WORLD AT WAR: 3.11.17 - Global Leaders Rattle Their Sabers As The World Marches Toward War

Global Leaders Rattle Their Sabers As The World Marches Toward War - Michael Snyder - http://endtimeheadlines.org/2017/03/global-leaders-rattle-sabers-world-marches-toward-war/

 

Iran just conducted another provocative missile test, more U.S. troops are being sent to the Middle East, it was just announced that the U.S. military will be sending B-1 and B-52 bombers to South Korea in response to North Korea firing four missiles into the seas near Japan, and China is absolutely livid that a U.S. carrier group just sailed through contested waters in the South China Sea.  We have entered a season where leaders all over the globe feel a need to rattle their sabers, and many fear that this could be leading us to war.  In particular, Donald Trump is going to be under the microscope in the days ahead as other world leaders test his resolve.  Will Trump be able to show that he is tough without going over the edge and starting an actual conflict?

 

The Iranians made global headlines on Thursday when they conducted yet another ballistic missile test despite being warned by Trump on numerous occasions...

 

As tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to mount, the semi-official news agency Tasnim is reporting that Iran's Revolutionary Guard has successfully conducted yet another ballistic missile test, this time from a navy vessel.  Called the Hormuz 2, these latest missiles are designed to destroy moving targets at sea at ranges up to 300 km (180 miles).

 

Reports on the latest test quotes Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, who confirmed that "the naval ballistic missile called Hormuz 2 successfully destroyed a target which was 250 km away."

 

The missile test is the latest event in a long-running rivalry between Iran and the United States in and around the Strait of Hormuz, which guards the entrance to the Gulf. About 20% of the world's oil passes through the waterway, which is less than 40 km wide at its narrowest point.

 

So how will Trump respond to this provocation?

 

Will he escalate the situation?  If he does nothing he will look weak, but if he goes too far he could risk open conflict.

 

Elsewhere in the Middle East, things are already escalating.  It is being reported that "several hundred Marines" are on the ground in Syria to support an assault on the city of Raqqa, and another 1,000 troops could be sent to Kuwait to join the fight against ISIS any day now.  The following comes from Zero Hedge...

 

While the Trump administration waits to decide if it will send 1,000 troops to Kuwait to fight ISIS, overnight the Washington Post reported that the US has sent several hundred Marines to Syria to support an allied local force aiming to capture the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa. Defence officials said they would establish an outpost from which they could fire artillery at IS positions some 32km (20 miles) away. US special forces are already on the ground, "advising" the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance according to the BBC.

 

The defence officials told the Washington Post that the Marines were from the San Diego-based 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and that they had flown to northern Syria via Djibouti and Kuwait. They are to set up an artillery battery that could fire powerful 155mm shells from M777 howitzers, the officials said. Another marine expeditionary unit carried out a similar mission at the start of the Iraqi government's operation to recapture the city of Mosul from IS last year.

 

Meanwhile, China is spitting mad for several reasons.  For one, the Chinese are absolutely furious that South Korea has allowed the U.S. to deploy the THAAD missile defense system on their soil...

 

China is lashing out at South Korea and Washington for the deployment of a powerful missile defense system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, deposited at the Osan Air Base in South Korea on Monday evening.

 

The deployment of THAAD follows several ballistic missile tests by North Korea in recent months, including the launch of four missiles on Monday, three of which landed in the sea off the coast of Japan. Though THAAD would help South Korea protect itself from a North Korean missile attack, China is vocally protesting the deployment of the system, claiming it upsets the "strategic equilibrium" in the region because its radar will allow the United States to detect and track missiles launched from China.

 

Of course the U.S. needed to do something, because the North Koreans keep rattling their sabers by firing off more ballistic missiles toward Japan.

 

But it is one thing to deploy a missile defense system, and it is another thing entirely to fly strategic nuclear bombers into the region.

 

So if the Chinese were upset when THAAD was deployed, how will they feel when B-1 and B-52 bombers start showing up in South Korea?...

 

Earlier this week, trigger-happy Kim pushed his luck once more when he fired off four ballistic missiles into the seas near Japan.

 

Now US military chiefs are reportedly planning to fly in B-1 and B-52 bombers - built to carry nuclear bombs - to show America has had enough.

