GM recently decided to pause Cruise robotaxi operations in 4 cities and then pause production altogether.  26 American labor organizations say that’s not enough....
https://www.activistpost.com/2023/11/26-labor-organizations-tell-u-s-dot-and-nhtsa-to-immediately-end-the-operation-of-autonomous-vehicles-on-american-roads.html

A Planned US-Israeli Attack on Iran is Contemplated
The U.S. led War on the People of Palestine and the Middle East is a Criminal Undertaking


Introduction

We stand in Solidarity with Palestine. But we must recognize that the United States Military and Intelligence apparatus is firmly behind Israel’s genocide directed against the People of Palestine.

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And this must be part of the solidarity campaign, namely to Reveal the Truth regarding Washington’s insidious role, which is part of a carefully planned military agenda directed against Palestine and the broader Middle East. Netanyahu is a proxy, with a criminal record. He has the unbending support of Western Europe’s “Classe politique”.

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The U.S. led War on the People of Palestine and the Middle East is a Criminal Undertaking

Israel and the Zionist lobby in the U.S. are NOT exerting undue influence AGAINST U.S. Foreign Policy as outlined by numerous analysts.

Quite the opposite. The Zionist lobby is firmly aligned with U.S. foreign policy, and Vice Versa. It targets those who are opposed to war, who call for a cease fire. It exerts influence in favour of the conduct of the U.S. military agenda in support of Israel.



The US military-intelligence establishment in coordination with powerful financial interests is calling the shots in regards to Israel’s genocidal intent to “Wipe Palestine off the Map”.

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America’s Military Doctrine: Deliberately Targeting and Killing Civilians

The targeting of civilians and the killing of children in Gaza is modelled on numerous US sponsored massacres of civilians (1945-2023) including the 2004 attack on Fallujah. (More than 30 Million mainly civilian deaths in US-led wars in what is euphemistically called the “post War Era”).
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Veteran War correspondent Felicity Arbuthnot reflected on the indescribable barbarity of the 2004 Fallujah massacre, which resulted in countless deaths and destruction. It was a genocide conducted by the U.S military:
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“The Americans invaded, chillingly: “house to house, room to room”, raining death and destruction on the proud, ancient “City of Mosques.”

Marines killed so many civilians that the municipal soccer stadium had to be turned into a graveyard …

One correspondent wrote: “There has been nothing like the attack on Fallujah since the Nazi invasion and occupation of much of the European continent – the shelling and bombing of Warsaw in September 1939, the terror bombing of Rotterdam in May 1940.”



Fallujah, 2004

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The U.S. is supportive of the Israeli genocide directed against the people of Palestine. Prime Minister Netanyahu is a criminal. He is Washington’s proxy, unreservedly endorsed and supported by the Biden Administration as well as the U.S. Congress.

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Zionism constitutes the ideological underpinnings of contemporary U.S. imperialism and its unending war against the people of the Middle East.

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The Zionist “Greater Israel” dogma –as in all wars of religion since the dawn of mankind– is there to mislead people Worldwide as to “who is really pulling the strings”.

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Zionism has become a useful instrument which is embodied in U.S. military doctrine. The “Promised Land” broadly coincides with America’s hegemonic agenda in the Middle East, namely what the U.S. military has designated as the “New Middle East”.

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Cui Bono: “To Whom Does it Benefit”

There are strategic, geopolitical and economic objectives behind Israel’s genocide directed against the people of Palestine. “Crimes are often committed to benefit their perpetrators”: Israel’s War against the People of Palestine serves the interests of Big Money, the Military Industrial Complex, Corrupt Politicians…

The Genocide is implemented by Netanyahu on behalf of the United States.

The US military and intelligence apparatus are behind Israel’s criminal bombing and invasion of Gaza. The unfolding Middle East War is largely directed against Iran.

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Iran and the Nuclear Issue

Historical Antecedents. Using Israel As a Means to Attacking Iran

In 2003, the war on Iran project (Operation Theatre Iran Near Term, TIRANNT)) was already Déjà Vu. It had been on the drawing board of the Pentagon for more than 15 years.

Let us recall that at the outset of Bush’s Second Term, Vice President Dick Cheney dropped a bombshell, hinting, in no uncertain terms, that Iran was “right at the top of the list” of the rogue enemies of America. And that Israel would, so to speak,

“be doing the bombing for us” [paraphrase] , without US military involvement and without us putting pressure on them “to do it”. For further details see my article below was first published by Global Research in May 2005, as well as PBS Interview with Z. Brzezinski

This Dick Cheney-style option is currently (November 2023) once more on the drawing board of the Pentagon, namely the possibility that Israel which is already bombing Lebanon and Syria, would be incited to wage an attack on Iran (acting on behalf of the United States).

US Congress Resolution (H. RES. 559) Accuses Iran of Possessing Nuclear Weapons

Careful timing: In June 2023, the US House of Representatives adopted Resolution (H. RES. 559) which provides a “Green Light” to wage war on Iran.

The US House passed a resolution that allows the use of force against Iran, intimating without a shred of evidence that Iran has Nuclear Weapons:

Resolved, That the House of Representatives declares it is the policy of the United States—

(1) that a nuclear Islamic Republic of Iran is not acceptable;

(2) that Iran must not be able to obtain a nuclear weapon under any circumstances or conditions;

(3) to use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon; and

(4) to recognize and support the freedom of action of partners and allies, including Israel, to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Click below to access the complete text of H. RES 559



Israel’s Undeclared Nuclear Weapons Arsenal

Whereas Iran is tagged (without evidence) as a Nuclear Power by the U.S. House of Representatives, Washington fails to acknowledge that Israel is an undeclared nuclear power.

In recent developments, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, “admitted to the world that Israel has nuclear weapons ready to be used against Palestinians”

The Times of Israel reported that: “Amichai Eliyahu said Sunday [November 5, 2023] that one of Israel’s options in the war against Hamas was to drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip”

Video on Israel’s Nuclear Weapons Facility

English subtitles



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The War on Energy

Unspoken Objective of a US-NATO-Israel War against Iran: Natural Gas

Reserves of Natural Gas: Iran ranks Second after Russia. Russia, Iran and Qatar possess 54.1 percent of the World’s reserves of natural gas.

-Russia 24.3%,

-Iran 17.3%,

-Qatar, 12.5 % (in partnership with Iran)

versus

-5.3 % for the US

President Joe Biden ordered to “blow up” (September 2022) the Nordstream Pipeline, which constitutes a U.S. Act of War against the European Union.

In the words of Joe Biden:

“There will be no longer a Nord Stream 2”. Statement at White House Press Conference (February 7, 2022)

America’s strategic objective was, despite its meagre reserves of natural gas:

To Force the European Union to buy LNG “Made in America”.

What this implies is that America’s military agenda against Russia and Iran constitutes a means to hike up EU energy prices, which is an act economic warfare against the People of Europe.






The Iran-Qatar Natural Gas Partnership

The maritime gas reserves of the Persian Gulf are under a (joint ownership) partnership between Qatar and Iran (See diagram below).





The Biden Administration is Intent upon Destabilizing the Iran-Qatar Partnership

This partnership is supportive of the People of Palestine.

In March 2022, “President Joe Biden following a meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheik Tamim “designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, fulfilling the promise that he had made to Qatar earlier this year [2022], the White House said” Reuters



“The designation is granted by the United States to close, non-NATO allies that have strategic working relationships with the U.S. military.

Biden promised Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in January [2022] during a meeting at the White House that he would grant Qatar the special status.” Reuters See also followup Reuters article.

What is at stake are cross-cutting coalitions. Qatar is a “Partner” of Iran in relation to the strategic reserves of maritime gas in the Persian Gulf. There is no formaI military cooperation between the two countries.

Washington’s unspoken agenda is to break and/or destabilize Qatar’s Partnership with Iran, by integrating Qatar into the US-NATO military orbit.

It is worth noting that a few days prior to the October 7, 2023 Hamas operation, the Emir of Qatar Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani “laid the foundation stone for the Northern Dome expansion project” in Iran’s Pars South Field (See map above).

“the Emir of Qatar said the groundbreaking for the Northern Dome expansion project was laid today, which is in line with Qatar’s strategy to strengthen its position as a global LNG producer …

This joint gas field, known as “South Pars” in Iran, is the largest natural gas field in the world and contains 50.97 trillion cubic meters of gas and about 7.9 billion cubic meters of natural gas condensate.

