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USA’s treacherous agenda against Pakistan by Asif Haroon Raja

USA’s treacherous agenda against Pakistan

 

Asif Haroon Raja

 

 

 

 

The US ignores its own human rights violations and also looks the other way to massive human rights abuses committed by Israel, India, Egypt and other dictatorial regimes towing its agenda. Washington, however, has no tolerance for democratic regimes that refuse to make their countries compliant States and opt to pursue independent foreign policy best suited for their national interests. Various excuses are manufactured to bring suchlike defiant States in line. The more often dirty tactics in use are sanctions, orchestrated political turmoil and chaos, coercion, threats, proxy war, psychological operations, propaganda, regime change, and if needed, physical assault and occupation of the targeted country.

The Indo-US-Israel nexus is adept in contriving a false narrative to build a case against a country. Going by the dictum of Joseph Goebbels, the trio repeatedly utter lies and half-truths to convert falsehood into truth and convincing the audience to accept black as white. The targeted ruling regime is demonized and discredited under a well-planned media campaign to justify intervention and a regime change.

Since 9/11, the US has used proxies, terrorism, sedition, propaganda war and coercive tactics as tools to destabilize the targeted country. It has meddled in internal affairs of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Chad, Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. All are Islamic countries and their peoples are all Muslims.

After enacting Osama bin Laden led Al-Qaeda drama to validate invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in October 2001, Iraq was occupied in May 2003 on fake charges of WMDs. Arab Spring was fomented by the CIA-MI-6-Mossad combine in 2011 to destabilize the Middle East and weaken stronger Arab nations. ISIS was created to incite sectarianism and help the US in changing the boundaries of Middle East and let Israel fulfil its dream of ‘Greater Israel’.

Regimes were changed in Tunisia and Egypt by inflaming street protests. Qaddafi was demonized as a monster to affect a forcible regime change. The civil war was fomented in Syria to boot out Bashar al-Assad regime but so far it has miraculously survived due to Iranian and Hezbollah support and intervention of Russia. Arab Peninsula Al-Qaeda threat was sensationalized to drone Yemen and stir civil war.

The civil war in South Sudan was further stirred up and President Gen Bashir was declared a war criminal and hounded with a view to making the task of bisecting Sudan easy. Democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood regime under Morsi was ousted from power within one year of its rule and replaced by the military regime of Gen Sisi, which up surged extremism and divided the country into religious lines.

As regards Pakistan, this is not the first time that it is on the brink of being abandoned and punished by the US. Pakistan had become a staunch ally o the USA in 1955 after joining SEATO and CENTO to contain Communism was thoroughly disappointed when the US stopped all military and economic aid for going to war against India in 1965. This act favoured India which was fully supported by USSR. But for the US betrayal, Pakistan could have clinched the victory. It impelled President Ayub Khan to tilt towards China and to write a book titled ‘Friends Not Masters” in 1967.

 

Ayub’s tilt infuriated the USA and it retaliated by fomenting protests and riots in Pakistan through Mujibur Rahman led Awami League in East Pakistan and ZA Bhutto led PPP in West Pakistan, forcing Ayub to resign in March 1969 and handing over power to Gen Yahya Khan. When East Pakistan was being annexed by the Indian military backed by USSR in 1971, the US played no role to prevent the tragedy in spite of Pakistan’s role in bringing China closer to USA which enabled US troops to exit from Vietnam. The US looked the other way when India carried out the weaponized nuclear explosion in 1974, but put Pakistan under sanctions in 1979 on the mere suspicion that it had embarked upon a nuclear program. 

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan was taken on board by the USA in mid-1981 to mount a biggest proxy war against the occupying Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan faced turbulent Afghanistan in the northwest and stormy Iran in its southwestern backyard engaged in war with Iraq throughout the 1980s. Internally, it had to cope with KGB-RAW-KHAD-Al-Zulfiqar terrorism. Once Pakistan and the Afghan Mujahideen achieved the miracle of the 20th century by pushing out Soviet forces in February 1989 after paying a very heavy price, and paved the way for fragmentation of USSR and for the US to become a sole superpower, the US not only ditched them, but made India its strategic partner. President Bush senior stopped all US military and economic aid to Pakistan invoking the Pressler amendment in October 1990 charging Pakistan with crossing the nuclear red-line. In May 1998, President Clinton imposed additional sanctions invoking the Glen amendment punishing Pakistan for the May 1998 nuclear tests.

By the time the decade of the 1990s had ended, Pakistan — the most allied ally of the US during the Cold War — had become the most sanctioned country in the world after Libya. And the Kargil misadventure had carried its own penalties. And in October 1999, the US imposed sanctions related to Musharraf’s military takeover.

At about the same time even the multilateral aid agencies led by the World Bank had effectively turned off for Pakistan their concessional assistance tap on the plea that the newly independent Eastern European countries, as well as the Central Asian countries, needed the help of these aid agencies more than countries like Pakistan. Japan perhaps was the only country out of all the members of the Paris Club that had continued to donate about $500 million annually to Pakistan during the period.

Still, Pakistan negotiated the 1990s not only with composure but had waged during this period two low-intensity 10-year-long wars — one on the side of the Afghan Taliban against the Northern Alliance led by Ahmed Shah Masood and assisted by India and Iran, and the other on the side, the Kashmiri freedom fighters pitched against over 700,000 occupying Indian troops in Indian-Occupied Kashmir. At the behest of India, Pakistan was put on the watch list of terror abetting States by the USA and was accused of manufacturing an Islamic bomb likely to fall in hands of radical Arab countries. Pakistan had to bear the load of 3.5 million Afghan refugees, and cope with looming Indo-Israeli threat to Kahuta, and heightened sectarianism stoked by Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Governance became a real challenge for the elected governments of PPP and PML-N in the face of two wars and Pakistan’s economy being denied the usual quantum of international assistance and when the domestic tax-to-GDP ratio had dipped to an abysmally low point? In those critical times, Saudi Arabia came to the rescue of Pakistan which started giving oil on deferred payment. After nuclear blasts, oil was provided gratis. Foreign remittances from most of the Muslim countries, especially from the Middle East all through the 1980s and 1990s saved Pakistan from defaulting.

On the face of it, the 1990s in retrospect appear to be a lost decade in economic terms. The country had experienced a decade-long shrinking of economic growth and the three unfinished IMF programs that it had entered and exited in quick succession during this period further curtailed the growth in the name of the Fund imposed austerity.

Meanwhile, the debt-to-GDP ratio had escalated to a depressing 103%. Because of the military takeover of October 1999, even the helping hand of the IMF was not available to Pakistan, as under their respective laws both the UK and US representatives sitting on the Fund board were obliged to vote against the application of a country under military rule.

The second Afghan war that immediately followed the 9/11 brought back Pakistan in the good books of the US and it was quickly made a non-NATO ally. This was, however, a deception since Pakistan was, in reality, a target and was to be destabilized, denuclearized and Balkanized covertly.

