Outlawed militias are emerging from the shadows in the Balkans as Kosovo hurtles towards an independence deadline on December 10 that is likely to trigger a confrontation with Serbia. Deep frustration with the West's stalled bid to grant the province full autonomy in the face of Serbian and Russian opposition threatens to embroil the region in another round of bloodletting.
The Albanian National Army, a guerrilla group branded as "terrorists" by the UN in 2003, has already resurfaced, brandishing sophisticated sniper rifles and Kalashnikovs and pledging to "protect" Kosovo's vulnerable northern fringe from Serbian aggression. Kosovo's Serbian minority, heavily backed by Belgrade, is arming itself in anticipation of a unilateral declaration of independence from the provincial government. KFOR, NATO's 16,000-strong force, might be caught in the middle of a conflict potentially involving Russia as well.
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan threatened to order an incursion into northern Iraq against Kurdish guerrillas on Saturday after diplomatic talks with Iraq aimed at averting a cross-border raid failed. "The moment an operation is needed, we will take that step. We don't need to ask anyone's permission." Turkish-Iraqi talks collapsed late on Friday after Ankara rejected proposals by Iraq's Defense Minister for tackling Kurdish guerrillas based in northern Iraq as insufficient. The Iraqi delegation left on Saturday.
Israel will commence a large-scale military operation in the Galilee today. The maneuver was originally to take place in the Golan Heights but was moved due to concerns that it would exacerbate rising tensions with Syria. A similar drill was held a month before the Second Lebanon War and both list the participation of ground, air and naval forces as well as intelligence and S4 units.
The profound frustration because war did not break out with Syria during the summer - although there are some who argue that the summer has not yet ended - is being vented by channeling the anger against another neighbor: Egypt. In briefings with Israeli journalists, intelligence officials claim that Egypt wants to see "Israel bleeding." Egypt is Israel's ally. There is no benefit or logic in the attack launched against Egypt by intelligence officials in Israel, to the point of comparing it to a state that supports terror. But someone is apparently itching to get to the Aswan Dam.
One third of America's 50 million evangelical Christians believe that the nation of Israel will play a central role in an unfolding end-time theology, polls show. The details differ, but all the apocalyptic scenarios envision a cataclysmic series of events and the return of the biblical messiah. In his best-selling book, Jerusalem Countdown, San Antonio pastor John Hagee predicts a battle "that will usher in the end of the world" and plunge the Middle East into "a sea of human blood." Politically, Hagee is urging evangelicals to take a hard line against Iran and its nascent nuclear program as part of the war on Islamic extremism.
Iran's President Ahmadinejad is stepping up preparations for possible war with America by replacing a string of moderate regime officials with hardliners who more closely share his views. After months in which his government has played down the risk of war over Iran's nuclear programme, officials have also begun making bellicose pronouncements in an apparent attempt to ready public opinion for a military clash.
The Armageddonists are back. The world should be very afraid. The increasingly hysterical claims regarding Iran, the latest threat to life as we know it, is being brought to you by the very same warmongers who wrought the duplicity that resulted in Iraq's murderous decimation, the hawks' nest which is the American Enterprise Institute and their friends. Mohammad Mossadegh and Saddam Hussein made fatal mistakes. They nationalised their countries' oil. Saddam Hussein finally tied the noose around his neck, when he switched Iraq's oil revenues out of US Dollars and into Euros in 2000. President Ahmadinejad has also vowed to switch from US Dollars and move to a currency "further east".
Here is a communication from a Landing Signals Officer (an LSO directs carrier aircraft whilst landing) on a carrier attack group that is planning and staging a strike group deployment in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategically vital oil routes, which is controlled by Iran. The LSO is convinced Iran will be attacked, commenting that "... all Air Operation Planning and Asset Tasking are finished (meaning) all targets have been chosen, prioritized and tasked to specific aircraft, bases, carriers, missile cruisers ..." Further, the LSO comments, there is deep disquiet amongst senior officers about "staging a massive attack on Iran". However, "I have seen more than one senior Commander disappear ..."; it's weird, because everyone who has "disappeared" has questioned this mission.
