Drumbeats of War - So Many Things
Drumbeats of War - So Many Things
There are so many things happening, I should make a list.
1. You may have seen in mainstream news (though I doubt it, since there was not much coverage) that an Iranian F-27 buzzed the US carrier Eisenhower.
What you probably did not see was that the Iranian plane hovered for 20 minutes at less than angels 3 altitude (3,000 feet), and less than 800 feet away from the carrier. That’s just a few seconds from being directly overhead. Our response was… to twiddle our thumbs. No response at all. We were not even going to mention it. But our ‘friends’ in the Arab Gulf oil nations were so concerned about it, they threatened to break the story if we did not. Because they worry. They worry about what happened to South Korea happening to them… which is number
2. By now everyone has pretty much concluded either a torpedo or mine from North Korea sunk the South Korean warship Cheonan, as I posted on March 26. Most experts tend toward a torpedo being the culprit, since the damage from the explosion is best explained by the destructive compression which is the signature of a certain kind of torpedo exploding, as it is designed to do, not in the ship but next to it. And there has been talk for years about the mini-subs of the North.
Either way, torpedo or mine, the US says the North did not do it. South Korea isn’t saying who did it. There is essentially no response to this provocation.. a prima facie act of war… which goes unanswered. Twiddling our thumbs again. The Gulf states see our lack of response and wonder if we are indeed a paper tiger, unable to protect them from increasing Iranian influence in the region. But we are not the only ones turning the other cheek without a whisper of protest.
3. Israel, back in the good graces of the US since construction in East Jerusalem has been halted under a de facto moratorium, is following suit. The serious incursion from Gaza on March 26, which resulted in at least two deaths for the Israeli Defense Forces, has not seen a retaliation. This is tremendously strange, since it is Israel’s avowed policy to retaliate to any violence visited upon it by any other source… an unequal and much greater retaliation than the original act. That’s what they think will keep their enemies at bay.
But no retaliation. More twiddling, instead. One could suspect that was engendered by the Obama administration, who pins the hope of peace in the Middle East solely on the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinians that should be happening soon. Any day. Maybe. If anyone shows up.
I am all for peace. I’m even for turning the other cheek. I’m certainly for actually talking with the ‘other side’ and trying to rationally figure out our differences and seeing if we can change things together so we have peace, real peace, instead of war.
But silence in the face of aggression only breeds more aggression. This is where the language of diplomacy can be helpful, and in fact was primarily created for such situations. There comes a time when one must say that provocation must stop. Or there will be a price to pay. And then sit down and figure out how we can all avoid paying that price. Which is most often tendered in the blood of young men on both sides.
Is the Obama administration ignorant of history, diplomacy, and what constitutes a real chance for peace? Or are they afraid that anything they do will start a war? Is the situation so desperate as that? Are we that close to the brink?
Or are we trying to start a war?
4. (you probably thought I was through with the list, but no, I saved the best for last) The Joint Chiefs of Staff issued an official report calling Peak Oil.
That was thought by many to be a tinfoil-hat-brigade idea. Who seriously believed that we could be nearing the point where all the reserves of oil will not be sufficient for the world to maintain its economy even in the current depressed state. The point where, even if there is enough oil in the ground, we can’t get it out fast enough to meet our normal needs. The point where we must stop using oil in such vast quantities.
The JCS says the American consumer will start to feel the effects of Peak Oil in months. Not decades. Months. That means any hope of the economy recovering is a false hope.
The JCS says that even an influx of oil to the United States in the quantities produced by an oil-rich nation like, oh, Iran, for instance, would only stave off Peak Oil by three months.
In other words, there is nothing we can do about Peak Oil coming soon. We have to change our energy infrastructure starting right now. And the real question: is that even possible?
But maybe the powers that be think that getting an extra three months will help. Perhaps that would soften the transition from a grand catastrophe to simply the deepest depression we’ve ever seen.
Could the dogs of war be on a very, very short leash?
5. The leader of the West Bank Palestinians thinks so. Chairman Abbas pleaded with Chinese President Hu Jinato to support harsh sanctions against Iran, because that was the only option to war in the Middle East. We do not yet know how the Chinese took that surprise, nor what their answer to it will be.
There is much more. But this post is too long already, so I’ll save the rest for next time.
Really. Buy food. Store it.
