Geopolitics

Why the US is Really Chasing War With Syria

"Global markets rallied overnight on hopes that a conflict may be avoided if Syria gives up its chemical weapons. If that’s the case, it’s a rally that will fade later in the week. That’s because the ongoing Syrian conflict has nothing to do with chemical weapons. It’s all about regime change, which is all about natural gas and pipelines. But this is not just ‘another’ Middle Eastern conflict. It’s much deeper, subtler, and potentially far more dangerous than preceding conflicts. As we’ll attempt to explain, the situation in Syria is a direct result of the relative decline of US imperial power." Continue reading →

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An Inflection Point for US Global Hegemony?

"If there were ever reasons for other global actors to decide it is time to rid themselves of connections to the American state, it would seem now is as good a time as any. So again, what does this have to do with Syria? Syria offers an opportunity to get a peek at the answer to the question: will these non-Anglo power centers fall in line, or will they stand tall? Does the Anglo-American elite have the strings of the Chinese and Russian leaders (and the rest) or are the political leaders in these countries in a position to take a different path? In other words, this affair in Syria offers the possibility of a real inflection point in the big-game of global elite control." Continue reading →

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Pepe Escobar: Dogs of war versus the emerging caravan

"Not even the ghost of Machiavelli would come up with an adjective to describe the whole planet waiting in disbelief to see whether the almost universally despised House of Representatives (15% approval rating, according to RealClearPolitics) decides, Roman Empire style, to give the thumbs down and authorize the bombing of one of the oldest cities in humanity (well, they have an illustrious precedent of applauding Shock and Awe over Baghdad, which topped the Mongols going medieval in the 13th century). And all this against the will of the 'American people' who, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll support this folly by an overwhelming 9%. Yes We Bomb. But what for?" Continue reading →

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Three major fault lines in Syria! Will they explode?

"Fault line #1 is the millennial conflict between Shia and Sunni, dating back to the death of Muhammad in the year 632. Fault line #2 is the battle between Muslim fundamentalism and modernism, between those who seek a return to the Middle Ages and those who wish to move forward into the Third Millennium. Fault line #3 is the biggest of all, also cutting through Syria. I’m talking about the West vs. the East, especially the U.S. and Western Europe against Russia and China. In sum, today’s Syria is both the metaphor and the crossroads for multidimensional political and economic earthquakes that can reverberate across most of the region and much of the world." Continue reading →

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Kerry: Arab countries offered to pay for Syria invasion

"Secretary of State John Kerry said at Wednesday’s hearing that Arab counties have offered to pay for the entirety of unseating President Bashar al-Assad if the United States took the lead militarily. 'With respect to Arab countries offering to bear costs and to assess, the answer is profoundly yes,' Kerry said. 'They have. That offer is on the table.' Asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) about how much those countries would contribute, Kerry said they have offered to pay for all of a full invasion. 'In fact, some of them have said that if the United States is prepared to go do the whole thing the way we’ve done it previously in other places, they’ll carry that cost,' Kerry said." Continue reading →

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Eric Margolis: Syrian March To Disaster

"Politicians invoke credibility as a excuse after they have made a huge blunder –notably Obama’s foolish 'red lines' in Syria that boxed the president into a corner of his own making. What we are seeing is the latest, 21st century version of the new era of colonialism and imperialism, with a touch of Crusader zeal thrown in. Today, the favored euphemism is humanitarian intervention, but the song remains the same. Syria is not about poison gas or human rights: it’s about a proxy war against Iran, the only nation now challenging total US and Israel military domination of the Mideast. For France, it’s about reasserting its former colonial rule in Syria and Lebanon." Continue reading →

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America’s Energy Boom and the Rising U.S. Dollar

"The petrodollar regime--that oil is bought and sold globally in U.S. dollars--is easy to understand. It boils down to these two principles: 1. Petroleum is the lifeblood of the global economy. 2. Any nation that can print its own currency and trade the conjured money for oil has an extraordinary advantage over nations that cannot trade freshly created money for oil. This is why many analysts trace much of America's foreign policy back to defending the petrodollar regime. In the normal course of things, anyone printing money in quantity would soon find the conjured currency bought fewer and fewer barrels of oil." Continue reading →

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Putin: Syria chemical attack is ‘rebels’ provocation in hope of intervention’

"The alleged chemical weapons use in Syria is a provocation carried out by the rebels to attract a foreign-led strike, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the G20 summit. There was no 50/50 split of opinion on the notion of a military strike against the Syrian President Bashar Assad, Putin stressed refuting earlier assumptions. Only Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France joined the US push for intervention, he said, adding that the UK Prime Minister’s position was not supported by his citizens. Russia, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Italy were among the major world’s economies clearly opposed to military intervention." Continue reading →

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Max Keiser’s Marshmallow Gun of Truth: Think Tank

"Abby Martin talks to Max Keiser, host of RT's 'Keiser Report' about everything from why a supposedly broke country always has money for war, and the often illogical outcomes of important events, citing Halliburton stocks rising following revelations of the company's criminality." Continue reading →

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Iranian Military Chief: ‘We Will Support Syria To The End’

"Iran will support Syria 'until the end' in the face of possible US-led military strikes, the chief of Iran's elite Quds Force unit was quoted Thursday by the media as saying. Iran is Syria's main regional ally and some analysts believe a wider goal of US President Barack Obama's determination to launch a strike against the Damascus regime is to blunt Tehran's growing regional influence and any consequent threat to Washington ally Israel. President Hassan Rowhani said Iran will do 'everything to prevent' an attack on the Syrian regime, according to extracts from statements he made before the Assembly of Experts published in the media." Continue reading →

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