At the time of writing, the implications of Qatar’s “Special Status” Military Alliance with the U.S. remain unclear.

America’s Al-Udeid military base in Qatar (left) is the largest US base in the Middle East.

Have the status and functions of Al Udeid changed since the signing of the March 2022 agreement designating Qatar as a “Major Non NATO Ally of the US”

Qatar is both A Partner of Iran as well as a Major Non NATO Ally of the U.S. Reports confirm the development of a close relationship between the commanders of the US Air Force and the Qatari Emiri Air Force.

Qatar is a “Powder Keg”?

The U.S. foreign policy objective is to ultimately destroy and undermine that “friendship” with Iran which is highly valued and supported by Qatari citizens.

The export of gas from South Pars North Dome transits through Iran, Turkey and Russia.

Qatar, Russia and Iran (the 3 largest holders Worldwide of natural gas reserves) reached an agreement in 2009 to create a ‘Gas Troika’, a trilateral gas cooperation entity including the development of joint projects.

A large number of countries including South Korea, India, Japan, China are importing LNG from Qatar.

Last year (November 2022), “QatarEnergy signed a 27-year deal to supply China’s Sinopec with liquefied natural gas”. Qatar has also a strategic alliance with China.

Washington’s objective under the disguise of America’s “Major Non-NATO Alliance” with Qatar is to:

Break the Qatar-Iran Partnership
Exclude Iran from the Joint Maritime Gas Field
Exert US Control over the Maritime Gas Field in the Persian Gulf
Weaken and Disable the “Gas Troika” (Russia, Iran, Qatar)
Create Chaos in the Global Energy Market,
Undermine the Trade in Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to Numerous Countries
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Iran. Third Largest Reserves of Oil Worldwide

Iran is not only second in terms of its gas reserves after Russia, it ranks third Worldwide in relation to its oil reserves (12% of Worldwide oil reserves) versus a meagre 4% for the U.S.








The Ben Gurion Canal Project

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U.S. Seeks Dominance over Strategic International Waterways

The Ben Gurion Canal Project was initially a “secret” (classified) U.S. project formulated in 1963 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory LLNG, a strategic think tank (focussing on nuclear radiation) on contract with the U.S Department of Energy. The LLNG project was formulated in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal in July 1956 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1956-1970). Its intent was to bypass the Suez Canal.

The Ben Gurion Canal project is currently contemplated as means control the channels of international maritime trade to the detriment of the people of the Middle East. It also seeks to destabilize China’s maritime commodity trade.



In the context of the broader US-led Middle East War, the Ben Gurion Canal Project is part of America’s hegemonic military agenda. It is consistent with Netanyahu’s “Plan to Wipe Palestine Off the Map”.

According to Yvonne Ridley:

“The only thing stopping the newly-revised [Ben Gurion Canal] project from being revived and rubber-stamped is the presence of the Palestinians in Gaza. As far as Netanyahu is concerned they are standing in the way of the project” (Yvonne Ridley, November 10, 2023, emphasis added)

The U.S led war is intent upon confiscating all Palestinian territories, which would be appropriated by the State of Israel, acting as a strategic “Anglo-American Hub” in the Middle East:

The Ben Gurion Canal will give Israel in particular and other friendly nations the freedom from blackmail arising out of access to the Suez Canal.

Arab states have been leveraging the Red Sea to pressure Israel and in response, Israel has decided to gain more control of the Red Sea. These African countries have cultural and economic affinities with the Arab states. One of the main military benefits for Israel is that it gives Israel the strategic options as the Ben Gurion Canal will totally take away the importance of Suez for the US military if needed in the aid for Israel.

Israel aims to push Egypt further into a corner by eliminating Suez in the global trade and energy corridor and becoming a global trade and energy logistics center.

Experts are of the opinion that this situation will shake the strategic-energy balance of China’s Belt and Road Project initiative in the Mediterranean, along with the Strait of Hormuz, which is the transfer point of 30 percent of the world’s energy. The Ben Gurion Canal would have the solid backing of the West. (Eurasia Review, November 7, 2023, emphasis added)

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“Greater Israel”.

Strategic “Anglo-American Hub”

The Promised Land of Greater Israel coincides with America’s Colonial Design in the Middle East

The Greater Israel design is not strictly a Zionist Project for the Middle East, it is an integral part of US foreign policy, its strategic objective is to extend US hegemony as well as fracture and balkanize the Middle East.

In this regard, Washington’s strategy consists in destabilizing and weakening regional economic powers in the Middle East including Turkey and Iran. This policy –which is consistent with the Greater Israel– is accompanied by a process of political fragmentation.



Since the Gulf war (1991), the Pentagon has contemplated the creation of a “Free Kurdistan” which would include the annexation of parts of Iraq, Syria and Iran as well as Turkey



“The New Middle East”: Unofficial US Military Academy Map by Lt. Col. Ralph Peters

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“America’s Promised Land”. Global Warfare

When viewed in the current context, including the siege on Gaza, the Zionist Plan for the Middle East coincides with America’s long war against the Middle East. As we mentioned earlier the Zionist agenda provides an ideological and religious justification of America’s long war against the Middle East.

The 1979-80. the so-called Soviet Afghan War, engineered by the CIA
The 1980-88 Iraq-Iran War engineered by the U.S.
The 1991 Gulf War against Iraq,
The 2001 The US-NATO Invasion of Afghanistan,
The 2003 Invasion of Iraq
The 2006 War on Lebanon,
The Arab Spring,
The 2011 war on Libya,
The 2015 war on Yemen
Obama’s 2014-2017 “Counter-Terrorism” Operation against Iraq and Syria
The ongoing wars against Syria, Iraq and Yemen
The “Greater Israel” project consists in weakening and eventually fracturing neighboring Arab states as part of a US-Israeli expansionist project, with the support of NATO.

Needless to day, the ideological and religious underpinnings of the “Greater Israel” project are consistent with America’s imperial design.

While the Zionist agenda is not the driving force, it serves the useful purpose of misleading public opinion concerning America’s long war against the people of the Middle East.

The Historical Context: A Sequence of Military Plans and Scenarios to Wage War on Iran

Since the launching of the Theater Iran Near Term (TIRANNT) war games scenario in May 2003 (leaked classified doc), an escalation scenario involving military action directed against Iran and Syria had been envisaged, of which Syria was the first stage.

TIRANNT was followed by a series of military plans pertaining to Iran. Numerous post 9/11 official statements and US military documents had pointed to an expanded Middle East war, involving the active participation of Israel.

Israel is America’s ally. Military operations are closely coordinated. Israel does not act without Washington’s approval.

U.S.-Israeli Air Defense

Barely acknowledged by the media, the US and Israel have an integrated air defense system, which was set up in early 2009, shortly after the Israel invasion of Gaza under “Operation Cast Led”.

The X-band radar air defense system set up by the US in Israel in 2009 would

“integrate Israel’s missile defenses with the U.S. global missile detection network, which includes satellites, Aegis ships on the Mediterranean, Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and land-based Patriot radars and interceptors.” (Sen. Joseph Azzolina, Protecting Israel from Iran’s missiles, Bayshore News, December 26, 2008). )

What this means is that Washington calls the shots. Confirmed by the Pentagon, the US military controls Israel’s Air Defense:

”This is and will remain a U.S. radar system,’ Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

‘So this is not something we are giving or selling to the Israelis and it is something that will likely require U.S. personnel on-site to operate.’” (Quoted in Israel National News, January 9, 2009, emphasis added).

At the outset of Obama’s Second Term, the US and Israel initiated discussions pertaining to a “US personnel on site” presence in Israel, namely the establishment of a “permanent” and “official” military base inside Israel.

And on September 17, 2017, a US Air Defense base located in the Negev desert was inaugurated.

According to the Israeli IDF spokesperson, the objective is to send a “message to the region, ” including Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.

Of utmost relevance:

Israel would not be able to act unilaterally against Iran, without a green light from the Pentagon which controls key components of Israel’s air defense system.

In practice, a war on Iran, would be a joint US-NATO-Israeli endeavor, coordinated by US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with America’s allies playing a key (subordinate) role.

