President Donald Trump said the following in a Tweet Storm Saturday morning:
“Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn’t worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!”
While there maybe a desire to play this sort of verbage down, the prevailing opinion is that the comments portend to a direct conflict between North Korea and the USA coming very soon.
To complicate matters even more, rumors from within the White House make it clear that President Trump is seriously considering pulling out of the nuclear treaty with Iran. None of this is disconnected as it may seems. Most observers agree that Iran and North Korea are in nuclear symbiotic relationship where the latter develops weapons in exchange for needed money.
The above facts point to a two front war between the USA and Iran and North Korea at the same time. Considering that any conflict in this arena risks bringing in both China and Russia, the stakes are consitantly growing higher. Trump and Washington are losing ground in both the Pacific and the Middle East as Saudi Arabia is making serious agreements with Russia’s Putin.
In order to hold Saudi Arabia within the US network, a more robust policy is necessary against its arch-enemy Iran. Given the fact that Russia appears to have taken large areas of the Middle East as well as funding the North Korean regime, Trump has no choice but to push back.
It appears that the USA is at a breaking point in terms of holding to a non-poractive foregin policy. Trump is now willing to change that, but it could be too little, too late.
Reports are flying from Riyadh that as King Salman nears abdication, there is a potential coup set to go in effect in order to deprive his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from taking over.
In response to the Crown Prince’s fears Saudi Arabia arrested between 16-30 people in a broad crackdown across the Kingdom. The arrestees though were all members of the regime, yet loyalists of the ousted former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.
Why would the monarchy, which prides itself on collective unity in the face of ensuring its own survival feel the need to go after one another.
Andrew Korybko of the Oriental Review gives the following intriguing possibility:
Iran and Qatar are close with Russia and China, and the latter two Great Powers are actually enjoying a renaissance of relations with Saudi Arabia right now. While one might expect this to make Tehran and Doha jealous, the opposite is true – Moscow and Beijing’s developing high-level strategic partnerships with Riyadh are designed to bring balance to the Mideast by weaning the Kingdom away from Washington and slowly but surely integrating it into the emerging Multipolar World Order, which will never be perfect or without friction, but is still a step in the right direction. In order to appreciate what’s happening, one needs to be reminded of a few things that have happened this past year when it comes to Saudi Arabia’s relations with Russia and China.
Concerning Moscow, Riyadh agreed to an historic OPEC output deal with Russia last year and renewed it a few months ago after it expired. The Saudis are also cooperating with the Russians in encouraging Syria’s so-called “opposition” to merge into a unified entity for facilitating peace talks with Damascus. Foreign Minister Lavrov was just in the Kingdom last week, and King Salman is expected to visit Moscow sometime next month. As for China, Beijing signed a total of over $110 billion of deals with Saudi Arabia in the past six months alone in an effort to assist the Crown Prince’s ambitious Vision 2030 program of economic modernization. It’s that initiative more so than anything else which holds the danger of inadvertently destabilizing the country’s internal affairs because of the opposition that it’s come under from some of Saudi Arabia’s many radical clerics who are against the social consequences of its reforms.
Bearing all of this in mind, it’s worthwhile to revisit the question of who has an interest in destabilizing Saudi Arabia right at the moment that it’s turning away from the US and towards Russia and China, timing their subversive efforts to coincide with a prolonged leadership change and an economic transition. By all indicators, those aren’t the hallmarks of an Iranian or Qatari operation, but the red flag for an American one.
US, Russian, and Chinese Neo-Colonialism in the Middle East
The fast changing word is in a great transition between a post Cold War uni-polarism to a 21st Century multi-polar chaos of various competing interests circling around energy control and market influence. Both the Russians and Chinese are thriving off of a Middle East in chaos and have learned like the US did that the Arab rulers have no loyalty to their countries.
These rulers, when given protection and money have the loyalty to the world powers providing them the money and arms to control their local “peasants.” The Russians and Chinese have figured out that the key to US dominance in the Middle East and therefore oil profits is the defense pacts Washington has used with the Saudis and Gulf States to ensure the dollar is constantly inflated due to its use as the sole oil currency. This is now changing. Even more so, the Russians and Chinese as pointed out in the Oriental Review have gone out of their way to lure the Saudis away from America.
By creating balance between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the Russians and Chinese are in the process of playing both sides to ensure continued control of the region. The American security establishment used the same policy in both encouraging Iran to push ahead across the Middle East, while using that threat to encourage the Saudis to stay within the American orbit.
The Saudis are trying to figure out how to work with both, but unlike Israel, the House of Saud has no real value to it other than a colonial apparatus to rented out to the highest bidder.