 

South Korea and the US have also started their annual Foal Eagle military exercise sending a strong warning to North Korea over its actions.

 

A military official said 300,000 South Korean troops and 15,000 US personnel are taking part in the operation.

 

The Trump administration has openly stated that all options "are on the table" when it comes to North Korea, and that includes a military strike.

 

It has been more than 60 years since the Korean War ended, but many are concerned that we may be closer to a new Korean War than we have been at any point since that time.

 

And of course our relationship with China is tumbling precariously downhill as well.  Another reason why the Chinese are extremely upset with the Trump administration is because a U.S. Navy carrier battle group led by the USS Carl Vinson sailed past islands that China claims in the South China Sea just a few weeks ago.

 

In China, the media openly talks about the possibility of war with the United States over the South China Sea.  Most Americans are not even aware that the South China Sea is a very serious international issue, but over in China this is a major focus.

 

And the U.S. military has recently made several other moves in the region that have angered the Chinese...

 

Also in February, the U.S. sent a dozen F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to Tindal AB in northern Australia, the closest Australian military airbase to China, for coalition training and exercises. It's the first deployment of that many F-22s in the Pacific.

 

And if that didn't get the attention of the Chinese government, the U.S. just tested four Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles during a nuclear war exercise, sending the simulated weapons 4,200 miles from the coast of California into the mid-Pacific. It's the first time in three years the U.S. has conducted tests in the Pacific, and the first four-missile salvo since the end of the Cold War.

 

I can understand the need to look tough, but eventually somebody is going to go too far.

 

If you are familiar with my work, then you know that I believe that war is coming.  Things in the Middle East continue to escalate, and it is only a matter of time before a great war erupts between Israel and her neighbors.  Meanwhile, U.S. relations with both Russia and China continue to deteriorate, and this is something that I have been warning about for a very long time.

 

We should hope for peace, but we should also not be blind to the signs of war that are starting to emerge all over the planet.  Relatively few people anticipated the outbreak of World War I and World War II in advance, and I have a feeling that the same thing will be true for World War III.

 

North Korea Is Practicing for Nuclear War - Jeffrey Lewis - http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/09/north-korea-is-practicing-for-nuclear-war/

 

North Korea isn't testing its missiles. It's preparing for a nuclear first strike.

 

Monday morning, North Korea launched four missiles from the northwest corner of the country that traveled 620 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan.

 

While none of the launches were the long-awaited test of an intercontinental-range ballistic missile - the sort of weapon that could reach the United States - the salvo was a big deal in its own way. Pyongyang very vividly demonstrated the warnings from Thae Yong-ho, a high-ranking North Korean diplomat who defected last year and described how the country was taking the final steps to arm its missile units with nuclear weapons. North Korea is developing an offensive doctrine for the large-scale use of nuclear weapons in the early stages of a conflict. When combined with what we know about U.S. and South Korean war plans, this fact raises troubling questions about whether a crisis on the Korean peninsula might erupt into nuclear war before President Donald Trump has time to tweet about it.

 

In the past, North Korea tested all its No-dong missiles out of a single military test site near a village of the same name. (Why, yes, the U.S. analysts did name the missiles after the town. The emasculating quality was a pure coincidence, I am sure.) These tests were designed to demonstrate that the Scud and No-dong missiles worked. They were tests in the literal sense of the word.

 

In recent years, however, North Korea has started launching Scuds and No-dongs from different locations all over the damn country. These aren't missile tests, they are military exercises. North Korea knows the missiles work. What the military units are doing now is practicing - practicing for a nuclear war.

 

The North Koreans haven't exactly been coy about this. Last year, North Korea tested a No-dong missile. Afterward, North Korea published a map showing that the missile was fired to a point at sea that was the exact range as South Korea's port city of Busan, with an arc running from the target into the ocean, down to Busan. In case you missed the map, the North Koreans spelled it out: "The drill was conducted by limiting the firing range under the simulated conditions of making preemptive strikes at ports and airfields in the operational theater in South Korea where the U.S. imperialists' nuclear war hardware is to be hurled."