Michel Chossudovsky, October 31, 2017, November 11, 2023

Planned US-Israeli Attack on Iran

by

Michel Chossudovsky

May 2005

At the outset of Bush’s second term, Vice President Dick Cheney dropped a bombshell. He hinted, in no uncertain terms, that Iran was “right at the top of the list” of the rogue enemies of America, and that Israel would, so to speak, “be doing the bombing for us”, without US military involvement and without us putting pressure on them “to do it”:

“One of the concerns people have is that Israel might do it without being asked… Given the fact that Iran has a stated policy that their objective is the destruction of Israel, the Israelis might well decide to act first, and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards,” (quoted from an MSNBC Interview Jan 2005)

Israel is a Rottweiler on a leash: The US wants to “set Israel loose” to attack Iran. Commenting the Vice President’s assertion, former National Security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski in an interview on PBS, confirmed with some apprehension, yes: Cheney wants Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to act on America’s behalf and “do it” for us:

“Iran I think is more ambiguous. And there the issue is certainly not tyranny; it’s nuclear weapons. 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 and in fact used language which sounds like a justification or even an encouragement for the Israelis to do it.”

The foregoing statements are misleading. The US is not “encouraging Israel”. What we are dealing with is a joint US-Israeli military operation to bomb Iran, which has been in the active planning stage for more than a year. The Neocons in the Defense Department, under Douglas Feith, have been working assiduously with their Israeli military and intelligence counterparts, carefully identifying targets inside Iran (see Seymour Hersh)

Under this working arrangement, Israel will not act unilaterally, without a green light from Washington. In other words, Israel will not implement an attack without the participation of the US.

Covert Intelligence Operations: Stirring Ethnic Tensions in Iran

Meanwhile, for the last two years, Washington has been involved in covert intelligence operations inside Iran. American and British intelligence and special forces (working with their Israeli counterparts) are involved in this operation.

“A British intelligence official said that any campaign against Iran would not be a ground war like the one in Iraq. The Americans will use different tactics, said the intelligence officer. ‘It is getting quite scary.'” (Evening Standard, 17 June 2003)

The expectation is that a US-Israeli bombing raid of Iran’s nuclear facilities will stir up ethnic tensions and trigger “regime change” in favor of the US. (See Arab Monitor).

Bush advisers believe that the “Iranian opposition movement” will unseat the Mullahs. This assessment constitutes a gross misjudgment of social forces inside Iran. What is more likely to occur is that Iranians will consistently rally behind a wartime government against foreign aggression. In fact, the entire Middle East and beyond would rise up against US interventionism.

Retaliation in the Case of a US-Israeli Aerial Attack

Tehran has confirmed that it will retaliate if attacked, in the form of ballistic missile strikes directed against Israel (CNN, 8 Feb 2005). These attacks, could also target US military facilities in the Persian Gulf, which would immediately lead us into a scenario of military escalation and all out war.

In other words, the air strikes against Iran could contribute to unleashing a war in the broader Middle East Central Asian region.

Moreover, the planned attack on Iran should also be understood in relation to the timely withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, which has opened up a new space, for the deployment of Israeli forces. The participation of Turkey in the US-Israeli military operation is also a factor, following an agreement reached between Ankara and Tel Aviv.

In other words, US and Israeli military planners must carefully weigh the far-reaching implications of their actions.

Israel Builds up its Stockpile of Deadly Military Hardware

A massive buildup in military hardware has occurred in preparation for a possible attack on Iran.

Israel has recently taken delivery from the US of some 5,000 “smart air launched weapons” including some 500 BLU 109 ‘bunker-buster bombs. The (uranium coated) munitions are said to be more than “adequate to address the full range of Iranian targets, with the possible exception of the buried facility at Natanz, which may require the [more powerful] BLU-113 bunker buster“:

“Given Israel’s already substantial holdings of such weapons, this increase in its inventory would allow a sustained assault with or without further US involvement.” (See Richard Bennett)

Gbu 28 Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28)

The Israeli Air Force would attack Iran’s nuclear facility at Bushehr using US as well Israeli produced bunker buster bombs. The attack would be carried out in three separate waves “with the radar and communications jamming protection being provided by U.S. Air Force AWACS and other U.S. aircraft in the area”. (See W Madsen)

Bear in mind that the bunker buster bombs can also be used to deliver tactical nuclear bombs. The B61-11 is the “nuclear version” of the “conventional” BLU 113. It can be delivered in much same way as the conventional bunker buster bomb. (See Michel Chossudovsky, see also this)

According to the Pentagon, tactical nuclear weapons are “safe for civilians”. Their use has been authorized by the US Senate. (See Michel Chossudovsky)

Moreover, reported in late 2003, Israeli Dolphin-class submarines equipped with US Harpoon missiles armed with nuclear warheads are now aimed at Iran. (See Gordon Thomas)

Even if tactical nuclear weapons are not used by Israel, an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities not only raises the specter of a broader war, but also of nuclear radiation over a wide area:

“To attack Iran’s nuclear facilities will not only provoke war, but it could also unleash clouds of radiation far beyond the targets and the borders of Iran.” (Statement of Prof Elias Tuma, Arab Internet Network, Federal News Service, 1 March 2005)

Moreover, while most reports have centered on the issue of punitive air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the strikes would most probably extend to other targets.

While a ground war is contemplated as a possible “scenario” at the level of military planning, the US military would not be able to wage a an effective ground war, given the situation in Iraq. In the words of former National Security Adviser Lawrence Eagelberger:

“We are not going to get in a ground war in Iran, I hope. If we get into that, we are in serious trouble. I don’t think anyone in Washington is seriously considering that.” ( quoted in the National Journal, 4 December 2004).

Iran’s Military Capabilities

Despite its overall weaknesses in relation to Israel and the US, Iran has an advanced air defense system, deployed to protect its nuclear sites; “they are dispersed and underground making potential air strikes difficult and without any guarantees of success.” (Jerusalem Post, 20 April 2005).

It has upgraded its Shahab-3 missile, which can reach targets in Israel. Iran’s armed forces have recently conducted high-profile military exercises in anticipation of a US led attack. Iran also possesses some 12 X-55 strategic cruise missiles, produced by Ukraine. Iran’s air defense systems is said to feature Russian SA-2, SA-5, SA-6 as well as shoulder-launched SA-7 missiles (Jaffa Center for Strategic Studies).

The US “Military Road Map”

The Bush administration has officially identified Iran and Syria as the next stage of “the road map to war”.

Targeting Iran is a bipartisan project, which broadly serves the interests of the Anglo-American oil conglomerates, the Wall Street financial establishment and the military-industrial complex.

The broader Middle East-Central Asian region encompasses more than 70% of the World’s reserves of oil and natural gas. Iran possesses 10% of the world’s oil and ranks third after Saudi Arabia (25 %) and Iraq (11 %) in the size of its reserves. In comparison, the US possesses less than 2.8 % of global oil reserves. (See Eric Waddell, The Battle for Oil)

The announcement to target Iran should come as no surprise. It is part of the battle for oil. Already during the Clinton administration, US Central Command (USCENTCOM) had formulated “in war theater plans” to invade both Iraq and Iran:

“The broad national security interests and objectives expressed in the President’s National Security Strategy (NSS) and the Chairman’s National Military Strategy (NMS) form the foundation of the United States Central Command’s theater strategy. The NSS directs implementation of a strategy of dual containment of the rogue states of Iraq and Iran as long as those states pose a threat to U.S. interests, to other states in the region, and to their own citizens. Dual containment is designed to maintain the balance of power in the region without depending on either Iraq or Iran. USCENTCOM’s theater strategy is interest-based and threat-focused. The purpose of U.S. engagement, as espoused in the NSS, is to protect the United States’ vital interest in the region – uninterrupted, secure U.S./Allied access to Gulf oil. (USCENTCOM, USPolicy , emphasis added)

Main Military Actors

While the US, Israel, as well as Turkey (with borders with both Iran and Syria) are the main actors in this process, a number of other countries, in the region, allies of the US, including several Central Asian former Soviet republics have been enlisted. Britain is closely involved despite its official denials at the diplomatic level. Turkey occupies a central role in the Iran operation. It has an extensive military cooperation agreement with Israel. There are indications that NATO is also formally involved in the context of an Israel-NATO agreement reached in November 2004.

