Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Imperial Hubris and Bzezinski's Second Chance

I'm not sure what Bzezinski's intentions are with his recent scathing criticisms of the Washington neocons. Has he had a genuine change of heart? Is he now opposed to imperial warfare? Or is he merely questioning the strategy of Bush and company in pursuing the natural prerogatives and noble objectives of empire?

This is the man who, in 1998, in a Paris interview, said he had no regrets as to having orchestrated the CIA funding, arming and training of Al Queda in Afghanistan, for the purpose of luring the Soviet Union into "their own Vietnam" - a war they could not win, that would cause destabilization of the Soviet regime, and hopefully contribute to its ultimate downfall. "Zbig" was the man who, as National Security Adviser to Carter, dreamed up and implemented the creation of the Mujahadeen. Imperial warfare is his specialty.

He is now getting up there in years, possibly reflecting on his life, and maybe has had a serious change of heart. Maybe this is Zbig's "second chance" - reflecting the title of his most recent book (which is ostensibly about America's second chance). Or maybe he is still the same old coldly calculating imperial strategist, and simply believes that the Bush administration is making bad strategic decisions in the rightful pursuit of continued global dominance. After all, he did write, explicitly in the foreword to his 1994 book, The Grand Chessboard, that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. emerged as the world's "first and only truly global superpower" - and that his intentions in writing this book were to outline precisely what must be done in order to maintain U.S. global dominance. He even said, we will have to "harken back to a more brutal imperial age."

If I were to take a pessimistic view, the following might be said. I'm not sure if this is accurate, not knowing the man personally, but here is one possible interpretation, and a rather skeptical one.

Brzezinski is railing now at the Bush order, not out of some new-found moral fervour, but because he is a died-in-the-wool strategist, and feels Bush is making poor strategic decisions. He wants the empire to flourish – zeig heil! – and knows the neocon gambit may cost the corporate elite the whole game. He’s in for the long haul, and wants to see a win – for the elite that he has so ruthlessly, mercilessly, shrewdly and with Machiavellian flair, supported and aided and abetted for years and decades, with all of his cunning and sophisticated strategic thinking.

What is interesting is not his new-found moral fervour, or ostensible morality, but his awareness and open statements about the turning tide: the world is changing, the game is being lost; the sea of humanity is rising up, and the BRIC alliance as well - though less importantly - threatens the global hegemony of the corporatist powers of the West.


Whatever Bzezinski's intentions are - and I don't follow his words or actions closely enough to know - his recent statements at least make three things clear. One, the Washington neoconservatives are engaging in imperial warfare in a manner that is full of foolish hubris and bespeaks imperial over-reach, according to Brzezinski; and I think we would have to agree. Bzezinski's argument seems to be that if such over-reach and hubris is followed, the American empire may collapse completely. Not a bad thing, if you ask the vast majority of the world's people, but a result that Bush and company certainly did not intend.

Second, a shift in global power is occurring, and the U.S. does not have the hegemony it once had. Brzezinski notes two major challenges to U.S. global hegemony. The first challenge is the rising power of Asia and the South, particularly the BRIC alliance - Brazil, Russia, India, China and others. The U.S. economy, as well as that of the EU, and the entire Western-based corporate empire as a whole, is rapidly being eclipsed by the rising giants of the BRIC alliance.

Thirdly, the second threat to U.S. hegemony, and the one that is more profound, is from that group referred to by the business press as "the other superpower" - the world's citizenry.

Whatever Brzezinski's motives, his warnings to the U.S. government on these three points should be read loud and clear - coming from a top level long-term strategic planner for the U.S. and Western business and political elite, we should take note. The end of the American empire is in sight. The end of empire per se may even be in sight. With the rising superpower of global citizen's movements, we may have an end to imperial warfare in our lifetimes, and perhaps soon. This is, in truth, a cause for hope.

I hope Brzezinski has in fact had a change of heart. But in any case, the real news is not the messenger, but the message. The tide has turned.


Brzezinski now:

YouTube - Brzezinski: Colonial war in post-colonial period does not work.

Zbigniew Brzezinski:US Terrorized by The Mantra War on Terror

YouTube - Zbigniew Brzezinski and Bill Maher 3-23-07


Brzezinski then:

No Regrets: Carter, Brzezinski and the Mujahadeen

Democracy Now! | Ghost Wars: How Reagan Armed the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan

YouTube - God is on your side! Zbig arms Mujahadin

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Technical problems: feed craziness

Bear with me. I don't know why Blogger keeps re-posting my articles on the feed every time I make an edit. I was told by the webmaster of one aggregate - Progressive Bloggers - that an article would be re-posted on the feed only if the title or date of the article was changed - I did neither, and still the feed re-posts every time I edit. Would someone who is not totally new to blogging, blog groups and feeds, who is not technologically challenged like myself, please let me know how to edit posts without having this happen? It's damn embarrassing and frustrating, and I'm sure its quite irritating for others as well. My apologies.

