Much has been made of Obama’s announcement that the Iraq war is “over”. Window-dressing propaganda of course, as 50,000 troops remain and countless thousands of US-paid mercenaries.
And even as Obama has tried to say he didn’t support the Iraq war, he is following in the exact same footsteps by making the war in Afghanistan is “own”. Can he not see how the same fate awaits the misguided adventure in that country? Apparently not.
Paul Craig Roberts put all this into laser-focused perspective in his essay: The True Cost of War
Apparently “yes” – according to the latest leak of official documents by WikiLeaks – this time of a CIA memo.
The Middle East is in a constant state of military alert, and hardly a day goes by without some bigwig, somewhere, issuing an incendiary statement intended to fan the flames of conflict. And to make matters worse, ordinary people are subjected to a constant onslaught of propaganda – from all sides. But how much do we really know about that area?
Here’s a small quiz to test your own knowledge:
Q: What Middle East country has the most Jewish people outside of Israel?
A: Iran – with 25,000 Jewish citizens
Q. What Middle East leader donated money to a Jewish hospital, one not in Israel?
A: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran
Q: Would you rather be a Palestinian living under Israeli occupation in Gaza, or a Jew living as a citizen in Iran?
A: Only you know the answer to that last question. But before answering it, I recommend you read this illuminating article by Mike Whitney, which attempts to set the record straight about our perceptions of the Middle East situation: Why Iran’s Jews Are Better Off Than Gaza’s Palestinians
Moody’s rating agency has warned that the USA and other developed countries face a critical moment – likely to be 2013 – when in the US, interest payments on debt will equal 14% of tax revenues. According to the agency this is the tipping point.
Once debt servicing reaches such a critical point it continues to rise, eating up more and more of the annual tax revenues. And this can only be made worse by anticipated interest rate rises into the future.
Given the dire warnings, and the all-too-obvious shocking fundamentals apparent to those who look closely, it’s going to be crunch time in more ways than one.
One thought occurs to me – amongst all this potential doom and gloom. This level of debt can bring down governments (and no doubt will), and the social dislocation can cause people to cross the mental threshold required to accept new ideas. So it’s quite possible that the debt crisis will represent an opportunity – and opportunity to move away from centralised state control, as people search for new answers to apparently intractable problems.
Of course, a different direction is also possible – that of moving towards an increasingly fascist form of governance. I see both scenarios as possible – even perhaps coexisting on the planet as a whole – but only the unfolding of actual events will reveal the exact nature of what is to come.
One thing is for sure. No amount of burying heads in sand and pretending nothing is wrong will prevent the day of reckoning.
Ever since I first got on the internet back in 1996, I have known it is a radical tool for freedom. Justin Raimondo reminds me of this fact in his essay – The Information War.
Harvard professor and historian, Niall Ferguson, warns about the real possibility of a sudden collapse of the US empire – brought on by the growth of debt.
Observing the ongoing war in Afghanistan is frustrating to the extreme. Here we are, all western nations suffering from economic turbulence, financial destitution and collapsing confidence – busy spending blood and treasure on a hopeless endeavour and apparently incapable of pulling the plug and simply getting out.
Simon Jenkins exposes the whole rotten charade perfectly in his essay: Afghanistan is a Catastrophe. But we will have to wait for another Chilcot to admit it
In a world where the hot topic among many conservatives is the feared rise of an “Islamic Caliphate” – usually depicted as global agenda to create an oppressive fundamentalist Islamic regime worldwide – it’s instructive to consider an entirely different possibility, the Islamic equivalent of Christianity’s own Protestant Reformation.
How? Yes, you may certainly ask. Well John Feffer takes a close look at a country which has been little noticed, but which has the potential to reshape the global landscape in unexpected ways. He says while it’s obvious China is on the rise and is destined to be a major global player, this country could be just as influential in its own way. And perhaps a lot more influential than most people are even prepared to consider.
It’s a fascinating proposition, and one that breaks the mould of existing thinking: Stealth Superpower: How Turkey is chasing China to be the next big thing
Addendum: Another interesting take on Turkey and its rising influence on the world stage, in an essay by Retired US Army Colonel, Douglas MacGregor, entitled: Flotilla Fallout
So the Israelis are to be allowed to investigate themselves regards the attack on the aid flotilla headed for Gaza. Surprise, surprise!
Veteran Israeli peace activist, writer and founder of Gush Shalom – Uri Avnery – has compiled a list of the important questions that need to be answered by any objective commission of enquiry, in his essay: Who’s Afraid of a Real Inquiry?