Planning The Aerial Attack on Iran

According to former weapons inspector Scott Ritter, George W. Bush has already signed off on orders for an aerial attack on Iran, scheduled for June.(See this)

The June cut-off date should be understood. It does not signify that the attack will occur in June. What it suggests is that the US and Israel are “in a state of readiness” and are prepared to launch an attack by June or at a later date. In other words, the decision to launch the attack has not been made.

Ritter’s observation concerning an impending military operation should nonetheless be taken seriously. In recent months, there is ample evidence that a major military operation is in preparation:

1) several high profile military exercises have been conducted in recent months, involving military deployment and the testing of weapons systems.

2) military planning meetings have been held between the various parties involved. There has been a shuttle of military and government officials between Washington, Tel Aviv and Ankara.

3) A significant change in the military command structure in Israel has occurred, with the appointment of a new Chief of Staff.

4) Intense diplomatic exchanges have been carried out at the international level with a view to securing areas of military cooperation and/or support for a US-Israeli led military operation directed against Iran.

5) Ongoing intelligence operations inside Iran have been stepped up.

6) Consensus Building: Media propaganda on the need to intervene in Iran has been stepped up, with daily reports on how Iran constitutes a threat to peace and global security.

Timeline of Key Initiatives

In the last few months, various key initiatives have been taken, which are broadly indicative that an aerial bombing of Iran is in the military pipeline:

November 2004 in Brussels: NATO-Israel protocol: Israel’s IDF delegation to the NATO conference to met with military brass of six members of the Mediterranean basin nations, including Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. NATO seeks to revive the framework, known as the Mediterranean Dialogue program, which would include Israel. The Israeli delegation accepted to participate in military exercises and “anti-terror maneuvers” together with several Arab countries.

January 2005: the US, Israel and Turkey held military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Syria. These exercises, which have been held in previous years were described as routine.

February 2005. Following the decision reached in Brussels in November 2004, Israel was involved for the first time in military exercises with NATO, which also included several Arab countries.

February 2005: Assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The assassination, which was blamed on Syria, serves Israeli and US interests and was used as a pretext to demand the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

February 2005: Sharon fires his Chief-of-Staff, Moshe Ya’alon and appoints Air Force General Dan Halutz. This is the first time in Israeli history that an Air Force General is appointed Chief of Staff (See Uri Avnery)

The appointment of Major General Dan Halutz as IDF Chief of Staff is considered in Israeli political circles as “the appointment of the right man at the right time.” The central issue is that a major aerial operation against Iran is in the planning stage, and Maj General Halutz is slated to coordinate the aerial bombing raids on Iran. Halutz’s appointment was specifically linked to Israel’s Iran agenda: “As chief of staff, he will in the best position to prepare the military for such a scenario.”

March 2005: NATO’s Secretary General was in Jerusalem for follow-up talks with Ariel Sharon and Israel’s military brass, following the joint NATO-Israel military exercise in February. These military cooperation ties are viewed by the Israeli military as a means to “enhance Israel’s deterrence capability regarding potential enemies threatening it, mainly Iran and Syria.” The premise underlying NATO-Israel military cooperation is that Israel is under attack:

“The more Israel’s image is strengthened as a country facing enemies who attempt to attack it for no justified reason, the greater will be the possibility that aid will be extended to Israel by NATO. Furthermore, Iran and Syria will have to take into account the possibility that the increasing cooperation between Israel and NATO will strengthen Israel’s links with Turkey, also a member of NATO. Given Turkey’s impressive military potential and its geographic proximity to both Iran and Syria, Israel’s operational options against them, if and when it sees the need, could gain considerable strength. ” (Jaffa Center for Strategic Studies, http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v7n4p4Shalom.html )

The Israel-NATO protocol is all the more important because it obligates NATO to align itself with the US-Israeli plan to bomb Iran, as an act of self defense on the part of Israel. It also means that NATO is also involved in the process of military consultations relating to the planned aerial bombing of Iran. It is of course related to the bilateral military cooperation agreement between Israel and Turkey and the likelihood that part of the military operation will be launched from Turkey, which is a member of NATO.

Late March 2005: News leaks in Israel indicated an “initial authorization” by Prime Minster Ariel Sharon of an Israeli attack on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant “if diplomacy failed to stop Iran’s nuclear program”. (The Hindu, 28 March 2005)

March-April 2005: The Holding in Israel of Joint US-Israeli military exercises specifically pertaining to the launching of Patriot missiles.

US Patriot missile crews stationed in Germany were sent to Israel to participate in the joint Juniper Cobra exercise with the Israeli military. The exercise was described as routine and “unconnected to events in the Middle East”: “As always, we are interested in implementing lessons learned from training exercises.” (UPI, 9 March 2005).

April 2005: Donald Rumsfeld (right) was on an official visits to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. His diplomatic endeavors were described by the Russian media as “literally circling Iran in an attempt to find the best bridgehead for a possible military operation against that country.”

In Baku, Azerbaijan Rumsfeld was busy discussing the date for deployment of US troops in Azerbaijan on Iran’s North-Western border. US military bases described as “mobile groups” in Azerbaijan are slated to play a role in a military operation directed against Iran.

Azerbaijan is a member of GUUAM, a military cooperation agreement with the US and NATO, which allows for the stationing of US troops in several of the member countries, including Georgia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. The stated short term objective is to “neutralize Iran”. The longer term objective under the Pentagon’s “Caspian Plan” is to exert military and economic control over the entire Caspian sea basin, with a view to ensuring US authority over oil reserves and pipeline corridors.

During his visit in April, Rumsfeld was pushing the US initiative of establishing “American special task forces and military bases to secure US influence in the Caspian region:

“Called Caspian Watch, the project stipulates a network of special task forces and police units in the countries of the regions to be used in emergencies including threats to objects of the oil complex and pipelines. Project Caspian Watch will be financed by the United States ($100 million). It will become an advance guard of the US European Command whose zone of responsibility includes the Caspian region. Command center of the project with a powerful radar is to be located in Baku.” ( Defense and Security Russia, April 27, 2005)

Rumsfeld’s visit followed shortly after that of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami’s to Baku.

April 2005: Iran signs a military cooperation with Tajikistan, which occupies a strategic position bordering Afghanistan’s Northern frontier. Tajikistan is a member of “The Shanghai Five” military cooperation group, which also includes Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Iran also has economic cooperation agreements with Turkmenistan.

Mid April 2005: Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meets George W Bush at his Texas Ranch. Iran is on the agenda of bilateral talks. More significantly, the visit of Ariel Sharon was used to carry out high level talks between US and Israeli military planners pertaining to Iran.

Late April 2005. President Vladmir Putin is in Israel on an official visit. He announces Russia’s decision to sell short-range anti-aircraft missiles to Syria and to continue supporting Iran’s nuclear industry. Beneath the gilded surface of international diplomacy, Putin’s timely visit to Israel must be interpreted as “a signal to Israel” regarding its planned aerial attack on Iran.

Late April 2005: US pressure in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been exerted with a view to blocking the re-appointment of Mohammed Al Baradei, who according to US officials “is not being tough enough on Iran…” Following US pressures, the vote on the appointment of a new IAEA chief was put off until June. These developments suggest that Washington wants to put forth their own hand-picked nominee prior to launching US-Israeli aerial attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities. (See VOA). (In February 2003, Al Baradei along with UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix challenged the (phony) intelligence on WMD presented by the US to the UN Security Council, with a view to justifying the war on Iraq.)

Late April 2005. Sale of deadly military hardware to Israel. GBU-28 Buster Bunker Bombs: Coinciding with Putin’s visit to Israel, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (Department of Defense) announced the sale of an additional 100 bunker-buster bombs produced by Lockheed Martin to Israel. This decision was viewed by the US media as “a warning to Iran about its nuclear ambitions.”

The sale pertains to the larger and more sophisticated “Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28) BLU-113 Penetrator” (including the WGU-36A/B guidance control unit and support equipment). The GBU-28 is described as “a special weapon for penetrating hardened command centers located deep underground. The fact of the matter is that the GBU-28 is among the World’s most deadly “conventional” weapons used in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, capable of causing thousands of civilian deaths through massive explosions.

