WORLD AT WAR: 12.19.20 - The Russians Hacked Us!

�The Russians Hacked Us!�: They Are Pushing A NarrativeThat We Are Heading For A Conflict With Russia - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/the-russians-hacked-us-they-are-already-pushing-a-narrative-that-we-are-heading-for-a-conflict-with-russia/ Not this again. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, Democrats squarely blamed �Russian interference� for Trump�s election victory, and they spent the next several yearsgoing down the rabbit hole of that conspiracy theory. So here we are in the aftermath of the 2020 election, and once again they are pushing another �blame Russia� narrative. In recent days the mainstream media has been breathlessly telling us about �a massivecyberattack� that was �the largest espionage attack in history�, and even though they are not giving us any evidence that would point to the Russians, they are insisting that Russia must have been behind the attack. Of course it is theoretically possible that the Russians could have done it, but the Chinese, the North Koreans and the Iranians also have extremely sophisticated cyberattackcapabilities. Why couldn�t it have been one of them? And it is entirely possible that we could have simply attacked ourselves so that we could blame it on the Russians later. We probably will never know the actual truth in this matter. The U.S. intelligence community has been lying to the American people for so long that most of us wouldn�t believethem even if everything that they were saying was 100 percent true. And whoever did actually conduct this cyberattack is almost certainly never going to admit it. But what we do know is that this provides a convenient anti-Russia narrative for the deep state at a moment when it looks like a new administration might be entering theWhite House. Needless to say, the mainstream media has fallen for the �blame Russia� angle hook, line and sinker. For example, just check out the sort of stuff that is being said aboutthis attack on CNN� Richard Clarke worked under three administrations and served as special advisor to President George W. Bush. Appearing on The Lead with Jake Tapper Thursday, he offeredterrifying insight into reports of a massive cyber-attack carried out on the U.S. government. �This is the largest espionage attack in history,� Clarke flatly opened to host Jake Tapper. �This is as though the Russians got a passkey, a skeleton key for about halfthe locks in the country. Think about it that way. It�s 18,000 companies and government institutions scattered around the U.S. And the world. This is an espionage attack.� Needless to say, you can find similar coverage of this story on all of the other major news networks as well. But jumping to conclusions is extremely dangerous. Many of the experts that are blaming �the Russians� for �the largest espionage attack in history� also seem to be implyingthat the United States needs to respond in some manner. So exactly what would such a U.S. �response� look like? And how would the Russians respond once we start hitting back at them? I think that those are very important questions. We are being told that a whole host of U.S. agencies were affected by this cyberattack, and that includes the agency �which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile�� The Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration, which maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, have evidence that hackers accessed their networksas part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies, officials directly familiar with the matter said. On Thursday, DOE and NNSA officials began coordinating notifications about the breach to their congressional oversight bodies after being briefed by Rocky Campione, thechief information officer at DOE. And we are also being told that �the Russians� have had access to the networks of those agencies �for six to nine months�� Tom Bossert, a former homeland security adviser to President Donald Trump, said the �magnitude of this ongoing attack is hard to overstate.� �The Russians have had access to a considerable number of important and sensitive networks for six to nine months,� Bossert said in column published in the New York Times,adding that Russian intelligence officials have likely gained �administrative control over the networks it considered priority targets.