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Lord Stirling's News Blog EUROPE

Monday, January 16, 2012 0:30

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Give peace a chance? US and Israel postpone largest joint drill ~ link ~ Something smells about this! It seems very much like a false narrative coming out of Israel and the Obama Administration; a diversion before all hell breaks out. Stirling

“Austere Challenge 12”, the US-Israel joint-missile defense drill, has been postponed till the summer at the earliest, according to Israeli media. Some link the move to Washington’s growing concern Israel may be planning a unilateral attack on Iran.

The drill, originally set for April, was intended to create a high level of interoperability between the two countries’ missile defense systems. Thousands of US troops would be deployed in Israel to be joined by an equal number of Israeli soldiers. It would also be the first time a top US commander (Admiral James Stavridis of the US European Command) has been assigned to participate in the simulations.

US and Israel in open rift over Iran: Big joint military drill cancelled ~ link ~ Nothing was said about the 9,000 US troops who landed in Israeli earlier this month for a lengthy stay. Neither was the forthcoming visit by Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, Thursday mentioned.

This massive military buildup indicates that either President Obama rates the odds of an Israel attack as high and is bolstering the defenses of US military assets against Iranian reprisals – or, alternatively, that the United States intends to beat Israel to the draw and attack Iran itself.

The official purpose of Gen. Dempsey’s visit next Thursday was supposed to be coordination between the US armed forces and the IDF. But his main object was another try to dissuade Israel’s government and military leaders from plans to strike Iran without Washington’s prior consent.

US worries about impending preemptive Israeli strike on Iran ~ link ~ The narrative goes like this, America is worried that Israel may strike Iran, so for that reason the US/France/UK have moved a Massive War Amanda, with one-third of all the nuclear powered aircraft carriers on Earth, to near the Strait of Hormuz. And even though the joint Israeli-US air defense “exercise” was cancelled, we still managed to ship in the high tech missiles and troops to man them. And moved two combat brigades with a large army helicopter force into Kuwait. If you buy into this, I have a ‘bridge in Brooklyn’ to sell you! Stirling

U.S. defense leaders are increasingly concerned that Israel will take military action against Iran despite U.S. objections and are beefing up U.S. facilities in the region in case of a regional conflict, according to the Wall Street Journal.

President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other top officials have privately sought assurances from Israeli leaders in recent weeks that they will not unilaterally attack Iran, but the Israeli response has so far been evasive, U.S. officials said. See also: US warns Israel on Strike ~ link

Iran to hold air defense drill simulating Israel attack on its nuclear sites ~ link ~ The drill only is directed against an Israeli attack on its nuclear sites, not on an American attack….this smacks of a set narrative that the Israeli press (and some media in the West) are parroting. Stirling

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards will carry out an air defense drill simulating an Israeli attack on its nuclear sites, the official news agency IRNA said Friday.

The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that the drill was aimed at ensuring Iran was ready for any attacks on its nuclear facilities and other strategic sites.

Iran: A quickly evolving geopolitical imbroglio – Part V ~ link ~ This is one you want to read it all at the link; well worth your time. Stirling

As Stars and Stripes aptly points out, “the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear,” and the timing of this can hardly be dismissed as pure coincidence.

However, this small amount of troops is now going to be augmented by a much larger group which includes 15,000 new troops. These new units in Kuwait – which is located dangerously close to Iran – include two infantry brigades from the United States Army along with a helicopter unit.
In addition, these troops include the United States Army’s 1st Calvary Division’s 1st Brigade which boasts tanks, artillery and over 4,500 troops. The 1st Brigade has been dubbed a “mobile response force” for the region according to Colonel Scott L. Efflandt, commander of the brigade.

There is also a National Guard brigade from Minnesota which has been present in Kuwait since August and in December a combat aviation brigade arrived as well.

Apparently there is yet another unit which will be heading to Kuwait in the near future, but details on the unit’s size, composition and mission have not been provided by officials

Just days ago it was reported that in addition to all of these buildups, a marine expeditionary unit along with a group of landing warships were being deployed to the Persian Gulf.

This is to include the Makin Island groups accompanied by the USS New Orleans and the Pearl Harbor amphibious transport dock ships.

The personnel on these ships, which will include sailors, marines and airmen, will be backed up by a general support battalion along with attack helicopters.

As I reported in part four of this series, the American aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson joined the USS John C. Stennis (which previously sailed through the strait eliciting protest from Iran) in the region in order to sustain the naval presence and threat.