After brewing up the war on terror in FATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan, Pakistan was subjected to cooked-up allegations that it was in cahoots with the militants and that its nukes were unsafe. The hidden objective of the US was exposed in 2006 after the publication of an article in US Defence Journal titled “Blood Borders” written by Lt Col Ralph Peters. The map showed changed boundaries of Middle East, and Baluchistan a separate state.

The ‘Do More’ mantra introduced in 2005/06 was meant to brew political stabilization, bleed economy and foment insecurity. Indo-US-Israel-Western media campaign demonized Pakistan that it’s Army and ISI were supporting terrorism. Idea was to discredit the Army, brand Pakistan a terror abetting State and Pak Army/ISI rogue outfits. A narrative was built that Pakistan was collapsing, the nuclear arsenal was unsafe and its nukes might fall into wrong hands (Islamic extremists). The objective was to give an excuse to the USA to declare Pakistan a failed State and to occupy Islamabad and the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan and seize nuclear arsenal.

This notion was penned in a 2007 article published in London Guardian, titled,Bush handed blueprint to seize Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal,behind which was Fredrick Kagan, member of American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The AEI’s board of trustees include war criminal Dick Cheney, warmongers Newt Gingrich, John Bolton, Richard Perle, John Yoo, and Paul Wolfowitz.

 

THE JEW-BIG MOUTHS

Fredrick Kagan wrote another Pakistan focused article in 2009 in New York Times, co-authored with Brookings Institution’s Michael O’Hanlon, titled, Pakistan’s Collapse, Our Problem.” It described the complete collapse of the Pakistani government, overrun by “extremists.” It went on to describe “Pro-American moderates” within the Pakistan Army in need of US forces to help them secure Islamabad and their nuclear arsenal. Several options were given for storing the nuclear weapons safely. Various contingency plans of swooping away the nukes by the US Special Forces were also publicized.

 

Selig Harrison of the Soros funded Center for International Policy called for carving off Pakistan’s Baluchistan province not as part of a strategy to win the “War on Terror,” but as a means to thwart growing relations between Islamabad and Beijing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

InFree Baluchistan,” he explicitly called to “aid the 6 million Baluch insurgents fighting for independence from Pakistan in the face of growing ISI repression.” Giving merits of his idea he stated, “Pakistan has given China a base at Gwadar in the heart of Baluch territory. So an independent Baluchistan would serve U.S. strategic interests in addition to the immediate goal of countering Islamist forces.” The US Congressmen Ted Poe and Dana R0hbachar have consistently backed the Baloch separatist agenda.

In another article titled,The Chinese Cozy Up to the Pakistanis,” Harrison stated, “To counter what China is doing in Pakistan, the US should play hardball by supporting the movement for an independent Baluchistan and working with Baluch insurgents to oust the Chinese from their budding naval base at Gwadar. Beijing wants its inroads into Gilgit and Baltistan to be the first step on its way to an Arabian Sea outlet at Gwadar.”

In line with Harrison’s suggestion, RAW placed serving Indian Navy officer Commander Kulbushan Yadhav at Chahbahar under fake name of Mubarak Hussain Patel as early as 2003. Later on, he was given $400 million by RAW to destabilize Baluchistan with the help of Baloch rebel groups, and Karachi through MQM, scare away the Chinese, gain knowledge of Makran-Karachi seacoast for amphibious landing, disrupt work in Gwadar and scuttle CPEC. Shamsi airbase was used by CIA and Blackwater to provide funds and arms to the rebels in interior Baluchistan, and for drones. NATO containers were also used for supplying arms.  

Christine Fair lamented that the US spent pumped in much more money in Baluchistan than in Iran and yet has failed to make it independent. 

Af-Pak doctrine announced by Obama regime in March 2009 followed by passage of Kerry Lugar Bill (KLB) in end 2009 authorizing $7.5 billion economic/military assistance to Pakistan spread over 5 years were Pakistan specific with a dangerous agenda of stepping into FATA and Baluchistan under the garb of hot pursuit operations, or raiding a target based on actionable intelligence, harnessing nuclear arsenal of Pakistan, clipping the wings of armed forces and paving the way for balkanization.

That would have given the US an ideal geopolitical scenario that would permanently Balkanize the country along Pashtun, Baluchi, and other ethnic minority lines, and result in a permanent Western presence inside the country. In their view, seizure of FATA would benefit American efforts in Afghanistan by depriving terrorists of the sanctuaries they have long enjoyed in Pakistan’s tribal and frontier regions.

The then Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani rejected the idea of making Durand Line redundant and insisted on fighting independently on either side of the border based on strategy of ‘anvil and hammer’. 

Drone campaign in FATA was stepped up to stir up the Pashtun minority against the government and the Army and to breakup peace deals. $1.5 billion was allocated for Pakistani media to step up 5th generation war in Pakistan. Rabid haters of Pak Army like Hussain Haqqani and Tariq Fateh; and anti-Pakistan runaways like Altaf Hussain and his cronies, Brahamdagh Bugti, Suleman Dawood, Harbyar Marri etc were made full use of to malign Pakistan and its premier institutions. Blackwater and CIA agents were inducted in 2008-10 in big numbers to spread flames of terrorism into urban areas.

In a 2009 article by Seymour Hersh titled, “Defending the Arsenal,” high intensity suspicion and distrust of Pakistan against America was underscored. This distrust was based on America’s obsession with “defending” Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. The US had repeatedly sought joint Pak-US control of all nuclear sites. It was clear that the US under the pretense of “helping” Pakistan if ever it fell into chaos, was all along trying to ascertain the location of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons as well as the trigger assembles kept separate as a security measure.

Arrest of Raymond Davis in January 2011, CIA sponsored polio vaccine campaigning by Dr Shakil Afridi which facilitated stealth attack in Abbottabad in May 2011 to get Osama bin Laden, and the Memogate scandal in October 2011 spilled the beans. Later on, arrests of Kulbushan on March 3, 2016, and TTP key leaders Latif Mehsud and Ehsanullah Ehsan removed all doubts of deep rooted involvement of RAW and NDS in Pakistan. 

America’s continued presence in Afghanistan as well as its increasingly aggressive “creep” over the Afghan-Pakistani border has been justified under the ambiguous and omnipresent threat of “terrorism.” In reality, the true goal is to contain the rise of China and other emerging economies using the pretense of “terrorism.” China’s One-Belt-One-Road (OBOR) project and particularly fast developing CPEC has unnerved USA and India and has become one of the compelling reason for the US to extend its stay in Afghanistan. The US is also making concerted efforts to make India the key player in Afghanistan.    

Pakistan-China ever growing strategic relationship in the wake of $62 billion worth CPEC, and China’s commitment to build Gwadar Seaport, with another next door  port at Jeewani possibly as a Naval Port, dams, roads, nuclear plants, and military technology, are giving nightmares to US and India. The only cards America seems to have left in its hand to counter this growing relationship are threats of destabilization, the subsequent stripping of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, and Pakistan’s Balkanization into smaller, feeble states. This option is scandalous, and reveals the absolute depths of depravity from which the imperialist powers suffer from. 

