WORLD AT WAR: 2.12.22 - The Middle East: The US Is All in or All Out

The Middle East: The US Is All in or All Out - by Pete Hoekstra- https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18223/middle-east-us It is time for the Biden administration to come to terms with the challenging situation in Yemen. It seems that the administration is trying to pick a middle ground, butthe Houthis' ongoing terrorist attacks and the massive scale of the humanitarian crisis rules out staying the course of strategic compromise. Despite multiple attacks on Abu Dhabi, which include an air base that hosts American military personnel, the current administration seems unwilling to designate the Houthisas the terrorist organization it is. At the same time, however, it wants to put constraints on the use of weapons the U.S. might sell to the United Arab Emirates, whose civilian population has been targeted by the Houthis. As so often happens when you failto identify a clear direction, the status quo is maintained. For Yemen, this is no longer acceptable. Recently on these pages I argued for the U.S. State Department to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. While hopeful, I am not optimistic that the decisionwill be forthcoming. Even though it is not a strategy, hope, not deterrence, is exactly what the Biden administration seems to be hanging its decision-making on -- hoping the Houthis will stop civilian attacks and hoping the Iranians will help President JoeBiden complete his campaign promise to reenter the disastrous 2015 Obama-era nuclear deal. Now another big decision is looming on the horizon. Shortly before the end of the Trump administration, the U.S. finalized an agreement with the UAE for $23 billion worthof U.S.-made weapons. The sale included F-35s, the latest drone technology, and other miscellaneous equipment. Recently the UAE suspended finalizing the agreement due to its belief the restrictions being placed on the deal by the U.S. government would infringeon its national sovereignty. The Biden Administration needs move swiftly to remove these obstacles and enable the arms sale to move forward. While most of the sales of advanced weapons will not happenfor several years, it is important to signal to the UAE and other players in the region, most notably Iran, that the relationship between the U.S. and UAE is ironclad. The UAE and its leadership have, unlike Iran, demonstrated strong support for the U.S. andstability in the Middle East by embracing people from other cultures and other religions. The leaders of the UAE, should be recognized and rewarded for it, instead of rewarding countries that call for the death of America and other democracies. Otherwise themessage being sent, as the late historian Bernard Lewis wrote, is that it is far better to be America's enemy than its friend. While the Biden administration has made clear its desire to restart nuclear talks with Iran, why not try doing it from a position of strength, for instance deterrence? Oneof the pillars of strength would be presenting a united front against Iran, with our Gulf allies and Israel at its core. Iran recognizes and responds to strength. It also recognizes weakness and responds by taking advantage of it. It is vitally important the Biden administration stabilize relationships with key U.S. allies in the Middle East before Iran and Russia destabilize them, or it will justlyreceive the blame for the chaos that will ensue. The Middle East is one area where the U.S. is a dominant power-influencer, and we must make clear to our friends that we will stand by them and to our enemies that they are endangering only themselves. Havingstood along the Damascus Road and talked with people in this region, I can attest that they have long memories. This is the time to strengthen the modernizing, stabilizing relationships and solidify a foundation that will enable them to survive for decades.The U.S. and its allies can stand strong against Iran, which is not only a disruptive and dangerous player in the region, it also is one of the few countries there forging increasingly strong ties with Russia and China. As Russia and China challenge America's status as the global superpower -- politically, economically, and militarily -- in Europe with Ukraine, in Asia with Taiwan, Indiaand Japan, and throughout east Asia and Africa with China's Belt and Road Initiative -- now is not the time to open a window of opportunity for them to exploit in the Middle East. At the moment, the U.S. has a chance effectively to slam the door shut on Russia and China in the Middle East for the foreseeable future. Agreeing to provide the UAE withsome of the most advanced, American-made military technology sends a strong signal that the U.S. is fully committed to having a long-term, strategic relationship with a great ally, the UAE. Delaying, or perhaps even potentially having the entire sale collapse,signals the exact opposite. We are seeing our adversaries exploiting perceived U.S. weakness and lack of resolve in other parts of the world. We cannot let that happen in the Middle East. We must havea long-term, strategic plan that does not rely on hope but instead on determination and strength. Let us go all-in: anything less will be perceived as not being in at all. ------------------------------ WillThe Biden Administration Release the Dogs of War to Distract Us from All the Other Bad Things That Are Happening? - by Michael Snyder - http://endoftheamericandream.com/is-the-biden-administration-going-to-release-the-dogs-of-war-in-order-to-distract-us-from-all-the-other-bad-things-that-are-happening/ There are very few things that can unite a nation like a dangerous foreign enemy can. Needless to say, Joe Biden and his minions desperately need a way to get the Americanpeople to rally behind them, because right now Biden�s approval numbers are steadily falling. If the Biden administration stays on the path that it is currently on, there will be no second term. A really big �pattern interrupt� is desperately needed, and therearen�t too many options that would fit the bill at this point. However, if a war in Europe suddenly erupted, that would have the potential to change all of the narratives surrounding the Biden administration