Geopolitics

Chaos and War

"Iraq and Afghanistan were the only hot spots and Iran was the only major country where long-term stability could be seriously questioned. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict was raging, as always. But in contrast to the new wars elsewhere, that six-decades-old conflict was such a known quantity one would be hard pressed to argue that it was a significant destabilizing factor for the region. Bottom line: Two, maybe three, conflicts to seriously worry about. Moderate impact on the major world powers. No broad threat to the global economy. High hopes for future long-term stability. Now, fast-forward to the last day of August, 2013, and look how dramatically the picture has changed." Continue reading →

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25 Quotes About The Coming War With Syria That Every American Should See

"What good would 'a shot across Syria's bow' actually do? A 'limited strike' is not going to bring down the Assad regime and it is certainly not going to end the bloody civil war that has been raging inside Syria. The al-Qaeda affiliated rebels that would take power would almost certainly be even worse than Assad. Even in the midst of this bloody civil war, the rebels have taken the time and the effort to massacre entire Christian villages. Why is Barack Obama so obsessed with helping such monsters? There is no good outcome in Syria. The Assad regime is absolutely horrible and the rebels are even worse. Why would we want the U.S. military to get involved in such a mess?" Continue reading →

Continue Reading25 Quotes About The Coming War With Syria That Every American Should See

Paul Craig Roberts: America Totally Discredited

"Tthe United States government has lost its credibility throughout the world and will never regain it, unless the Bush and Obama regimes are arrested and put on trial for their war crimes. Obama’s destruction of US credibility goes far beyond diplomacy. It is likely that this autumn or winter, and almost certainly in 2014, the US will face severe economic crisis. When the proverbial hits the fan, the incompetent and corrupt Federal Reserve and the incompetent and corrupt US Treasury will have no more credibility than Obama and John Kerry. How long will it be before American citizens are shot down in their streets by 'their' government as occurs frequently in Washington’s close allies in Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: America Totally Discredited

Will Boehner Stop Our Rogue President?

"Why this rush to war? Why the hysteria? Why the panic? Syria and Assad will still be there two weeks from now or a month from now, and we will know far more then about what happened last week. Understandably, Obama wants to get the egg off his face from having foolishly drawn his 'red line' against chemical weapons, and then watching Syria, allegedly, defy His Majesty. But saving Obama’s face does not justify plunging his country into another Mideast war. Does Obama realize what a fool history will make of him if he is stampeded into a new war by propaganda that turns out to be yet another stew of ideological zealotry and mendacity?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Boehner Stop Our Rogue President?

David Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!

"Could the attack trigger a quick and violent sympathetic public uprising in Saudi Arabia, sending the Saud family on the run and oil prices to $200 or more? In terms of consequences of a less violent nature, what if the Russians and the Chinese, the latter being Syria's largest trading partner, decided to protest by dumping some of the massive amount of US dollars they hold? I could go on, but won't. Instead, I'll leave off by saying that, given the risks vs. the rewards of yet another Western attack on the Middle East, I personally couldn't be more opposed to it. Hopefully there are enough people in what's left of the degraded Western democracies who feel the same way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: Mexico Invades Syria!

Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

[April 2013] "China, Russia and four Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - formed the SCO in 2001 as a regional security bloc to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan. Ankara began talks on joining the EU in 2005 but has only completed one of the 35 policy areas, or 'chapters', every candidate must conclude to be allowed entry due to disagreements largely over the divided island of Cyprus. While China vies with Russia and the West for access to Central Asia's vast natural resources, some analysts view the SCO as a potential counter-balance to NATO." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The Syria Endgame: Strategic Stage in the Pentagon’s Covert War on Iran

"Regime change in Damascus is not the only or main way for the US and its allies to prevent Syria from standing with Iran. Destabilizing Syria and neutralizing it as a failed and divided state is the key. Sectarian fighting is not a haphazard outcome of the instability in Syria, but an assisted project that the US and its allies have steadily fomented with a clear intent to balkanize the Syrian Arab Republic. Regionally, Israel above all other states has a major stake in securing this outcome. The Israelis actually have several publicly available documents, including the Yinon Plan, which outline that the destruction of Syria into a series of smaller sectarian states is one of their strategic objectives." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Syria Endgame: Strategic Stage in the Pentagon’s Covert War on Iran

Murray Rothbard: Fighting for Oil? [1990]

"The U.S., by its embargo, blockade, and continuing threats of war, has already managed to raise the price of crude to $40 a barrel! In fact, it would be more plausible to suppose that the aim of the massive Bush intervention has been to raise the price of oil, not to lower it. And considering Mr. Bush's vice presidential visit to Saudi Arabia specifically to urge them to raise prices, his long-time connections with Texas oil and with Big Oil generally, as well as Texas's slump in recent years, this hunch begins to look all too credible." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMurray Rothbard: Fighting for Oil? [1990]

Glenn Greenwald: David Frum, the Iraq war and oil

"Wars rarely have one clear and singular purpose, and the Iraq War in particular was driven by different agendas prioritized by different factions. To say it was fought exclusively due to oil is an oversimplification. But the fact that oil is a major factor in every Western military action in the Middle East is so self-evident that it's astonishing that it's even considered debatable, let alone some fringe and edgy idea. Yet few claims were more stigmatized in the run-up to the Iraq War, and after, than the view that oil was a substantial factor. In 2006, George Bush instructed us that there was a 'responsible' way to criticize the US war effort in Iraq, and an 'irresponsible' way to do so, and he helpfully defined the boundaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: David Frum, the Iraq war and oil