The Israeli Air Force are slated to use the GBU-28s on their F-15 aircraft. (See text of DSCA news release)

Late April 2005- early May: Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) in Israel for follow-up talks with Ariel Sharon. He was accompanied by his Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, who met with senior Israeli military officials. On the official agenda of these talks: joint defense projects, including the joint production of Arrow II Theater Missile Defense and Popeye II missiles. The latter also known as the Have Lite, are advanced small missiles, designed for deployment on fighter planes. Tel Aviv and Ankara decide to establish a hotline to share intelligence.

May 2005: Syrian troops scheduled to withdraw from Lebanon, leading to a major shift in the Middle East security situation, in favor of Israel and the US.

Iran Surrounded

The US has troops and military bases in Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and of course Iraq.

In other words, Iran is virtually surrounded by US military bases. (see Map below). These countries as well as Turkmenistan, are members of NATO`s partnership for Peace Program and have military cooperation agreements with NATO.



Copyright Eric Waddell, Global Research, 2003

In other words, we are dealing with a potentially explosive scenario in which a number of countries, including several former Soviet republics, could be brought into a US led war with Iran. IranAtom.ru, a Russian based news and military analysis group has suggested, in this regard:

“since Iranian nuclear objects are scattered all over the country, Israel will need a mass strike with different fly-in and fly-out approaches – Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and other countries… Azerbaijan seriously fears Tehran’s reaction should Baku issue a permit to Israeli aircraft to overfly its territory.” (Defense and Security Russia, 12 April 2005).

Concluding remarks

The World is at an important crossroads.

The Bush Administration has embarked upon a military adventure which threatens the future of humanity.

Iran is the next military target. The planned military operation, which is by no means limited to punitive strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, is part of a project of World domination, a military roadmap, launched at the end of the Cold War.

Military action against Iran would directly involve Israel’s participation, which in turn is likely to trigger a broader war throughout the Middle East, not to mention an implosion in the Palestinian occupied territories. Turkey is closely associated with the proposed aerial attacks.

Israel is a nuclear power with a sophisticated nuclear arsenal. (See text box below). The use of nuclear weapons by Israel or the US cannot be excluded, particularly in view of the fact that tactical nuclear weapons have now been reclassified as a variant of the conventional bunker buster bombs and are authorized by the US Senate for use in conventional war theaters. (“they are harmless to civilians because the explosion is underground”)

In this regard, Israel and the US rather than Iran constitute a nuclear threat.

The planned attack on Iran must be understood in relation to the existing active war theaters in the Middle East, namely Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine.

The conflict could easily spread from the Middle East to the Caspian sea basin. It could also involve the participation of Azerbaijan and Georgia, where US troops are stationed.

An attack on Iran would have a direct impact on the resistance movement inside Iraq. It would also put pressure on America’s overstretched military capabilities and resources in both the Iraqi and Afghan war theaters. (The 150,000 US troops in Iraq are already fully engaged and could not be redeployed in the case of a war with Iran.)

In other words, the shaky geopolitics of the Central Asia- Middle East region, the three existing war theaters in which America is currently, involved, the direct participation of Israel and Turkey, the structure of US sponsored military alliances, etc. raises the specter of a broader conflict.

Moreover, US military action on Iran not only threatens Russian and Chinese interests, which have geopolitical interests in the Caspian sea basin and which have bilateral agreements with Iran. It also backlashes on European oil interests in Iran and is likely to produce major divisions between Western allies, between the US and its European partners as well as within the European Union.

Through its participation in NATO, Europe, despite its reluctance, would be brought into the Iran operation. The participation of NATO largely hinges on a military cooperation agreement reached between NATO and Israel. This agreement would bind NATO to defend Israel against Syria and Iran. NATO would therefore support a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, and could take on a more active role if Iran were to retaliate following US-Israeli air strikes.

Needless to say, the war against Iran is part of a longer term US military agenda which seeks to militarize the entire Caspian sea basin, eventually leading to the destabilization and conquest of the Russian Federation.

The Antiwar Movement

The antiwar movement must act, consistently, to prevent the next phase of this war from happening.

This is no easy matter. The holding of large antiwar rallies will not in itself reverse the tide of war.

High ranking officials of the Bush administration, members of the military and the US Congress have been granted the authority to uphold an illegal war agenda.

What is required is a grass roots network, a mass movement at national and international levels, which challenges the legitimacy of the military and political actors, and which is ultimately instrumental in unseating those who rule in our name.

War criminals occupy positions of authority. The citizenry is galvanized into supporting the rulers, who are “committed to their safety and well-being”. Through media disinformation, war is given a humanitarian mandate.

To reverse the tide of war, military bases must be closed down, the war machine (namely the production of advanced weapons systems) must be stopped and the burgeoning police state must be dismantled.

The corporate backers and sponsors of war and war crimes must also be targeted including the oil companies, the defense contractors, the financial institutions and the corporate media, which has become an integral part of the war propaganda machine.

Antiwar sentiment does not dismantle a war agenda. The war criminals in the US, Israel and Britain must be removed from high office.

What is needed is to reveal the true face of the American Empire and the underlying criminalization of US foreign policy, which uses the “war on terrorism” and the threat of Al Qaeda to galvanize public opinion in support of a global war agenda.

Israel’s Nuclear Capabilities

With between 200 and 500 thermonuclear weapons and a sophisticated delivery system, Israel has quietly supplanted Britain as the World’s 5th Largest nuclear power, and may currently rival France and China in the size and sophistication of its nuclear arsenal. Although dwarfed by the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, each possessing over 10,000 nuclear weapons, Israel nonetheless is a major nuclear power, and should be publicly recognized as such.

Today, estimates of the Israeli nuclear arsenal range from a minimum of 200 to a maximum of about 500. Whatever the number, there is little doubt that Israeli nukes are among the world’s most sophisticated, largely designed for “war fighting” in the Middle East. A staple of the Israeli nuclear arsenal are “neutron bombs,” miniaturized thermonuclear bombs designed to maximize deadly gamma radiation while minimizing blast effects and long term radiation- in essence designed to kill people while leaving property intact.(16) Weapons include ballistic missiles and bombers capable of reaching Moscow…

The bombs themselves range in size from “city busters” larger than the Hiroshima Bomb to tactical mini nukes. The Israeli arsenal of weapons of mass destruction clearly dwarfs the actual or potential arsenals of all other Middle Eastern states combined, and is vastly greater than any conceivable need for “deterrence.”

Many Middle East Peace activists have been reluctant to discuss, let alone challenge, the Israeli monopoly on nuclear weapons in the region, often leading to incomplete and uninformed analyses and flawed action strategies. Placing the issue of Israeli weapons of mass destruction directly and honestly on the table and action agenda would have several salutary effects. First, it would expose a primary destabilizing dynamic driving the Middle East arms race and compelling the region’s states to each seek their own “deterrent.”

Second, it would expose the grotesque double standard which sees the U.S. and Europe on the one hand condemning Iraq, Iran and Syria for developing weapons of mass destruction, while simultaneously protecting and enabling the principal culprit. Third, exposing Israel’s nuclear strategy would focus international public attention, resulting in increased pressure to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction and negotiate a just peace in good faith. Finally, a nuclear free Israel would make a Nuclear Free Middle East and a comprehensive regional peace agreement much more likely. Unless and until the world community confronts Israel over its covert nuclear program it is unlikely that there will be any meaningful resolution of the Israeli/Arab conflict, a fact that Israel may be counting on as the Sharon era dawns.

From John Steinbach, Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal, Global Research



https://www.globalresearch.ca/planned-us-israeli-attack-on-iran-2/5615443

Terrifying incidents and issues have been reported about all autonomous vehicles (AVs) – not just Cruise robotaxis.

Israel’s 9/11: “The Greater Israel”, Maritime Natural Gas, and the Prospect of a Middle East Multi-Front War
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“Yes, this could end up being a multi-front war. Now if this becomes a multi-front war, it is a regional war that will escalate to a global war. No question about it! The Chinese and the Russians back the Iranians.” – Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya (From this week’s interview.)

“Israel needs the United States in this fight, and the way to get the United States into this fight is to provoke a large scale attack from Iran or an Iranian proxy. That’s I think the game that’s being played right now. So, where I see this going Michael, is we are heading to a major, major war in the Middle East.” – Dimitri Lascaris (From this week’s interview.)

