War Drums: The Fire Intifada is Only the Beginning, Hezbollah is Next

As more fires are set around Israel and the nation’s emergency response is stretched to its max, the next phase in what is fast becoming and orchestrated series of events is likely to happen. It has been understood for a while now that Hezbollah and their Iranian sponsors would launch counter measures in Northern Israel.  With Trump set to take over in a matter of weeks and Putin trying to keep balance between Israel and Iran, the window of opportunity for an actual attack is closing.

Using the fires to cripple Israeli infrastructure, especially in Haifa where large chemical plants exist is a set up for what Iran and Hezbollah plans to do next.  Expect Hezbollah infiltrators with the help of the same groups that are setting fires to penetrate Israel’s Northern border and carve out an area.  Reaction will be swift from Israel, but it will spark a far wider conflict in the waining days of Obama’s presidency.  Given Putin’s role behind the scenes he maybe forced to play peacemaker.

The goal is not to win, but to bring Israel to its knees.  So far Israel’s enemies are winning.

Russia Advances Missiles Into the Heart of Europe as NATO Tensions Rise

If people thought the tension that has been growing between NATO and Russia would begin to fizzle once Donald Trump won the election think again.  In a move that threatens to destablize Eastern Europe, Russia’s President Putin has moved S-400 surface-to-air missiles and nuclear-capable Iskander ballistic missiles to Kaliningrad. Kalingrad is part of Russia that is detatched from the rest of Russia.  With the Baltic Sea to its north it shares borders with Poland and Lithuania.

A Google Map shows the location of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave (red marker), sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. GOOGLE MAPS

With NATO growing both adventurous in moving forces close to the Russian border as well as on edge over Trump’s disregard with the necessity of  NATO,  Russia was seemingly compelled to act. After all NATO’s own self preservation may lead it to do some pretty ill advised actions such as ratcheting pressure on its Eastern front. For his part, Putin’s advance is on one hand a deterrent, but on the other hand a preparation for a post Obama world where facts on the ground will have influence on what may be a very different relationship between America and Russia.

Putin himself had this to say in a documentary taped a few weeks about Ukraine and scheduled to air this week:

“Why are we reacting to NATO expansion so emotionally? We are concerned by NATO’s decision making. What should we do? We have, therefore, to take countermeasures, which means to target with our missile systems the facilities, that, in our opinion, start posing a threat to us.”

What Will NATO Do?

With Turkey threatening to bolt and deal with China, Russia moving west, and President-Elect Donald Trump looking to cut NATO free, it is no wonder the EU is considering building an army of its own.  More than likely is the direct possibility of what’s left of NATO and the EU army forming a single entity.  That being said there is tremendous financial gain, power, and prestige still found in NATO.  Don’t expect those forces to stand down as Russia reasserts its dominance.

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“We Are Coming Nineveh” Obama Must Win in Mosul or Donald Trump Will Do it For Him

Legacies are bitter weapons that plague outgoing presidents time and time again.  Barack Obama thought he had his legacy wrapped up, but then came the blue color workers and placed Donald Trump into office. With one election Obama’s legacy is in tatters and he knows it.  Despite all of that, there is one last battle Obama needs and wants to win to stave off a complete rejection of his so far disastrous foreign policy. This battle is the battle of Mosul, where ISIS is making there last stand as far as nation building is going.

Despite a bitter beginning of infighting between Shiite militias, Turkish troops, Kurdish Peshmerga, and Iraqi National forces, the operation according the Iraqi officials is beginning to move along. “We Are Coming Nineveh”  has a time limit though and that is Jan. 20th.  Right now Obama has kept the Russians out of the bombing campaign and wants to prove he doesn’t need them to finish the job.  If Mosul is not taken by inauguration day, Trump will surely bring the Russians in to crush ISIS once and for all.

Why does this matter?

Obama has staked his foreign policy at least in the waning years of his Presidency on holding off Russian expansion.  Of course Putin has bested him in Eastern Europe as well as Syria.  This means Obama must keep him out of Iraq or risk being seen as a total loser. With Mosul grinding on and 60 days until President-Elect Trump becomes President Trump, the odds are not great that the Iraqi forces will succeed.  Keep in mind ISIS could have been defeated a while ago, but each side fighting in Iraq has used the group as a pawn to offset what they see as a more mortal enemy.

This is why Trump’s approach is to ignore the game on the ground and get together with Putin and flatten ISIS and if need be others.

Jan. 20th is coming.  After that date Iraq and Operation “We Are Coming Nineveh”  are on the chopping block.

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The Coming War Maybe the Last

With a resurgent Putin and ascending China one wonders how the global structure that has existed since the end of the Cold War will continue to exist.  Most people view events through a lens of national interests mixed with political bravado.  These cross interests usually line up.  Due to this alignment we rarely have the disconnect we currently have in the West.  During the Cold War, anti-Soviet sentiment coincided with both the political and economic needs of the West’s establishment and everyday person.

No one in Washington or Brussels imagined a world where both Russia and China would reemerge as serious challengers to the West’s financial and geopolitical control, yet this is precisely what has happened. With Putin on the move in the Middle East and Eastern Europe and countries like the Philippines changing sides to China, the elite in the West have begun to panic. This is the cause of Hillary’s break with Obama’s policy when it comes to these new rising powers.

Goldman Sachs Speeches are Key to the Coming Confrontation 

Hillary is bought and sold by the banks. Her speeches make it clear she works for them and is essentially their pupet in the White House. Like always wars are far more about economy and financial control than anything else.  True there is an element ideology or nationalism at play, but choosing confrontation rarely has to do with that.  Hillary and her backers see Russia and China as a serious threat for their continuing monopoly on global finance.

With this at play, the interests of main street and the elite diverge drastically. Most Americans don’t care about Russian moves in the Middle East or Eastern Europe.  This is why Trump’s foreign policy is attractive. However, Trump is not the President whether or not he wins may not stave off a major confrontation between the USA/EU/Britain and Russia/China.

The financials in the West see a direct confrontation now, even at risk of full-blown WW3 levels rather than a proxy war as better to make sure their control stays in tact. Putin is not waiting either and this makes the “Great Game” far more dangerous than ever. For Putin and even China they understand the West is not going to let them steam roll their new world order.

When Will This Happen?

If Tump pulls an upset and wins, look for Obama to push towards an open confrontation now.  If Hillary wins, Putin will want to move fast in order to throw her foreign policy off before she gets in office.  The war will start, but on Putin’s time-table.  Either way, the stakes are so high this next war maybe the world’s last.

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Break the BDS

Is Putin Making his Move Before Election Day?

To most observers Putin is moving in an aggressive way to wrest control of the Middle East and Eastern Europe from NATO.  He has had success after success in dividing NATO and seizing opportunities in filling the void left from a receding America.

The surprise is not Putin’s cunning success, but the speed in which it has occurred. With under 20 days to go in the USA Presidential elections Putin is moving the largest Russian naval force since the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Eastern Mediterranean. With lots of American naval vessels already there, the Eastern Mediterranean is about to get far more crowded.

Putin’s move to seize the Eastern Mediterranean will have long term implications in the region.  For one it will force Israel to finally make a deal with Russia it does not want to. By  providing cover for Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria Putin holds tremendous leverege on Israel.

With elections at hand and a weak president, Putin is set to carve out his place in the Middle East.  The only question is if it includes Israel or not.