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North America: Timeline to a Fascist State

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."

- James Madison

“Behind every great fortune is a great crime.”
- Balzac

The imperial adventure of Bush and company that may soon be launched against Iran could spell the final blow to democracy at home. Here’s how.

Common sense tells us the war in Iraq soon will spread to Iran. Fear of imaginary nuclear weapons or an incident involving Iran– whether planned or accidental– will rally the support needed for us to move on Muslim country #3. All the past failures and unintended consequences will be forgotten.

Even with deteriorating support for the Iraq war, new information, well planned propaganda, or a major incident will override the skepticism and heartache of our frustrating fight. Vocal opponents of an attack on Iran again will be labeled unpatriotic, unsupportive of the troops, and sympathetic to Iran’s radicals…

I smell an expanded war in the Middle East, and pray that I’m wrong. I sense that circumstances will arise that demand support regardless of the danger and cost. Any lack of support, once again, will be painted as being soft on terrorism and al Qaeda… I worry that before we can finish the war we’re in and extricate ourselves, the patriotic fervor for expanding into Iran will drown out the cries of, “enough already!....The agitation and congressional resolutions painting Iran as an enemy about to attack us have already begun.”

- U.S. Representative Ron Paul

Bush is the amalgamation of all the hideous and sad parts of the Republican Party. He is a Republican Frankenstein. He has the temperament of Barry Goldwater, the integrity of Richard Nixon, and the brains of Dan Quayle.

And we trust this guy with his finger on the button?

God help us all if he bombs Iran. And if you think he's not that stupid, you haven't been paying attention.

He says the idea of bombing Iran is "wild speculation." He also said we weren't wiretapping anybody without a court order. He says we're trying diplomacy first. That's exactly what he said about Iraq when we found out he was planning for the war all along. He says Iran is a gathering threat…

Now, who do you trust more -- George Bush or General Anthony Zinni? General Zinni is the former head of US Central Command. He said he saw no evidence of Iraqi WMD before the war. He thought we didn't have enough troops to get the job done right. And now he thinks going into Iran is an even worse idea. Is there a single American who really believes George Bush knows better than General Zinni?”

- Cenk Uygur, If You Liked the Iraq War, You’ll Love the War on Iran

The U.S. is set to attack Iran. Of this there is little question. There are doubts as to whether the military generals, or the people of the United States, will go along with it (Congress at this point is irrelevant, having neutered itself) – in fact, many military, intelligence and high level political elites are dead set against it, along with the majority of the population. Yet the neoconservatives and their timid “opponents” in the Democratic party appear to be blithely unconcerned with popular opinion, or that of any dissenters.

But how can the U.S. government get away with this – even domestically? More to the point, are they wiling to take such a great risk – a risk of complete loss of legitimacy at home, not to mention the fall-out world-wide – in order to achieve their goals of further dominance of energy reserves in the Middle East (which, by any rational assessment, is the true motive)? Even within the military, support for such imperial adventures is failing. Seventy-two percent of our troops now serving in Iraq say it’s time to come home. Two thirds of Americans oppose war on Iran. Senator Joseph Biden has warned that an attack on Iran would provoke a constitutional crisis in America. The crisis of legitimacy is deepening, and widening. U.S. political elites risk losing all if they push further with this “long war” agenda.

All indications are that they are willing to take the risk. It must be viewed therefore, as an act of desperation. The empire is falling, the emperor is in a panic, his minions and acolytes are fearful in the extreme, and desperate measures are perceived to be necessary to avoid total loss.

A gambit is in the offing, and it is a gambit of the greatest proportions and the greatest magnitude of danger to humanity. The U.S. government is set upon invading Iran, using nuclear weapons – “all options are on the table,” is the chorus we hear from Bush, Edwards, Hillary and other apparatchiks - against a relatively small and weak nation - though a much more formidable foe than Iraq, which it cannot subdue - in order to secure control of world oil reserves. In doing so, it will risk the unfolding of WWIII. Russia and China, both superpowers, and both nuclear powers, have entered into a formal military and economic alliance with Iran. Russia and China also have eyes set on the strategic prize of Iranian oil. The U.S. and NATO, backed by the EU, are willing, apparently, to risk global war in order to make a desperate bid to control the world’s energy reserves.

The Western empire of the U.S. and Europe is, after all, being eclipsed rapidly by the BRIC alliance – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and the business and political elite do not want to face the loss of their global economic dominance, which is rapidly slipping away.

“Madam Federal Chancellor already mentioned this.The combined GDP measured in purchasing power parity of countries such as India and China is already greater than that of the United States. And a similar calculation with the GDP of the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – surpasses the cumulative GDP of the EU. And according to experts this gap will only increase in the future.”