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“You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible.”

“go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” [1]

These are the statements made by the Prime Minister of the country ranked 15th in the world in total military expenditures – and a major ally of the United States. And Canada.

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for all their proclaiming of upholding science, for their respect for progressive political values, still seem to be prepared to support an apparent “religious fanatic” spouting claims from the same book of the Old Testament that proclaimed that the sun stood still in the sky while the forces of the children of Israel pounded the enemy of the day.

“Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel: ‘Sun, stand still [dom] upon Gibeon; and you, Moon, in the valley of Ayalon.’” (Joshua 10:12)

The dead in Gaza have now vastly outnumbered those who died in Israel. The Israeli Defense Forces have slowly begun a ground invasion of Northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has positioned aircraft carriers. guided missile ships, Bataan ARG ships, aerial defense and Tomahawk cruise missiles, THAAD and Patriot missiles, and 2,500 marines in the Middle East in addition to two F-16 an A10 Squadron and 20 refuelling tankers in the Persian Gulf. [2]

These developments are disturbing. Just as Russian forces parked their troops at the border with Ukraine for months before eventually charging in on the 24th of February of last year, one can only wonder what new development Uncle Sam is waiting for before the second shoe drops.

It’s been said that war is good for business, as was the case with World War I and World War II. And right now, one can see where certain elite figures might welcome and even agitate for another major financial windfall.

However, the citizens of countries around the world, including the U.S. are protesting Israel’s action in sizes growing every weekend. November 4 is expected to be the largest Palestine solidarity protest in history. [3]

The Great Plan for Gaza, supposedly to prevent any more terror attacks from Hamas, may escalate into other areas supporting Palestinians, from Lebanon, to Syria and Iran and ultimately to the United States, Russia and China. Is the epic World War III finally on the collective plate of humanity? One of many questions to be probed on this week’s Global Research News Hour.

Our first guest, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, returns to the Global Research News Hour to share one of his own analyses of the Israel-Gaza conflict, explains how the October 7 attack by Hamas was an early “Christmas present” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, talks about the disinformation surrounding the crimes of Hamas, focuses on Natural Gas as a prize for Netanyahu’s biblical crusade, and mentions how Iranian involvement could spark a horrific cataclysm.

Our second guest, Dimitri Lascaris, took a trip to Lebanon since the Israel-Gaza war was underway. He brings an assessment of how forces there could be shaping into a second front against Israel, how he sees the war escalating to a broader front, and how the people of the West wanting to thwart the plans of Israel should take to the streets and “protest like Hell.”

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is an award-winning author and geopolitical analyst, Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is the author of The Globalization of NATO (Clarity Press) and a forthcoming book The War on Libya and the Re-Colonization of Africa. He has also contributed to several other books ranging from cultural critique to international relations. He is a Sociologist and Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He published an article on November 26, 2022: Preparing the Chessboard for the “Clash of Civilizations”: Divide, Conquer and Rule the “New Middle East”

Dimitri Lascaris is a lawyer, a journalist and an activist. From 2004 to 2016 he was a member of Canada’s leading class action law firm Siskinds LLP. He now works pro-bono legal cases. In 2020, he ran for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada and placed second with 45.5% of the membership.

(Global Research News Hour Episode 407)

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Transcript of Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, October 31, 2023.

Part One

Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya: One thing I’d like to start off with is, you brought up September 11th, or 9/11 as it is colloquially called. People have paralleled this, called this Israel’s 9/11. Well, you should – the audience should remember that the president of the United States, George W. Bush Jr., was very unpopular before 9/11. There was a lot of problems in the United States, and all that disappeared. His popularity went up and it was – it allowed for this new militarized foreign policy to come into play. Now, the same thing is happening with Israel, although Israel’s foreign policy has always been militaristic. And I think it’s even a misnomer to call it a foreign policy, because it’s dealing – we’re dealing with occupation here.

Second point I’d like to bring is: pardon me, but I will use some religious expressions. Christmas came early for Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Netanyahu, he was under investigation by the Israeli judicial system. There is so much evidence to prove that Mr. Netanyahu was going to be found guilty.

Definitely, the courts were going to throw the book at him. His solution to this was to politicize the judicial system of Israel, the state of Israel.

So, what he was doing is basically he wanted to have control over the judicial system by changing the law and, basically, the constitutional structure of Israel. Re-wiring it, whereas the court system, which has always been independent, the judicial branch has been independent from the executive and legislative branches in Israel, the Prime Minister’s office and the Knesset. He wanted to basically subordinate it. This basically resulted in a civil war in Israel.

What do I mean by a “civil war”? I mean, that the country was divided heavily. There were protests, the rule of law was not being followed. Benjamin Netanyahu started even re-channelling security and military and police assets to Tel Aviv and other major centres against protesters, you know. Because the protesters were not letting up, they were getting stronger. He was trying to outlaw them. So, this was the dynamics in Israel, and even the President of Israel, on the records, said he was afraid there would be a civil war.

So, what this – what happened in Israel with the October 7th, actually froze this civil war. It put it on ice. And it gave Mr. Netanyahu, I think, he thought, a gift. But in the end, he’s going to realize that this is not a gift. It’s actually going to hurt him in the end. What he has done, he has made many strategic blunders. He has blamed all the Israeli securities for what’s happened.

The second point in regards to this constellation of what I’m talking about that I’d like to make audiences think about: what happened with the Egyptians – I don’t want to segue – is they sent intelligence to Netanyahu saying that there – Palestinians are in Gaza, Hamas, and other Palestinian resistance fighters, they’re going to do something. So, a message was sent.

And even the United States government, the US Congress, Senate Foreign Affairs committee has testified that this is correct. The Israeli government knew days beforehand that something was going to happen.

Now, someone can say they were distracted, someone can say they underestimated it, and someone can say they looked the other way. It’s possible, all these are possibilities. So, this was very convenient for Netanyahu. That’s what I’d like to put forward.

Of course, there are people who are conspiratorial-minded and they think that maybe Hamas was manipulated into doing this. Maybe the Palestinians were manipulated into doing this. These are all possibilities that can’t be ruled out. But I want to talk on sureties, on facts that we know. We know that there were problems in Israel with Netanyahu. We knew that he was in legal trouble. We knew his popularity was diving. And we also know that the Israeli economy is not as robust as it was before. The handouts coming from the West, the United States, are still coming, but there’s economic problems in the West and that is also affecting Israel. And the Israelis also have their eyes on the Gaza Strip’s territorial waters where there are massive natural gas reserves.

So, in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, where there was conflict between the Turks, the Greeks, Cypriots, and even Israelis over natural gas. Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip all have large amounts of natural gas, and the Israelis want this. It’s specifically Northern Gaza, just to let you know.

If you look on a map, you can find the maps. Anybody who wants to in this age of technology can find maps showing the gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean. You’ll see Northern Gaza, which the Israelis want evacuated, has a lot of natural gas.

So, did Hamas give them moral grounds to do this? Absolutely not, I disagree. First of all, I want to point out that Hamas is being typecast in the wrong way. In many ways, the situation is misrepresented. First of all, Hamas is a resistance group that is not solely a militia. It is a political party as well. It has a militia branch. The militia branch, the militants, the resistance fighters, or as the Israelis call them, and the Canadian government, terrorists. They were the ones who launched this as a joint Palestinian operation. It was not just Hamas. It was different Palestinian resistance groups. They released a letter about it when they did it. And they did not expect it to be so easy.

Why? I cannot say why it was so easy. Maybe it’s because the resources weren’t there. Maybe it’s because Israel is not as strong as people think. Maybe that they planned this so well. But the Israeli defences fell immediately. So much so, that —

Global Research: Do you think —

MDN: — civilians from Gaza were —

GR: But, sorry to interrupt. Basically, what you’re saying is: it doesn’t – I mean, they might have had foreknowledge, or they may not. But either way, I guess Netanyahu was kind of, you know, rubbing his hands together saying, ‘Okay, this is our opportunity.’

MDN: Exactly, —

GR: I mean, that —

MDN: — you hit the nail right on the head. So, this was opportunistic. So, this is the parallel with September 11th: the United States used this as an excuse to invade Afghanistan. Geostrategically, very important placement between Pakistan, India, Iran, China, and the former Soviet Union. It used this to invade Iraq to steal Iraq’s oil. It used this as an excuse to go into other countries in the region that we call the Middle East. Longest serving prime minister of Israel.