There are also reports of another aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, moving to the region, again something which will not serve to comfort the Iranian government in this time of record-level saber rattling.

The USS John C. Stennis is slated to return home to the United States in the near future, but according to Stars and Stripes, officials have stated that the Stennis will be replaced by the USS Enterprise so two carriers are still present in the region.

Syria and Iran: The Great Game ~ link ~ Another key part of the puzzle of what is really happening in the Middle East is the on-going foreign ran/financed/staffed/led war against Syria on its Turkish and Jordanian borders. This is NOT some isolated event! It is directly tied into the war moves against Iran. Syria and Iran have a very close military alliance that includes Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and forces in Palestine and Gaza. Iran cannot and will not allow Syria to fall. Everyone involved knows this. Stirling

Haaretz: US and Israel postpone massive defense drill ‘in fear of escalation with Iran’ ~ link ~ According to an Israeli defense official, Washington wants to avoid causing further tensions in the region, especially in light of the sensitive situation that has been generated after various reports in the international media that the U.S. and Israel are preparing to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The drill, codenamed Austere Challenge 12, was supposed to simulate the missiles fired by Iran or other antagonistic states toward Israel. Defense officials told Channel 2 on Sunday that the drill is now scheduled to take place in the summer.

Ynet: Joint US-Israel drill postponed to ‘defuse Iran tensions’ ~ link ~ A major joint Israel-US military drill, which was set to take place in a few weeks time with the participation of thousands of IDF and US army soldiers, has been postponed by at least six months, Ynet reported Sunday

The decision was made by Defense Ministry officials in coordination with the Pentagon.

US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff heads to Israel as fears over attack on Iran mount ~ link ~ Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Thursday for talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, and other senior defense and intelligence officials. Dempsey may also meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the meantime, the United States is preparing for various scenarios following an Israeli attack on Iran, senior American officials reportedly told the Wall Street Journal. These include an attack by Shi’ites in Iraq on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. There are currently 15,000 U.S. citizens in Iraq.

Netanyahu’s Vice-Prime Minister voices ‘disappointment’ with Obama over Iran ~ link ~ A senior Israeli official voiced disappointment in the Obama administration on Sunday, saying “election-year considerations” lay behind its caution over tough Iran sanctions sought by U.S. legislators.

Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s vice prime minister, contrasted the administration’s posture to that of France and Britain, which he said “are taking a very firm stand and understand sanctions must be imposed immediately”. “In the United States, the Senate passed a resolution, by a majority of 100-to-one, to impose these sanctions, and in the U.S. administration there is hesitation for fear of oil prices rising this year, out of election-year considerations,” Ya’alon told Israel Radio.”In that regard, this is certainly a disappointment, for now.”

Iran’s Military Capabilities ~ link ~ A relatively good overview of Iran’s known conventional military power. This article does not touch on Iran’s strategic military power, however. There are reports, which may be true but may not, that Iran purchased up to six cruise missiles with nuclear warheads from the Ukraine some years ago for a large sum of money. But regardless of whither or not that report (or others like it) are true, Iran does have a first class strategic global MAD (mutually assured destruction) Counter-Force in its massive Advanced Biological Warfare program based on the former USSR’s program (when the USSR fell apart, over 20 years ago, Iran hired a large number of its top advanced biowar scientists). This Advanced Biowar strategic capability does NOT need ICBMs and SLBMs and strategic bombers to deliver a means that can kill up to a third of the World’s population. If Iran sees itself being destroyed by Israel or America/NATO, it will not hesitate to return the favor and unleash its advanced biowar weapons of mass destruction, which constitute what some call the ‘poor man’s nukes’. The people of North America and Europe are largely defenseless from a massive advanced biowar attack! This is a topic that the mainstream news media will ‘not touch with a ten-foot poll’ because it is a compelling reason to avoid war with Iran and the globalists and Netanyahu’s extremists want such a war. Stirling

Are the Middle East wars really about Forcing the World into Dollars and Private Central Banking? ~ link ~ Mostly yes. This is a very good article that I recommend you take a couple of minutes to read. Stirling

‘Obama ready to give Iran strike order’ ~ link ~

A US senator says President Barack Obama is prepared to issue the order for a military attack on Iran if the Washington-engineered sanctions fail to stop Tehran’s nuclear program.

“[Obama] is definitely capable of ordering a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities,” Joe Lieberman (I-CT) told The Cable in a Friday interview.