- Vladimir Putin, President, Russian Federation,

to the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy, February 2007

The U.S. economy is now a house of cards, its negative balance of payments, deficit and debt spiraling wildly out of control, beyond the realm of even imagination. The U.S. dollar is sinking, and will in all likelihood collapse in the near future.

The U.S. went from being the world’s leading creditor to the world’s leading debtor – thanks to the Vietnam War, the U.S. oil production peak, and the Reagan and Bush military spending and rich-man’s tax cut extravaganza. Bush Jr. alone pushed up the debt by $3.3 trillion since 2001. Globalization has gutted U.S. manufacturing. Everything is imported from China now. The U.S. now exports Hollywood and weapons, and little else. The U.S. trade deficit is now $700 billion a year. The debt is now $8.8 trillion. That is over half of the total value of all American stock – which is valued at $15 trillion. Overseas investors are financing the enormous U.S. deficit, and they are beginning to balk. China alone now holds $1 trillion in U.S. currency – in cash. The U.S. has to bring in $2.8 billion dollars a day – mainly from China – just to keep afloat. Now the head of China’s central bank says, “we have enough” of U.S. currency. The tap is running dry, and nobody wants to keep buying U.S. treasury bills and currency to keep this debtor nation propped up. The writing is on the wall.

“Historically whichever country has been the world’s leading lender, deploying its capital for use around the world has always accrued a particular kind of influence in world affairs, whether it’s the Dutch in the 17th century, or before that the Spanish in the 16th century, or more recently the British from the mid 19th century through the twentieth century or the United States in the great part of the 20th century after World War I.

“Again and again it has always been the world’s leading lending country that has been the premier country in terms of political influence, diplomatic influence and cultural influence. It’s no accident that we took over that role from the British at the same time that we took over from the the job of being world’s leading lending country. Today we are no longer the world’s leading lending country. In fact we are now the world’s biggest debtor country, and we are continuing to wield influence on the basis of military prowess alone. As an American citizen, I hope that we can continue to do this but I have to observe that the tides of world history do not speak well for that strategy.”

“This is not a normal state of affairs. And it’s certainly not something we expect to see from the world’s richest country. Back when Britain was on top they were lending money to the world, but we’re borrowing from the rest of the world. Our current account trade deficit is now more than our defense spending and incredibly we’ve been borrowing from the rest of the world like this for several years now. I think we’re going to reach a point where the rest of the world decides that they don’t want to lend to us. And that can be kind of traumatic.

- Harvard Economic Professor and former Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund, Kenneth Rogoff, speaking in the documentary film TIME-BOMB: America’s Debt Crisis, Causes, Consequences and Solutions. Time-Bomb

Rogoff spoke like a typically understated professor when he said the coming economic crisis may be “kind of traumatic.” When the U.S. dollar goes down (not if) the U.S. economy goes with it; and more, the global economy will collapse as well. Central banks around the world are selling off the dollar, but not fast enough – U.S. currency comprises over 60% of global currency reserves held in the central banks and other financial institutions world-wide.

The U.S. and EU – or at least the corporate elite and the investment class which dominates political policy, both foreign and domestic – feel the need to do something now, in order to secure their global position of economic predominance, or else concede defeat, and watch the BRIC alliance of Asia and the South take precedence.

Given all of this, it is easy to see why the U.S. and its NATO allies in Europe are acting so desperately, why they would even consider such a desperate plan. It is end-game.

Controlling the Middle East means controlling over 65% of world oil reserves. The world’s economy runs on oil. To control world energy reserves is to ensure – it is hoped – one’s dominance of the global economy. The Western business elite and their political lap dogs must strike now, before the U.S. goes bankrupt and can no longer afford such extraordinarily costly imperial adventures, and seize the world’s largest remaining energy reserves - taking the greatest of risks, hoping to come out the other side having retained global economic dominance, without too much loss.

Yet, even if the neoconservatives in Washington and their cowardly silent accomplices in the Democratic party are willing to take such enormous risk, how can they get away with it without losing all credibility, all legitimacy at home, and thus be swept from power shortly after? This must surely be a consideration as well.

The people pushing for this extremely dangerous gambit in Iran are not stupid – Bush may be, but his advisors are most certainly not; nor are they willing to risk all on plans that are not well thought-out – reckless maybe, dangerous certainly, insane, quite possibly, but well deliberated, without a doubt.

The consideration of popular discontent and backlash against such an extremely unpopular plan as to invade Iran, has certainly been given ample thought and deliberation. The clear majority of American people now want an end to the war in Iraq. They certainly have no desire to expand the war into Iran. Any such attempt to invade Iran would be met with great hostility and disgust at home.

The risk to political elites in engaging in such a perilous and arrogant game of global power politics is that even if they succeed in gaining control over the Middle East and its oil treasures, and therefore have a shot at continued global dominance, in launching such a brazen and deeply unpopular escapade they risk losing all power at home, in the heartland of the empire. A pretext, a cover, a smokescreen is clearly needed, or the neocons and their allies may lose even if they win.