� You have got to be kidding me. Hackers have been prancing around in highly sensitive U.S. government computer systems for six to nine months and we are just finding out about it now? Apparently hackers were able to gain access to those systems through a piece of software created by a company called SolarWinds� The attackers penetrated federal computer systems through a popular piece of server software offered through a company called SolarWinds. According to USA Today, the SolarWinds Orion Platform �is used by hundreds of thousands of organizations globally, including most Fortune 500 companies and multiple U.S.federal agencies�. All of those entities could have been compromised, and all of them will now need to work to secure their networks. It also turns out that Dominion Voting Systems also uses software that was created by SolarWinds, but we are being told not to worry because they don�t use the Orion Platformthat was the specific target of these particular attacks. Uh, okay. No matter who was actually behind these recent cyberattacks, the deep state and the mainstream media will almost certainly continue to pin the blame on the Russians, andthat means that our relationship with Russia will continue to rapidly deteriorate. Meanwhile, the Chinese military has been training for an invasion of Taiwan� Footage aired by China�s state broadcaster CCTV last week included rare images of the Type 96A main battle tank during a war game in Hangzhou, in east China. The Chinese army units of 72nd Group Army took part in the street battle exercise which attempted to simulate conditions China�s invading forces could encounter if theyinvade Taiwan. If the Chinese actually pull the trigger on such an invasion, that would likely result in military conflict between the U.S. and China. But if there is a weak president such as Joe Biden in the White House, the Chinese may be emboldened to try such a move. We live at a time of wars and rumors of wars, and once Trump is out of the White House I believe that we would inevitably move much closer to war with both Russia and China. Unfortunately, most Americans don�t spend much time thinking about foreign policy these days. In fact, most Americans don�t spend much time thinking for themselves at all. Instead, they allow others to do most of their thinking for them, and that is extremely unfortunate. Iran's Plan to Topple Arab Leaders- by Khaled Abu Toameh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/16859/iran-topple-arab-leaders Iran's Islamist proxies in the Arab world have resurfaced to condemn last week's normalization agreement between Israel and Morocco just as they did with similar accordsreached in the past few months with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. As usual, the Islamists and their patrons in Tehran, who seek the elimination of Israel, are using texts from the Koran and sayings attributed to the prophet Mohammed tojustify their opposition to the normalization of relations between Arabs and Israel. After the Israel-Morocco deal, however, the Islamists have stepped up their campaign of incitement against Arabs who want to make peace with Israel. Now, the Islamists are calling on the Moroccan people to revolt against their government and King Mohammed VI. This call shows that the Islamists have shifted from rhetoricalattacks on Arabs who establish relations with Israel to calls to violence against the Arab rulers and governments. By urging the Moroccans to "resist" the normalization agreement, Iran's proxies are sending a message to the people of Morocco to topple their"treacherous" regime by using all available methods, including terrorism. The Iranians were among the first Muslims to condemn the Israel-Morocco agreement, paving the way for their proxies to follow suit by urging Moroccans to rise against theirregime. Morocco's normalization of relations with Israel was a "betrayal" and a "stab in the back" of the Palestinians, said Hossein Amir-Abdollahanian, an adviser to Iran's parliamentaryspeaker. Shortly after the Iranian announcement, Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian Islamist movement that rules over the Gaza Strip, released a statement, condemning the Israel-Moroccoagreement: "Normalization with the Zionist entity is a deplorable step that is not worthy of Morocco and does not reflect the positions of the brotherly Moroccan people who have stoodwith Palestine, Jerusalem and the al Aqsa Mosque in all circumstances and stations." In an indirect appeal to Moroccans to revolt against their government and monarch, Hamas called on "the authentic Moroccan people and all the free peoples to reject thisagreement and all the cheap normalization agreements and to continue boycotting the Zionist occupation and not accepting it at all, notwithstanding the circumstances and temptations." Hamas's call on Moroccans to revolt against their leaders contradicts its own declared policy that it does not intervene in the internal affairs of the Arab countries. "Hamasdoes not meddle in the internal affairs of Arab and Muslim countries," said senior Hamas official Salah Bardaweel. If true, why is Hamas denouncing Morocco's decision to establish relations with