It is quite clear that the “War on Terror” is but a pretense to pursue a policy of regional hegemony with the expressed goal of containing China. This in turn, is part of a greater strategy covered in the 2006 Strategic Studies Institute reportString of Pearls: Meeting the Challenge of China’s Rising Power across the Asian Littoral.

The corporate-financier oligarchs obsessed with their money game are quite willing to destabilize Pakistan, and risk war with nuclear overtones, and a possible confrontation with China and Russia. These oligarchs, hawks within Trump’s administration, American-Jewish lobby, Israel, India and the puppet regime in Kabul are all egging on Donald Trump to strike Pakistan and he seem to be dancing to their tunes. Since August 22, 2017, he and senior US leaders have adopted a highly belligerent posture against Pakistan. Series of threatening statements have been issued and Pakistan put on notice.

Pakistan’s response that it has done enough and will not do any more, and that it is now the turn of USA and Afghanistan to do more is rational and logical. It has rightly rejected the US paltry aid, stressing it needs respect and acknowledgement of its sacrifices, and adding that it can keep fighting terrorism at its own without American assistance. Pakistan has discontinued military cooperation and intelligence sharing with USA, and has other effective options to exercise in case the US opts for a unilateral punitive action. Pakistan’s principled stance seem to have mellowed down the jingoism of hawks in USA and they have started giving reconciliatory feelers.    

China and Russia are asserting themselves as security and economic alternatives to the US unilateralism since former two are ascending powers and USA is a descending power. Europe is still grappling with economic challenges. The Muslim world hate interventionism of USA and Israel, while majority of Americans consider Trump to be insane. The US is stuck in Ukraine and Syria, but Afghanistan is fast turning into a graveyard for USA. With its prestige badly soiled, the US is scapegoating Pakistan to hide its blunders. With no exit strategy, it is foolishly hoping that Pakistan will fight its war and convert its defeat into victory.

Asia-Pacific strategy coined by Obama has been abandoned by Trump and so is Trans-Pacific-Partnership, while the new Indo-Pacific policy still stands on slippery ground. Whereas the reputation of NATO stands tarnished, unity regime in Kabul and ANSF have become liabilities for USA. Hope of making India policeman of the region is getting dimmed. The Middle East will remain in turmoil. North Korea, Iran and now Pakistan are not getting intimidated by the US bullying tactics and are determined to face the intimidator.

2018 will be a crucial year for USA, China and Russia rearing to undercut each other, while Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran will remain vigilant to avoid getting trampled under the feet of prancing elephants.  

The writer is a retired Brig, war veteran, defence analyst, columnist, author of five books, Vice Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, Chief Editor Better Morrow magazine. asifharoonraja@gmail.com

 

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Interview with an Israeli General’s Son by Jonas E. Alexis and Miko Peled in Veterans Today


Interview with an Israeli General’s Son

Miko Peled: “Israel is faced with two options: Continue to exist as a Jewish state while controlling the Palestinians through military force and racist laws, or undertake a deep transformation into a real democracy where Israelis and Palestinians live as equals in a shared state, their shared homeland. For Israelis and Palestinians alike, the latter path promises a bright future.”

By

Jonas E. Alexis

 

 

…by Jonas E. Alexis and Miko Peled

[ Editor’s Note: Dear readers, This is a fabulous start of the year interview by Jonas. His work has been superlative in that too many writers take the commentary only route, and they are now a dime a dozen.

The real work comes in showing what your commentary is based upon. That is how you establish your street cred in the internet world. With not professional journalism, Jonas just blew by that by getting out there and doing the work.

And frankly his writing now is better, more solid than the majority of mainstream journalists, as he does not shy away from the red line areas, and VT readers all know what those are… Jim W. Dean ]

*

Miko Peled is an Israeli-American activist and author of the best-selling book The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine (Charlottesville, VA: Just World Books, 2016). He grew up in a Zionist family. His father fought in the 1948 war and served as a general in the war of 1967. Peled believes that “Israel has been on a mission to destroy the Palestinian people for over six decades.” Peled wrote in the LA Times in 2012:

“Israel is faced with two options: Continue to exist as a Jewish state while controlling the Palestinians through military force and racist laws, or undertake a deep transformation into a real democracy where Israelis and Palestinians live as equals in a shared state, their shared homeland. For Israelis and Palestinians alike, the latter path promises a bright future.”[1]

Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple, writes in the introduction of Peled’s The General’s Son:

“I feel immense relief, and gratitude. Someone must take responsibility for being the grown-ups of our human Universe. There must be people, in all walks of life, who decide: Enough’s enough; there are children here.

Peled’s next book, Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five, is scheduled to be released next month.

JEA: I have been following your work for quite some time, and you have been a great inspiration to many, including myself. What are the challenges that the Palestinians are actually facing in places like Gaza and the West Bank?

MP: In my opinion ,he major challenge is that Palestinians are facing an ongoing genocide by a powerful settler colonial state (Israel). Israel has received worldwide legitimacy and recognition and this is very difficult to reverse. In order for Palestinians to gain their rights, their land and their freedom this recognition and legitimization needs to be reversed.

In order to free Palestine the international community will have to get behind a serious campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, to isolate Israel so that like South Africa it can make way for a real democracy with equal rights.

JEA: What is your take on Trump’s Jerusalem decision? Will it actually lead to peace in the Middle East? Do you think Trump actually knows what he is doing?

MP: Trump may or may not know what he is doing, I am sure that he is unaware of the complexity of the issue. It was a poor decision with far reaching consequences which are yet to unfold. What is clear now is that his declaration has emboldened Israel and Palestinians have been paying a heavy price through massive arrests, countless injured and dead by Israeli forces.

Peace in the Middle East is a misleading term. The Middle East is a big place with many issues that need to be resolved. Peace in the entire region is not going to happen because of a single issue being resolved.

The issue of Jerusalem is a uniting factor and Trump’s decision has brought about condemnation by all Arab, Muslim and most European countries.

JEA: Let’s get this clear: what do you make of the anti-Semitism accusation that gets thrown in the media whenever a person criticizes the Israeli policies toward the Palestinians? Back in 2012, I corresponded with Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post and I challenged her to provide serious evidence that John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago is an anti-Semite.

Our conversation revolved around a number of issues, but I finally asked her, “If an American criticizes the policies of the United States, does that mean that the person is anti-American?” “NO,” she responded. Then I proceeded to say, “Then how can Mearsheimer, who is Jewish, be an anti-Semite when he simply criticizes the incoherent policies of the Israeli government?” To this very day, she never responded to that question. What is really at stake here?

MP: It’s about legitimacy. They cannot allow criticism of Israel for fear that it will lead to the inevitable delegitimization of Israel and Zionism as a whole.

Since there is no legitimate argument to support the existence of Israel and the ongoing persecution of Palestinians by Israel they resort to name calling. Hence the term anti-Semitic is thrown freely.

This is now true for the BDS movement although the call for BDS and the demands of the BDS movement activists are all about equality, justice and freedom.

JEA: I was watching a debate between Alan Dershowitz and Cornel West on this very issue, and I was simply appalled that Dershowitz pulled out the anti-Semitism card on West! In any event, you are an activist and you often travel to Israel. Have you seen some positive changes over the years?