"Why, of course, the people don't want war," Goering shrugged. "Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship….voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."

- Herman Goering, at the Nuremburg Trials, shortly before being sentenced to hanging for war crimes

“All war is based in deception.” - Sun Tzu

Therefore, in order to carry out this desperate plan to consolidate control over the world’s primary energy reserves, without losing power at home due to broad and deep-seated popular discontent and loss of legitimacy, it will be necessary to increase the sound and fury of the “War on Terror” to a true fever pitch, in order to whip the populace into such a frenzied state of panic that they will agree to almost anything, including the attack on Iran. All of this is unfolding now, and, judging by U.S. and NATO military build-up in the region, and by the statements being made by U.S. political elites, will likely unfold over the next few weeks to few months.

Remember that, “The events of Sept. 11, 2001, served as a trigger for full-scale enactment of the neoconservative program: the declaration of war on international terrorism and “the axis of evil,” the assertion of U.S. military superiority, the doctrine of preemptive war, the weaponization of space, etc... Support the new U.S. war or fall into the category of an enemy.

- Sergei Plekhanov, The Nightmare Scenario

What would bring the “War on Terror” propaganda to a point where the people of the U.S. may be outraged and fearful enough to support yet another war, when the American people already want out of the present war with Iraq? Most likely, only another crisis, another “catalyzing event”, another 9/11, would be enough to gain support for an expansion of the war on the Middle East. This, it would seem by logical analysis of the present unfolding events, is the most probable scenario, given that the Washington neoconservatives and their allies, particularly the Western business elite, are in a desperate position of being rapidly eclipsed, are desperate to shore up and consolidate their global dominance, via control of world energy reserves, and are simultaneously in a deep crisis of legitimacy at home already, and are unwilling either to risk losing global dominance through inaction in controlling the Middle East, or to lose power through a deepening crisis of legitimacy at home. The solution is simple, and simply Machiavellian: attack Iran, but justify it by staging a terrorist attack on home soil, which is then blamed on Iran.

Should this sound like the ravings of a paranoid “conspiracy theorist” (to use that tired red herring terminology), it would be wise to consider the testimony of one of the pre-eminent establishment intellectuals of the U.S., before the Senate this February 1. Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brezinski stated clearly that the probable unfolding of events would include a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, staged by elements within the U.S. government, and blamed on Iran in order to justify the planned attack with a “defensive” cover.

“And I stress what I am about to say….[A] plausible scenario for a military collision with Iran [is]... Iraqi failure to meet the benchmarks, followed by accusations of Iranian responsibility for the failure, then by some provocation in Iraq or a terrorist act in the US blamed on Iran, culminating in, quote/unquote, ‘defensive’ US military action against Iran...”
- Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor, before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, February 1, 2007 (emphasis added)

This is not John Doe conspiracy theorist with his tinfoil hat – this is one of the leading long-term strategic planners for the National Security Council. We had better take such warnings seriously. It’s not often we get such a clear warning of imminent and grave danger.

Now, bearing this in mind, that the U.S. government is poised to make a grand escapade, an enormously dangerous gambit to secure Middle East oil reserves, and must create terror in order to create a cover and a pretext for such a war, which involves, in all likelihood, another 9/11; what else would another terrorist attack, probably of bigger proportions, entail? Well we don’t have to guess. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, U.S. General Tommy Franks was explicit. The next terrorist attack on the West will be the end of democracy. The Constitution will be suspended, and Congress will not likely be reconvened.

So, we are looking at the likelihood of an imminent attack on Iran, and the need to create a pretext in advance of any attack, which means, in order to pump up the War on Terror rhetoric and fears, quite possibly another 9/11. But we have Tommy Franks also saying that the next terrorist attack will be the end of democracy. So we may have a police state arising in the next few weeks to months, if we are to judge from these revelations. Horrifying, but a very real danger none the less.

There are many who cannot admit that such a scenario is possible. I would argue that such a response is willful naivete, judging by what we have seen before in history. There are great lengths that some will go in the pursuit of power, and the lust of gold. It would be wise never to underestimate the machinations of such Machiavellian men and women. Simply because the vast majority of us could never conceive of carrying out such ruthless and predatory acts, does not mean that there are not others who can – and do.

Add to this the statement by the U.S. Department of Defense’ number two official, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, in two internal memos sent to high level civilian and military officials, December 5 and February 15, that the “Global War on Terror” is to be completed by October 2008 – just one month before the next U.S. Presidential election. (The contents of these memos were reported by the Washington Post on February 28.) Note that the memos specified that job performance ratings would be judged on these whether the targets were met: that is, their pay would be affected. We were told this was a war without end. Not that I’d like to see it continue, but if the plan is to have “completed” the war by October 2008, the question that arises is, just how do the neocons and their allies plan to complete this “global war on terror” in just a year and a half?