 

This time, North Korea launched four "extended-range" Scud missiles that are capable of flying up to 620 miles. The map showed all four missiles landing on an arc that stretched down to the Marine Corps Air Station near Iwakuni, Japan. Once again, the North Korean statement doesn't leave much to the imagination: "Involved in the drill were Hwasong artillery units of the KPA (Korean People's Army) Strategic Force tasked to strike the bases of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces in Japan in contingency."

 

So why is North Korea practicing nuking U.S. forces in Japan?

 

The United States and South Korea are conducting their largest annual joint military exercise, known as Foal Eagle. The exercise, which is really a series of exercises, lasts two months and involves tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean military personnel, as well as an aircraft carrier, bombers, and - guess what? - F-35 aircraft based out of Iwakuni. Foal Eagle is a rehearsal for the U.S.-Republic of Korea war plan, known as OPLAN 5015, which has been described as a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, including its leadership, as a retaliation for some provocation. Whether that's a fair description or not, the North Koreans certainly think the annual exercise is a dress rehearsal for an invasion. This year's menu of fun and games reportedly includes a U.S.-ROK special operations unit practicing an airborne assault on North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities.

 

What North Korea is doing is simply counterprogramming the Foal Eagle with its own exercise. If we are practicing an invasion, they are practicing nuking us to repel that invasion.

 

What is disturbing about the situation, though, is how the war plans of North Korea, South Korea, and the United States might interact. North Korea's military exercises leave little doubt that Pyongyang plans to use large numbers of nuclear weapons against U.S. forces throughout Japan and South Korea to blunt an invasion. In fact, the word that official North Korean statements use is "repel." North Korean defectors have claimed that the country's leaders hope that by inflicting mass casualties and destruction in the early days of a conflict, they can force the United States and South Korea to recoil from their invasion. While U.S. officials usually bluster that Kim would be suicidal to order the large-scale use of nuclear weapons, it's obvious that a conventional defense didn't work for Saddam Hussein or Muammar al-Qaddafi when they faced an onslaught of U.S. military power. That was suicide. Of course, that's where those North Korean ICBMs come in: to keep Trump from doing anything regrettable after Kim Jong Un obliterates Seoul and Tokyo.

 

Then there is this: Kim's strategy depends on using nuclear weapons early - before the United States can kill him or those special forces on display in Foal Eagle can find his missile units Kim's strategy depends on using nuclear weapons early - before the United States can kill him or those special forces on display in Foal Eagle can find his missile units. He has to go first, if he is to go at all.

 

But going first is also the U.S. strategy. That means, in a crisis, the pressure will be to escalate. Whatever restraint Kim or Trump might show - and let's be honest, our expectations here are not high - each will face enormous pressure to start the attack lest his opponent beat him to the punch. Then there is South Korea, which has its own pre-emption plan, separate from OPLAN 5015 and using South Korean ballistic and cruise missiles. Pyongyang, Washington, and Seoul all have plans to go first. Two of them are going to be wrong about that.

 

I understand why the public is fixated on the possibility of a North Korean ICBM. A nuclear-armed ICBM is North Korea's ultimate goal and would be its final deterrent. It would be the last card that Kim would play. But it is equally, if not more, important to think through how such a war might start. It is important to understand whether the military forces and plans both sides are pursuing make war less likely or more. The launch on Monday might not have been an ICBM, but - in light of Foal Eagle - it was a warning all the same. Not of how a war on the Korean peninsula might end, but of how one might begin.

 

China Warns of Nuclear First Strike in Response to THAAD Deployment - Paul Joseph Watson - https://www.infowars.com/china-warns-of-nuclear-first-strike-in-response-to-thaad-deployment/

 

"US must pay the price"

 

China warns that it is reconsidering its policy not to use nuclear weapons against South Korea in response to the U.S. deploying the THAAD missile system and sending B-52 bombers to protect its ally.

 

THAAD is being deployed to shield South Korea from North Korean ballistic missiles after several tests by the Stalinist state in recent months. Beijing is furious because the system will also be capable of detecting and tracking missiles launched from China.

 

It was also reported yesterday that the U.S. will send B-1 and B-52 nuclear bombers to South Korea in order to display a stern show of strength.

 

300,000 South Korean troops and 15,000 US personnel have also started their annual Foal Eagle military exercise. The USS Carl Vinson nuke-powered aircraft carrier will join the drill - carrying dozens of fighter jets.