Yeah, basically Christmas came early for him. And he used this opportunity to justify what is undoubtedly a genocidal attack on a predominantly civilian – like, almost all of these people are civilians. We cannot forget that the Gaza Strip is the most densely populated place on the Earth. That the Gaza Strip is – the distance in the Gaza Strip is less than the distance of a marathon. People who run the Boston Marathon run a longer distance than the entire length of the Gaza Strip, all right? So, you can run the Boston Marathon and that’s a longer distance of land than the Gaza Strip, that’s just to put it into comparison. And the majority of people there are children.

GR: 2.3 million people in that space.

MDN: 2.3 million prisoners, essentially. It has been called by Jimmy Carter, former US president, a man who supported Israel, he has – he basically said it was an open-air prison. Many Israelis themselves say that. The United Nations says that. How many people and how many qualified people have to say this for those people in the rest of the world who disagree and support Israel to see that this is an open-air prison and it’s unacceptable to do that.

And this is not a defensive war, this is not a war. First of all, the language, as a sociologist – a sociologist who studies power, who has throughout his life studied power dynamics and how language is used to exercise power relationships and to show them and to instruct people, I can tell you that it’s not a war. And legally, it’s not a war, it’s an occupation. And there’s a resistance to an occupation. Nobody would say anything about the Chinese in Nanking who resisted the Japanese attacks on Nanking. Nobody would say anything about the French Resistance. Now, the French Resistance did some really bad things to Nazis, or German soldiers, all right? People do bad things in war. And I’m not here to justify them. I, actually, morally think that one civilian getting killed is unjustifiable.

So, that said, Hamas has been smeared. How do I believe Hamas has been smeared? I can tell you from the first days they said they beheaded people. There was absolutely no evidence, and this type of nonsense, or propaganda, has been used many times.

Then, they talked about rape. I highly doubt that there was rape. It’s possible, but that would not be the trend. I mean, there was no – I don’t believe that there was massive rape and people were intentionally raping. I believe that there was an attack. And I believe that the light of the event will become clearer over time of exactly what happened. There still is this fog of war over what happened.

So, when I heard about children being beheaded and 40 children being beheaded, I knew immediately that’s not true. The reason I knew it’s not true, one of the reasons I knew it’s not true is because there is a history of Israel and the United States using these type of statements and then retracting them or forgetting about them, and just using it to rile people up, to work up people’s emotions.

So, they said 40 kids and now, everybody, all these politicians started talking about ‘Beheaded kids, beheaded kids.’ A gentleman by the name of Ben Shapiro started saying ‘40 kids, 40 kids,’ and then when he was asked to provide evidence, he brought a picture that later, experts said used AI. And it was just one kid and nobody third party, nobody in a position of authority even authenticated it.

The Israeli president started presenting Al Qaeda booklets – I don’t know if you’re aware – he did a press conference and he said this Al Qaeda booklet was found amongst Hamas fighters. He expects us to believe Hamas fighters within an hour were planning on building chemical weapons, and they’re using a manual in English? The front of the manual says Al Qaeda in English. That was clearly meant for a foreign audience. No Hamas fighter would have a paper manual that says Al Qaeda. It would use the Arabic language with squiggly writing. The script wouldn’t be Latin and the language wouldn’t be English.

GR: I’m reminded of the 1991 Persian Gulf War where they took the nurses talking about incubator baby being thrown on the floor by Iraqi —

MDN: Exactly.

GR:— soldiers. (inaudible)

MDN: Exactly. A PR company. She was trained by (Hill and Knowlton), a PR company, who was – she was pretending to be a nurse. But she was really the Kuwaiti ambassador’s daughter. She gave a false testimony to the US Congress, George H. Bush (SIC) used it to start war. In fact, Michael, that is exactly what I thought of when I heard “beheaded children.” I thought of that. I don’t think they went around beheading children.

These are people under occupation and I don’t think that they want to necessarily spread the same misery that they’ve been facing through an occupation that I actually, in my head, I recall biblical stories of the pharaoh, what he did to the children of Israel. And I parallel this to that. Like, you know, all those things that are described in the Bible that were done to the children of Israel, the Palestinians today are facing that from a modern Netanyahu or a pharaonic Egypt embodied in this state of Israel. The other propaganda —

GR: How is —

MDN: — was the rapes. There’s no evidence. They never provided any – I don’t believe anything unless they provide evidence. And they have not provided —

GR: (inaudible, 14:17) —

MDN: — any evidence.

GR: Going, like the Yinon Plan going way, way back, you know, in which they’re wanting to expand, you know. And that’s something that’s been happening, you know, going into West Bank and Gaza. But they’re aiming to go also to expand, at least according to articles, into Syria and into – also into parts of North Africa. I’m wondering —

MDN: Well, they have —

GR: — like, the —

MDN: — expanded, Michael. They’re already annexed Golan Heights in Syria. They already occupy the Shebaa Farms still in Lebanon. They had a plan to annex a lot of Lebanon. It didn’t work, because the Lebanese resistance was so strong with the Iranian support.

The view of the Israelis is not necessarily to physically occupy land, as you can see in Gaza. Gaza, and officially and under technical and legal terms and in practice, is occupied. But no Israeli army has been on Gazan territory. They control the airwaves, they control the borders. What is imported was exported. The finances. They control the skies, they control the seas. So, that’s how they occupy Gaza, still. There’s still legally the occupational power of who’s responsible for the civilians. Israeli is still, under International Law, responsible for the civilians. A responsibility that it has intentionally neglected.

But in regards to expanding Israeli influence, they don’t necessarily see this as physical, territorial gains. They see this as – it does include that, but they see this as economic influence. Which is why there is this normalization, the Abraham Accords. They see themselves as being the economic, I would say, gendarme of the United States.

Now, I want to also point out that the Yinon Plan is not necessarily just about Israel. It’s about Israel serving a great power’s interest in the regions. So, Israel would be the local bully, or the local policeman. I don’t want to use the word “police” because they enforce the law. So, maybe local bandit of a great power like the United States.

I have to also point this out since we’re talking about the subject: the Jewish people themselves are victims of the state of Israel. And what do I mean by this? The state of Israel thrives on anti-Semitism. It thrives on this. And in the sense that when people dislike or there’s bad things happening to them, some might turn to Israel. Some might think the only place in the world we got to go is Israel. So, it thrives on this and it gives it a raison d’etre. It uses this to justify its existence and this colonialism.

When in reality, specifically in that region of the world, anti-Semitism in terms of negative views towards Jews was not really a common thing. Most Muslim Arabs and Christian Arabs, as well as Jewish Arabs, and other people, ethnic people of those three faiths, got along. Jews, Muslims, Christians predominantly lived together in peace. When they say they haven’t lived together, that’s ahistorical. It’s not historically correct.

So, Israel thrives on these things and it wants the region, that region of the world, to be redrawn in a Zionist image. What do I mean by Zionist image? It wants states that are homogeneous and solely made for specific ethno-sectarian religious groups. So, a Kurdish state or a Shiite Arab state or a Sunni Muslim Arab state. It wants that. And that’s not how the world really is. People live together of different faiths and creeds – I mean, different creeds and colours. And that’s how that region really is. It’s always been a mixed region, you can look at Lebanon: Orthodox Christians, various Catholic Christians, even Protestants living together with different types of Shiite Muslims such as Alawites and Jaafaris and Sunni Muslims, as well as Druze.

Palestine was just like this before the Israelis came. Different Christians, Palestinian Christians, Palestinian Muslims, both Shiite and Sunni, the North had Shiite, as well as Druze and Jews. Palestinian Jews, until this day, there are even Palestinian Jews still in the West Bank, they’re called Samaritans. They call them Samartians. This area was a place of coexistence, and the state of Israel, the experiment of Israel, tried to erase this and create a model of a homogeneous state, although Israel is not a homogeneous state in many ways. There are many cleavages there between different types of Jews in terms of where they originate from and in terms of different sects of Judaism. As well as different ethnicities. Like, for example, there are Israeli citizens who are Palestinian, they call them Israeli Arabs. Some of them are Christian and many of them are Muslim. Twenty percent, roughly, they even have seats in the Knesset.