Intelligent observers have recognized that the “Global War on Terror” (GWOT) has served as a cover for imperial wars - in the Middle East primarily, in order to control world energy reserves – as well as for an attack on civil rights and democracy at home. While the executive powers of the White House have been greatly expanded, draconian legislation has been introduced that provides the unconstitutional and illegal “legal” framework for martial law and a police state.

The general direction of the GWOT has been to consolidate corporate power over government, primarily by influence over a government out of balance, with extreme and excessive powers transferred to the executive, to suspend or destroy the constitution, human rights and freedom, to destroy democracy and create the mechanisms for a fascist order, and overseas, to attempt to secure world dominance through control of world oil reserves. What makes us think the “completion” of the GWOT would be any different in spirit and direction that what we have already seen? The completion would thus be the culmination of these trends: consolidation of power at home, in the heart of the empire, which means full-fledged fascism, and consolidation of power globally.

Most Americans, along with the majority of the world, now know that Bush and company stole the U.S. Presidential election of 2000 that brought them to power. One has to ask, given the anti-democratic record of this administration, do they intend to leave? October 2008 the war on terror is planned to be complete. Do the neocons and their corporate backers have plans for the next 18 months that would preclude holding the next election? I hate to think, but it is more than plausible; it seems in fact, quite probable.

Add to this the statement in England’s memos that, "At noon on Jan. 20, 2009, many of the civilian Department of Defense (DOD) leadership positions will transition to a new Administration Team. This change, coupled with the normal rotation of military leadership, could disrupt many of the management process changes currently underway in the Department." Therefore, "it would be highly desirable to complete current projects by the summer/fall of 2008." A potential disruption in the continuity of efforts to pursue the GWOT objectives, is to be avoided.

Bush has also made reference to “institutional continuity”, with regards to the implementation of the SPP and the de facto corporate government of the new North American Council on Competitiveness. Just what did Bush reveal about the thinking of his corporate backers when he referred confidently to “institutional continuity”? The SPP, which by any reasonable estimation is the entrenchment and institutionalization of continent-wide corporate rule, is slated to complete full “regulatory harmonization” across the three nations of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in 2007. A political tsunami may be expected as a result, as the citizens of the three nations realize what has been invoked in their names. In order to ensure “institutional continuity” of the new order - the trans-continental corporate state - a military regime may need to be in place, as the people of the U.S., Canada and Mexico are known by the political and corporate elite to be overwhelmingly opposed to any institutional change such as the SPP which seriously undermines sovereignty and democracy. It is time to consolidate power at home, or so the thinking of the political and business elite would seem to be.

The above is an analysis of probabilities. It is not prophecy, nor is it speculation. It is an examination of the best evidence and indications available. Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski has stated that at least major elements of this scenario are likely. I don’t have a crystal ball, but given the best available evidence, the scenario outlined above is, I would say, highly probable. I hope, I pray, that I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. However, as Yogi Berra, or some other source of down-home common sense put it, “It ain’t over `till the fat lady sings.” More to the point, “It ain’t over `till it’s over.”

It’s two down, bottom of the ninth, and the bases are loaded. We need to bring out our heavy hitter. We need to bring out our best. And the best is not some heroic figure on a white horse. The best is the best in us all. Now it is time to draw up all that is good and decent in humanity; now it is time to shine.

We need our best, and we need it from every last one of us. It will take the best of our courage, compassion and dedication to bring this sad era of corporatocracy and cynical fascism, swiftly to a close, and defeat it in its infancy. It will take the transcending of our perceived limitations. It will take us coming together in a spirit of kinship across humanity.

It will take our best. Now is the time to shine. Corporatism must be defeated. The attack on democracy must be defeated. Imperial warfare must now come to an end. The world has had enough. Enough!

"The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force."
- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) 3rd American President


"Force is the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism."
- Thomas Jefferson

"If there is one principle more deeply rooted in the mind of every American, it is that we should have nothing to do with conquest." - Thomas Jefferson

This is hardly the spirit of the Bush administration, nor is it the spirit of the neoconservatives or neoliberals that now “lead” – or rather, dominate – the Western world. It is, however, a spirit we would be wise to heed. And it would be wise to heed such words of common sense, and not just kind, moral, compassionate or just. To do otherwise would be to risk our own self-annihilation. Chomsky was right: it is now a matter of choice between hegemony or survival.

It may be that another pretext for the war in Iran – a Gulf of Tonkin event - will be found. It may be that the British sailor incident will be sufficient pretext. I doubt this will be enough in itself, but in any case, the completion of the GWOT, which is scheduled for this year according to the U.S. Defense department, will likely require a lock-down on power at home. And the full implementation of the overwhelmingly unpopular SPP and NACC will also likely require the suspension of liberties and the invocation of martial law in order to ram it through, along with a “catalyzing event” of sufficient magnitude to justify such extreme measures.

I don’t see how the power elite can pull off an expansion of the war in the Middle East, and more importantly, the completion of the GWOT, which by any reasonable analysis is a war on democracy, or the implementation of continental corporate rule via the SPP and NACC, without another major “catalyzing event” – to use the language of PNAC. Thus it would seem we should hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

It may be that the new Pearl Harbour, the catalyzing event to spell the end of democracy at home, as Tommy Franks baldly described, will come not before an attack on Iran, but after, in apparent or actual response. Whatever the order of events, such an event is likely, and the results have already been predicted by Franks.

If we are lucky, and we work hard, we may be able to stop the war on Iran before it begins. Maybe the Bush administration and its backers will decide the risk at present is too great, and at least postpone the adventure. The thugs at the helm may also back down from launching another terrorist attack, for the moment – particularly if war against Iran is going to be postponed, or if another pretext for war is found or created.

I doubt either of these will be the case, but in any event, the war on democracy is very real, very deliberate, and escalating: whatever happens, democracy must be defended – at home, not overseas. Likewise, imperial warfare is an abomination on the face of the planet: it is time for the age of empires to end. This may not be as far off as it seems. Whatever happens in the interim, we must remain strong. The future is in our hands. It is not too late to reclaim our dreams.

We have faced the threat of fascism before. Our fathers and grandfathers fought this beast sixty some years ago. We defeated fascism before, and we will defeat it again.

How did we get to this point? First of all, we failed to head the warnings of Jefferson and others, two hundred years ago, that concentrations of financial power, particularly the new corporate aristocracy, were a grave and imminent threat to democracy.

Secondly, you could say, it is simply a matter of class – that “c” word that no-one likes to talk about. The elite of the investment class, which is now globalist, and has little allegiance to any particular nation, has gained such awesome power, that they feel they can make a bid for all power.

At the same time, the elite investment class also clearly recognizes that, while they dominate the economic and political spheres at present, they face a world-wide, deep and growing crisis of legitimacy. The global poll conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2002 showed, to the great disappointment of the Western financial and political elite, that business and political “leaders” now have about as much legitimacy and confidence in the eyes of the people, as used car salesmen and lawyers.

The power elite, to use sociologist C. Wright Mills’ expression, recognize that they presently have more power than ever before, but that that power is simultaneously highly vulnerable, unstable, tenuous and threatened. Thus, the power elite must consolidate power in the heart of the global financial empire now, while they still may be able to do so, before they watch themselves either slowly be eclipsed by the rising East and South, or be cast from power more swiftly by a collapse of legitimacy at home.

A third and more minor element in the drift toward fascism is the 1947 – 1954 CIA recruitment of 7,000 Nazis. While Europe was undergoing what was called “de-Nazification,” America was quietly undergoing Nazification. This in no small way has led the U.S. to where it is today: leader in the world in the war on democracy and freedom.

With America having gone the furthest, the fastest, in losing democracy, freedom and human rights, it may turn out that it is America that takes the lead in turning the tide, and restoring authentic democracy and freedom – and not overseas, by military aggression, but at home, and by example.

The war on democracy will ultimately fail. The people of the Western world have been steeped in the values of freedom, democracy and human rights for over two hundred years. When it finally sinks in that all of these things, which we now take for granted, are being stripped away, the people will not take it lying down. That I can assure you.

In the near term, however, I see insufficient resistance to this most obvious trend toward a police state. I think, at the time of this writing at least, that the powers that now threaten democracy and freedom at home, may in fact have some short-term temporary success. If this is the case, it will be a nightmare. I also believe that whether or not the powers that threaten democracy and freedom at home achieve the success they seek, even temporarily, there will be a very ugly time arise if they even make the attempt. Any end-game act of trying to lock down power at home, will bring in a very dark age. And I think we are in for an end-game attack.

The power elite may back down. I just thought a heads up was in order, in case they don’t.


Further information: articles and videos


The emergence of fascism in the West:

General Tommy Franks calls for Repeal of US Constitution

*** Habeas Corpus Your words are lies Sir - YouTube - olbermann 10-18-06

Eisenhower warns us of the military industrial complex. - Video: 1961 Farewell Address

The Secret Government: PBS video

Power of Nightmares - BBC Documentary

Mind Control: America's Secret War - History Channel Documentary

***Bush Moves Toward Martial Law

Habeas Corpus, R.I.P. (12/15 - 2006)

Demolishing Democracy At Home and Abroad - Noam Chomsky video

The Return of Total Information Awareness - Bush Asserts Dictatorial "Inherent" Powers

Examples of the president's signing statements - The Boston Globe

Air Force chief : Test weapons on testy US mobs - Sep 12 ...

*Private: Routine and systematic torture is at the heart of Americas war on terror | Columnists | Guardian Unlimited

* Top-Secret Torture - washingtonpost.com

* American Concentration Camps Soon? by Frederick Meekins

The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army - Los Angeles Times « Dissident

Noam Chomsky on Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest For Global Dominance - audio

War on Terrorism Watch: CAUT Resource Website - Home Page

Global Ruling Class: Billionaires and How They ‘Made It’

* The Raw Story | Pentagon's number two suggests terror war will end in Oct. 2008

War on Iran:

YouTube - Brzezinski predicts provoking war with Iran.

If You Liked the Iraq War, You'll Love the Iran War

Olbermann, YouTube - Bush speaks before Iran war as he spoke before Iraq war

Iranians capture British sailors - Flashpoint for war?

Planned Attack on Iran : Bush Will Expand War Before Blair Resigns

Rep.Ron Paul on Iran: The Next Neocon Target « Dissident

Gary Leupp: Iran, a Chronology of Disinformation

Why is the US press silent on Brzezinski’s warnings of war against Iran?

Bush Faces Opposition on Iran Attack

Kucinich: 'Impeachment may well be the only remedy which remains to stop a war of aggression against Iran'

Bush Is About to Attack Iran: Why Can't Americans See it?

US Threats against Iran: War Plans and Pretexts in Place

The Next War: Public in the Dark about Government's Plans for War in Iran - Daniel Ellsberg

* "Cold War Shivers": War Preparations in the Middle East and Central Asia

Debating World Domination: Bilderberg Meets in Canada's Capital

ZNet |Foreign Policy | We Had a Democracy Once, But You Crushed It

StopIranWar.com

Scott Ritter warns an attack on Iran will also be the end of Democratic Party

YouTube - Brzezinski: Colonial war in post-colonial period does not work.

Truthdig - The Nightmare Scenario


U.S. Faces “Economic Armageddon”:

*** Former World Bank Chief Economist Predicts Global Crash within 24 months

* The Dollar's Full-System Meltdown

Time-Bomb

Economic " Armageddon " Predicted

Dollar Catching Asian Flu - Asia Times

OPEC sells the Dollar

Arab central banks sell dollar

As Dollar Plunges, Watch for US Government Bonds Sell -off - DEBKAfile –

The War To Save The U.S. Dollar - Trinicenter.com –

Fears for dollar as central banks sell US assets

BBC NEWS | Business | Is the global economy set for trouble?

Collapse of the Petrodollar Looming

Iranian Oil Bourse Opens for Business: A Final Step Toward US Dollar Collapse & Preemptive Nuclear Strike


An empire at twilight:

Superpower’s global dominance in question

50 Years After Suez, US Hegemony Ebbing Fast

"The United States is Terrified" - Noam Chomsky on Latin America's Move Towards "Independence and Integration"

The Crumbling Empire: Latin America and Asia Breaking Free of Washington's Grip - Noam Chomsky


The crisis of legitimacy:

Global corporate rule is now fragile

Confronting the Empire - Chomsky at the World Social Forum

The Global Crisis of Legitimacy of Liberal Democracy - Social and Economic Policy - Global Policy Forum

US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack


9/11: Pretext for imperial war and the destruction of democracy

YouTube - Brzezinski predicts provoking war with Iran.

Looking for a Gulf of Tonkin-like Incident

** Senior Military, Intelligence, and Government Officials Question 9/11 Commission Report

9/11 Statement Signed by Prominent Americans

Scholars for 9/11 Truth

ONE IN 3 AMERICANS SAY U.S. AIDED 9/11 By THOMAS HARGROVE and GUIDO H. STEMPEL III - New York Post Online Edition: News

* Scientific Poll: 84% Reject Official 9/11 Story

* Radio Poll: 85% Of Canadians Believe 9/11 Inside Job

ABC News: U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba

National Security Archive - Pentagon Proposed Pretexts for Cuba Invasion in 1962

Venezuela's Chavez says Bush planned 9/11 attacks - video

War and Globalization - The Truth Behind September 11 - Google Video

Alex Jones, Bob Bowman at American Scholars Symposium - Google Video

The Pentagon's "Second 911"

North American Union: "New 9/11 crisis could be catalyst to merge U.S., Mexico & Canada."

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War on Iran: A Most Dangerous Gambit

Washington’s threatened attack on Iran threatens us all

with the very real possibility of WWIII,

and a likelihood of global economic chaos


The former head of the National Security Agency, Retired Lt. General William Odom said, “The invasion of Iraq, I believe, will turn out to be the greatest strategic disaster in U.S. history.”

That was before Iran. If the U.S. attacks Iran, it could be decisive for the American empire, the American people, the American economy, and for the world’s economy – and decisively bad in all cases. If we avoid WWIII we will be lucky. That is probably the best thing one could say about the apparent impending attack on Iran.