Yes...
In the white desert sands of New Mexico [where I'll be driving through in a few hours], close to where the first atom bomb was detonated, America's biggest conventional weapon was tested last spring. A 30,000lb massive ordnance penetrator, known as the Big Blu or the Mother of All Bombs, was placed inside a tunnel to test its explosive power against hard, deeply buried bunkers and tunnels designed to conceal weapons of mass destruction. The monster bunker-buster was so heavy, it could not fly. But the blast was a huge success, rippling through the tunnels and destroying everything in its wake.
Today the Big Blu might as well have "Tehran" written on its side in the same way that the Iranians love to parade missiles marked "Tel Aviv". Tucked away in an emergency defence spending request, the US Air Force has just asked Congress for $88m to equip B2 stealth bombers, the black warriors of the skies, with racks strong enough carry the huge bomb. This was no casual request, but an "urgent operational need from theatre commanders."
King George 3rd - again...
In America, congressional resistance to presidential power is nearing a historic nadir; and we live in a time of a resurgent imperial presidency. The attacks of 9/11 would doubtless have increased presidential power. Emergencies always do. But no one could have predicted the sheer scale of what has happened and the extreme to which it has now gone. There is one core reason for this and his name is Dick Cheney. How did this happen? It is the usual mix of unpredictable events and peculiar human beings. And remember this: the decider believes he has no need to consult Congress or the American people in going to war against Iran if he thinks it's necessary.
[WAR: Be sure and see this movie! Learn some history and be reminded how David's throne was miraculously protected from the Whore's legions.]
The Vice chairman of the Energy Committee of Iran's parliament predicted that oil price would rise to $120 if tensions in the Middle East continued. He said in case tensions between regional countries like Iraq and Turkey mounted and led to the outbreak of a war, oil price would reach $120. He also blamed US threats against Iran for the increase in oil price, warning that sanctions against Iran and military threats against Syria and Lebanon would cause a new crisis in the Middle East and consequently in the world.
Over the last 3 months we have seen a rolling collapse of speculative debt and real estate across half the global economy, yet friends still come over to my desk at the Telegraph, with that maddening look of commiseration on their faces, and jab: "so when is the sky going to fall then, eh"? Well, excuse me. The sky has fallen. The median price of new homes in the US has crashed. The slide in existing homes is catching up. In Britain, we have had the first bank run since the City of Glasgow Bank collapsed in 1878. The ECB has injected over €400bn of liquidity in the biggest intervention since the euro was created.
All it will take now for a full-fledged rout is a move by the Saudi and Gulf states to break their dollar pegs, which they may have to do to prevent imported US inflation causing havoc; or for the Asian banks stop buying US Treasuries – as Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan, have gingerly begun to do. Woe betide Wall Street if the Fed fails to slash rates dramatically over the Winter, starting on October 31. Woe betide the dollar if it does.
[WAR: Damned if they do, damned if they don't! Bottom line: we're damned!]
Exploding Comet 17P/Holmes is now larger than Jupiter. What would make a comet explode in this fashion? Actually, a better question is, what would make a comet explode twice in this fashion? This is the 2nd time Comet 17P/Holmes has erupted. The first was in 1892, an outburst that led to the comet's discovery. The answer may be sinkholes. But the true events at the core of Comet Holmes remain unknown.
(S&T: Comet continues to amaze)
Tomorrow in Scripture
* "Say to the Israelites: 'On the 15th day of the 7th month YAHWEH's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for 7 days. The 1st day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. ... So beginning with the 15th day of the 7th month...celebrate the festival to YAHWEH for 7 days; the 1st day is a day of rest, and the 8th day also is a day of rest.'" (Lev 23:34-43 / Deut 16:13-15 / Num 29:12-38)
* "All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the 7th month." (1Kings 8:2-64 / 2Chr 5:3 - 7:7)
* "They found written in the Law, which YAHWEH had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the 7th month." (Neh 8:14-17)
* "Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, YAHWEH TSABA, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles." (Zech 14:16-19)
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