very rapidly. If the Biden administration and other western leaders really wanted to solve the crisis with Russia, it would be so easy to do. In exchange for a guarantee that Russia willnot invade Ukraine, we would agree that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO and that we will not station our missiles there. It could all be over in 10 minutes, but such an agreement is not going to happen. Instead, the Biden administration appears to be making preparations for a war to begin. On Thursday, the U.S. State Department warned all U.S. citizens to leave Ukraineimmediately� The US government advised Americans in Ukraine to leave the country immediately and by any means available on Thursday. The previous US travel alert issued in January citedthe same concerns of �increased threats of Russian military action and Covid-19� while calling on US citizens to avoid going to Ukraine, but did not go as far as to urge them to flee the country as soon as possible. �Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19; those in Ukraine should depart now via commercial or private means,� theUS State Department said in its new travel alert. That certainly sounds rather ominous. And U.S. officials continue to use extremely harsh rhetoric when talking about this crisis. For example, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman just went on televisionand stated that �Vladimir Putin should understand body bags will come back to Moscow� if Russia decides to invade Ukraine� �If Vladimir Putin takes that action, the consequences will not just be for the Ukrainian people, which will be terrible, but for the world community at large because VladimirPutin will say that any autocrat can take action that undermines international principles that Russia has signed up to�to sovereignty, to territorial integrity, that countries get to choose their own political alliances and their own foreign policy. Addedto that, not only will there be dire consequences to the economy of Russia by what we will do, not just the United States but this extraordinary alliance that exists with all of Europe and the United States and countries around the world. Not only will thatcreate consequences, but Vladimir Putin should understand body bags will come back to Moscow as well � that the citizens of Russia will suffer because their economy will be completely devastated. So, this is a very stark choice for him.� Why would she say something like that? Is she completely nuts? Like so many others in Biden�s national security team, Sherman is in a position that she is completely unsuited for. I have no idea how someone like her could possibly become Deputy Secretary of State, because the truth is that I wouldn�t even entrust her with being the deputy janitorof a local Dairy Queen. Biden has literally surrounded himself with the worst national security team in the history of our country, and they have been relentlessly provoking the Russians over thepast year. Now the Russians are nearing a breaking point, and more Russian troops are moving into position for a potential invasion with each passing day� The Russian military could take nine different routes into Ukraine in a full-scale invasion, according to a U.S. military and intelligence assessment, and tanks could potentiallyreach Kyiv, the capital, within 48 hours. Russia has already deployed nearly 100 of the military�s 168 battalion-tactical groups, composed of 800 to 900 troops each, with more flowing in every day. And PresidentVladimir Putin has dispatched personnel and equipment from six of the seven Russian special operations units, called Spetsnaz, according to the assessment. Each unit is made up of 250 to 300 elite fighters. Of course the U.S. and NATO are mobilizing forces as well. The Biden administration is sending thousands of additional U.S. troops to eastern Europe, and four B-52 bombers just landed at an air base in the United Kingdom� Bombers from the US�s flying forces jetted into RAF Fairford this morning in a thinly-veiled show of strength as Russia continued to mass near Ukraine. The four B-52 Stratofortress aircraft � with call signs HATE 11, HATE 12, HATE 13 AND HATE 14 � arrived at the Gloucestershire grounds this morning. All it is going to take is a single mistake to push things over the edge. Right now, Russia and Belarus are conducting joint military exercises near the Ukrainian border. Approximately 30,000 troops are taking part in the exercises, and some believethat these exercises could be a prelude to an invasion. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg seems extremely alarmed by these drills, and he is describing the current situation as �the biggest security crisis that Europe hasfaced for decades�� �I honestly don�t think a decision has yet been taken� by Moscow on whether to attack, Johnson told a news conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. �Butthat doesn�t mean that it is impossible that something absolutely disastrous could happen very soon indeed.� �This is probably the most dangerous moment, I would say, in the course of the next few days, in what is the biggest security crisis that Europe has faced for decades.� Just like Biden, Stoltenberg knows that this crisis could be solved very easily, but he continues to insist that NATO �will not compromise�� �Nato will not compromise on core principles � the right of each nation to choose its own path and Nato�s ability to protect and defend all allies.� As I have discussed previously, the U.S. and Russia are engaged in a very dangerous game of �chicken�, and if neither side backs down we could soon see the sort of militaryconflict with the Russians that I have been warning about for years. At this point, the Russians do not trust us at all, and we don�t trust the Russians. And so we could end up stumbling into a global war that nobody wants. This is like watching a slow-motion train wreck happen right in front of our eyes. Everybody can see what is happening, but we are all powerless to stop it. It appears that our only hope of avoiding war is if Biden and his minions can somehow navigate us through this crisis, but they seem more determined than anyone else toinitiate a conflict. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM