patrolled by the US Navy."
'Find a couple of spare planets or face global oil war'
London Times, 12
January 2006
"A major new alliance is emerging between Iran and China
that threatens to undermine U.S. ability to pressure Tehran on its nuclear program, support for extremist groups and refusal to back Arab-Israeli
peace efforts. The relationship has grown out of China's soaring energy needs -- crude oil
imports surged nearly 40 percent in the first eight months of this year, according to
state media -- and Iran's growing appetite for consumer goods for a population that has
doubled since the 1979 revolution, Iranian officials and analysts say... Beijing has also provided Iran with advanced military
technology, including missile technology, U.S. officials say."
Iran's New Alliance With China Could Cost U.S. Leverage
Washington Post, 17 November 2005
"PNAC's [Project For The New American
Century] recommendations about how to wage the war on terrorism post-September 11, 2001,
had been taken to heart by administration hawks, particularly in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices. This began with an open letter produced by
the group on September 20, 2001, which
called for extending the anti-terrorism campaign to Iraq, whether or not Baghdad had any
role in the September 11 attacks, and siding unequivocally with Israel in its own 'war on terrorism' against
the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Indeed, PNAC - or, more
specifically, Kristol, Kagan and Schmitt - have often acted as mouthpieces for their
friends in the administration, not only with respect to the 'war on terrorism', but also on China. During the Hainan spy-plane incident in the spring of 2001, Kristol and
Kagan, apparently reflecting the views of their friends in Cheney's and Rumsfeld's offices, repeatedly attacked Secretary of State Colin Powell for his diplomatic
efforts to resolve the crisis with China quietly and the final settlement that freed the
US crew a 'national humiliation'. The three are also closely associated with other prominent
neo-conservatives, such as former Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle, whose
offices are just five floors above PNAC at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and
former Central Intelligence Agency chief James Woolsey, as well as Cheney's powerful chief
of staff, I Lewis Libby, who was general counsel for the Cox Commission that investigated alleged
Chinese theft of US military technology. They have
long argued that China represents Washington's greatest long-term threat and have
supported Taiwan's independence."
Neo-cons cry 'appeasement' over Taiwan
Asia Times, 11 December 2003
"Through
cultivation of Saddam Hussein's government, China
sought to develop some of Iraq's more promising [oil] reserves. Beijing advocated lifting the United Nations sanctions that prevented
investment in Iraq's oil patch and limited sales of its production. Then the United States went to war in Iraq in 2003, wiping out
China's stakes... In little more than a decade,
China has changed from a net exporter of oil into the world's second-largest importer,
trailing only the United States. Concern is mounting about future prospects for China's
domestic oil production, which supplies about two-thirds of the country's crude oil needs.
China's government estimates that it will need 600 million tons of crude oil a year by
2020, more than triple its expected output... 'Many people argue that oil interests are the driving force behind the Iraq war,' said Zhu Feng, a security expert at Beijing University. 'For China, it
has been a reminder and a warning about how geopolitical changes can affect its own energy
interests. So China has decided to focus much more
intently to address its security.'... 'If the world
oil stocks were exceeded by growth, who would provide energy to China?' said Shen Dingli,
an international relations expert at Fudan University, who advises the government on
security policy. 'America would protect its own energy supply. The U.S. is China's major
competitor.' Such fears involve Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China. The
United States has pledged to help Taiwan should China attack. Officials in Beijing
envision being cut off from energy supplies by the U.S. Navy in the event of war... The Iraq war substantially intensified the foreign push. Most
immediately, it destroyed China's hopes of developing large assets in Iraq... With so much competition for assets, China has pursued deals with
international pariah states that are off-limits to Western oil companies because of
sanctions, security concerns or the threat of bad publicity.... Last year, China signed a $70 billion oil and gas purchase
agreement with Iran, undercutting efforts by the United States and Europe to isolate
Teheran and force it to give up plans for nuclear weapons."