The Yinon Plan though, however, going back to it – sorry, I might have sidetracked a little. It wants to redraw the region in this model of Zionism in terms of just homogeneous states. And to do this would mean war and partition. Just think of what happened in India and Pakistan and the misery that came with it and the tensions between a fraternal people. Indians and Pakistanis are more or less the same people. But until —

GR: You mentioned in —

MDN: — this day there’s animosity between them.

—Intermission—

Part 2

GR: What about the other states that are going to fight back. I mean you have Hezbollah in Lebanon, you have Hamas, of course. There’s also things that Palestinians could do in the West Bank. There’s even the topic of Iran being (inaudible), a five front war against Israel. Do you think —

MDN: Okay, that’s a great subject you’re bringing up. I, first of all, I have to be very frank. I have never considered the Israelis to be this juggernaut militarily. I always thought it was an illusion. And myself being a former soldier, you know, as a former serviceman in the military myself, I always looked at how they – I mean, I always looked at generally a lot of the things that they did in their military and it was very questionable on how professional they were.

So, I mean I don’t think that this is a strong military in many ways. And answering your question, they’re very good at beating up civilians, you know? They’re very good at going at against countries that had civil wars and who have been downgraded and, you know, their military has been broken. They’re very good at sucker shots, like against Syria while there’s internal fighting and the military is worn down. Going against Lebanon after a bloody civil war when everyone is divided. They’re very good at bombing Iraq while it’s at war with Iran. So, they can do things like that and assassinations. But when it comes to an actual, conventional war, I think they’ll lose.

Now, they always – looking at what military historians talk about their success in the Yom Kippur War, for example. You have to remember, the Arab armies they fought at were also – fought with were also fledgling armies. Those Arab armies were fledgling. They were not well organized. They were young, they were new. Those states also freshly became independent. And they were not as well-armed, in many cases. So, the Israelis have used this propaganda and this image to make themselves look like this Goliath in the region, which I have never agreed with and I want to make that clear. I have always seen it as an illusion. And that’s another point I make. The Israelis are very good at casting illusions. And for them, always their deterrent power was their most prized possession. And that’s why they’re good at making illusions as deterrents.

If they fight against the Iranians, I think that the – first of all, the Israelis won’t fight against the Iranians. It would be the United States. That’s why the US Navy is there. That’s why those US Navy battle groups are there. So, the United States, ironically, calls for constraint while it funnels weapons into that region to Israel. While it stops ceasefires, while it’s there to fight. That’s some strange definition of constraint. The Iranians and the Americans are negotiations. There are negotiations going between them. As well as Hamas through Qatar. In fact, the Iranians even said there was talk about sending the Israeli captives to Iran, through Turkish or Qatari intermediaries.

So, yes, this could end up being a multi-front war. Now, if this becomes a multi-front war, it is a regional war that will escalate to a global war. No question about it. The Chinese and the Russians back the Iranians. There was an Iranian advisor who came to Beijing, government advisor, two weeks ago. More or less, when I listen to him, he said, essentially, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.

So, the conflict will escalate. But it’s not because this is something that’s going to happen in the Middle East, because all these states there are at each other’s throats. I think it’s by design that the United States is trying to create a broader, three-front conflict. I’m not going to use the word ‘war’ yet, between Russia, China, and Iran. They’ve already started war in Eastern Europe using Ukraine. Now in Palestine, they’re using the Palestinians and the Israelis to create a front there. In Chinese Taipei, which is basically, more or less, a rogue province of China, as Beijing sees it, they’re arming Taipei. And there’s a connection.

In fact, the funding that Mr. Biden is sending right now is for all three of these places. Maybe Israel has priority, but it’s all three of them. There is a connection: the conflicts in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe will go to the – are being pushed in the Asia Pacific region. And definitely, the Chinese are cognizant about this. And the Chinese position against Israel on this has been very assertive. And I think, very fair in terms of International Law.

And definitely, the Chinese public, more or less, are not supportive of Israel. In the Chinese public, if you go on Weebo, TikTok, WeChat, if you look at all these, majority of the Chinese public are against Israel. And the Israelis actually have agents trying to push their propaganda and win hearts and minds in the People’s Republic of China and it’s not successful. The Chinese understand what’s at stake, they understand that this is connected to great power maneuvers. At the end of the day, the United States is – this goes back to Washington. It’s not a question of —

GR: I want —

MDN: — what television is necessarily doing.

GR:Yeah. Mahdi, unfortunately we’re starting to run out of time. I wanted to basically give you a chance to maybe remark on anything that you haven’t remarked on yet or maybe emphasize the things that you have. Basically, you know, say in terms of this war where, you know, there are citizens all over the place who are still determined to – who are resisting, you know, in numbers like —

MDN: Well, —

GR: — what we’ve seen since 20 years ago. What do you think we should say to the citizens to communicate the importance of this situation and maybe —

MDN: So, —

GR:— things like what you do and how to stop it.

MDN: I’m not anybody special to pontificate to other people on how to follow their moral compasses. But I do think that time is running out for a lot of innocent people. So, I believe that if you have no – if you can do something to help, do it. If you can’t do something positive to help, then at least speak about it. Speak out against that evil or negativity or darkness. And if you cannot do that, and you’re (inaudible) hate it in your heart, dislike it in your heart. What I have to say is: I think time is running out for a lot of innocent people. There is a genocide, no question about it. When you listen to Israeli media and Israeli leaders, they are talking about genocide. Like the president of Israel said this is a collective crime, all Palestinians are guilty. Hamas represents them, it’s their government, they’re all guilty. The Israeli defence minister called them “human animals.”

A few years ago, they said they would even do another Holocaust there, a few years ago. I mean, Benjamin Netanyahu invoked the Bible and a people that were erased in the Bible. So, they are going to do this. And in fact, in Israel, there is a government document that has been circulated by Israeli media that calls for the ethnic cleansing, or genocide, in Palestine, where all of the Palestinians will be forced to go into the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and never allowed to come back. They will never be allowed to come back. They will be kicked off the land and forced to live in a tent city in the Sinai, kilometres away from the border with Gaza. And that document actually goes out of it’s way to tell them – they want to tell them that God punished them. That’s what they’d like to tell them, that God punished the Palestinian people and that’s why they’re there. This is actually an Israeli government document from the intelligence services, that they put together.

The final thing I have to say is that I hope that peace prevails, but I think that, in the end, this is going to hurt Israel and the United States. They will be the two biggest losers from this. That is my strong belief, this will actually backfire against Israel. They are actually committing political suicide. And you can see that the whole world is waking up in this age of social media technology and realizing what they are doing. And in that sense, there is a danger for the supporters of Israel who are trying to outlaw supporting Palestinians.

So, in Europe, in France and Germany, at the start, they were trying to ban rallies in support of Palestine. And then, there are people Orwellianly trying to say if you support Palestinian rights and freedom, it means you support terrorism or Hamas. Hamas is not the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian people are not Hamas. But I also think Hamas is being misrepresented, as well. I want to point that out. A lot of things you’re hearing, you should double-check. And in much of the world, they are not considered a terrorist organization in a large part of the world. They are considered a resistance group.

Whether you like their politics and their tactics and their ideology, they are considered a resistance group. So, those are some things that I want to put out there. And I hope this fighting stops, but in the end I think that we all need to speak out in whatever way we can to stop it.

The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM out of the University of Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca .

Other stations airing the show:

CIXX 106.9 FM, broadcasting from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. It airs Sundays at 6am.

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Campus and community radio CFMH 107.3fm in Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 7pm.

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Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday afternoon from 3-4pm.

Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FM serving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 9am pacific time.

Notes:

https://www.infowars.com/posts/netanyahu-declaring-invasion-you-must-remember-what-amalek-has-done-to-you-says-our-holy-bible/
Avi Scharf and Anshel Pfeffer (Oct 31, 2023), ‘OSINT Shows Third U.S. Naval Group Arrives in Mideast, Countries Prep to Evacuate Thousands’, Haaretz; https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-10-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/osint-third-u-s-naval-group-arrives-in-mideast-countries-prep-to-evacuate-thousands/0000018b-854f-d805-a98f-b5df147e0000
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/11/01/biggest-palestine-solidarity-march-in-us-history-expected-to-take-place-on-saturday/
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