MP: There is no reason to expect positive changes on the ground yet. Israel is powerful and has a blank check from the US and the U.K. Israel had created a reality where it is undefeatable militarily and diplomatically. This is why the BDS movement, which is a grassroots civil society based resistance movement, is gaining ground and that is possibly the only positive change one can point to at this time.

JEA: What responses have you received from the Israel government about your activity? Do you think some officials have read your book? Do they know who you are? Have you been threatened?

MP: There has been no official response or reaction by Israel to my work whatsoever.

JEA: Let’s just hope that people will continue to rise against the genocidal regime in Israel in 2018. Let us also work toward peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

[1] Miko Peled, “Six Days in Israel, 45 Years Ago,” LA Times, June 6, 2012.

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Report: New York Terror Attack, Israel Wants Nuclear War or Clash of Civilizations By Sajjad Shaukat

Report: New York Terror Attack, Israel Wants Nuclear War or Clash of Civilizations

By

Sajjad Shaukat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least eight people were killed and 11 injured on Tuesday (October 31, 2017) when the driver
of a pickup truck hit people on a cycle path in Lower Manhattan, New York City near the World
Trade Centre. The vehicle then hit a school bus, injuring two adults and two children on board.
According to the US media reports, “It was a terror attack…Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, a 29-
year-old man, reported to be an Uzbek immigrant, was shot and injured by police as he left the
vehicle. The driver emerged holding two handguns and made a statement consistent with a terror
attack…shouting “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great,” before he was shot in the abdomen
by a police officer…he later underwent surgery for gunshot wounds. A paintball gun and a pellet
gun were recovered from the scene…He lived in New Jersey. Saipov was charged with federal
terrorism offenses in connection with the Tuesday’s attack. Investigators found ISIS-related
images and videos on Saipov’s cellphone…handwritten notes in Arabic near the truck that
indicated allegiance to the Islamic State [Also known as Daesh, ISIS and ISIL]…But
investigators had not uncovered evidence of any direct or enabling ties between Mr. Saipov and
ISIS and were treating the episode as a case of an “inspired” attacker…Police records show he
was arrested in Missouri last year over a traffic fine. Almost immediately, as investigators began
to look into Mr. Saipov’s history, it became clear that he had been on the radar of federal
authorities. Three officials said he had come to the federal authorities’ attention as a result of an
unrelated investigation.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CNN disclosed that it “obtained photographs of a Home Depot truck parked outside of New
York terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov’s home in Paterson, New Jersey. Neighbor Carlos Batista
said he was taking photographs of a car he was selling and inadvertently took a photo of the
rental truck in the background…the photo was taken at 6:09 p.m. ET on Oct. 22…. he’d seen the
same type of truck used in the terror attack around the neighborhood for the last couple of
weeks…A law enforcement official told CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz that Saipov rented a truck
similar to the one used in the attack several times over the course of the last several weeks in
order to be familiar with operating it. There is no indication the Home Depot truck in the photo is
the same truck used in the attack…New York terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov appeared in federal
court in a wheelchair and was charged with providing material support to ISIS and violence and
destruction of motor vehicles, a source at the U.S. Attorney’s Office told CNN.”
However, these conflicting reports show that like previous terror attacks in the US and Europe,
the New York terror attack is also a false flag operation, conducted by Israeli secret agency
Mossad in connivance with some CIA operatives and the ISIS terrorists. It may also be
individual act of Saipov who has been inspired by the extremist agenda of ISIS. Even then,
responsibility goes to the agents of these intelligence agencies, who have, already, been
radicalizing the Muslims and Christians by dividing them on religious lines in order to obtain the
illegitimate interests of Israel. While, contradictory and anti-Muslim statements of the Pro-Israeli
President Donald Trump about the terror assault have further verified this collaboration.
Showing immediate reaction, the US President Trump tweeted, “In NYC, looks like another
attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely.

We must not allow ISIS to return, or enter, our country after defeating them in the Middle East and
elsewhere. Enough! The United States will be immediately implementing much tougher Extreme
Vetting Procedures. The safety of our citizens comes first!” He did not elaborate further.
Regarding the New York terror attack, on November 2, 2017, President Trump again tweeted on
immigration, calling for an end to “chain migration…lets people bring their whole family with
them, who can be truly evil.”

President Trump first introduced the screening process during the election campaign on a pledge
to indefinitely ban the Muslims from entering the United States—his campaign aides later tried
to finesse as a broader policy aimed at implementing “extreme vetting” for immigrants from
certain countries. As president, he introduced a ban on arrivals to the US from a number of
mainly-Muslim countries. Surprisingly, Uzbekistan was one of them though US courts have
repeatedly blocked them from going into effect. While, America’s Western partners, especially European countries had strongly condemned Trump’s travel ban on the Muslim countries, as discriminatory and violations of human rights, and in a recent statement, the American Civil Liberties Union civil rights group said that the term “extreme vetting” was a “euphemism for discriminating against Muslims.”
Nevertheless, various acts of terrorism in the world show that without taking cognizance of the
related-developments, the general masses of a country and even some educated persons start
blaming all the Muslims and the ISIS. Therefore, the New York terror attack cannot be seen in
isolation, as it is part of various related-developments of the recent past and the present ones in
the world. In these terms, we need in-depth analysis to know that some state actors like Israel
are leading the world to nuclear war or clash of civilizations.

 

 

If we note related-developments in the world, especially in the Middle East and South Asia, we
observe that the ISIL, including its linked terror organizations and similar other outfits are being
supported by the US, Israel and India who are the real masters of these militant group. Some
European countries like the Great Britain are also following America in this respect. In other
word, particularly, Israel is fulfilling her evil designs.

Undoubtedly, if the double game of President Bush (The Senior) and George W. Bush franchised
Al-Qaeda on global level, President Obama’s dual policy franchised both Al-Qaeda and ISIS as
part of the anti-Muslim campaign and left no stone unturned in advancing the agenda of the
Zionists, Israeli lobbies and the neoconservatives in the pretext of the fake global war on terror.
Secretly, President Obama authorized CIA to create ISIS. His perennial covert support to the
Israeli atrocities on the Palestinians, silence over the supply (Smuggling) of oil by ISIS to some
European countries whose governments have also not taken action against those companies
which were exporting oil from the ISIS-controlled regions of Iraq, CIA-assisted Al-Qaeda (Al-
Nusra Front), ISIS militants and rebel groups who are fighting to oust Syrian President Assad’s
government to obtain the aims of a greater Israel are part of the double game.

Training and supply of arms by CIA and Mossad to these terrorist outfits and medical treatment of their
militants in Israeli hospitals, including arrests of some CIA and Mossad agents in Syria and Iraq have also verified these connections. As part of the dual strategy, America and its Western
partners have been waging a war against the ISIS.
But, CIA and Mossad openly assist this terrorist group and its linked terror outfits in accordance
with the covert aims of their countries. 