Iran warns Gulf states not to make up oil shortfall ~ link ~ Iran does not intend to allow its enemies to steal its oil market from it. Stirling

Iran has warned its Gulf neighbours to not make up for any shortfall in its oil exports under new Western sanctions, its OPEC representative said in comments published on Sunday. “We would not consider these actions to be friendly,” Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying by the Sharq newspaper. “If the oil producing nations on the Persian Gulf decide to substitute Iran’s oil, then they will be held responsible for what happens,” he said.

The warning comes as the United States and the European Union step up sanctions to curb Iran’s oil exports and revenue. Iran is the second-biggest oil exporter in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, with output of some 2.5 million barrels per day. It depends on petroleum revenues for more than half its state income, earning around $75 billion annually from the exports.

China angry at US sanctions on oil from Zhuhai Zhenrong ~ link ~ The Saudis and others in the GCC are trying to assure China that there will be no negative effects on China if it backs off its support of Iran. Further, they are holding out ‘sweeteners’ to facilitate a change of Chinese policy. This is why the Iranians issued a most serious warning to the GCC states regarding increasing their oil exports in the wake of oil sanctions against Iran. This (whole series of events/strategy) is somewhat similar to the squeeze that FDR put on Imperial Japan in 1941 to force it to enter WWII by attacking America. Stirling

The US said on Thursday Zhuhai Zhenrong was one of three international firms to be punished for dealing with Iran.

It comes as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits Arab oil-producing nations amid fears of major sanctions-related disruption to Iranian oil exports. Mr Wen visited Saudi Arabia – China’s biggest source of imported oil – on Saturday.

Iran War: Clocking down to Doomsday ~ link ~ This is one you should take the time to read it all at the link. Stirling

“The consequence would be that the world would face a higher risk of nuclear Armageddon than existed in the mutually assured destruction of the US-Soviet standoff,” wrote Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, in an article titled “’IRAN: The Next War on Washington’s Agenda Politics” on infowars.com.

Roberts added, “The raised level of Washington’s rhetoric and demonization of Iran” is one of the signals pointing to Washington intent of a military strike on Iran.

“Only the blind do not see that the US government is preparing to attack Iran,” he said.

However, he argued that Iran’s nuclear program is merely a pretext for a US attack on the country, saying the US government’s war preparations are in fact driven by other factors.

First, he said, is the US government’s “neoconservative ideology,” that calls for the US to use its superior military and economic position to achieve world hegemony.

“A second factor is Israel’s desire to eliminate all support for the Palestinians and for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon,” Craig Roberts said, adding that by eliminating Iran, Washington removes all obstacles to Israel’s expansionism, which ultimately seeks to “seize all of Palestine and the water resources of southern Lebanon.”

A third factor motivating a US strike on Iran, Craig Roberts argues, is to deter or slow China’s rise as a military and economic power by controlling China’s access to energy.

Iranian officials have also promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.

“If the missiles aren’t launched, Americans would wake up the next day a bankrupt third world country. If the missiles were launched, few Americans would wake up,” Craig Roberts concluded.

UK musters ‘all strength’ against Iran ~ link ~ The British government is mustering all its strength to get the 27-member European bloc agree on imposing sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, as the British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was confident that EU countries would approve of sanctions being imposed on Iran’s oil exports.

The stupid saber-rattling and terrorist attacks against Iran under the pretext that Iran’s nuclear program is military-oriented come as Iran is an active member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

British Labor MP, Jeremy Corbyn, has warned against sanctions against Iran as he has urged Britain and the US to stop their scandalous campaign of making baseless accusations against Iran and it nuclear program.

“Western and UN-imposed sanctions against Iran are likely to backfire against Western economies and interests with any oil embargo likely to be followed by a threatened Iranian naval blockade of the Straits of Hormuz,” said Corbyn.

Furthermore, the Independent revealed on Saturday that, in his private talks with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, British Prime Minister David Cameron has asked him to increase his country’s oil production.

Cameron effectively calls for invasion of Syria ~ link ~ In an interview with the Saudi television network Al-Arabia, Cameron warned of the possibility of military intervention in Syria and a UN-sanctioned bid to topple the Syrian government.

“It’s unacceptable and others need to listen to that and act on that at the UN. Britain stands ready to do that,” said Cameron as he begged the Russian government to downgrade its relationship with Syria.

Cameron’s calls for the invasion of Syria on Friday coincide with those of the Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who also called for military intervention in Syria on Saturday.

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