Where Does this Leave Israel?
With the Saudi family in the midst of an internal implosion, Israel has little room to maneuver. The prevailing assumption has been that the blocs would remain the same and actually consolidate in opposition to the Iranian threat. The insertion of Russia and China as the new power brokers has scrambled this assumption.
With all of the focus on President Trump’s new Afghanistan policy, the other sections of the speech given Monday hold within them a major shift in policy in Asia.
President Trump said the following:
“The next pillar of our new strategy is to change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan. We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond.”
“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists. In the past, Pakistan has been a valued partner. Our militaries have worked together against common enemies. The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism and extremism. We recognize those contributions and those sacrifices, but Pakistan has also sheltered the same organizations that try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars, at the same time they are housing the same terrorists that we are fighting. But that will have to change. And that will change immediately.”
Then Trump spoke about India, as if to indicate America’s intention to shift away from Pakistan to India.
“Another critical part of the South Asia strategy or America is to further develop its strategic partnership with India, the world’s largest democracy and a key security and economic harbor of the United States. We appreciate India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan, but India makes billions of dollars in trade with the United States, and we want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development. We are committed to pursuing our shared objectives for peace and security in South Asia and the broader Indo-Pacific region.”
This is seismic. In one speech, Trump realigns US foreign policy away from Pakistan and towards an ascending India. Furthermore, India is essentially dealing with the same threats as America. Both countries face a growing threat in China and of course India and the US are direct targets of radical Islamic terror, much of it grown in Shiite dominated Pakistan.
The fact that China and Pakistan have a growing partnership underscores the need for the US to recalibrate its approach in both Central and East Asia. India affords Trump the possibility to create a new order in Asia. One that is not built around propping up despotic or corrupt governments that have a revolving door policy on radical Islamic terrorists.
Trump’s firm outreach to India instantly changes the nature of the game with China. The skirmishes with Chinese forces in Bhutan may seem like a prelude to the next war, but in reality Modi’s firm stance and now Trump’s clear backing will act as a deterrent.
Look for Israeli technology, especially in the UAV sector to become a critical part in monitoring China’s actions in the Himalayas. It is no accident that the three countries, USA, India and Israel share many of the same threats and have begun to build an alliance to push back on them.
Trump’s recognition that India’s position in the region can be utilized to dissuade China from making any destabilizing moves is important. Furthermore, the most important part of this shift is the ending of what has been a presidential strategy spanning both Bush and Obama in partnering with Pakistan against terror and the Taliban.
The growing Israel, India, and US alliance may be a game changer in Asia. With threats on the Indian sub-continent growing daily, this alliance is key to safeguarding its peace and security.
President Donald Trump’s tweet last week after the UN Security Council voted to put new sanctions on North Korea held within it loads of information that should have alarmed both the President’s most dedicated followers as well as most Americans. Here it is again:
Just completed call with President Moon of South Korea. Very happy and impressed with 15-0 United Nations vote on North Korea sanctions.
While the UN Security Council vote was important, the idea that more sanctions would cause North Korea to simply just roll over is pure fantasy.
At the same time as the UN Security Council vote North Korea’s “Number Two” headed to Iran for ten days to strengthen ties between the two countries. These ties have been covert for years, but now with official sanctions having been increased, Iran’s backing to the North Korean regime becomes key in allowing the nuclear progress to continue at an increased pace.
Furthermore, as long as the world believes Iran is abiding with the Nuclear Deal then cash will continue to flow into Iran. These investments by Russia and China are no doubt now being channeled back into North Korea for nuclear weapons development.
A Soft Coup in the US by the Generals?
With the take over of Gen. Kelly as White House Chief of Staff and the growing influence of Generals McMaster and Mattis, the alt-right has been abuzz with the rumors of a soft coup. No matter the exact terminology, there is a growing sense that all the President has is his Twitter feed.
Anytime there is military personel involved with the day to day running of the government, especially when war is on the horizon, the chances for direct conflict can and will increase.
While Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric against North Korea, the real question on why he has allowed Generals who have either bent over backwards to support the Iranian nuclear deal or at least have been complacent with the Persian expansion to continue to strengthen their control over America’s foreign policy.
By not tackling the growing partnership with Iran, the US has forfeited their ability to shut down the orth Korean threat in a peaceful manner. The world’s money is pouring into Iran and thus enabling Kim Jong Un to move beyond theatrics.
General McMaster, the head of the NSC has not only been one of the biggest supporters of the Iranian nuclear deal, he has cleared the NSC of any opposition to that deal. By creating an atmosphere where Iran gets a free ride and thus empowers a situation where North Korea can trigger a nuclear war is not only negligent, but downright dangerous. The current situation has lead to a militarization of the American government in both day to day thinking and actual action.