 

An article in the Global Times, which is widely regarded as the voice of the Chinese government, says that Beijing will respond to America's "strategic provocations" by actioning a "rapid increase in the number and quality of China's strategic nuclear weapons" and that China isn't worried about starting a limited "arms race".

 

Asserting that "the US must pay the price for the THAAD deployment," the piece goes on to warn that, "If the US further intensifies its anti-missile attempts and strategic containment, China may reconsider its pledge of not being the first to use nuclear weapons."

 

In other words, Beijing is signaling that it would be prepared to use nuclear weapons against South Korea in the event of a conflict.

 

In a related development, China's second aircraft carrier is moving closer to completion while China vows to use its "first class navy" to intercept any "intruding aircraft" within its region of control.

 

Last month, Beijing warned the Trump administration that the People's Liberation Army is "making preparations" for war after the deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson to patrol the South China Sea.

 

Meanwhile, columnist Pat Buchanan warns that a new "Korean missile crisis" could be on the horizon.

 

"New tests by North Korea of missiles or atom bombs for an ICBM could bring U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities and missile sites, igniting an attack on the South," he writes, adding that China would then be forced to defend its ally.

 

 

Iran Strengthening Hezbollah, Palestinian Terrorists for Possible Conflict with Israel - by Deborah Danan - http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2017/03/07/irgc-official-iran-to-ally-with-russia-against-american-threats-will-drag-israel-to-war-with-hezbollah-palestinians/

 

Iran is responding to President Donald Trump's warnings against the Tehran regime by strengthening Hezbollah and Gaza-based terror groups as well as allying itself with Russia in exchange for economic and military privileges, an Iranian military source said.

 

In an article published on February 21 in the Iranian reformist news agency Amad News - Iran's answer to WikiLeaks - an unnamed source from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was cited as saying that the Islamic Republic was mulling its response to "increasing threats by America," which have the potential to turn into an "extensive military confrontation."

 

Political, security and military officials have held a series of meetings, the source said, and have come to the conclusion that "Iran should deepen its strategic ties with Russia, such that in the event of an extensive war, Russia will defend Iran from American threats."

 

Russia would receive widespread compensation for such a strategic alliance, the source said. First, Tehran would grant Moscow access to oil fields in southern Iran, giving Russia annual profits of $50 billion. This would go some way toward assuaging the economic crisis Russia has suffered as a result of American sanctions over the Crimea issue.

 

"The second recommendation is to realize Russia's decades-old dream of access to free waters," the Farsi-language article translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) said, continuing "that if America attacks Iran, Russia will be able to defend Iran against the mighty sea and land strength of America." Allowing Russia access to the Persian Gulf and control of its ports will also alleviate the sanctions against it, the IRGC source said.

 

The team of experts' third recommendation is to divert U.S. attention away from Iran by triggering a war with Israel. Tehran would compel its proxy, Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, and Palestinian groups to engage in a conflict with Israel, thereby sidetracking the U.S. so that it will become "too busy" to unite ranks with "other countries worldwide against Iran."

 

"A new war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as with Palestinian groups, will completely divert global public attention from Iran and focus it on Israel. Such a war could become the focal point of the first four-year term of Donald Trump, and prevent an opportunity to fight Iran," the source was quoted as saying.

 

The source said that the recommendations had been transmitted to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and added that the team of experts had already had some success in putting the plan into action.

 

According to the article, Khamenei attended the 6th International Conference in Support of the Palestinian Intifada in Tehran on the counsel of those officials. In addition, the team advised Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah to give an interview on Iranian state television on February 20 in which the Shiite leader threatened Israel with strikes on its vital infrastructure sites including the Dimona nuclear reactor and an ammonia plant in Haifa.

 

"These two things happened because of other recommendations by the team of experts," the article said.

 

The article ended by rebuking the Iranian leadership for making such recommendations in the first place, saying they constitute an explicit contradiction of the goals of Iran's Islamic Revolution and of the legacy of revolution founder Ayatollah Khomeini. Khomeini's slogan, it said, was "neither East nor West - [only] the Islamic Republic," i.e. that Iran should never rely on help from the outside and must remain independent.