In this connection, Russian TV channel, Russia Today (RT) reported on September 24, 2017

“The Russian Ministry of Defense has released aerial images which they say show US Army
special forces equipment north of the town of Deir er-Zor, where ISIS militants are deployed. US
Army special units provide free passage for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) through the
battle formations of Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorists…Despite that the US strongholds being
organized at them…This could mean that the US military staff feel absolutely safe in the area
which is held by the terrorists…All of the images were taken from September 8 to 12.

The photos show several Cougar infantry mobility vehicles and Hummer armored vehicles of the US
Army Special Forces, according the Russian MoD data…In this case, securing IS assistance for
an unopposed advance of US backed SDF forces could enable the SDF, widely seen as a US
proxy, to seize strategically important (and oil rich) territory in Deir ez-Zor that otherwise would
soon be retaken by rapidly advancing Syrian Army. If so this once again will raise questions as
to what the true purpose of US forces-purportedly in Syria to fight IS-actually is. Earlier in
September, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov accused the
SDF of collusion with ISIS terrorists.SDF militants work to the same objectives as IS terrorists.
According to Global Research Canada (Centre for Research on Globalization), “In other words,
ISIS, al-Nusra, and so-called SDF forces are virtually the same thing–US recruited, armed,
funded and directed cutthroat killers, waging naked aggression against Syria and its people…The
Pentagon’s so-called Operation Inherent Resolve so far is silent on Russia’s damning
evidence…Separately, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem accused Washington of
working with its terrorist assets in Syria, including al-Nusra, to undermine Astana peace
talks…Russia’s Defense Ministry…saying its intelligence revealed US forces together with al-
Nusra terrorists tried halting the successful advance of government forces east of Deir
Ezzor…Russian airpower smashed their offensive. Sergey Lavrov condemned the US-led
coalition for refusing to combat al-Nusra, calling it absolutely unacceptable…According to
Russia’s Defense Ministry, nearly 90% of Syrian territory held by ISIS is now liberated. Moscow
will respond appropriately to any US efforts to impede the campaign to free Syria entirely from
control by terrorists.”
In case of Asia and particularly South Asia, well-entrenched in Afghanistan and some Gulf
states, intelligence agencies such as CIA, Indian RAW, Mossad and MI6 are assisting various
terror outfits, including Al-Qaeda and particularly ISIL in order to achieve the covert goals of the
US-led countries against Pakistan, Syria, Iraq China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Somalia, Yemen etc.
and even Afghanistan which are being destabilized by various forms of terrorism-related assaults
which have continued in one way or the other.
In this context, a news item was published by all the leading dailies of Pakistan on October 8,
2017 regarding the statement of Afghanistan’s Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai who,
while dismissing criticism of Russian ties with the Taliban and echoing Russian claims of

American support to the ISIS terrorists, told Voice of America (VOC) that “the United States has
links with terrorist ‘Islamic State’, also known as Daesh…Daesh a tool of US…After it [the US]
dropped the [mother of all] bomb on Afghanistan, it did not eliminate Daesh…the terrorist group
has been supplied weapons by the United States forces…The US Army helicopters and army
bases are being used to provide assistance to ISIS terrorists…I do not differentiate at all between
Daesh and America…Reports of American assistance to the terrorists are coming from all over
the country.” (It also includes Karzai’s revelations to VOC of April 20, 2017 and Newsweek’s
report of the same day).

When in September 2015, Russian-led coalition of Iran, Iraq, the Syrian army-the National
Defense Forces (NDF) and Lebanon-based Hezbollah started breaking the backbone of the ISIS
terrorists, Al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front and the rebels in Syria and Iraq. Israeli Mossad which was
already having clandestine contact with the ISIS directed this outfit to plan the November 13
terror attacks in Paris in connivance with the French home-grown militants. Similarly, when
Russian-led forces began retaking many cities from the control of these insurgents, on the other
side, agents of Mossad who were in collaboration with the CIA sympathizers and the ISIL
militants arranged various sorts of terror attacks in Europe and the US.

Through all these false flag terror operations, the US and Israel wanted to obtain their covert
aims against Russia and the Muslims. Mossad had also provided the US President Donald Trump
with an opportunity to manipulate various terror assaults of Europe and America to win the US
presidential election and to reunite America and Europe, as a rift was created between America
and its Western allies, especially Europe on a number of issues, including NATO. And, President
Trump had left no stone unturned in implementing anti-Muslim policies, while speaking openly
against the Muslims and Syrian immigrants. Trump had started exaggerating the threat of
Islamophobia, while, some incidents were not linked to ISIS, but were the result of self-
radicalization of the individuals.

Regarding the shooting at the gay night club in Orlando (Florida) which killed at least 49
individuals on June 12, 2016, The Washington Post in an article, under the caption, “Trump’s
reckless, dangerous Islamophobia helps the Islamic State”, wrote on June 13, 2016, “Trump’s
standards, his comments about the Orlando shooting have been reckless and self-serving. They
are also dangerous for the country…the strongest remaining force that propels the Islamic State
is the Islamophobia of Trump and his European counterparts, argue senior intelligence strategists
for the U.S.-led coalition. Inflammatory, xenophobic statements about Muslims reinforce the
jihadists’ claims that they are Muslim knights fighting against an intolerant West. Trump
unwittingly gives them precisely the role they dream about.”

In this regard, Khaled A. Beydoun opined on the Aljazeera multimedia network on March 13,
2016, “The world brand Trump is becoming synonymous with expansion of racism and
incitement of Islamophobia…I think Islam hate us, said Donald Trump, 24 hours before the
Republican presidential debate in Miami…is a call to his voting base, to further galvanise them
around a disdain for Islam that not only heightens hateful fervour at his rallies, but incites
violence on American blocks and pushes bigots to the ballot box…the statement is rooted in the
very ignorance and hate which made him the darling of bigots and surged him up the polls…Islamophobia…the suspicion and fear of Islam and its 1.7 billion adherent-is political ideology for Trump.”
Nevertheless, the incident of shooting at the gay club in Orlando not only exposed that false flag
operation, but also endorsed other false flag terror-attacks in the US and Europe.

In this connection, in an interview with Brazilian TV on June 14, 2016, the ex-wife of the Orlando
shooter Omar Mateen Sitora Yusufiy revealed that American FBI pressurized him to keep quiet
about his homosexuality. While, Mateen had been dubbed as an Islamic terrorist by the
American politicians, senior officials and commentators, following reports that he had pledged
allegiance to the ISIS, but FBI wanted to downplay the personal and self-hating nature of the
assault.

And President Obama stated on June 12, 2016, “Federal authorities had made no definitive
judgment on the killer’s motivation, and whether he was inspired by or directed by Islamic State
or other terrorist groups.” Obama clarified by explaining “Orlando shooting was the result of
Mateen’s personal resentment in relation to the gay club.”