The following Tweets from Trump hold an ominous tone:
My first order as President was to renovate and modernize our nuclear arsenal. It is now far stronger and more powerful than ever before….
The world has every right to be nervous. Afterall the Executive branch is being run by three generals and they have not only choked off President Trump’s closest friends, but have left him with only a Twitter feed to vent.
Buckle your seat belt, the World is about to get very rocky!
Sahara Reporters wrote the following on August 3rd:
“The US State Department has approved the sale of 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos to Nigeria.” Sahara Reporters further stated that “The [State] Department notified the US Congress, which has 30 days to approve the deal, of the $593 million foreign military sales on 2 August” and that “the package includes the aircraft, weapons, training, spare parts and facilities to support the program.”
The Buhari regime is known for deep ties to Islamic militants based in Northern Nigeria. Since taking over Nigeria with the support of the Obama administration, Buhari has set out to Islamify the country while spreading hate to the Biafra region to the Southeast, especially against Igbo tribe there.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) appealed to the US Congress not to approve the deal. The organization who represents millions of Igbo and Biafrans in Southeast Nigeria said the following:
“We want to remind the world that within three weeks of becoming the president of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, Retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari bombed Biafraland using a low-precision and less sophisticated attack aircraft with bombs that have Napalm as the warheads. In that genocidal act which occurred from June 17 to June 19, 2015, scores of Biafrans were roasted while others had their bodies mangled by the torrents of these bombs with Napalm warheads. With the A-29, there is no doubt that Muhammadu Buhari and his genocidal government will wipe out the entire people of Biafra with ease in a matter of a few sorties. The DOS wishes to remind the US Congress that Nigeria is not among the ‘Fast Track’ countries but a country indicted continually on human rights abuses.”
With the above in mind, it appears strange that Rex Tillerson would want to contiue the policy of his predecessor in arming Islamists, especially those with close ties to Iran.
“Either the Obama administration is ignorant of Buhari’s human rights abuses against the Igbo in Biafra or they are complicit. Buhari has often used Boko Haram as a foil to generate arms and sympathy from the West.
The United States has begun to strengthen ties with Buhari ever since he attained power in Africa’s most populous country. The previous President, Goodluck Jonathan was a friend of Israel and yet spurned the Obama administration. With Buhari now as President the tables have turned. Nigeria is now ruled by a former military leader and an avowed Islamist. “
The Trump administration, with its various upheavels over the last few months does not seem aware of the disaster looming from this sale. Not only will Igbo’s who are 30 to 40 million strong be targeted, the idea that Buhari will use these planes to fight Boko Haram is just absurd. Buhari wil continue to use “the need to fight Bop Haram” as the reason for the West to supply him with arms while ethnically cleansing the majority non-Muslims of the South.
The Igbo South is Key to Israel’s Ring of Defense in Africa
If Buhari would succeed in subjugating the Igbo majority areas of Southeast Nigeria, Israel’s strategy of building a bulwark against radical Islamic regimes would be broken in half. To Nigeria’s West is Ghana, Togo, Benin, who have all begun to grow close to Israel. to Nigeria’s South East, Cameroon, another friendly country. By forcing the Igbo into a secondary status, Buhari would effectively disconnect the Christians of the Gold Coast from their brethren to the East.
Buhari sitting with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Source – Khamenei)
The further Nigeria slides into forced Islamism, the harder it will be to pull it out when the time comes. Many observers are even questioning the need to hold the artifical former British colony together as it combines the Islamist North with the Christian Southwest, and the Judeo-Christian Southeast.
The British Want the Oil Near Igboland
The real reason for arming Buhari appears to be oil related. The British in particular have a staked interest and have since the formed Nigeria in 1914 to forcibly subjugate the Igbos and related tribes in Biafra in order to gain a stranglehold over their natural resources.
Like other former colonies, the British backed the Islamic Hausa in the North to control what is an identifiably culturally unique area in Igboland also known as Biafra. This worked until 1967, when Biafra attempted to gain independence. After a three year war and a British blockade on humanitarian supplies caused over 3 million Igbos to die the war ended.
The British policy of pushing Islamic regimes to hold back indigenous peopes in order to exploit the area’s natural resources appears to be continuing, except this time the State Department appears to be complicit. Either this is purposeful in helping the British control the oil reserves of the Ogbo dominated Biafra region or Rex Tillerson and the others at the State Department truly buy into Buhari’s rhetoric.
Either way, the sale represents a slipery slope which calls into question the veracity of America’s fight against radical Islam.