Big Shift in China's Oil Policy
Washington
Post, 13 July 2005
"The PNAC group came into the Bush
administration quite strong, but not clearly dominant. Then when 9/11 happened, they
already had these plans on the shelf, and they could immediately take them down and say,
this is how we're going to deal with the war on terror. And Bush liked that. So from that
point on the PNAC coalition became dominant. First they had to go through Afghanistan and
oust the Taliban, because of their implication in 9/11. But their
key near-term goal was ousting Saddam Hussein. You
can see that very clearly from a letter they already published on 20 September 2001. There
are different currents within the PNAC coalition which had different reasons to want to
get rid of Saddam Hussein. The classically hard-line neo-conservative current was very
regionally focussed: they believed that by ousting Hussein, you could transform the balance of power throughout the Middle East in
favour of the US, and of a so- called 'alliance', headed by Israel, but which
also included Turkey and Jordan. But there was also a current within PNAC which had a more
global vision. For them, the reason to go into Iraq was to
assert our ability to control vital resources that might be needed by any possible future
rival of the United States anywhere within Eurasia.
That might mean China, that might mean Russia, it might even mean the European Union. So for
them, going into Iraq, the country with the second largest oil reserves in the world, and
saying, 'We can come here whenever we want and no one can stop us', was a way to preemptively intimidate China, which badly needs access
to Persian Gulf oil to fuel its own development, as
well as other potential rivals. Both these currents could very easily come together over
Iraq.... [now] there's an election coming up, and in order to regain some of its fast
falling popularity, the administration has to show greater moderation. So the result is a
relative moderation of US foreign policy. The question is, is that moderation just
tactical? And then, if Bush wins in November, the PNAC crowd will reemerge, revived and
reunited, and ready to take on Iran, Syria, Saudi
Arabia and China?"
Jim Lobe, Inter Press correspondent Washington DC
Al-Ahram Weekly, 15 April 2004
The US-China Oil Syndrome
Local Conflicts Escalating Into 'Something Bigger'
"The U.S. and
China, the world's top two oil consuming nations, must work together to avoid a
competition for foreign supplies that might lead to military conflict, U.S. Senator Joseph
Lieberman said.... China's demand for oil is forecast to grow 2.9 percent a year between
now and 2025, and U.S. demand will grow 1.5 percent a year. Efforts by each nation to use
imports to meet growing demand may escalate competition for oil to something 'as hot and
dangerous' as the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and Soviet Union, Lieberman, 63, said
in a speech today in Washington.... 'There is a problem because China, like the United
States, is tying its energy deals to military assistance,' said Michael Klare, author of
'Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on
Imported Petroleum.' 'In the short term, it's more a case of stirring up local conflicts, where the U.S. and China are competing
for the loyalty of oil producing countries [Note:
and access to transit routes to open seas such as the Mediterranean], but that does have a tendency over time to escalate
into something bigger,' said Klare, a professor at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts."
U.S., China Must Cooperate or Risk Oil Conflict, Lieberman Says
Bloomberg,
30 November 2005
Israel As Cheney Pawn In The Real Struggle Against China For Control Of The Middle East And Central Asia - Click Here |
The Israeli People Need To Wake Up
To The Fact That They Are Being Used By Cheney And Rumsfeld
"White House officials said President Bush remains opposed to an immediate cease-fire to stop violence
in the Middle East, despite personal pleas from ally
Saudi Arabia that he help stop the bloodshed. Saudi King Abdullah beseeched Bush to
intervene in Israels military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the death
toll is approaching 400 after less than two weeks of bombing. Abdullahs request was
hand-delivered to Bush by Saudi officials who requested a meeting Sunday at the White
House.... The Bush administration has refused to
press for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict.
'Our position on an immediate cease-fire is well known and has not changed, said
White House national security spokesman Frederick Jones..... In recent weeks, the
Bush administration has blamed Syria, along with Iran, for stoking the recent violence by encouraging Hezbollah to attack
northern Israel."