Similarly, the teenager Ali David Sonboly who killed 9 people in Munich had no connection
with the ISIS. Police investigation revealed that he was “a mentally troubled person” and police
also discovered extremist material, linked to the attack by Andres Behring Brevik, the white
supremacist who murdered 77 persons in Norway in 2011. Likewise, the shooting in the French
city of Nice was also a false flag terror-act, as CIA-Mossad arranged it with the help of ISIS
which used homegrown terrorists of France.
It is mentionable that 59 people were killed and more than 500 others injured on October 1, this
year, when a gunman-an American national, Stephen Paddock opened fire on concertgoers from
the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. Next day , through its
Amaq propaganda agency, ISIL, claimed responsibility for the incident, disclosing that, “the Las
Vegas attacker is a soldier of the Islamic State in response to calls to target coalition
countries—converted to Islam several months ago”—but provided no evidence to support the
assertion.” Senior US homeland security officials said that there was no evidence Paddock had
links to international or domestic terror groups or ISIS.
On social media, many individuals have pointed out that if Paddock had been a Muslim, If he
had shouted “Allahu akbar” before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas, the
term “terrorist” would have been used almost immediately to describe him, as a link to Islamist
terrorism would be assumed even without evidence.
It is of particular attention that since the fundamentalist party BJP led by the Indian Prime
Minister Narindra Modi came to power in India, it has been implementing anti-Muslim and anti-
Pakistan agenda. Encouraged by the BJP, assaults on Muslims, Christians and other minorities
by the Hindu extremist parties might be cited as instance. India which has strategic partnership
with Israel has perennially been manipulating the double game of the US-led West regarding
world phenomena of terrorism in connection with Pakistan and Afghanistan, while exploiting
their anti-Muslim approach to obtain Indo-Israeli- US clandestine designs.

In wake of Modi’s aggressive diplomacy, India has continued shelling in Pakistani side of
Kashmir which remains a nuclear flashpoint between both the neighbouring countries.
Both Tel Aviv and New Delhi have been equating the ‘wars of liberation’ in Palestine and
Kashmir with terrorism. Their main purpose is to divert the attention of the West from their own
atrocities, while employing delaying tactics in the solution of these issues.
It is noteworthy that India, the US and puppet rulers of Afghanistan have always blamed
Pakistan for cross-border terrorism in Afghanistan to divert attention from the acts of sabotage,
which they have been arranging in Pakistan. While, Pakistan’s security forces have eliminated
terrorism, but, recent blasts in the Balochistan province and other regions of Pakistan show that
the US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel who are supporting militant groups have, again, started
acts of terrorism to destabilize Pakistan and to damage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
(CPEC).
In this respect, in his speech on August 21, 2017, while announcing the US new strategy
regarding Afghanistan as part of the policy in South Asia, American President Donald Trump,
particularly, singled out Pakistan for criticism. As regards Pakistan’s regional rival India, Trump
added, “We appreciate India’s important contributions to stability in Afghanistan…We want
them to help us more with Afghanistan.”
Shifting blame game towards, Islamabad and Moscow, US top military officials have been
making these courtiers scapegoats of their failures in Afghanistan. Main purpose behind is also
to pacify their public, as the US-led NATO countries have failed in their fight against the Taliban
who are waging a war of liberation against the occupying forces. Meanwhile, Trump also
decided to increase troops in Afghanistan. But, other NATO states have refused to send more
troops in Afghanistan. Especially, Israel also wants to divert attention of American and its allies
from the internal crises which their people are facing due to the prolonged war in Afghanistan
and phony war on terror.
Besides these developments, some other ones have also frustrated Indians and especially Israelis.
In this context, defeat of the ISIS terrorists, other similar groups in Syria and Iraq by the
Russian-led countries, Pakistan’s decision to join Russia-China alliance, Turkey’s alliance with
Russia, Syria and Iraq to fight against ISIL in Syria and Iraq, failure of the CIA plan-B for
partition of Syria, European countries’ disagreement with Trump regarding abandonment of
nuclear deal with Iran and failure of the NATO-like alliance by the US-backed Saudi
Arabia—the Sunni-countries against Iran and Yemen might be cited as instance. Another
disappointed development for Israel is that controversial referendum which was held on
September 25, 2017 for an independent Kurdistan, with approximately 93 percent in favour of
independence failed, as Moscow and some Western countries opposed this move. Otherwise, it
was Tel Aviv who backed it to heightened tensions in Iraq and among its neighbouring countries,
including other Islamic countries.
Meanwhile, Western countries have been pressing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to agree for
the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. A majority of the intellectuals and
analysts of the West have also been emphasizing upon the settlement of this issue. Even, non-

Zionist Jews have started favouring the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.
However, it has also depressed Tel Aviv who seems determined to keep its illegitimate control
on the Palestinian territories.
It is noteworthy that by setting aside the war-like diplomacy of the President Trump, North
Korea has continued testing intercontinental ballistic missiles, which appears to have the range to
hit American cities and Europe.
Notably, in a speech to the United Nations, President Trump has threatened to “totally destroy”
North Korea with “fire and fury” if it doesn’t back off from its nuclear aims. On the other side,
North Korean President Kim has said that his nation needs nuclear weapons to stop the United
States from asphyxiating its economy and overturning its government. Analysts have warned
about nuclear war between the two countries.
It is worth-mentioning that differences have arisen among the European countries in relation to
the refugees and the asylum-seekers. Austria’s erection of a fence along its border with Italy has
been met with disapproval by Italy and Germany. Some other developments such as criticism of
the controversial Turkish-EU refugee deal by a number of human rights groups, Britain’s
decision to leave the European Union (EU), after the referendum (Brexit), prospects of Scotland
and some other countries for separation from the EU, and the divide between the elite class
which run multinational companies with the direct or indirect control of the Jews and the general
masses who are suffering from multiple problems in wake of differences on the refugee crisis,
Greece’s weak economy, violent protests and strikes against the labour laws in France in 2016 in
favour of the employers at the cost of the employs etc.—the chances of European Union’s
disintegration which will give a greater blow to the US-Europe alliance against Russia and “Stop
NATO protests” in Europe are quite opposite to the Israeli secret interests.
Owing to the irresponsible approach of the Western leaders, far right-wing parties and “Stop
Islam” movement in the West, particularly in Europe are becoming popular by largely attracting
their people. Amid a migrant crisis, sluggish economic growth and growing disillusionment with
the European Union, right-wing parties in a growing number of European countries have made
electoral gains. The right-wing parties range across a wide policy spectrum, from populist and
nationalist to far-right neofascist.
White supremacists and Neo-Nazis who support President Trump are on rise in some Western
countries and especially in the US, while Trump and Mossad are also backing them in wake of
racism led by Trump.
As a matter of fact, irresponsible attitude of some Indian, Israeli, American and Western
politicians has introduced dangerous socio-religious dimension in their societies by equating the
“war on terror” with “war on Islam” and acts of ISIS and Al-Qaeda with all the Muslims. Their
media have also been contributing to heighten the currents of world politics on similar lines. It is
because of these developments that a greater resentment is being found among the Muslims who
think that the US in connivance with the Indo-Israeli lobbies is sponsoring state terrorism,
directly or indirectly from Kashmir to Palestine and from Afghanistan to Somalia.