Iran, Russia and China have entered into an economic and military alliance. The latter two are both nuclear powers. The three nations have been conducting joint military training exercises since last August, after the U.S. began military build-up in the region. China and Russia have their eyes on Iranian oil, as does the U.S. and EU. Iran, not surprisingly, wants protection. A U.S. attack on Iran will likely spark a regional conflagration across the Middle East, and may spell global war.

“The new U.S.-Russian relationship, as it is currently evolving, contains a potential for very serious threats to international security. In a major international crisis, conflict between the two major nuclear powers may escalate to extreme levels.”

- Sergei Plekhanov, The Nightmare Scenario

ING, the big German bank, has recently released a report warning its investors that the U.S. may attack Iran in the near future, and that such an attack would lead to cascading effects throughout the global economy. It predicted an attack on Iran would cause oil prices to spike, the dollar to fall, and global economic chaos to result.

A U.S. attack on Iran would of course be unconstitutional, illegal, immoral and criminal. Beyond this, however, such an attack would pose grave risks for humanity and the earth.

The risks entailed in a U.S. attack on Iran are great – in fact, the risks are arguably extreme. This is a gambit of immense danger. Ah the love of power: what madness is sweeter?


Excerpts from the article by strategic analyst Sergei Plekhanov follow.

This week, the international crisis that started in September with U.S. discovery of stepped-up uranium enrichment activities in Iran is expected to trigger a nuclear war between Russia and the United States. In the past few weeks, international attempts to defuse the crisis failed, as Russia, supported by China and North Korea, increased the readiness of its armed forces and made several threatening moves. In his address to the citizens of Russia, President Valdimir Putin called the situation “grave” and expelled U.S. diplomats from Moscow. President Bush invoked the War Powers Act. A Russian reconnaissance plane collided in midair with a U.S. plane in the vicinity of U.S. ballistic missile defense installations. It is expected that in the next few days, Russia will launch a strategic nuclear strike at American command centers and armed forces. The U.S. will retaliate.

This is the gist of the scenario, called Vigilant Shield ‘07, for this year’s Homeland Defense Exercise, currently being conducted by the U.S. Northern Command, according to Washington Post columnist William Arkin’s Early Warning blog (“Russia Supports North Korea in Nuclear War” and “The Vigilant Shield 07 Exercise Scenario”). War games are a peculiar genre, easy to make fun of, but the logic of this scenario merits serious attention, as it reminds us of an important reality we usually prefer to forget about.

When we think about the danger of nuclear war nowadays, the mind zeros in on North Korea and Iran and stays there, preoccupied with the fact that North Korea has a few nuclear bombs, while Iran may or may not build a few of its own in the next decade. The international community is tying itself in knots trying to respond to the colossal threats to world peace and security that these two countries present.

Now, the reality is that of the world’s estimated 22,000 nuclear weapons, about 21,000 belong to the U.S. and Russia, each of the two possessing nearly equal numbers and keeping about 1,000 of them ready for launching within 30 minutes. The rest are distributed in batches of a few hundred among France, the UK, China and Israel, while the new members of the “nuclear club,” India and Pakistan, possess a few dozens each (Nuclear Issues—CDI).

If we should worry about the existence of nuclear weapons with their unique capacity to put an end to human life on this planet, it is odd that we overlook the thousands and peer at the murky single digits through a magnifying glass and tremble with fear.

What happened to the clarity of mind that defined world thinking about nuclear weapons 20 years ago, when it was obvious that the really dangerous nukes were those in massive numbers that the Americans and the Russians trained on each other and were ready to use on a few minutes’ notice?

“Barring worst-case scenarios, however, the U.S.-Russian asymmetry may actually help the case for arms control and disarmament. First, the pursuit of hegemony, at least in its current neoconservative variant, has turned out to be a prescription for U.S. setbacks in the international arena. By failing so compellingly in its use of force at a time when its power seemed so overwhelming, the U.S. is serving everyone a useful lesson: Alternative, nonmilitary approaches to international security are urgently needed.”

Truthdig - The Nightmare Scenario

Iran attack would cause market chaos - The Business - London's First Global Business Magazine

*** VIDEO: The Dangers of a Nuclear War-impacts of a nuclear attack on Iran

Nuclear Bunker Buster Bombs against Iran: This Way Lies Madness

Zbigniew Brzezinski:US Terrorized by The Mantra War on Terror

Planned Attack on Iran : Bush Will Expand War Before Blair Resigns

The falling dollar, this could turn into a crash | | Guardian Unlimited Business « Dissident

Olbermann, YouTube - Bush speaks before Iran war as he spoke before Iraq war

Bush Faces Opposition on Iran Attack

Kucinich: 'Impeachment may well be the only remedy which remains to stop a war of aggression against Iran'

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