Bush opposed to cease-fire in Lebanon
Associated Press,
24 July 2006
"According to a well-worn script that Israel has grown accustomed to over the years, the arrival of the US secretary of state during wartime means an end to Israeli military advances. But this time the script is different. Condoleezza Rice, who arrived here Monday evening for a 24-hour visit, is not expected to dictate a cease-fire to Israel. She said as much over the weekend... there is more than just pro-Israel sentiment to Washington's giving Jerusalem a longer military grace period than ever before. Bush is keen on providing Israel more time to pound Hizbullah because while this serves Israel's interests,
it also serves America's goals."And Just What Are Those Goals?
From The Oil Fields Of Iraq And Iran To The Mediterranean Coast
They Are Little Different To Great Britain's In The Previous Century
"At the beginning of the 20th Century
King Edward VII ruled over a vast empire with interests in every part of the world. India
became increasingly important because it was the second pillar of British power in the
world. Moving the Indian army about was extremely important in extending British interests
and British influence across the globe and the Suez canal was of course the quick way to
do that. It's very important for the British geopolicital position to ensure
the Suez canal remains safe and secure. With this aim in mind Britain had become the only
European power to establish a major foothold in the Middle East, in the principalities
around the Persian Gulf, in Aden, and in Egypt.... Pouring over a map of the Levant, Sykes and Picot personally drew in
the areas they wished to see under their control. Their secret deal amounted to the
virtual carve up of the Middle East.... [France was to have Greater Syria and] ... the area... known as Iraq with its strategic ports, railways, and
oil... was to be under British rule. ... Palestine.... was envisaged as an
international zone, except for Haiffa. What the British wanted was the oil of Iraq and
they concentrated on getting Iraq and getting a way from Iraq
to the Meditteranian in order to transport this oil. So they got Haiffa on the Palestinian
coast and they got most of Iraq. ... Unaware of these secret dealings behind their backs Hussein and Feisal
proclaimed independence and in June 1916 attacked the Turkish troops... The Turkish
garrason at Mecca was soon overun and the sea port at Jiddha seized... In a pincer
movement Britain had launched a campaign from the south west to
ensure control of the Suez canal and the Levant,
and from the South East it was fighting to secure the oil wells of Iraq... In the east the Ottoman area
of Messoptamia, which included the oil fields of Mossul, was given to Britain as the
mandate for Iraq. ... this was basically the importance of the Sykes-Picot
agreement, to divide what was called the fertile crescent between Iraq and Syria, and let
Britain get access to the oil of the area and be able to exploit it in the future...."
Promises & Betrayals
The History Channel & Gulf Research Center
Content Productions 2002
Broadcast Monday 14th March 2005 on History
Channel - 53 Minutes
"As I went back through the Pentagon
in November 2001, one of the senior military staff officers had time for a chat. Yes, we
were still on track for going against Iraq, he said. But there was more. This was being discussed as part of a five-year campaign plan, he said, and there were a total of
seven countries, beginning with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Iran, Somalia and Sudan [Note: all of which border existing
or potential oil shipping routes for Persian Gulf oil]....
He said it with reproach--with disbelief, almost--at the breadth of the vision. I moved
the conversation away, for this was not something I wanted to hear. And it was not
something I wanted to see moving forward, either....I left the Pentagon that afternoon
deeply concerned."
General Wesley Clark
'Winning Modern Wars', p 130
In the last few days, I learned from a credible and informed source that a former senior Labour government Minister, who continues to be well-connected to British military and security officials, confirms that Britain and the United States '... will go to war with Iran before the end of the year.' As we now know from similar reporting prior to the invasion of Iraq, it's quite possible that the war planning may indeed change repeatedly, and the war may again be postponed. In any case, it's worth noting that the information from a former Labour Minister corroborates expert analyses suggesting that Israel, with US and British support, is deliberately escalating the cycle of retaliation to legitimize the imminent targeting of Iran before year's end. Let us remind ourselves, for instance, of US Vice President Cheney's assertions recorded on MSNBC over a year ago. He described Iran as being right at the top of the list o