In fact, fault cannot be laid on the general masses, a majority of whom are swayed by emotions,
stereotypes and prejudices created by the political leaders who keep on manipulating any crisis
for their own self-interests with the sole aim of getting their sympathies to increase their vote
bank. There are equal strong pressures from religious and nationalist forces in wake of global
war on terror which is dividing the world on religious lines.
Machiavelli advises the rulers to have a lion-like image outwardly, and act upon the traits of goat
inwardly. He also suggests them foreign adventures and the use of terror to obtain their goals. In
his sense, a good ruler should be a good opportunist and hypocrite. While echoing Machiavelli,
Morgenthau points out that sometimes, rulers act upon immoral activities like deceit, fraud,
falsehood and even murder to fulfill their selfish aims.

Indicating dual policy, Morgenthau, and Palmer and Perkins opine, “Just as power became the
instrument of ambitious nationalism and state’s leaders, it has now become the tool of ideologies.
The true nature of the policy is concealed by ideological justifications and rationalization.”
Although in the present world of social media and Internet, such a sinister politics has been
replaced by modern trends such as fair-dealings, reconciliation and economic development, yet
by following the old strategies US-led India and Israel have been playing a dangerous game by
assisting the militant groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS which conducted various terrorism-related
attacks in the US, Europe and other Western countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Philippines etc., and some African countries. Thus, they
massacred thousands of persons which also include Christians.
Nonetheless, Mossad, RAW and some agents of CIA, who are in collaboration, have helped in
conduction of the New York terror attack. Mossad might alone be involved in this terror assault,
as Israel will prefer a nuclear war between Russia and the US-led West or between North Korea
and America to avoid the two-state settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Atomic war could
also erupt between Pakistan and India, as New Delhi also avoids solution of the Kashmir issue.
While fanatic leaders are in power in the US, India and Israel, their connivance may culminate
into ‘clash of civilizations’, particularly between the Muslim and the Christians worlds.
It is the right hour that loyalist Americans, non-Zionist Jews and peace-loving citizens of every
other religious community should play their positive role for global peace by stopping the
division of the international community on religious and cultural lines.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com

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How Israel Weaponizes Archeology by Kathryn Shihadah, If Americans Knew

How Israel Weaponizes Archeology

 

by Kathryn Shihadah, 

in

If Americans Knew

 

 

Israeli bulldozers demolish part of an historic Islamic building near Al-Aqsa Mosque, not far from the City of David archaeological site, where land is being confiscated from the Palestinian village of Silwan in what some have called “bulldozer archeology.” Says Palestinian archeologist Hamed Salem, “This important historical site is no longer an archaeological park; it’s an ideological park.” (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty)

by Kathryn ShihadahIf Americans Knew

From the Zionism’s earliest days in the late 1800s until the present, Israel’s battle has always been about land, but for some the issue goes much deeper—literally. What is underground is as valuable as what is above ground, and the battle has been raging for years.

The battle is over ancient artifacts, from Jerusalem to Gaza to Qumran.

The “Jewish State” prioritizes anything that might boost its legitimacy as rightful owner of Holy Land real estate, and has appropriated the science of archeology to help create its narrative.

The goal is to highlight the ancient Jewish presence and discount all other communities. whether historic or current. The Israeli narrative assumes, for example, that Christians may have been present for a short time, but only as visitors, leaving virtually no trace; the same goes for any Muslim presence.

In order to back up this version of history, Israel has found it necessary to destroy villages, demolish ancient sites, appropriate historic areas, rewrite textbooksredraw boundary lines, and more. With the illusion of an ongoing, dominant Jewish presence, Israel can assert that it is simply “re-claiming” what is rightfully theirs, instead of taking what belongs to others.

FACTS UNDER THE GROUND

It is no surprise that Israel/Palestine is an archeological gold mine: ancient trade routes crisscrossed the region; it was the historic home of the Philistines and Crusaders; a stone’s throw from the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Phoenicia; part of the Roman, Greek, Persian, and Ottoman empires, to name a few; and the dwelling place of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

In fact, Palestine is home to the oldest archeological organization in the world, the Palestine Exploration Fund, founded in 1865. Here excavators have feasted on a dizzying array of strata, ranging from Upper Paleolithic (about 40,000 BC) to late Ottoman (19th century AD), and everything in between; their findings have led to the advancement of the science of archeology itself. No wonder archeologists from around the world have been assembling for at least a century and a half to unearth and study Palestine’s ancient cultural riches.

When Israel created itself in 1948—and even before this date—the “Jewish State” worked to take control of archaeology, and thus, of the region’s history. It toiled to erase footprints of the numerous civilizations that had preceded the Jewish presence, as well as the peoples that have come afterward.

How Israel Weaponizes Archeology

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“HAND TO HAND”

The claim to the land is based on a very small window of time, as Illene Beatty pointed out in Arab and Jew in the Land of Canaan: “The extended kingdoms of David and Solomon, on which the Zionists base their territorial demands, endured for only about 73 years… Then it fell apart… [Even] if we allow independence to the entire life of the ancient Jewish kingdoms, from David’s conquest of Canaan in 1000 B.C. to the wiping out of Judah in 586 B.C., we arrive at [only] a 414 year Jewish rule.”

The Israeli narrative pushes the window open a few hundred years more: history (at least, relevant history) supposedly “started with King David and ended with the destruction of the second temple [70 A.D.], restarting with Jewish settlement in the nineteenth century.” Some Greek and Roman presence and a “smattering of early Christianity” are tolerable. But ancient Philistines, Arabs, and Muslims are never acknowledged as part of the region’s history. They would impinge upon Jewish interests.

The official explanation, according to an introductory film that is shown to tour groups in Jerusalem, is simply, “For two thousand years, the city passed from hand to hand.” The “righteous return” and the settler agenda are the only account to which visitors are exposed. On Palestine, there is only silence.

As Israeli author and activist Uri Avnery reminds us, the Zionist claim to the land of Palestine, based as it was on the Biblical history of the Israelites, requires proving that the Bible is true. Almost all of the founders of Israel were professing atheists, but they gritted their teeth and gave their orders.

During the early years of Israel’s existence, bulldozers removed Ottoman and Mameluke remains, Arab and Crusader artifacts, Byzantine and Roman and Greek and Persian remnants—in order to find “pay dirt”: biblical Hebrew artifacts. The search is ongoing. (Read this and this, for example.)

And over the years, the narrative has been pieced together for a single purpose: to manufacture “legitimacy.”

“I TOLD YOU SO”

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Trump’s Sword Dance Sets Off the War of the Wahhabis By Pepe Escobar

Trump’s Sword Dance Sets Off the War of the Wahhabis

By Pepe Escobar

June 07, 2017 

US President Donald Trump could not possibly have predicted the game-changing after-effects of his triumphal sword dance in Riyadh.

 

 

 

 

Or could he?

 

The fact is the House of Saud went amok, in a flash, going after Qatar and bombing from the inside that glorious Arab NATO project – call it NATOGCC — sworn with pomp over a glowing orb.

An excited Trump tweeted three times his approval for Riyadh going after Doha. 

Trump and NATOGCC had equaled Daesh and Iran as “terrorists”. The House of Saud went one up — and denounced Qatar for top terror financing, which equals Don Corleone hurling Mafioso accusations against Tony Soprano. 

But then, in an unexpected plot twist, Daesh, handily, graphically, underlined the cosmic stupidity of the whole charade – staging, or at least claiming to stage a terror attack against the Parliament and the Imam Khomeini shrine in Tehran.

The current Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, now “guilty” for not blaming Iran as the root of all evils in the Arab peninsula, might even be following the steps of his own father, Hamad, who invented modern Qatar and deposed himself – under Saudi pressure – in favor of his son in 2013.

We can’t forget that Bandar bin Sultan, a.k.a. Bandar Bush, notorious former top assembler/weaponizer of jihadis, and frustrated “liberator of Syria”, had famously described Qatar in the past as “300 people and a TV station”.

So what is really going on in this noxious petrodollar swamp? 

 

 

 

 

 

The Israel-UAE connection

Let’s cut to the chase and establish that this nasty inter-GCC cannibalization has nothing to do with the Global War on Terror (GWOT). 

Among massive disinformation crossfire, a trail of evidence points to a concerted strategy elaborated by the Israeli lobby (via the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, founded, among others, by nefarious casino schemer Sheldon Adelson, and very close to Bibi Netanyahu); US neocon/Ziocon/neoliberalcon elements; and the UAE ambassador in Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba.

Leaked emails have shown how Otaiba – widely idolized in the Beltway because of his “largesse” – and the neocon Foundation for Defense of Democracies have discussed means of teaching Qatar a lesson for its support of Hamas, and overall non-confrontational policies towards Iran. Otaiba also happens to be close to Jared Kushner – which would explain Trump’s reaction to the anti-Qatar blitzkrieg.

Unlike Qatar, the House of Saud and the UAE are one step away from establishing diplomatic relations with Israel – the sine qua non condition imposed by Washington to insert Israel in an anti-Iran Arab NATO guided by Riyadh.

A previous row in 2014 offers additional background. Regional intel operatives confirm at the time there were military Emirati maneuvers not far from the Qatari border; London and Paris, for instance, knew all about it.

But the head of the House of Saud in charge at the time was the late King Abdullah, who was in fact an appeaser. The Head-Chopper-in-Chief now is Warrior Prince Mohamed bin Salman, a.k.a. MBS, an arrogant twat who’s already, miserably, losing a war on Yemen — conducted with billions of dollars in US and UK weapons — that has provoked a horrific humanitarian crisis in the poorest nation in the region. It is MBS who ordered the Saudi demonization of Qatar.

Let me out of the terror train

The “terra terra terra” shorthand, for the House of Saud, applies mostly to the accusation of Qatar supporting Shi’ite protest movements in eastern Saudi Arabia. That’s ridiculous; Doha is not involved.

And then there’s the accusation of Qatar supporting Islamists. That’s exactly what powerful Saudi donors – many linked to the monarchy – do.

Doha does support, big time, the Muslim Brotherhood – which has not much to do with al-Qaeda and/or Daesh, and is hated with a vengeance by Riyadh and its puppet al-Sisi in Cairo, who survives on Saudi handouts. What powerful Qatari donors did (up to $3 billion) was support al-Qaeda in Syria, a.k.a. Jabhat al-Nusra, which vast US neocon/neoliberalcon sectors brand as “moderate rebels”.

The Saudis, meanwhile, supported their own jihadis in Syria – and elsewhere. WikiLeaks has unequivocally proved how “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide”.

Apart from complex tribal rivalry issues, the key religious factor is that Qatar – unlike Saudi Arabia – is tolerant towards non-Salafis, or “revolutionary” Salafis like the Muslim Brotherhood, and does not try to globally export its version of Wahhabism. For all practical purposes, hardcore Saudi imams consider Qataris heretics. As if they’re almost as bad as “apostate” Shi’ites. 

The schism has translated, in practice, into a proxy war in Libya for example. Doha supports Islamic militias in Misrata as well as those faithful to the “Mufti of Qatar” Sadiq al-Ghariani. The Emirates and Egypt support Gen. Khalifa Haftar, the chief of the self-styled Libya National Army (LNA).

It’s a gas, gas, gas

Saudi intel disinformation agents are spreading that “Turkey and Qatar are the last two states run by the Muslim Brotherhood. Most probably Qatar will experience a change of regime and exit being the bankroller on behalf of Britain to support all kind of chaos in the region, and that include playing from behind the scenes with Teheran.”

Utter diversionist nonsense. The plain fact is the House of Saud is absolutely desperate. Oil price remains low, around $50 a barrel. The monster Saudi IPO on Aramco is only 12 months away. The House of Saud needs to move the markets towards a higher oil price by any means necessary – ultimatums and threats of war included.

A non-ideological US intel source goes further, stressing how “Turkey, Iran and Russia are moving closer together. The question remains who will control the Gulf States and the oil price — which was being manipulated so far to destroy Russia. The deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia is really just a minor improvement.”

So no wonder obfuscation remains the norm – with narratives taking attention away from the House of Saud and placing it on Iran, and now also Qatar.

And then there’s the key Pipelineistan angle, mixed with how Qatar as a natural gas powerhouse is immensely annoying OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and UAE. 

Qatar is the largest global exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). That’s what has allowed it to shape a foreign policy completely independent from the House of Saud. Add to it that Qatar’s fabulous gas wealth yields from the massive offshore North Field, shared with Iran (who controls what it calls South Pars). 

There’s been speculation, obviously unconfirmed by Tehran and Doha, that Iran and Qatar may have reached an agreement on sharing the rights for a gas pipeline from North Dome/South Pars to the eastern Mediterranean in Syria, as long as Doha stops supporting al-Nusra.

Were that to happen, it would signal the spectacular closure of one of the key motives for the Syrian tragedy. The Obama administration had fully approved a Qatar to Turkey – via Saudi Arabia and Syria – gas pipeline as a means of trying to undermine Gazprom. It took a lot of dead bodies and horrific destruction for Doha to realize Moscow would never allow it. 

Thus Qatar’s strategic pivot towards Russia – materialized, for instance, via Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund investing $2.7 billion in Rosneft. This may be spelling out, in the medium term, a Qatar way more amenable to the Russia-Iran-Syria connection. Considering that Qatar hosts CENTCOM and is home to Al-‘Udayd, the largest US military base in the Middle East, that certainly does not go down very well at the Pentagon. 

As far as the US game is concerned, it’s terminally naïve to believe Washington would not have provided a green light to its Saudi satrap to go after Doha.

Add to it Qatar opening the first yuan clearing center in the Middle East; that’s something that did not go down well with financial Masters of the Universe. In parallel, the much-lauded Trump $100 billion weapons deal announced in Riyadh may have been devised in exchange for the House of Saud delaying as long as possible Chinese oil payments in yuan that would bypass the petrodollar.

To weave conspiracy theories is an idle undertaking. “T.Rex” Tillerson, from his ExxonMobil days, knows the Qatari leadership quite well. And so does “Mad Dog” Mattis, former head of CENTCOM. Watch them; how they act in the follow-up will unveil at least some layers of the current shadow play – and whether the whole charade packs way more punch than mere House of Saud desperation. 

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