Israel? Moreover, why is Hamas calling on the Moroccan people to "reject" an agreement reachedby the Moroccan monarch? What is this call but a blatant intervention in the internal affairs of an Arab country? Showing Hamas's hypocrisy out in the sunlight, Hamas maintains continuous communication with Egypt, the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Just lastweek, Egyptian intelligence officials again visited the Gaza Strip for talks with Hamas leaders about maintaining security and stability in the Hamas-ruled coastal territory. In the past few years, Hamas officials have been regularly visiting Cairo for talkswith Egyptian security officials on the situation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is terrified of uttering a word against Egypt because it is afraid that the Egyptians might retaliate by closing their shared border with the Gaza Strip or imposingsanctions, including travel restrictions, on Hamas leaders. It is one thing to condemn the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, which do not have shared borders with the Gaza Strip, and a totally different thing to lash out at your powerful neighbor, Egypt. Hamas leaders know that the moment they criticize Egypt, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be slammed shut. The Egyptian authorities will closethe Rafah border crossing to all Palestinian travelers and goods. Hamas leaders also know that the moment they call upon the Egyptian people to revolt against the Sisi regime, thousands of Hamas supporters in Egypt would find themselves behind bars. Even when the Egyptians do sometimes close the Rafah border crossing, Hamas would not dare to fire one rocket or bullet toward Egypt. Evidently, Hamas leaders know thatthe moment they attack Egypt, they and the entire Gaza Strip would pay a heavy price, most likely by having a huge military offensive launched against the Islamist movement. The Egyptians have frequently sent warnings to Hamas not to meddle in Egypt's internal affairs or threaten its national security. "If Hamas thinks about entering one inchof Egyptian territory, it will be their (Hamas's) last day of existence," an Egyptian military source cautioned. The warning, made in 2014, came in response to reports that Hamas was amassing its forces along the border with Egypt in preparation for launchingterrorist attacks against Egyptians. Notably, the Egyptians display patience with Hamas, an offshoot of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood terrorist organization, in spite of the Brotherhood's ongoing meddlingin Egyptian internal affairs and threats to Egypt's national security. Last month, in fact, the Egyptians did close the Rafah border crossing to vehicles and commodities because of "transgressions" by Hamas. Egypt did not provide details aboutwhat those might have been, but the Egyptian newspaper Egypt Today cryptically pointed out that Hamas "has a history of working against Egypt." The newspaper did list some of past "transgressions" of Hamas: 1) Hamas profits from food and commodities subsidized by Egypt for low-income Palestinians, trafficking themthrough illegal tunnels; 2) Hamas was involved in the murder of 16 Egyptian soldiers in Rafah in August 2010; 3) Trading in the Egyptian pound in exchange for the US dollar, which damages the Egyptian economy; 4) Hamas stormed the Egyptian border in 2008 andcommitted various crimes; 5) Hamas also stormed Egyptian prisons in 2011 and set convicted terrorists on the loose; 6) Hamas is accused of killing protesters in Tahrir Square (in Cairo) in 2011; 7) Hamas bombed gas lines in Sinai several times and was involvedin targeting military sites there. It is because of such allegations that Hamas treads very carefully in its dealings with Egypt. The last thing Hamas wants is for the Egyptians to wipe the Islamist movementoff the face of the earth. That is presumably why in recent years Hamas has been behaving itself with regards to Egypt. This behavior, of course, does not apply to Morocco, whose king has never threatened to eliminate Hamas or attack the Gaza Strip. Last week, Zahar called on the Moroccans to "confront the policy of normalization" with Israel. He also urged the Moroccan parliament to criminalize normalization with Israeland to enact necessary laws to combat peace with Israel. Not only is the Hamas leader inciting violence and unrest in an Arab country, he is also advising that country's parliament what laws it needs to pass. One can only imagine Zahar's response if a Moroccanofficial called on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to rise up against their Hamas rulers. In "keeping" with Hamas's policy of not intervening in the internal affairs of the Arab countries, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar also incited the Moroccan people to revoltagainst their monarchy. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the second largest Iran-backed terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, has joined Hamas in inciting the Moroccans to revolt against their leaders. "We are fully confident that the Moroccan people strongly reject normalization with the Zionist occupation, and the land of the Kingdom of Morocco will not be a hotbed forthe Zionists, as the Moroccan people and their political forces will reject normalization and confront it," PIJ said in a statement. "The Arab regimes and their leaders who are rushing toward the Zionist entity will be cursed." Similarly, Lebanon's Hezbollah terrorist group, another Iranian proxy, said it was "betting on the free Moroccan people" to thwart the normalization agreement with Israel. The threats against Morocco and other Arab countries by Iran's proxies -- Hamas, PIJ and Hezbollah -- are worrying many Arabs in the Middle East. The Arabs, especially thosewho want to make peace with Israel, are fully aware that Iran and its Palestinian and Lebanese militias continuously seek to stir up trouble in the region and replace Arab leaders who want peace with Israel with Muslim extremists who report to the mullahsin Tehran. These Arabs say that they hope to see the new US administration endorse a tough policy toward Iran and not send a message of weakness to the mullahs. Any attempt to appease Iran or ease the sanctions on it will only embolden the mullahs and increasetheir appetite to instigate coups to overthrow various Arab countries. The Israel-Iran shadow war locks in on southeastern Syria - https://www.debka.com/the-israel-iran-shadow-war-locks-in-on-southeastern-syria/ In the last weeks of the Trump administration, Israel is fast-tracking the military drive to push Iran and its helpers back from their advance on southern Syria and theGolan border. The IDF is urged to hurry up in case the Biden administration decides that Iran’s presence in Syria need not be addressed by the US in a potential renegotiated nuclear deal with Tehran. Iran is using the uncertain transition period to advance on the Syrian-Israel Golan border by infiltrating and hiding behind Syrian army positions in the southern Syrianprovinces of Deraa, Quneitra and Sweida. The Iranians are also practicing clandestine tactics on the Syrian Golan with the help of a special Hizballah unit and dozens of local armed groups and soldiers, taking advantage of the overall chaos prevailing in theregion. The IDF is hitting back by expanding the targets of its air strikes to include the Syrian regime army positions hosting or covering Iranian Revolutionary Guards or Shiitemilitia forces in the south and the east. The success of the IDF’s ramped-up operations to counter Iran’s strategy was indicated by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi in an end-of-year summary last Thursday,Dec. 10. “Iran has begun cutting back on its military presence in Syria as a result of our operations,’ he said, “but there is still a long way to go before the job is done.” The tempo and quality of Israeli strikes against Iranian assets in Syria, includingkinetic operations, the general said, have been enhanced this year, along with more numerous covert and clandestine missions.” Iran had also significantly stalled its cargo airlift for smuggling weapons into Syria, Gen. Kochavi revealed. This came as a result of the destruction by aerial bombardmentsin recent months of vast quantities of advanced weaponry, that were to have been handed over to Iran’s proxy, Hizballah, for using in Lebanon as a convenient forward base for attacking Israel. To escape Israel’s air strikes, Iran has moved its bases, camps and headquarters out of the line of Israeli fire around Damascus towards the northern and eastern parts ofSyria. Iranian forces have also been drawn down. Hizballah and Syrian armed units have been left to anchor Iran’s presence in the south. Moreover, reported IDF air strikes on IRGC positions at Abu Kamal in eastern Syria on the sensitive border with Iraq showedIsrael to be undeterred by the proximity of US bases. Tehran is acting on the assumption that Israel is intent on provoking a major clash to provide Donald Trump with justification for clobbering Iran or its interests in thewaning days of his presidency. Tehran is therefore at pains to avoid overt or extreme response to the intensified IDF campaign. Its presence in South Syria is denied except for “a few advisers.” Reported casualties are dismissed as “Zionist propaganda.” The IDF is using Tehran’s caution to seriously bludgeon its assets and collaborators in Syria for the purpose of driving home Israel’s determination to drive them out. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM